Alfred captures the site of Roman Londinium…

The Slavic clergy in Moravia had had the upper hand during Methodius' lifetime, but after his death in 885, Wiching, the Frankish bishop of Nitra, bans Methodius' disciples from Moravia, and most of them move to Bulgaria.

Pope Stephen V reverses his predecessor's policy and forbids the Slavic liturgy.

Boris I is quite active in inculcating the Christian faith among the Bulgarian people, in organizing the Bulgarian church as an independent institution, and in building churches throughout the country.

In 886, he gives asylum to Clement, Nahum, and Angelarius, the disciples of Cyril and Methodius, missionaries to the Slavs, who had been driven out of Moravia by the Frankish clerics.

The Glagolitic alphabet, devised by Cyril and Methodius, is adopted in the Bulgarian Empire.

Boris establishes the Preslav and Ohrid Literary Schools.

Basil, now in his fifties, seems to suffer fits of derangement toward the end of his life.

He is cruelly biased against his son, Leo, by his second wife, Eudocia Ingerina, his son Constantine by his first wife having died at the age of twenty in 879.

(As Eudocia had been the mistress of Michael III before marrying Basil, Leo may actually have been sired by the murdered emperor.

In 883, Leo had been accused of treason, imprisoned, and come close to being blinded.

The people had rioted over Leo's imprisonment, and after three years Basil releases him.

The emperor had ordered a recodification of imperial law similar to that of Justinian I, but only two abridged versions see completion before his death on August 29, 886, three days after Leo’s release.

Basil had received a mortal wound on the hunting field, rumored to have been inflicted by friends of Leo, who succeeds the the throne as Leo VI, continuing the so-called Macedonian dynasty inaugurated by his father.

Leo forces Photios to retire before the year is out, and names his brother Stephen as Patriarch.

The Bagratid Princes of Armenia are known as early as the first century BCE, when they served under the Artaxiad Dynasty.

Unlike most noble families on Armenia they hold only strips of land, as opposed to the Mamikonians, who hold a unified land territory.

Ashot I, the first Bagratid king, the founder of the royal dynasty, had been recognized as prince of princes by the court at Baghdad in 861, which provoked war with local Arab emirs.

Ashot had won the war, and had gained recognized as King of the Armenians by Baghdad in 885.

Recognition from Constantinople follows in 886.

Rafi ibn Harthama had originally served the Tahirid dynasty, which controlled Khurasan as virtual viceroys in the name of the Abbasid Caliphate.

Tahirid (and implicitly also Abbasid) control of Khurasan had been challenged in the 860s by the revolt of Ya'qub al-Saffar, who, beginning from his home province of Sistan, had defeated the Tahirid armies and by 873 had seized the provincial capital, Nishapur.

The failure of Ya'qub to seize Baghdad in 876, however, and his death soon after had weakened the Saffarid regime that his brother Amr ibn al-Layth had inherited.

With the Saffarids engaged elsewhere, and their takeover of the former Tahirid domains condemned as illegal by the Abbasid government, Nishapur had been seized in 875 by an anti-Saffarid faction under Ahmad ibn Abdallah al-Khujistani, a former Tahirid soldier.

After his murder in 882, Rafi, who had risen to be his commander-in-chief, had been acclaimed by al-Khujistani's army as his successor.

Rafi had faced the opposition of the Saffarids under Amr, who had made his peace with the caliph in 879 and been recognized as governor of Khurasan and most of Iran, as well as the adventurer Abu Talha Mansur ibn Sharkab, who had briefly seized Nishapur in 876–878 and was now ruler of Merv.

Defeated, Abu Talha soon sought Samanid and Saffarid aid, and in 885 he had been appointed as the Saffarid deputy for Khurasan, while Amr turns again west to confront the attempts of the Abbasid regent, al-Muwaffaq, to recover Fars.

Rafi's fortunes change at this point, as al-Muwaffaq strips the Saffarids of their governorships, and confers Khurasan on Rafi.

Rafi is now able to secure an alliance with the Samanids of Transoxiana and neutralize Abu Talha, seizing Merv and Herat.

He raids as far as Khwarezm in 886 and aids the Samanid Isma'il ibn Ahmad against his brother Nasr I.

The Siege of Paris (885–886) and Charles the Fat’s Betrayal

Between 885 and 886, Paris, heavily fortified since its sack by the Danes in 857, withstands a massive Viking siegelasting eleven months. The Norse invaders, numbering around 40,000 warriors aboard 700 ships, launch relentless attacks against the fortified city, yet the Parisian defenders, led by Count Odo and Bishop Gozlin, refuse to surrender.

Paris Under Siege: A Brutal Standoff

• The Vikings attempt multiple assaults, trying to breach the fortified bridges of the Île de la Cité, but the Parisian garrison holds firm.
• Disease and starvation begin to spread within the city, weakening the defenders.
• In early 886, Count Odo personally rides out of Paris, breaking through Viking lines to seek reinforcements from Emperor Charles the Fat.

