Armies of the Vikings, AD 793–1066 by Gabriele Esposito

Author:Gabriele Esposito [Esposito, Gabriele]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Military, Medieval, Europe, Weapons
ISBN: 9781399008402
Google: 77g8EAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Published: 2021-12-30T03:44:00+00:00

Western Viking with helmet having nasal. (Photo and copyright by Brokkar Lag)

Due to the frequent civil wars and many territorial changes during the period from 840–870, the territories of the former Carolingian Empire became extremely weak from a military point of view. This was of great help to the Vikings, who could attack the individual Frankish communities without having to face large armies. As mentioned above, most of the Scandinavian raids conducted on mainland Europe had as their target the emerging Kingdom of France, or West Francia. Some early Viking incursions in France took place during the very last years of Charlemagne’s reign, but it was under Charles the Bald that they became a significant problem for the French monarchy. The first recorded Scandinavian attack in France took place during 799, and was soon followed by several others. In response to these early raids, around 810, Charlemagne organized a form of coastal defence in the northern regions of his empire, but this measure was never fully implemented. In 820, during the reign of his son Louis the Pious, a major Scandinavian incursion was repulsed at the mouth of the River Seine. The Vikings launched a new attack against Frisia, on the territory of present-day Netherlands, in 834, achieving some success. The following years saw an escalation of raids: Antwerp, Rouen and Nantes were all attacked by the Vikings, who were exploiting the weakness of the Frankish military system (heavily involved in the ongoing internecine conflicts).

In March 845, a large fleet of Danish Vikings, with 120 warships, entered the Seine under command of Ragnar Lodbrok. The target of the raiders was Paris, one of the richest cities of West Francia (capital of the kingdom since 987). Charles the Bald was determined to fight to the death in order to defend the city, and thus soon mobilized his military forces, dividing them in two parts: one was deployed on the eastern bank of the Seine, the other on the western bank. At that time, Paris was still relatively small, not extending beyond the Ile de la Cité, a natural river island located in the middle of the Seine. After defeating one of the two Frankish armies and killing all the captured men in order to spread terror, Ragnar and his raiders landed on the Ile de la Cité on Easter Sunday. The Scandinavians plundered Paris with great violence, killing many civilians. After several days, having obtained everything they wanted, they decided to leave the French city, partly because a plague had broken out inside their camp (at the time, the banks of the Seine were covered by marshes and were characterized by a quite inhospitable environment). Before returning home, however, the Vikings obliged Charles the Bald to pay them an immense sum of money: 7,000 French pounds of gold and silver. This was just the first danegeld paid by the Frankish monarchs to the Vikings, which was followed by several others. In the 840s, the Scandinavians attacked and pillaged several locations in Normandy, such as Rouen, with a predilection for the richest religious sites.

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