Viking raids in the Rhineland

From the Rhineland, which can be regarded as the nucleus of Frankish culture, the Franks had previously conquered almost the whole of Central Europe and established a great empire.

Because the modern state of Rhineland-Palatinate lies south of the Moselle, the low mountain range of the Eifel north of the river is usually seen as belonging to the Rhineland.

Of particular note are the city of Aachen, where Charlemagne had his imperial palace built, and also the Benedictine abbey in Prüm – the latter mainly because of its scriptorium and associated library.

The old Roman cities of Trier, Cologne, Xanten and Bonn were also located in the Rhineland and were used by the Franks as centres of trading and episcopal seats.

To ward off the attacks, Charlemagne set up a march on the northern border of his empire, the name of today's state of Denmark being derived from it.

In the evening, after their wounds had healed, the army of the dead moved into Odin's hall together, where there was always a filled drinking horn and a good meal.

During this time, the Vikings attacked the Frankish Empire sailing their ships up the big rivers from the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

In the 860s, they changed tactics and established permanent bases in Francia, from where they coordinated their raids, and sometimes overwintered in their fortified army camps.

Since the Vikings could only be driven out of the occupied territories at great cost, attempts were occasionally made to involve their leaders in the Empire by means of rich gifts and the granting of fiefdoms.

In 863, the Normans conquered Utrecht and Nijmegen and established permanent winter camps in both towns; Dorestad was razed during the campaign.

These boats floated down the river with the current or were hauled upriver as barges pulled by horses or oxen, a technique known as treideln.

Since Vikings had also settled in Ireland, England and Russia at the same time, trade goods expanded to include products from and beyond the more distant regions.

The defeated Vikings then set off for continental Europe and transferred their theatre of war to the coastal region of the English Channel, Northern France and Flanders.

On 3 August 881, the West Francian king Louis III with his army also won victory over the Normans at Saucourt-en-Vimeu in central France.

Thus, in the absence of Charles III, the population of the Rhine was almost defenceless and at the mercy of the Vikings' attack, and fleeing was the best course of action to save lives and goods.

On their return journey, the same group again demanded payment of a sum of money, which the destitute citizens of Cologne could not afford, whereupon the city was burned to the ground.

[3] When they had stormed the imperial city, the conquerors, presumably with calculated, strategic intent, desecrated St. Mary's Church (now the cathedral), the tomb of Charlemagne and the royal stables.

[3] On 6 January 882, Three Kings' Day, a detachment of Vikings which, according to historical reports, was about 300 strong, attacked the largest Frankish abbey, Prüm in the Eifel mountains.

The abbey had extensive estates; more than a hundred churches were under its administration; its lands extended far into the present-day Netherlands, and the forests along the Moselle also belonged to the monastery.

[14] Among the monastery's greatest treasures was one of the most precious relics of Western Christianity, the Sandals of Christ, which were carried to safety before the Viking onslaught.

In the course of February and March 882 they attacked as far as Koblenz, pillaging and murdering, but the city was able to resist them thanks to strong fortifications dating back to Roman times.

The imperial monastery of St. Maximin and the abbeys of St. Martin [de] and St. Symphorian, north of the ancient city wall, were destroyed; the latter never being rebuilt.

Regino of Prüm records numerous victims among the population, but Archbishop Bertulf of Trier managed to escape to Metz with a few of his followers.

However, their violent resistance and resultant Viking casualties caused the invaders to turn back, and they retreated north through the Eifel towards their army encampment.

[17][18] After his return from Italy, Emperor Charles III held an Imperial Diet at Worms in May 882, and raised a large army, in which Franks, Bavarians, Swabians, Thuringians, Saxons, Frisians and Lombards participated.

[19] Another contemporary source, however, refers to Haslon as the place of negotiation, which is often equated with Elsloo an der Maas (Regino of Prüm, Chronica, 882, specifically mentioned in the entry for the year 881).

[3] As early as summer 882, Godfrid returned to the Rhineland with an army reinforced from his homeland for a second raid and devastated Cologne, Bonn and Andernach.

[24] In 884, a body of troops led by Henry, Margrave of the Franks of Babenberg succeeded in recapturing Duisburg, and the Vikings withdrew from the rest of the Lower Rhine region in return for more payments.