Siege of Paris

rThe siege of Paris is a major event featured in the eighth, ninth and tenth episode of the season 3 of Vikings. It depicts the confrontation between King Charles the Bold's Frankish forces gainst the Viking troops led by King Ragnar Lothbrok, as he sees Paris as a prized asset for his Viking people. The siege of Paris by the Vikings was a real historical event that took place in 845 and that resulted in King Charles the Bold paying a huge amount of money to see the Vikings off.

Siege of Paris
Date Around 845 Location Paris (France) Result Vikings manage to enter the city and raid it Territorial changes None
Belligerents
Frankish Empire	Viking warriors
Commanders and leaders
Emperor Charles The Bold Count Odo Count Rolland Princess Gisla	Ragnar Lothbrok Rollo Lothbrok Floki Lagertha Earl Siegfried Kalf
Estimated numbers of around 5,000-10,000 on the walls and inside the city	Large Viking fleet: around 150 ships or more Around 5,000-6,000 warriors
Casualties and losses
Moderate to heavy casualties (probably around 400-500 dead) Many injured	Massive casualties ( probably 1,000 dead in the first attack, up to 250 dead in the next attacks, including Earl Siegfried) Many injured (including Bjorn and Ragnar)

The siege of Paris took place, in the series, in around 845. The Viking force led by Ragnar Lothbrok left Kattegat accompanied by other leaders such as Siegfried, a Swedish earl, Kalf, who was newly promoted as Earl of Hedeby, and Earl Ingstad, none other than Lagertha. The Vikings soon arrive in the mouth of river Seine, thanks notably to Sinric, the wanderer. Soon after their arrival, the Vikings set camp and Ragnar organizes a war council that reunites all different leaders. He decides to let Floki in charge of the attack. In Paris, the people gather to pray with their King for their survival and the safety of Paris. The eighth episode begins with the preparations put in order by the Vikings for the attack. We see Rollo preparing and excited with a group of men, one noticeably wearing a lion's fur. The Vikings then set sail towards Paris, leading behind some ships huge siege towers built by Floki to climb the walls of the city. The Vikings at this point probably number around 150 or more ships carrying around 5,000 warriors. As the Vikings inevitably advance into the main walls, Count Odo and Count Roland co-operate to make sure their defences will be able to fight back the Vikings. In the meantime, Lagertha arrives at the main gate leading a warrior party of somewhere around 400 Vikings. The Franks prepare to stand their ground with crossbowmen well defended behind arrowslits. Then, the Vikings bring a battering ram carried by a dozen warriors which goal is to break open the door. Vikings archers are placed to cover the ram's advance. Lagertha's warriors form a shield wall destined to protect them during their slow advance towards the door. Lagertha shouts a signal and Viking archers shot their arrows, while Frankish crossbowen answer with volleys of bolts that seem to slow the pace of the ram. Bolts are raining on the Vikings, resulting in many casualties, while the ships are slowly turning into position for the assault. The ram begins its job, which consequently weakens the door and obliges Count Odo to consolidate the door. As the Vikings start pouring out of the ships, they are met with a rain of bolts. Rollo advances fiercely towards the siege towers with Ragnar, Bjorn and Floki also joining. Lagertha's men are knocking hard on the door, however it doesn't yield. Therefore, the Vikings use Erlendur's tools which are two sharp metallic spikes linked to ropes and pushed by horses in order to break the door. Many men are killed while trying to attach the ropes to the horses. Bjorn orders the warriors to climb again and again while Viking archers answer back to crossbow bolts. We can see however, that the Vikings suffer massive casualties due to the unceasing rain of arrow, one nearly catching Ragnar. Meanwhile, knowing the Franks are suffering while defending the city, Gisla convinces the bishop to bless the Oriflame, the sacred banner of Saint Denis. A soldier informs Count Odo that the Vikings are progressing at an alarming rate on the remparts. A bloody battle rages on the remparts with more and more Vikings climbing the towers. Count Odo arrives at the moment where Frankish soldiers are starting to despair. Gisla arrives and deploys the Oriflame in front of the defenders in order to gain their courage and their determination back. To this sight, the Franks fight back with real power and manage to see the Vikings off the walls. Lagertha's group suffers casualties as the Franks throw huge stones on the ram, but manage to destroy the door. At their surprise, no Frankish soldiers awaits them behind it. Rollo kills a man who was hesitating on whether or not to climb the tower. Floki sees dozens of dead bodies stacked with bolts, while a huge cauldron of boiled oil drops on the tower and the Vikings. A Frankish archer looses his flamed arrow which results in the towers catching fire. Lagertha's men start running fiercely inside the bridge up to the city, but she is stopped by Kalf who senses the trap. Indeed, the door opens, and the Vikings are met with a volley of a balista and crossbow bolts that inflict massive losses. The remaining survivors run down the safety of the outside door, chased by dozens of arrows, but the losses are very great. Rollo starts climbing the ladder, slaying Frankish soldiers at the top but being fought back and pushed in the river below. Bjorn too climbs, followed by Ragnar. The two start bundling their way onto the remparts, but Ragnar too is pushed back and suffers a terrible fall from the remparts. He catches a glimpse of Bjorn's body, pierced with two arrows in his back. Floki is caught in a fanatic dream inside the burning tower. The siege towers have practically all caught fire and the remaining Vikings ships start leaving in disorder.