The Time The Vikings Sacked Paris

And kicked off the Viking Age in France

(By Unknown author — Scanned from the german histrory magazine Der Spiegel Geschichte (6/2010): Die Wikinger — Krieger mit Kultur: Das Leben der Nordmänner. Spiegel-Verlag Rudolf Augstein GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg 2010, p.33, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12664618)

In 799, strange ships appeared from over the horizon along the northern French coastline. These ships were filled with fearsome warriors, armed to the teeth, large and looking for treasure. The Norsemen were probing the Franks, looking for opportunities for plunder. Contrary to popular belief, Vikings were not brutes. They were clever, patient, and calculating. The Vikings would scout out regions for months, and sometimes years, before making a significant move.

Viking ships began prodding the northern coasts just ten years after their first serious raids into the British Isles. These Vikings were looking for easy targets and open rivers to sail down. If they found the Frankish lands to be undefended or containing juicy targets, like abbeys and isolated castles, they would attack.

The appearance of fearsome warriors from the north alarmed Charlemagne, the King of the Franks. In order to deter future raids, Charlemagne built a series of defenses at the mouths of important rivers such as the Seine. These defenses worked for a time and repelled a number of probing raids before they could break into the vulnerable French heartland.

However, Charlemagne died in 814 CE and left a political mess in his wake. The Vikings always kept a close eye on the…