In 885 seven hundred ships, commanded by Rollo and other Viking
chiefs, left the harbors of Norway, sailed to the mouth of the
Seine (San), and started up the river to capture the city of Paris.

Rollo and his men stopped on the way at Rouen (ro-on'), which also
was on the Seine, but nearer its mouth. The citizens had heard of
the giant, and when they saw the river covered by his fleet they
were dismayed. However, the bishop of Rouen told them that Rollo
could be as noble and generous as he was fierce; and he advised
them to open their gates and trust to the mercy of the Viking chief.
This was done, and Rollo marched into Rouen and took possession of
it. The bishop had given good advice, for Rollo treated the people
very kindly.

Soon after capturing Rouen he left the place, sailed up the river
to Paris, and joined the other Viking chiefs. And now for six long
miles the beautiful Seine was covered with Viking vessels, which
carried an army of thirty thousand men.

A noted warrior named Eudes (Ude) was Count of Paris, and he had
advised the Parisians to fortify the city. So not long before the
arrival of Rollo and his companions, two walls with strong gates
had been built round Paris.

It was no easy task for even Vikings to capture a strongly walled
city. We are told that Rollo and his men built a high tower and
rolled it on wheels up to the walls. At its top was a floor well
manned with soldiers. But the people within the city shot hundreds
of arrows at the besiegers, and threw down rocks, or poured boiling