When within half a mile of the Danish camp Edmund and Egbert left the
band and advanced alone. They were pretty confident that they should
find but few of the Danes near the bank of the river, for the arrows
from the walls of Paris carried some distance beyond it, and the
Northmen consequently encamped some hundred yards away. They had to
pick their way carefully, for the ships were moored along the bank,
their ropes being fastened to great stakes driven into the ground.
There were lights on board the vessels, many of the crews remaining on
board. They made their way along until they reached the spot they aimed
at. Here lay the three sets of vessels, each six deep; their masts had
been removed, and the great towers rose high into the darkness above
the platforms extending over their decks.
The planks forming the gangways up which the towers had been moved had
been taken away, save one which gave access to each tier, and Edmund
doubted not that it was intended that they should the next morning move
across the river in tow of the numerous row-boats. The two Saxons did
not attempt to go on board, as they had now found out all they wanted,
and might mar all by disturbing some sleeper upon the platform. They
accordingly returned to the spot where the band were awaiting them.
"I propose, Egbert," Edmund said, "that as we go along we cut the
mooring-ropes of all the vessels. We must do it quietly so as not to
excite any alarm, and they will know nothing of it until they find
themselves drifting down the river in a mass. Then there will be great
jostling and carrying away of bowsprits and bulwarks, and the confusion
and shouting which will arise will tend to confuse the Danes and to
distract their attention from us."
Egbert agreed to the proposal, and as soon as they reached the first
ships the Saxons began their work, sawing with their knives and daggers
through the ropes. The vessels lay four or five deep and there were
many cables to cut, but the keen knives of the Saxons made short work
of these. Before beginning their work they had spread along the bank,
leaving only two men abreast of each ship, so that in the course of two
or three minutes the cables for the length of forty ships were severed,
and these and their consorts beyond them began to drift out into the
stream.
The Saxons ran quickly on ahead and repeated the work until the whole
of the vessels below those forming the platform for the towers were
adrift in the stream; but by this time those in the ships at the lower
end of the tiers had taken the alarm, and shouts of wonder and anger
rose on the air. The nine Saxons told off for the purpose leaped into
three small boats and rowed out into the stream, while the rest of the
band, divided into three parties, dashed across the planks on to the
platforms. The Danes here had already been alarmed by the uproar from
the vessels adrift, and although unable to see what was passing judged
that something was wrong, and had called to their comrades sleeping in
the holds to come up.
Some of these bearing torches came up on deck just as the Saxons,
pouring across the planks which connected the ships with the shore,
fell upon them. Taken utterly by surprise, the Danes could offer no
effective resistance. The Saxons, charging with levelled spears, drove
those above headlong into the water; then, having made themselves
masters of the platforms, they dashed below and despatched the Danes
they found there. The torches were now applied to the contents of the
holds. These were for the most part crammed with the booty which the
Norsemen had gained at Havre, Rouen, and other places, and the flames
speedily shot up. By this time the Danes in the camp, alarmed by the
shouting from the drifting ships and the sounds of conflict from the
towers, came flocking down in haste. The planks had already been thrown
overboard. The Danes strove by pulling at the ropes to haul the vessels
nearer to land. Some ran towards their ships, others jumped into boats,
and pushing out to the platforms strove to get on board them; but by
this time the flames were rising high through the hatchways. According
to previous agreement Edmund and the leaders of the other two parties,
seeing that the flames had now firm hold, cut the ropes which fastened
them to the bank, and as soon as the stream began to swing them out
leaped into the boats and rowed for the opposite shore.
The uproar was now tremendous; and shouts of rage rose from the
Northmen, who were amazed and puzzled by the appearance of the Saxons,
whose attire differed but slightly from their own; and the general
belief among them was that this sudden alarm was the result of
treachery among themselves. There was no time to waste in conjecture;
the three groups of ships were now masses of flame, in the midst of
which the lofty towers rose high. The shouts of the sailors in the
vessels crowded together in helpless confusion in the stream below rose
higher and higher as the blazing vessels drifted down and threatened to
overtake them.
