Bjørn ( la, Berno) was a

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

chieftain. He is the earliest known Scandinavian who was not a relative of the Danish kings to enter the service of a Frankish king, in his case

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...

, king of

West Francia In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...

.Simon Coupland (1998), "From Poachers to Gamekeepers: Scandinavian Warlords and Carolingian Kings", ''Early Medieval Europe'', 7 (1), 103–104. He may be identified with the Swedish king Björn Ironside. In July 856 a Viking chieftain named Sidroc entered the

River Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

to pillage. On 19 August he was joined by a fleet commanded by Bjørn. Come winter Sidroc left Frankish waters while Bjørn built a fortified camp on an island called ''Oscellus'', probably Oissel. The Vikings proceeded to raid as far as

Bayeux Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...

and Évreux, and the entire region showed little resistance to their movements throughout 857. (The ''

Annales Fontanellenses The ''Annals of Fontenelle'' (''Annales Fontanellenses'', ''Chronicon Fontanellense'') or ''Chronicle of Saint-Wandrille'' (''Chronicon sancti Wandregesili'') is a short history compiled at the Abbey of Saint-Wandrille between 840 and 856. It is in ...

'', an important source for these events, incorrectly date them to 855.) The surviving sources do not record Bjørn's reasons for visiting King Charles at

Verberie Verberie () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It lies southwest of Compiègne on the main road to Senlis and Paris. The railway station is on the line from Compiègne to Crépy-en-Valois. The inhabitants are known as ''Sa ...

early in 858. In the words of the '' Annales Bertiniani'', the preeminent West Frankish annals for the period: “Bjørn, leader of the faction of pirates of the Seine, pursuing King Charles came to the palace in Veberie, and giving him his hands, swore fidelity to him.” Bjørn had probably been offered tribute ( danegeld) in return for submitting to the act of commendation (the giving of hands and swearing of fealty). In November the bishops of West Francia, meeting in a synod at Quercy, sent a letter, probably authored by

Hincmar Hincmar (; ; la, Hincmarus; 806 – 21 December 882), archbishop of Reims, was a Frankish jurist and theologian, as well as the friend, advisor and propagandist of Charles the Bald. He belonged to a noble family of northern Francia. Biography Ea ...

, to

Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...

, the king of

East Francia East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided t ...

, in which the raising of tribute to pay off the Vikings is mentioned.A. Boretius and V. Krause, edd., "Epistola synodi Carisiacensis ad Hludowicum regem Germaniae directa", ''

Monumenta Germaniae Historica The ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica'' (''MGH'') is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published primary sources, both chronicle and archival, for the study of Northwestern and Central European history from the end of the Roman Empire ...

'', Capitularia II (Hanover: 1897), c. 6, p. 430: ''Ut ... regnum quod contra eos redimitus, a tributo indebito eiripiantur'' (“so that the kingdom which is being ransomed should be freed from this undeserved tribute”, trans. in Coupland, 104 n.101). Probably this refers to Bjørn and his men, since no other Vikings are known to have made their peace with the Franks at about this time. According to the ''Annales Fontanellenses'' Charles the Bald besieged Oissel late in 859 (actually 858). Since Bjørn is never again mentioned by name in the annals it is probable that he remained loyal to Charles and did not rejoin the army that remained at the island stronghold. The ''Annales Bertiniani'' confirm that Charles only besieged the island after Bjørn's commendation.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjorn (fl. 856-858) Viking warriors 9th-century Vikings