Vikings' Hostage Crisis Reshapes Europe

120 Viking longships appeared on the River Seine. This wasn’t just a raid—it was the

biggest hostage situation in history. Paris had no real army—just monks praying the walls

would hold. So the Vikings parked, lit campfires, and sold stolen gold to passing

merchants—right outside the city gates. For a year they choked trade,

starved markets, and slapped tolls on every boat. Emperor Charles the Bald paid 7,000

pounds of silver—enough to build 30 cathedrals—just to make them leave. But the fleet didn’t sail home; they

sailed richer, stronger, and laughing. That ransom financed fleets that hit

London, Seville, even the Mediterranean. One payday rewired Europe’s map.