Some tried to hoist their sails; others got out long oars and strove to
sweep their vessels towards the shore, but they were huddled too
closely in the stream; the yards and rigging of many having become
interlocked with each other. The Northmen leaped into the rowing boats
by the bank above where the tower-ships had been moored, and rowing
down endeavoured to tow them to the bank; but they were now in a blaze
from end to end, the heat was so great that it was difficult to
approach them, and all endeavours to fasten ropes to them were
frustrated, as these were instantly consumed. The Northmen, finding
their efforts unavailing, then turned their attention to trying to tow
the ships below to the banks.
In some cases they were successful. A few of the vessels also at the
lower end of the mass succeeded in getting up their sails and drawing
out from their fellows, for the wind was blowing down stream. This,
however, proved the destruction of the rest of the ships, for the great
towers rising amid the lofty pillars of flames acted as sails and bore
the fire-ships down upon the helpless crowd of vessels.
Soon they reached those nearest to them, and the flames, borne forward
by the wind, sprang from vessel to vessel. There was no longer any hope
of saving a single ship; and the crews, climbing hastily across from
one to the other till they reached those nearest to the shore, leaped
overboard. Although now more than half a mile below the city the flames
lit up the walls with a bright glare, and the shouts of the exulting
Franks rose loud and continuous.
The sudden shouting which had broken out among the Danes had alarmed
the watchmen, who, ignorant of the cause, called the citizens to arms,
and these on reaching the walls had stood astonished at the spectacle.
The flames were already rising from the three groups of ships which
they had regarded with so much anxiety on the previous evening, and by
the light they could see the river below covered with a mass of
drifting vessels. Then they saw the tower-ships float away from the
bank, and the figures on their decks leap into three small boats, which
at once rowed with all speed across the river.
That they were friends who had wrought this destruction was certain,
and Count Eudes threw open the gate, and with the Abbe Ebble ran down
to meet them. They were astonished when Edmund with his Saxons leaped
to land.
"What miracle is this?" the count exclaimed.
"A simple matter, Sir Count," Edmund answered. "My kinsman and I,
seeing that the townspeople were troubled by yonder towers, determined
to destroy them. We have succeeded in doing so, and with them I trust
fully half of the Danish fleet will perish."
"You are the saviour of our town, my brave young Saxon," Count Eudes
cried, embracing him. "If Paris is saved it will be thanks to the
valiant deed that you have accomplished this night. But let us to the
walls again, where we may the better see whether the Danes can remove
their ships from those great furnaces which are bearing down upon them."
The sight from the walls, when the fire-ships reached the fleet and the
flames spread, was grand in the extreme, for in half an hour nigh three
hundred vessels were in flames. For some time the three towers rose
like pillars of fire above the burning mass; then one by one they fell
with a crash, which could be plainly heard, although they were now near
a mile away.
Paris was wild with joy at the destruction of the towers which had
menaced it, and the conflagration of nigh half the Danish fleet, laden
with the spoil of northern France. Edmund and his Saxons were conducted
in triumph by a shouting crowd to the palace of the archbishop, where
Goslin, in the name of the city, returned them the heartiest thanks for
the services which they had rendered. The wealthy citizens vied with
each other in bestowing costly presents upon them, bonfires were
lighted in the streets, and till morning the town gave itself up to
revelry and rejoicing.
A month elapsed before the Danes recovered from the blow which had been
dealt them and resumed the assault. Part of this time had been spent in
manufacturing great shields of bull's hide. These were strongly
constructed, and were each capable of covering six men. On the 29th of
January their preparations were complete, and at daybreak the warders
on the wall saw them pouring down into their ships and galleys. As the
fleet crossed the river its aspect was singular. The decks were covered
by the black shields, above which appeared a forest of spears,
sparkling in the morning sunlight. As they reached the shore the
Northmen sprang to land, while from the decks of the vessels a storm of
missiles flew towards the walls. Vast numbers of catapults, which they
had manufactured since their last attack, hurled masses of stone, heavy
javelins, and leaden bullets, while thousands of arrows darkened the
air.
