Siege of Asselt
The Siege of Asselt was a Frankish siege of the Viking camp at Asselt in the Meuse valley in the year 882. Though the Vikings were not forced by arms to abandon their camp, they were compelled to come to terms whereby their leader, Godfrid, was converted to Christianity.

The precise location of Asselt is somewhat disputed. The charters call it "Ascloha" and the Bavarian continuation of the "Annales Fuldenses" assigns the locale on the Meuse river, fourteen miles from the Rhine. In the past, it was most often identified with Elsloo, north of Maastricht. These days, most scholars prefer Asselt, near Roermond, which better fits the distance to the Rhine.

Immediately after assuming the kingship of East Francia in Regensburg in early May, Charles the Fat, already emperor, held an assembly (late that same month) at Worms to determine a course of action against the Vikings who were encamped at Asselt. An army comprising Franks, Alemanni, Bavarii, Thuringii, Saxons, and Lombards was assembled to march north and drive off the Vikings. The Lombards, Alemans, and Franks approached up the Rhine on the west while the Bavarians went along the eastern bank and crossed over at Andernach. The emperor, taking the line of verse "What do I care whether I win by force or tricks?" as his strategy, sent a force of Bavarians under Arnulf of Carinthia and Franks under Henry of Franconia ahead to ambush the unsuspecting Northmen.
According to the biased account of the Mainz continuation of the "Annales Fuldenses", the camp was about to fall when Liutward of Vercelli, bribed by the Vikings, convinced the emperor to meet envoys from Godfrid and make peace, even exchanging hostages. Godfrid was granted the Kennemerland, which had formerly been ruled by Roric, as a vassal. Charles also agreed to pay a Danegeld to the Viking leader Sigifrid, partly using monies from churches. The Mainz continuator portrayed the army as greatly displeased with their emperor. The Bavarian continuator merely mentions that the initial ambush was thwarted by traitors and the subsequent siege — which lasted twelve days — by the spread of disease from rotting corpses and a very severe hailstorm. Godfrid, according to this account, swore oaths to Charles promising never to again lay waste his kingdom and accepted Christianity and baptism, at which Charles stood as his godfather. The Mainz continuation had a particularly poor opinion of Charles the Fat because its patron, Liutbert, had been dismissed from his court position with Charles' succession.

The campaign over, Charles returned to Koblenz and there dispersed the army. His reputation as a weak and inept ruler stems largely from this campaign, though contemporaries did not in general see it as a failure. Only the Mainz cleric of Liutbert's, adding to the annals of Fulda had that impression.
Q146246
Frankish
LOC
Q12567
Viking
Concept
Q41986
Meuse
LOC
Q922057
Godfrid
PER
Q564374
Annales Fuldenses
ORG
Q41986
Meuse
LOC
Q584
Rhine
LOC
Q1916586
Elsloo
LOC
Q1309
Maastricht
LOC
None
Asselt
UNK
Q9783
Roermond
LOC
Q153080
East Francia
LOC
Q2978
Regensburg
LOC
Q150712
Charles the Fat
PER
Q3852
Worms
LOC
Q43482
Franks
MEDIA
Q132990
Alemanni
ORG
Q156740
Bavarii
Concept
Q160892
Thuringii
ORG
Q101985
Saxons
Concept
Q130900
Lombards
Concept
Q584
Rhine
LOC
Q490058
Andernach
LOC
Q154936
Arnulf of Carinthia
PER
Q697391
Henry of Franconia
PER
Q1720
Mainz
LOC
Q1866183
Liutward of Vercelli
PER
Q652480
Kennemerland
LOC
Q719517
Roric
PER
Q301742
Danegeld
Concept
None
Sigifrid
UNK
Q829248
Liutbert
PER
Q3104
Koblenz
LOC
Q3625448
Siege of Asselt
EVE
participant
location
head of state