The king made the fateful decision to grant Rollo swathes of land, in exchange for his promise to cease any more incursions and help protect the nation from other Viking raids. After all, Rollo and his men had by this time already begun to assimilate with the local culture. According to historical accounts, it was after this confrontation that Charles the Simple, ruler of West Francia, decided it was time to make an accommodation with the bolshy Viking. Continuing his campaign of plunder, he and his forces were involved in another siege, in the region of Chartres, in 911. Rollo’s personal destiny still lay along the Seine, however. Rollo and his Viking army attacked the bridges and fortifications of Paris with catapults, battering rams and other siege engines, but the locals stood firm and the messy, violent stalemate would carry on for months before the Vikings were forced to give up. The sight of hundreds of Viking ships sailing towards their city must have been terrifying for the Parisians, but they fought back with shocking gusto, pouring hot oil and wax on the invaders. In real life, Rollo had not yet been born at the time of the 845 raid, but he was very present for the 885 attack. The great Paris skirmishes we see in the TV series condense these two separate campaigns for dramatic purposes. Decades before, in 845, the legendary Viking hero Ragnar had led a devastating invasion of the territory, plundering Paris and making off with a heap of loot. This was far from the first raid on the city. His early years are particularly hazy in the historic record, but we know the real Rollo was a key fighter in a titanic Viking assault on Paris in 885 AD.
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