540 



Charles had intended to go against them ; but foreseeing that there was no 

 hope of his men gaining the advantage, he let them alone ; and, by a gift of 

 seven thousand livres, prevented their advance, and persuaded them to 

 return. . . . 



" The Danes, who the year before had laid waste Aquitaine, quietly 

 established themselves therein. . . ." 



846. " Eurich, king of the Northmen, advanced against Louis in Germany, 

 with six hundred vessels, along the river Elbe The Saxons went to meet 

 them, engaged them in battle, and by the aid of our Lord Jesus Christ, gained 

 the victory ; in their retreat the Northmen attacked and captured a city of the 

 Esclavons. . . . 



" The Northmen again descended the Seine, and, returning to the sea, 

 pillaged, devastated, and burned all the districts of the shore. . . . When they 

 had plundered and burned a monastery named St. Bertin, and were returning 

 to their ships laden with spoils, they were so smitten by Divine justice, or 

 blinded by darkness and madness, that only a small number escaped to 

 announce to the others the ways of Almighty God." 



846. "The Danish pirates come into Frisia and levy at will contributions, 

 and, victorious in battles, remain masters of almost all the province. . . ." 



847. "The Danes come into the lower parts of Gaul inhabited by the 

 Bretons, and gain a victory over them in three battles. Nomenoe, van- 

 quished, flees with his men, and then, by presents sent, leads them to leave 

 his country. . . ." 



859. "The Danish pirates having made a long circuit by sea, for they had 

 sailed between Spain and Africa, enter the Rhone, plunder many cities and 

 monasteries, and establish themselves in the island called Camargue." 



860. " Those of these Danes who had established themselves on the Rhone 

 came, ravaging on their way to the city of Valentia ; then, having plundered 

 all the neighbouring regions, returned to the island where they had taken up 

 their abode." 



"The Danes on the Rhone go towards Italy, take and plunder Pisa and 

 other cities. . , ." 



We might give many more extracts from the Annals of St. Bertin 

 and the Annals of Metz ; but the above will suffice to show that 

 in the latter part of the 9th century these Northmen were carrying 

 their incursions, with hundreds of ships and thousands of men, 

 all over Europe, ascending its great rivers, ravaging its coasts, 

 marching through and then settling in its countries, and levying 

 tribute from the people. 



In the Narrative of Abbon, we have a striking "and graphic 

 description, by an eye-witness, of one of the Sieges of Paris by the 

 Northmen, which lasted from November 885 to May 887. The 

 special value of the narrative to us lies in the minute description 

 which it contains of the methods adopted by the Vikings in 

 attacking a town or fortress. Abbon begins by describing the 

 arrival of the fleet of the Northmen in the river= 