The bells of the church sounded the alarm, which called every citizen
capable of bearing arms to the walls. The archbishop took his place at
the spot most threatened by the enemy, with his nephew, the valiant
abbe, by his side. The Counts Eudes, Robert, Ragenaire, Utton, and
Herilang stood foremost among the defenders.
The Saxons, as before, were held in reserve, but to Edmund and Egbert
had been assigned, at their urgent request, the command of the defence
of the tower. It was against this point that the Danes again made their
most desperate effort. Their main body advanced against it, and smaller
parties attacked the city at other points, while the rowing galleys,
divided into two bodies, strove to destroy the bridge, and so isolate
the defenders of the post.
Around the tower the combat was desperate. The assailants were
well-nigh hidden under their great bucklers. Their shouts, and the
constant clashing of arms which they maintained, made a terrific
uproar; a storm of missiles from the fleet poured upon the tower, while
from the crevices between the shields the bowmen shot incessantly at
the defenders. The very number of the Danes hindered their attack, for
the tower was so small that comparatively few could approach at once.
It had been greatly strengthened since the last assault, and through
the loopholes in the walls the archers did their best to answer the
storm of missiles poured into the fort. Edmund and Egbert went among
them, begging them not to fire at random, but to choose moments when
the movements of the assailants opened a space in the roof of shields
which covered them.
Whenever this took place a dozen arrows fell true to the mark. Some of
those bearing the shield would be struck, and these falling, a gap
would be caused through which the arrows of the defenders flew thickly,
causing death and confusion until the shield could be raised in its
place again. Boiling liquids were poured over those who approached the
walls, and huge stones crushed the shields and their bearers.
Eudes and his men valiantly defended the wall, and the Danes in vain
strove to scale it. All day long the battle continued, but at nightfall
the tower still remained in the hands of the defenders, the deep ditch
which they had dug round it having prevented the Danes from working at
the wall, as they had done in the previous assault.
When darkness came on the Danes did not retire, but lay down in the
positions they occupied, under their shields. In the morning many ships
were seen crossing the river again, and the defenders saw to their
surprise numbers of captives who had been collected from the
surrounding country, troops of oxen, ship-loads of branches of trees,
trusses of hay and corn, and faggots of vines landed. Their surprise
became horror when they saw the captives and the cattle alike
slaughtered as they landed. Their bodies were brought forward under
cover of the shields and thrown into the moat, in which, too, were cast
the hay, straw, faggots, and trees.
At the sight of the massacre the archbishop prayed to the Virgin to
give him strength, and drawing a bow to its full strength, let fly an
arrow, which, great as was the distance, flew true to its mark and
struck the executioner full in the face. This apparent miracle of the
Virgin in their favour re-animated the spirit of the defenders; and a
solemn service was instantly held in the church in her honour, and
prayers were offered to her to save Lutece, which was the original name
of Paris, and was still cherished by its inhabitants.
The Danes were occupied all day at their work of filling up the moat.
The besieged were not idle, but laboured at the construction of several
mangonels capable of casting huge blocks of stone. In the morning the
Danes planted their battering-rams, one on each side of the tower, and
recommenced the assault. The new machines of the defenders did great
havoc in their ranks, their heavy stones crashing through the roof of
bucklers and crushing those who held them, and for a time the Norsemen
desisted from the attack.
They now filled three of their largest vessels with combustibles, and
placing them on the windward side of the bridge, set them alight. The
people of Paris beheld with afright these fire-ships bearing down upon
the bridge, and old and young burst into tears and cries at the view of
the approaching destruction, and, led by the archbishop, all joined in
a prayer to St. Germain, the patron saint of Paris, to protect the
city. The exulting Danes replied to the cries of those on the walls
with triumphant shouts. Thanks, as the Franks believed, to the
interposition of St. Germain, the fireships struck against the pile of
stones from which the beams supporting the bridge in the centre were
raised. Eudes and his companions leaped down from the bridge and with
hatchets hewed holes in the sides of the ships at the water-line, and
they sank without having effected any damage to the bridge.
It was now the turn of the Franks to raise triumphant shouts, while the
Danes, disheartened, fell back from the attack, and at night recrossed
the river, leaving two of their battering-rams as tokens of the triumph
of the besieged. Paris had now a respite while the Danes again spread
over the surrounding country, many of them ascending the river in their
ships and wasting the country as far as Burgundy.
