Battle of Brissarthe 866
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
About the battle
The Battle of Brissarthe was fought on 2 July 866, between the West Franks and a joint Breton-Viking army near Brissarthe, Neustria. It was marked by the death of Robert the Strong, the Neustrian margrave, and Ranulf I, the duke of Aquitaine, and an ancestor of all the kings of France from 987 to 1848.
In 866, Salomon, Duke of Brittany, allied with Hastein (Hasting), a Danish chieftain, for an expedition into Anjou, Maine, and Touraine. In the course of the campaign, Le Mans was sacked. Robert, commander of the afflicted regions, assembled a large army to expel them. He was joined by Ranulf of the region of Poitou and by Gauzfrid and Hervé of Maine.
The Frankish army succeeded in intercepting the Danes before they reached their boats on the river Loire. The Danes attempted to take refuge in a church, but the Franks besieged them. During the night, the Danes attempted to escape. During the ensuing battle, Robert was killed, Ranulf mortally wounded by an arrow, and Hervé injured. With the loss of their leaders, the Franks had to retreat.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Brissarthe (revision 1370435226), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of La Brossinière 1423 · 23 km
- Siege of Angers 1793 · 26 km
- Battle of La Flèche 1793 · 28 km
- Battle of Segré 1066 · 31 km
- Battle of Baugé 1421 · 32 km
- Battle of Entrames 1793 · 38 km
Browse more: battles in France · Europe · Medieval battles