How A Deal Between A Viking and A King Changed History Forever
The rise of the Normans
In AD 885, a group of Viking raiders sailed down the River Seine and laid siege to Paris. Paris was the cultural center of the Franks and was the heart of West Francia. Thousands of hostile northern warriors surrounded the city and demanded tribute and concessions. Despite emerging victorious, the siege lasted nearly a year and traumatized the Franks.
The beautiful Seine went from a peaceful ribbon of trade to a highway for barbarism.
The Siege of Paris rocked the Carolingian dynasty and dealt a serious blow to the early Frankish kingdoms. The Viking incursions of the 9th century put the whole realm on edge and seriously reduced any hopes that the Franks could seriously take up the mantle of Charlemagne to be a power in Europe.
When the Vikings returned yet again in 911, this time led by one of the brigands that had orchestrated the Siege of Paris years earlier, the lords of West Francia had had enough. If they could not compel the Vikings to let them be via force, they would have to deal with them diplomatically.
The Siege of Chartres & Rollo The Viking
Rollo led a band of Vikings against the city of Chartres in 911. It was a city that the…