The monastery of St. Germain and the church in which the body of the
saint was buried still remained untouched. The bands of Northmen who
had invaded England had never hesitated to plunder and destroy the
churches and shrines of the Christians, but hitherto some thought of
superstition had kept the followers of Siegfroi from assailing the
monastery of St. Germain.
One soldier, bolder than the rest, now approached the church and with
his spear broke some of the windows. The Abbe D'Abbon, an eye-witness
and minute historian of the siege of Paris, states that the impious
Dane was at once struck dead. The same fate befell one of his comrades,
who mounted to the platform at the top of the church and in descending
fell off and was killed. A third who entered the church and looked
round lost his sight for ever. A fourth entering it fell dead; and a
fifth, who, more bold than all, tried to break into the tomb of the
saint, was killed by a stone which fell upon him.
One night after a continuance of heavy rain the Seine, being greatly
swollen, swept away the centre of the bridge connecting the tower with
the town. At daybreak the Northmen, seeing what had taken place,
hastened across the river and attacked the tower. The garrison was but
a small one, no more than twenty men having slept there. For a time
these repulsed every effort of the Danes, but gradually their numbers
were lessened until at last fourteen only remained. Their names have
come down to us. Besides Edmund and Egbert there were Hermanfroi,
Herivee, Herilard, Odoacre, Herric, Arnold, Sohie, Gerbert, Elvidon,
Havderad, Ermard, and Gossuin. These resisted so valiantly that the
Danes, after losing large numbers in the vain attempt to storm the
walls, brought up a wagonful of grain; this they rolled forward to the
gate of the tower and set it on fire.
The flames rapidly spread from the gates to the walls, which were all
of wood, and soon the whole were a sheet of flames. The little band of
defenders retreated on to the end of the bridge, and there, when the
flames had sufficiently abated to allow them to pass, the Northmen
attacked them. Edmund and Egbert were both good swimmers, but this was
an accomplishment which but few of the Franks possessed, and none of
the remnant of the garrison were able to swim. For a long time the
little band repulsed all the efforts of the Danes, but were gradually
driven back foot by foot until they reached the edge of the chasm. Here
they made a last desperate stand, but were at length cut down or driven
over by sheer weight of numbers. Egbert and Edmund had disencumbered
themselves of all their defensive armour, and at the last moment,
throwing off their helmets and relinquishing their spears, they plunged
into the stream, diving deeply to avoid the arrows of the Northmen.
The fact of the river being in flood, which had caused the destruction
of the tower, now proved the cause of their safety. Had the water been
clear, the Danes on the bridge above could have marked their progress
and poured a storm of arrows upon them as they came to the surface; but
its yellow and turbid waters concealed them from sight, and each time
they rose to the surface for air they were enabled to take a rapid
breath and dive again before their enemies could direct and launch
their arrows at them.
As they drifted far down the stream, they reached the land beyond
bowshot of the Danes, and they soon entered the town amid the loud
acclamations of the citizens. The Danes now for the most part drew off
from the neighbourhood, and the Abbe Ebble led out a sortie, which
reached the Danish camp, and driving back those whom they found within
it, set it on fire and effected their retreat to Paris without loss, in
spite of the efforts of the enemy, who rapidly assembled at the sight
of the flames.
The Danes had brought in from the surrounding country such vast
quantities of cattle, sheep, and goats, that their camps would not
suffice to hold them, and they turned the church of St. Germain into a
stable and crowded it with these animals. The saint, as the Abbe
D'Abbon relates, indignant at this desecration, sent a terrible plague
among the cattle, and when the Danes in the morning entered the church
it contained nothing but carcasses in the last state of decomposition.
The valiant defence of Paris had given time for the rest of France to
arm, and the Danes scattered over the country now met with a stout
resistance. The Northmen were defeated in their efforts to capture Le
Mans, Chartres, and other towns, and were defeated in several battles
near Chartres by Godefroi and Odon.
