Invasion and siege[edit]
In March 845,[5] a fleet of 120 Danish Viking ships[1][6] containing more than 5,000 men[7] entered the Seine under the command of a Danish chieftain[8] named "Reginherus", or Ragnar.[1] This Ragnar has often been tentatively identified with the legendary saga figure Ragnar Lodbrok, but the historicity of the latter remains a disputed issue among historians.[5][7] In or around 841, Ragnar had been awarded land in Turholt, Frisia by Charles the Bald, but he eventually lost the land as well as the favour of the king.[9] Ragnar's Vikings raided Rouen on their way up the Seine in 845,[8] and in response to the invasion, determined not to let the royal Abbey of Saint-Denis (near Paris) be destroyed,[8] Charles assembled an army which he divided into two parts, one for each side of the river.[5] Ragnar attacked and defeated one of the divisions of the smaller Frankish army, and took 111 of their men as prisoners and hanged them on an island on the Seine.[5] This was done to honor the Norse god Odin,[1] as well as to incite terror in the remaining Frankish forces.[5]
The Vikings finally arrived in Paris on either Easter Sunday, 28 March,[5] or Easter Day, 29 March,[8] entered the city and plundered it.[5][8] During the siege, a plague broke out in their camp. The Norse had been exposed to the Christian religion, and after first praying to the Norse gods, they undertook a fast, acting on the advice of one of their Christian prisoners, and the plague subsided.[10] The Franks could not assemble any effective defence against the invaders,[5] and the Vikings withdrew only after being paid a ransom of 7,000 livres (French pounds) of silver and gold by Charles the Bald,[9] amounting to approximately 2,570 kilograms (5,670 lb).[11] Considering Ragnar's earlier loss of land by Charles, the substantial payment may also have been regarded as some form of compensation for Ragnar's loss, and the invasion itself as an attack of revenge.[9] In any case, this would be the first of a total of thirteen payments of so-called Danegeld to Viking raiders by the Franks[1] (although the term itself is not expressly known to have been used at this particular point).[12] While agreeing to withdraw from Paris, Ragnar pillaged several sites along the coast on the return voyage, including the Abbey of Saint Bertin.[8]
Although Charles has been criticised severely for granting the large ransom payment to the Vikings, he had other more critical issues to deal with at the same time, including disputes with his brothers, regional revolts and disgruntled nobles, as well as pressure from abroad. Since he would have trouble trusting his own counts to assemble and lead troops to defeat Ragnar's large force militarily, paying them off instead would buy Charles time, and possibly peace from further Viking raids—at least in the near future
