Siege of Paris (885–886)

Although the Vikings had attacked parts of Francia previously, they reached Paris for the first time in 845, sacking the city. They attacked Paris three more times 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, which served admirably in the siege of 885. The chief ruler in the region around Paris (the Île-de-France) was the duke of Francia (also the 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 the Battle of Brissarthe. His son Odo succeeded him, but royal power declined. Paris continued to be fortified due to local, rather than royal, initiative. West Francia suffered under a series of short-reigning kings after the death of Charles the Bald in 877. This situation prevailed until 884 when Charles the Fat, already King of Germany and Italy, became king, raising hopes of reunification of Charlemagne's empire. ==Siege==

Vikings under Sigfred and Sinric sailed towards West Francia again in 885, having raided the north-eastern parts of the country before. Sigfred demanded a bribe from Charles but was refused, and he promptly led 700 ships up the Seine, carrying perhaps as many as 30,000 The number, the largest ever recorded for a Viking fleet in contemporary sources, originates from poet Abbo Cernuus. Although an eyewitness, there is general agreement among historians that Abbo's numbers are "a gross exaggeration," with Abbo being "in a class of his own as an exaggerator." Historian C. W. Previté-Orton has instead put the number of ships at 300, and John Norris at "some 300." Although the Franks tried to block the Vikings from sailing up the Seine, the Vikings eventually managed to reach Paris. but led a joint defence with Gozlin, Bishop of Paris and had the aid of his brother Robert, two counts, and a marquis. s of the Vikings The Vikings arrived in Paris on 24 or 25 November 885, initially asking for tribute from the Franks. When this was denied, they began a siege. On 26 November the Vikings 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. Bishop Gozlin 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. In a renewed assault, they shot a thousand grenades against the city, sent a ship for the bridge, and made a land attack with three groups. The forces surrounded the bridgehead tower, possibly mainly aiming to bring down the river obstacle. While they tried setting fire to the bridge, they also attacked the city with siege engines. Henry died, however, after he fell into the Viking ditches, where he was captured and killed. That summer, the Vikings 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 allowed the Vikings to sail up the Seine to ravage Burgundy, which was in revolt. amounting to approximately 257 kg. ==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 to leave the country. When Charles died in 888, the French elected Odo as their king. Odo's brother Robert I of France was later elected king as well, in opposition to the Carolingian Charles the Simple. The Viking invasion as well as further persistent raidings of the city destroyed much of the urban infrastructure on the Left Bank, which eventually converted to agricultural use, while the Right Bank were mostly spared from pillaging, with subsequent development favoring the Right Bank. == Representation in popular media ==

Following the popularization of the Viking sagas many different medias such as TV shows, and video games gave new artistic depictions of the Viking raids as well as the lifestyle and world that the Vikings lived in over 1,200 years ago. The TV show Vikings includes the siege in the third season in the 8th-10th episodes. In video games, the most recent adaptation of the Siege of Paris can be found in the game ''Assassin's Creed Valhalla'' where in one of the expansions called "The Siege of Paris" players can take part in the famous siege as a Viking and relive dramatizations of some of the most important moments throughout the siege and also get to experience life in medieval France during that time. ==References==