Charles the Fat Arrives… But Refuses to Fight

• Charles the Fat finally arrives with a large army and encircles the Viking force, setting up a camp at Montmartre.
• Despite securing a strong position, Charles refuses to engage the Vikings in battle, shocking his own commanders.
• Instead of fighting, he negotiates with the Norse leaders and pays them off, allowing them to continue their raids elsewhere.

The Humiliation of West Francia

• Charles orders the Vikings to sail down the Seine and plunder Burgundy, which is already in revolt against him.
• This diplomatic maneuver further undermines Frankish authority, as Charles is seen as abandoning his own people to Viking devastation.
• The decision enrages the nobles of West Francia, who see Charles’ inaction as cowardice and betrayal.

Consequences of the Siege and Charles’ Downfall

• Despite being greatly outnumbered, Paris holds out and is never taken, solidifying its status as a center of Frankish resistance.
• Count Odo’s leadership during the siege makes him a hero among the Frankish nobility, paving the way for his later election as King of West Francia in 888.
• The humiliating settlement with the Vikings severely damages Charles the Fat’s already weak reputation, leading to his deposition in 887.

The Siege of Paris: A Turning Point in West Francia

The Siege of Paris (885–886) is a defining moment in the decline of Carolingian authority and the rise of local feudal power. While Charles the Fat’s failure to protect his kingdom leads to his downfall, the bravery of Paris’ defenders propels Odo into power, marking the beginning of the end of Carolingian rule in West Francia.

Henry of Franconia: Defender of Neustria Against the Vikings (884–886)

Henry of Franconia was one of Charles the Fat’s most trusted military commanders, assigned to hold the March of Neustria against the Viking invasions following Charles’ accession to the throne of West Francia in 884. His career was marked by his campaigns against the Norse, his role in the political intrigues of Charles' court, and his untimely death in 886.

Role in the March of Neustria

• After Charles became King of West Francia in 884, he appointed Henry as margrave of Neustria, a military frontier region responsible for defending against Viking raids.
• Neustria, situated along the Loire and Seine rivers, was one of the regions most affected by Norse incursions, making Henry’s role critical to Frankish defense.

The Arrest of Hugh of Alsace and Godfrey of Frisia (885)

• In 885, Charles summoned Hugh, Duke of Alsace, and Godfrey, Duke of Frisia, to a court at Lobith.
• It was Henry who carried out their arrest on Charles' orders:
  • Godfrey was executed, removing a powerful Viking-allied warlord from Frisia.
  • Hugh was blinded and imprisoned at Prüm, eliminating a political rival in Lotharingia.

Campaigns During the Siege of Paris (885–886)

• In early 886, Henry was sent to aid the besieged defenders of Paris, where Vikings under Sigfred and Rollohad been attacking for months.
• However, he did not stay long, likely due to Charles the Fat’s hesitance to fully commit to battle.
• Later in 886, Henry returned to Paris with Charles, but en route, he was killed in a skirmish with the Vikings.
• His death was a serious blow to Carolingian military efforts, as Henry had been one of the few commanders capable of dealing with Viking incursions in Neustria.

Family and Possible Marriages

Though details of Henry’s family are unclear, sources and onomastic studies suggest he was married and had children:

• Wife #1 (Possible): Ingeltrude, daughter of Eberhard of Friuli and Gisela, daughter of Louis the Pious.
• Wife #2 (Possible): A daughter of Berengar I of Neustria, possibly linking Henry to the Conradine family.
  • If this is correct, their marriage may have been a strategic alliance, securing Henry’s position in Neustriaand aiding his campaigns against the Vikings.

Children

• Hedwiga → Later marries Otto I, Duke of Saxony, linking Henry’s lineage to the future Ottonian dynasty.
• A possible son:
  • Some scholars propose a son named Henry or Berenger, who might be identified with Berengar II of Neustria.
  • This theory is based on onomastic evidence (name similarities) and the continuation of Henry’s influence in Neustria.

Legacy of Henry of Franconia

• His military leadership in Neustria was one of the last effective Frankish responses to Viking raids before the Carolingian collapse.
• His daughter Hedwiga’s marriage to Otto I of Saxony helped establish the future Ottonian dynasty, which would rise to power in Germany.
• His death in 886 weakened Carolingian resistance, accelerating the decline of Charles the Fat’s rule and the further decentralization of West Francia.

Henry’s tenure as Margrave of Neustria was short but critical in the ongoing struggle against Viking invasions. His death marked the loss of one of Charles the Fat’s strongest military leaders, further destabilizing West Francia at a time when the Carolingian Empire was already unraveling.

Alfred mints the first halfpenny in 886. (Previous halfpennies had been pennies cut in half.)

Both Shetland and …