In March Henri advanced with a strong force to the relief of Paris, and
arriving at night attacked the camp of the Danes, slew great numbers,
and captured a vast booty; and then, having supplied Paris with a
considerable amount of provisions, retired with his band before the
Danes had time to assemble in sufficient strength to oppose him.
Shortly afterwards the Danes expressed the desire of Siegfroi to hold
parley with the Count Eudes. Siegfroi and a number of his warriors
landed, and Eudes left the city and advanced to meet them. No sooner
had he reached them than he was attacked by the Northmen, but drawing
his sword he defended himself with immense bravery until the garrison
ran down to his succour, and the Danes were driven back to their ship
with loss of nearly half of their party.
The Danes now left the church of St. Germain L'Auxerrois and surrounded
the monastery of St. Germain des Pres, but the monks there paid him
sixty pounds of pure silver to leave them in peace. Siegfroi now wished
to abandon the siege which had already cost him so dear, but the
Northmen, furious at their losses, determined upon another assault.
"Very well," the king said; "have your way then. Attack Paris on all
sides, hew down its towers, and make breaches in its walls; for once I
will remain a spectator."
The Danes crossed the river and landed on the island, but owing to the
absence of large numbers on other expeditions, and the heavy losses
which they had suffered, their numbers were no longer so overwhelming,
and Count Eudes led out his forces to oppose them outside the walls.
This time Edmund headed his band of Saxons, who until now had only
taken part as archers in the defence.
The combat was a furious one. In spite of the valour of Eudes and Ebble
the Danes pressed hard upon the Franks, and were driving them back
towards the gates when Edmund led his Saxons, in the close phalanx in
which they had so often met the Danes in the field, to the front. With
irresistible force the wedge burst its way through the ranks of the
Danes, bearing all before it with its wedge of spears. Into the gap
thus formed Eudes and Ebble with their bravest men threw themselves,
and the Danes, severed in two, were driven back towards their ships.
But for some hours the rain had been falling heavily and the river was
rapidly rising and had already overflowed a portion of the island. Thus
the Danes had great difficulty in getting on board their ships again,
and great numbers were killed in doing so.
There was no longer any resistance to Siegfroi's wishes. A parley was
held with the city, and a further sum being added to that contributed
by the monks of St. Germain des Pres the Danes drew off from the town.
At this time the long confinement of so many men within the walls had
caused a pestilence to break out in Paris. The Archbishop Goslin, the
Bishop Everard of Sens, the Prince Hugues, and many others died. The
16th of April was the day on which the Parisians were accustomed to go
in solemn procession to the church of St. Germain. The Northmen,
knowing this, in mockery filled a wagon with grain and organized a mock
procession. The bullocks who drew the chariot suddenly became lame;
numbers of other bullocks were attached, but although goaded by spears
their united efforts were unable to drag the wagon an inch, and the
Danes were obliged at last to abandon their intention.
The same day St. Germain is reported to have further shown his power.
One of the Northmen, condemned for some offence to be executed, fled to
the church for refuge, and was there slain by his countrymen; but all
who took part in the deed at once fell dead. The Northmen, struck by
these miracles, placed a certain number as guard over the church to
prevent any from touching aught that it contained. One of these men, a
Dane of great stature, spread his bed in the church and slept there;
but to the astonishment of his comrades he was found in the morning to
have shrunk to the size of a new-born infant, at which stature he
remained for the rest of his life.
A miracle of an opposite kind was at the same time performed in the
town. A valiant warrior had from the effects of fever fallen into an
extreme weakness, and was devoured with grief at the thought that he
should no longer be able to take share in the defence of the town. To
him St. Germain appeared at night and told him that his prayers had
been heard, and that his strength should be restored to him. On
awakening in the morning he found that he was as vigorous and as robust
as ever.
Another day when the soldiers were carrying the banner of the saint
round the walls of the town, followed by the citizens chanting hymns,
one of the bearers of the holy relics, named Gozbert, was struck by a
stone from a catapult. The man who had fired it fell dead, while
Gozbert continued his promenade in no way injured by the blow. The Abbe
D'Abbon vouches for these miracles on the part of St. Germain in
defence of his faithful city.