By place Europe • Summer – Emperor
Charles the Fat summons a meeting of officials at
Lobith (modern
Netherlands), and accuses
Hugh, an illegitimate son of former king
Lothair II, and his vassal
Godfrid, Duke of Frisia, of plotting against him. Hugh is blinded, and
exiled to the
Abbey of Saint Gall (modern
Switzerland). Godfrid is killed by a group of
Frisian and
Saxon nobles, at the connivance of
Henry of Franconia. The local count,
Gerolf, takes over the West
Frisian coastline from the
Danish, after the murder. • Summer – Charles the Fat designates his illegitimate son
Bernard as his heir, ignoring the claims of his nephew,
Arnulf of Carinthia (illegitimate son of
Carloman of Bavaria), and
Charles the Simple (5-year-old son of King
Louis the Stammerer). The Frankish
bishops protest, so Charles summons
Pope Adrian III to an assembly in
Worms, to resolve the issue. Adrian leaves
Rome in the hands of Bishop John of
Pavia and heads to
Germany, but dies on the way, just after crossing the
River Po. •
November 25 –
Siege of Paris:
Viking forces, under the
Norse chieftains Sigfred and Sinric, sail up the
River Seine for
eastern France, with a fleet of 300
longships (10,000 men). They appear before
Paris, and offer to spare the city if they are allowed free passage, by paying them
tribute (
Danegeld). Their request is denied. •
November 27 – The Vikings begin the
Siege of Paris by attacking the northeast tower with
ballistae,
mangonels and
catapults. All Viking attacks are repulsed by
Odo, Count of Paris, who defends the city with a small
garrison (about 200 men). Sigfred decides to withdraw, and builds a
camp on the right bank of the river. Meanwhile he mines the city, and scours the countryside for provisions.
Britain • King
Alfred the Great summons
Asser, a relative of Bishop
Nobis of
St. David's, to the English
court. He agrees to spend six months of the year in the king's service. Asser helps to negotiate the recognition of Alfred, as
overlord of the
Welsh kings. • Danish Vikings land in
Kent and besiege
Rochester. Town defences having been improved, the city holds out long enough for Alfred the Great to organize an army. He forces the Vikings to flee back across
the Channel, to the
Continent. • A naval force raised by
Alfred the Great takes part in the two Battles of the River Stour. • Kings
Hyfaidd of
Dyfed, Elisedd of
Brycheiniog and
Hywel of
Glywysing, being harassed by the armies of King
Anarawd in Wales, seek the protection of Alfred the Great, and submit to his overlordship. Anarawd seeks an
alliance with King
Guthred of
York.
Arabian Empire •
Battle of Tawahin: Muslim forces (4,000 men) of the
Abbasid Caliphate, under
Al-Mu'tadid, are defeated near
Ramlah (modern
Israel) by
Khumarawayh, ruler of the
Tulunid dynasty. This ends the Abbasid attempt to recover
Syria from the Tulunids. A large part of the Abbasid army is captured, and transported to
Egypt. Khumarawayh aims for reconciliation with the caliphal government, and allows the soldiers who want to return to modern-day
Iraq to depart without
ransom, while offering the rest the opportunity to settle in Egypt.
By topic Religion •
July 8 –
Pope Adrian III dies after a 1½ reign near
Modena (
Lombardy), while en route to an
Imperial Diet, summoned by Charles the Fat at
Worms. He is succeeded by
Stephen V, as the 110th
pope of the
Catholic Church. == Births ==