The Viking Sack of Nantes, Part Deux

When the Vikings took Nantes...Again | Author Update

As I’ve been re-researching some of the backdrop history for my next novel to confirm certain details, I’ve found myself tangled up in the puzzle of Nantes in the 850s. Everyone knows about the famous sack of the city in 843, but almost everything about what happened afterward feels like a staccato of disparate mentions that don’t necessarily agree with one another. The events are there, but it feels like trying to read by candlelight in a smoky room.

The starting point is solid enough. On June 24th, 843, during the feast of St. John the Baptist, a Viking fleet sailed up the Loire River and attacked Nantes. The Annals of St. Bertin, along with the Annals of Angoulême, tell us they killed the bishop, Gohard, along with many others, and looted the city. Other, less reliable chronicles, including the Chronicle of Nantes, preserve the story of the bishop’s martyrdom, albeit with some curious additional details that cannot be verified, such as placing Hasting at the event. What’s certain is…