Viking Attacks on Paris

by Dass, Nirmal

• ISBN13: 9789042919167
• ISBN10: 9042919167
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-10-30
• Publisher: Peeters Pub & Booksellers

Summary

In 885 AD, the Vikings laid siege to Paris, to which a young monk named Abbo, of the abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Preacute;s, stood as witness. Later, he came to make a record of what he saw, heard and believed in a verse chronicle, the la"Bella parisiacae urbisra". His often stirring account speaks of the relentless and ingenious attacks of the Norsemen, the selfless heroism of the defending Frankish warriors, and the misery and terror of the besieged Parisians. But his canvas is far larger than this single occurrence, for he hints at greater things yet to come, such as the final disintegration of Carolingian rule, the eventual establishment of the Capetian line of monarchs, and the creation of a French Danelaw, namely, Normandy. Ultimately, however, Abbo is not concerned with an impartial narration of events, but rather with salvation through history - of the individual and of the nation of the Franks. The macaronic style of his chronicle very much appealed to the sensibilities of the time, thus ensuring that Abbo's work would endure.

Table of Contents

Editor's Foreword	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
The Monk Abbo	p. 1
The Manuscript	p. 2
The Problem of Book III	p. 2
Date of Composition	p. 3
The Macaronic Structure of the Bella	p. 3
The Historical Context	p. 6
The Theology of the Bella	p. 10
Edition and Translation	p. 13
Annotated Bibliography	p. 15
Primary Sources	p. 15
Translations	p. 15
Critical Approaches to the Bella	p. 16
History of the Period	p. 16
The Vikings	p. 17
Latin Text of the Bella parisiacae urbis	p. 18
Translation of the Bella parisiacae urbis	p. 19
Notes to the Translation	p. 108
General Index	p. 123
Index of Modern Authors	p. 129
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