Charles Redirected Vikings Toward Burgundy

Viking forces besieged Paris from November 885 until October 886, but Count Odo and the city's defenders prevented them from capturing it. Emperor Charles the Fat eventually arrived with an army but stopped short of attacking the invaders. Instead, he allowed them to sail farther up the Seine and plunder rebellious Burgundy while promising them 700 livres, approximately 257 kilograms, of silver. Charles paid the silver after the Vikings withdrew the following spring, infuriating the Parisians who had spent months defending their city.

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