842-845 On either bank of the ample Seine the cul- 840—877 tivated and populous country was dotted with flourishing bourgades and splendid structures: the present remains of the Palais-des-Thermes attest the antient strength of the edifice, then towering in Babylonian altitude. This architectural magnificence was peculiarly manifested by a very lofty vaulted hall, not demolished till the reign of Louis-quinze; and in the other surviving portions the steady Roman arches may yet be seen, contrasting with the florid pinnacles and canopies and flamboyant tracery of the Hotel-deClugny. The terre-plain over the hall was formed into a terraced garden. tural cha the Great ries of Paris. Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, Saint-Germain-des- Architecprès, Sainte-Généviève, and Saint-Victor, all pos- racter of sessed a castellated aspect. We have evidence Monasteof the robustness of these ancient monasteries in the prison of the Abbaye, the only remaining fragment of conventual Saint-Germain-des-près, and which obtained such fatal celebrity during the Revolution. The great tower of the church is attributed to Childebert: the porch, now mutilated, was a monument to the honour of the Merovingian dynasty. Against the slender pillars were the effigies of the kings and queens,-Clovis, venerable, gaunt and grave, according to the sculptor's realization,-holy Clotilda, her longflowing tresses woven and braided with bands of orfray. 840-877 The interior of the building is Carlovingian: the ample Corinthianized capitals are unaltered, 842-845 and if instead of the more recent vaulting we substitute the open roof and tyebeams of a Roman Basilica, and imagine the shrines richly decorated with the jaspers and precious marbles which have long since disappeared, we may obtain a tolerably correct idea of Saint-Germain-des-près when the vessels of Regner Lodbrok sailed up the Seine. Saint-Victor was splendidly adorned, but not a trace or recollection of the structure remains. The walls of Sainte-Généviève shone with gilded mosaics, patterned from Rome or Byzantium. Charles-le- himself at Saint Denis. Saint-Denis had already become the nucleus stations of an important bourgade: the monks had taken the relics out of their depositories, and were preparing to escape. They were however well protected: Charles-le-Chauve had stationed himself with his troops before the Abbey. Expecting the approach of the Northmen, he had done his utmost to concentrate his forces. Opposite to his position an island divided the Seine. His troops were neither numerous nor hearty, yet the Danes dared not attack him. They made their way along the river by the off channel, spread themselves also over the adjoining country, ravaging like furies. A large detachment landed at Charlevanne, near SaintGermain-en-laye, on the spot where Louis-quatorze afterwards built the machine of Marli. 845 Eleven corpses swinging from gibbets planted 840-877 on an eyot, announced to the French the punishment by which any resistance would be visited; and, in all the villages about Paris, the same ghastly spectacle, rigid carcasses suspended to the bare and naked boughs, repeated the warning. The river also gave the like stern monition, the dead-men drifting in the water or stranded on the shores. Fierce as the Northmen generally were, they exceeded their usual ferocity, whether instigated by the inhumanity of Regner Lodbrok and Ironside, or whether the cruelties were aggravated by the Vikingar, not in rage but upon cold-blooded calculation, for the purpose of exciting greater terror. Any how, the result was the same. With such panic were the Franks stricken, that they gave themselves up for lost. Paris island, Paris river, Paris bridges, Paris towers were singularly defensible: the Palais-des-Thermes, the monasteries were as so many castles. Had the inhabitants, for their own sakes, co-operated with Charles-le-Chauve, the retreat of the Danes would have been entirely cut off; but they were palsied in mind and body, neither thought of resistance nor attempted resistance, and abandoned themselves to despair. 28 March, 845. Lodbrok § 11. On Easter Eve the Danes entered Paris. Regner Joyless did the austere season render the vernal and the festival of the Resurrection throughout the Gauls. ter Paris. Danes en 845 840-877 Pâques-fleurie-but spring denied her early garlands; hepatica, primrose, violet and snowdrop were nipped in their clemmed buds, and the altars unadorned by flowers. At Paris they need them not: no tapers are lighted, no mass is read, no anthems sung.-Bishop Erchenrad setting the example, the priests and clerks deserted their churches: the monks fled, bearing with them their shrines: soldiers, citizens and sailors, abandoned their fortresses, dwellings and vessels: the great gate was left open, Paris emptied of her inhabitants, the city a solitude. The Danes hied at once to the untenanted monasteries: all valuable objects had been removed or concealed, but the Northmen employed themselves after their fashion. In the church of Saint-Germain-desDamage près they swarmed up the pillars and galleries, Saint-Ger- and pulled the roof to pieces: the larchen beams being sought as excellent ship-timber. In the city, generally, they did not commit much devastation. They lodged themselves in the empty houses, and plundered all the moveables. Silver and gold were hidden, but baser metals were worth carrying away, and the iron-work of Paris gate added to the freight of the Danish barks and barges without doubt, also, the Danes found ample stores of provision in the city and in the monasteries. done to main-des près. The Danes retire from Paris. The Franks did not make any attempt to attack or dislodge the enemy, but a more efficient power 845 compelled the Danes to retire from the city: 840-877 disease raged among them, dysentery—a complaint frequently noticed, probably occasioned by their inordinate potations of the country-wine. Their own well-brewed strong ale was far healthier. paid by Regner Lodbrok was equally astute and bold, his craft is conspicuous in his legendary story. Had Charles-le-Chauve advanced from Saint-Denis and attacked the Danes, few if any could have escaped. Regner therefore made proposals to the King, promising to evacuate Paris upon receiving a competent subsidy. Charles himself was in great difficulty. His efforts for the defence of his country were disappointed. Troops he had assembled, but the cowards would neither move nor act the king was powerless. In this strait he therefore offered an enormous subsidy, seven Danegeld thousand pounds of silver:-a sum calculated by Charles-lethe Academicians, whose researches guide us in elucidating this perplexed portion of French history, at five hundred and twenty thousand livres. This was the first Danegeld paid by France, an unhappy precedent, and yet unavoidable: the pusillanimity of his subjects compelled Charles to adopt this disgraceful compromise. The money was levied upon the inhabitants of Paris and the adjoining provinces,—right that they should bear the burthen brought upon themselves by their self-desertion. Regner returned joyfully to Denmark: he Chauve. |