Atlas of Battles

siege, major, medieval

Siege of Paris

Siege of Paris was a siege conducted on 25 November AD 885 at Paris, in what is now France; it ran into the following year. It was part of viking expansion. The recorded result: Frankish victory.

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Siege of Paris
Jean Victor Schnetz, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought25 November AD 885ran into the following year
WhereParis, France48.854N, 2.347E
OutcomeFrankish victory
BelligerentsVikingsagainstFrankish Empire
Part ofviking expansion

Where it sits in viking expansion

Battle of Messac, AD 843Siege of Paris, AD 845Battle of Remich, AD 882Battle of Norditi, AD 884Siege of Paris, AD 885Battle of the Geul River, AD 891Viking raids in the Mediterranean, AD 900Siege of Chartres, AD 911AD 843AD 911Siege of Paris, AD 885
8 placed engagements of viking expansion in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date25 November AD 885
to September AD 886
PlaceParis, France
48.854N, 2.347E
KindSiege, medieval
StrengthInitially 300–700 ships, 30,000–40,000 men (high-end, Abbo Cernuus); a majority sailed further upriver in February; Sigfred's contingent left in AprilInitially 200 men-at-arms (Abbo Cernuus); gained reinforcements during the summer; Charles the Fat arrived with his army in October
Commanders
  • Rollo
  • Odo of France
  • Joscelin (Bishop of Paris)
  • Henry of Franconia
  • Charles the Fat
Siege of ParisSiege of ParisSiege of ParisBattle of ParisSiege of ParisSiege of ParisSiege of ParisLe HavreRouenOrléansReimsLe MansAmiensVersaillesTroyes100 km48.854N, 2.347E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Siege of Paris
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Paris today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-08-05. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 42 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 6 to 137 m, 131 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 88% built-up, 9% tree cover, 2% water.

built-up: 88%tree cover: 9%water: 2%built-up 88%tree cover 9%water 2%
west to east, 10.0 km26 to 73 mnorth to south, 10.0 km26 to 88 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 27 times between 52 BC and 1944.

In the same war

Siege of Paris is one of 193 engagements of the 9th century in the atlas and one of 1,495 in present-day France.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q815192, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Paris (885–886), revision 1370744326, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.