In AD 885, thousands of Viking warriors sailed up the Seine in search of toot and glory, and the subsequent siege would be a turning point for both Paris and France. Though Paris was defended by just 200 men, the garrison was inspired by the courage of Odo, Count of Paris, and Gauzlin, the city's fighting bishop. Paris refused to submit. After their first attack was repulsed, the Vikings besieged the city, hammering at Paris' defences with fireships and battering rams white they pillaged the surrounding countryside. Ravaged by disease, the Parisians held out for a year on the Île de La Cité until a relief force arrived under Carolingian emperor Charles the Fat. However, the emperor then allowed the Vikings to rampage deeper inland, to the outrage of the people of the Île de France. Eventually, Count Odo was crowned the first king of the Western Franks, and after AD 889, Viking longships never menaced Paris again. Superbly illustrated, this book explains the background to the siege, how the year-long battle unfolded, and how it ushered in the end of the Carolingian Empire and the birth of modern France. Book jacket.