Danish Viking Reginheri or Ragnar is a masculine Germanic given name, composed of the Old Norse elements ragin- “counsel” and hari- “army”. , which gave rise to the modern German form Rainer, the French variant Rainier, and the Italian variant Ranieri. The Old English form is “Rægenhere” (attested for example in the name of the son of king Rædwald of East-Anglia). The name also existed among the Franks as “Ragnahar” (“History of the Franks” by Gregory of Tours).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. Ragnar’s Vikings raided Rouen on their way up the Seine in 845, and in response to the invasion, Charles–who was determined not to let the royal Abbey of Saint-Denis (near Paris) be destroyed-assembled an army which he divided into two parts, one for each side of the river. Ragnar attacked and defeated one of the divisions of the smaller French army, took 111 of their men as prisoners and hanged them on an island on the Seine as a gift to Odin.
The same year, the Viking’s King Horik and his men ravaged the archbishopric city of Hamburg. The king of East Frankia sent his count Cobbo as a diplomat to resolve the issue with the Vikings and made a peace treaty with the Danish king.
As Raginheri returned to King Horik who was his superior, he explained the ease with which he entered the city yet lost many men to the plague at Saint Germain in Paris. King Horik, afraid the plague was a curse for the Vikings’ attack on the Abbey, ordered the execution of those raiders who survived and freed the captured Christian.
During 860 many of the villages around Paris and the city itself again suffered pillaging and ravaging attacks from the Norsemen. The King of West Frankia – Charles died in 877 and left the city in a chaotic state. As a result, several different rulers’ unsuccessfully reigned for short periods and all failed to create a defense against the raging Vikings. At last, in 884, the King of Germany and Italy Charles the Fat took the throne of Frankia.
One year later, the river Seine once again carried Norsemen under the command of Earl Siegfried the Sinric. That time, the boats of the Northerners brought along another of their fiercest warriors, Rolf the Ganger, or Rollo. He raided the region of Neustria from 877. The legends said he was so big no horse could carry him and thus, he received his nickname The Walker.
The Vikings first rowed up the Seine to attack Paris in 845 and returned three times in the 860s. Each time they looted the city or were bought off with bribes.In 864 the Franks built bridges across the river to deter these raiding parties: two footbridges crossing the river to the city situated on the Île de la Cité. The island city was recently fortified, but the Frankish kingdom was weak and unable to defend itself properly. Taking advantage of this weakness, the Vikings attacked Paris again with a large fleet on November 25, 885.
This time, however, the Franks had learned their lessons and spent the last years improving their defense system in expectation of the next Vikings’ attack. Count Odo, son of Robert the Strong, followed his father’s example and took it upon himself to continue the fortification of Paris. Odo of Francia, who controlled the city, prepared for the attack by erecting two towers to guard each bridge. His own force was small, probably numbering no more than 200 men, but they repulsed each Viking assault on the towers with a burning, sticky mixture of hot wax and pitch. The Viking request for tribute refused, the Vikings besieged the city, attacking the northeast tower with catapults, battering rams, and other war machines. They set alight three ships to burn down the wooden bridge, weakening it enough for it to be swept away by heavy rains in February 886. The tower was eventually captured, but by then the Vikings had moved on to pillage the surrounding countryside. The Parisians took the chance to replenish their supplies and seek help from outside.
Siege of Paris, (November 25, 885–October 886), nearly year-long Viking siege of Paris, at the time the capital of the kingdom of the West Franks, notable as the first occasion on which the Vikings dug themselves in for a long siege rather than conduct a hit-and-run raid or fight a battle. Their failure to capture the city marked a turning point in French history.
During the summer, the Vikings made a final attempt to take the city, but they were soon surrounded by a Frankish army led by Charles the Fat was afraid for the safety of the citizens of Paris and himself, so rather than fight, he paid the Vikings 700 pounds of silver to lift the siege and sent them off to ravage Burgundy, then in revolt against Frankish rule. Raginheri wanted revenge for the deeds of the Frankish king who paid the substantial amount. After the withdraw of Raginheri from the city some villages along the coast were still pillaged, that including the holy Abbey of Saint-Denis, which the king wanted to protect so much. Indignant over the defeat and ransom, Parisians refused to allow the Vikings to pass on the river on their way back, forcing them to drag their boats thousands of feet over land to an area of the river outside of town. After the hated Charles was disposed in 888, and Odo, the “savior of Paris,” became king of the West Franks the following year, the city was spared from any additional Viking raids.
Charles III, byname Charles The Fat, (b 839—d Jan. 13, 888, Neidingen), Frankish king and emperor, whose fall in 887 marked the final disintegration of the empire of Charlemagne. (Although he controlled France briefly, he is usually not reckoned among the kings of France).
The Vikings first demanded tribute from Count Odo the Protector of Paris, who refused. Siegfried then decided to lead his ships up the stream of the Seine. Yet, he had no idea that the Franks had built the two low bridges, one of stone and the other of wood, which made it impossible for the Vikings’ barques to pass the towers and reach the city of Paris. The towers themselves were heavily guarded by men of Count Odo, his brother Robert, and few other Parisian royals.
In late November the same year, the Danes asked for another tribute, which was again denied. In response, they began their attack on the Grand Châtelet on the right bank. The Norsemen used mangonels and catapults to hurl large pieces of stone and javelins, and started to climb the walls but the defenders poured boiling oil and wax on them. At sundown the Vikings ceased their attempts and regrouped, the Parisians used the night and rebuilt their tower. After seeing the renewed tower the next morning, the Danes concentrated on taking down the city gates, again with no success.
Following the coming of the night, the Vikings crossed the river and made a camp on the opposite bank and continued building siege weapons. Next day, they renewed their efforts, throwing something similar to grenades and trying to take down the tower and enter the city. The siege of the Vikings continued for 2 months, during which they made incredible efforts and tactics in order to enter the city and scavenged the lands for provisions.
In February 886, the Vikings made an attempt to take down the wooden bridge by setting it on fire with burning boats, again with no success. However, the bridge’s weakened support got destroyed by the flood and debris after a heavy rain. With the bridge’s tower and its defenders left isolated, it was an easy target. Since the Parisian warriors who were fortified inside refused to give themselves up peacefully, the Danes killed them once the tower was
stormed.
Tired of standing in one place, the Vikings separated into groups, leaving some to continue the siege, while others went on and pillaged the nearby lands. This gave count Odo the opportunity to send for help, and soon the Vikings that were still holding the siege were attacked from the back. Earl Siegfried, knowing his men were weary and weakened asked one more time for a small tribute of around 60 pounds of silver and left the siege in April.
The Vikings sailed back to their land, but again in 911 Rolf returned to the lands of Frankia with the intent to raid and sack. However, Charles the Simple negotiated with Rolf, made him a count and married him to his daughter Gisela and gave him the city of Rouen. He later divorced Gisela and remarried his former wife Poppa. The County of Rouen later , around the 11th century became the Duchy of Normandy and the dynasty of Rolf continued ruling the lands and expanding their territories.