Siege of Paris (885–886)

Siege of Paris (885–886)
The Count Odo defends Paris against the Normands. Galerie des Batailles
Date 25 November 885 – October, 886 Location on the Seine at Paris, France 48.854°N 2.347°E / 48.854; 2.347 Result Frankish victory
Belligerents
Franks	Danes/Norsemen/Vikings
Commanders and leaders
Odo, Count of Paris	Sigfred and Rollo
Strength
200 men-at-arms	30,000 (Abbo Cernuus)

The Siege of Paris of 885 to 886 was a Viking siege of Paris, then capital of the West Francia. It was the most important event of the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Fat and a turning point in the fortunes of the Carolingian dynasty and the history of France. The siege is the subject of an eyewitness account in the Latin poem Bella Parisiacae urbis of Abbo Cernuus.

Background

The barques of the Vikings

Count Odo re-enters Paris through the besiegers

The Vikings (especially the Danes of the British Isles and other Norsemen in continental Europe) were the primary menace affecting European rulers in the late ninth century, the middle of the Viking Age. They had carved out a Danelaw in England and ruled Kievan Rus' from Ladoga and Novgorod. Their depredations had ranged as far afield as the Mediterranean. They harassed Christian and Muslim alike, in the coastal plains and along the navigable rivers of France, Spain, and Italy. The worst-hit areas in the Carolingian Empire were in the Low Countries and adjacent regions in Gaul and Germania, areas where many navigable rivers offered access.

In 845, the Vikings rowed up the Seine and attacked Paris. This they did again twice more in the 860s, leaving only when they had acquired sufficient loot or bribes. In 864, by the Edict of Pistres, bridges were ordered built across the Seine at Pîtres and in Paris, where two were built, one on each side of the Île de la Cité. These would serve admirably in the siege of 885. The chief ruler in the region around Paris (the Île-de-France) was the duke of Francia (who was also count of Paris), who controlled the lands between the Seine and Loire. Originally this was Robert the Strong, margrave of Neustria and missus dominicus for the Loire Valley. He began fortifying the capital and fought the Norsemen continuously until his death in battle against them at Brissarthe. His son Odo succeeded him and continued the fortification of Paris.

Meanwhile, West Francia suffered under a series of short-reigning kings until Charles the Fat, already king of Germany and Italy, became king. Hopes were raised with the reunification of Charlemagne's empire, but a year after Charles' succession (884), the Vikings launched their most massive attack on Paris so far.

Siege

Sigfred, leader of the Danes, demanded a bribe from Charles, but was refused. He promptly led 700 ships up the Seine carrying as many as 30,000 men. Even an army of one tenth of this strength would have been exceptionally large compared to the average strength of contemporary armies. Paris at this time was a town on an island. Its strategic importance came from the ability to block ships' passage with its two low-lying foot bridges, one of wood and one of stone. Not even the shallow Viking ships could pass Paris because of the bridges. Odo prepared for the arrival of the Vikings by fortifying the bridgehead with two towers guarding each bridge. He was low on men, having no more than 200 men-at-arms available. He did have the aid of his brother, Robert, two counts, a marquis, and Joscelin, abbot of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

The Vikings arrived on 25 November 885 and began by asking for tribute. When this was denied, they began a siege. On 26 November the Danes attacked the northeast tower with ballistae, mangonels, and catapults. They were repulsed by a mixture of hot wax and pitch. All Viking attacks that day were repulsed, and during the night the Parisians constructed another storey on the tower.

On 27 November the Viking attack included mining, battering rams, and fire, but to no avail. The Abbot Joscelin entered the fray with a bow and an axe. He planted a cross on the outer defences and exhorted the people. His brother Ebles also joined the fighting.

For two months the Vikings maintained the siege, making trenches and provisioning themselves off the land. In January 886 they tried to fill the river shallows with debris, plant matter, and the bodies of dead animals and dead prisoners to try to get around the tower. They continued this for two days. On the third day they set three ships alight and guided them towards the wooden bridge. The burning ships sank before they could set the bridge on fire, but the wooden construction was nonetheless weakened. On 6 February, rains caused the river (still filled with debris) to overflow and the bridge supports gave way. The bridge gone, the northeast tower was now isolated with only twelve defenders inside. The Vikings asked the twelve to surrender, but they refused, and were all subsequently killed.

The Vikings left a force around Paris, but many went on to pillage Le Mans and Chartres. Odo successfully slipped some men through Norse lines to go to Italy and plead with Charles to come to their aid. Henry, Count of Saxony, Charles' chief man in Germany, marched to Paris. The besieged forces sallied forth and to obtain supplies. Morale of the besiegers was low and Sigfred asked for sixty pounds of silver. He left the siege in April. The other leader, Rollo, stayed behind with his men.

In May, disease began to spread in the Parisian ranks and Joscelin died. Odo then slipped through Viking-controlled territory to petition Charles for support; Charles consented. Odo fought his way back into Paris and Charles and Henry of Saxony marched northward. Henry died en route.

That summer, the Danes made a final attempt to take the city, but were repulsed. The imperial army arrived in October and scattered the Vikings. Charles encircled Rollo and his army and set up a camp at Montmartre. However, Charles had no intention of fighting. He sent the defenders down the Seine to ravage Burgundy, which was in revolt. When the Vikings withdrew from France the next spring, he gave them 700 pounds of silver as promised.

Aftermath

The Parisians and Odo refused to let the Vikings down the Seine, and the invaders had to drag their boats overland to the Marne. When Charles died in 888, the French elected Odo as their king. Odo's brother was later elected king as well. Throughout the next century the Robertians, descendants of Robert the Strong, fought the Carolingians for the French throne. Their duchy (Francia) gave its name to the Kingdom of France and the Carolingian Empire was never again reconstituted.

Further reading

• MacLean, Simon (2003). Kingship and Politics in the Late Ninth Century: Charles the Fat and the end of the Carolingian Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81945-8.
• Davis, Paul K. (2001). Besieged: 100 Great Sieges from Jericho to Sarajevo. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-521930-9.
• Douglas, D.C (1942). "Rollo of Normandy". English Historical Review. 57: 417–436.