Chapter 7 - The Treaty of Bayeux
Haesteinn's host giving chase to their fleeing enemies
All through the dawn the Vikings under Haesteinn continued to give chase to the broken French and Breton host. With the Norsemen pressing hard on their heels, neither Duke Hugo nor King Salomon had much time to think of a course of action nor send word ahead of them to warn the garrison of Bayeux to which they were headed. There waited Prince Riwallon of Brittany, Salomon's only son and heir, who had been left to defend the castle with a skeleton crew far too meager to mount a proper defense. He was taken aback at the sight of his father's ragged forces on the horizon, and hurriedly opened its gates to welcome them.
There the tattered remnants of the once great Franco-Breton host huddled under the safety of its walls, finally a moment of respite. It would not last. Beneath a flurry of banners there was Haesteinn, standing tall at the forefront of his army. Besides him was Hjalmar, eyes gleaming with the promise of conquest and slaughter. The sound of Hjalmar's laughter cracked like thunder, "they can't escape this time, there is nowhere to run!"
There was truly no hope for the defenders. With King Charles still out East fighting his Lotharingian relatives, there was no one coming to lift the siege. They were out on their own. Despite their odds, King Salomon and his son both tried to lift the garrison's morale, urging them to fight with all their spirt, looking to the heavens, claiming victory was at hand so long as God was with them. Their efforts did little to dissuade the panic that was quickly spreading across the defenders, especially as Duke Hugo too began to advocate for a peaceful surrender. Despite them having won every encounter thus far, Duke Hugo believed the Norsemen too were exhausted following the battles and ensuing chase toward Bayeux. Hugo believed he could talk Haesteinn into letting them go if they surrendered.
Neither King Salomon nor his son Riwallon agreed with his proposal, however they soon realized the bulk of the defenders in Bayeux were not Bretons but Franks, and those Franks quickly adopted Hugo's idea, threatening violence on the Bretons. "If you are so eager to die on this day," Duke Hugo spoke, "then let us grant you that which you wish. We would rather surrender in shame than fall to a pagan's axe. Make way or make a grave, the choice is yours." The Bretons had no choice but to comply.
Duke Hugo and King Salomon (left) having peace talks with Haesteinn (right) as his men watch the dealings
Much to the dissapointment of Hjalmar, and to the relief of Haesteinn, the gates of Bayeux opened. From them came a small party of warriors led by King Salomon and Duke Hugo, sueing for peace. Haesteinn ordered his men to put their weapons down, and he too approached with a party of his own. They met on the banks of the River Aure, where they talked for the better part of the day.
Effective immediately, all Frankish and Breton inccursions into Norse-held territory were to cease. A border would be delineated, recognizing the independence of Haesteinn's realm from both the Kingdom of Brittany and the Kingdom of West Francia. This new Viking realm would include not just Cherbourg and the peninsula on which it sat, but also the recently wrestled fortresses of Percy and Avranches, as well as the newly evacuated fortress of Bayeux, greatly extending Viking control over Western Neustria, which would soon begin to be called Normandy. Finally, a great tax would be levied on the peoples of Brittany and Hugo's lands to pay for a massive
danegeld*, a combination of gold and treasure which Haesteinn would divide among his followers as reward. In exchange, Haesteinn free all the noble prisoners he took in battle, including Duke Hugo's half brother Eudes and several Breton counts. Haesteinn also would cease all raids into Francia and Brittany, comitting to a peaceful coexistence with his new neighbors. This last promise of peace was met with many grumbles and complaints from his own men, but the great many riches acquired through the treaty soon put an end to their bickering, leaving all but Hjalmar "the Red" wholly satisfied.
While King Charles had not been consulted to ratify the treaty, there was little he could do to oppose it, especially as the authority of Paris continued to decline in the wake of several defeats in the East against Lotharingia, his vassals growing increasingly autonomous. Some among Haesteinn's camp urged him to demand more lands during the treaty, however he wisely chose temperance over ambition, knowing any more concessions would see his army spread too thin, unable to defend his conquests. Perhaps if he had futuresight he could have seen such fears were unfounded, for soon after the Treaty of Bayeux was signed word began to spread about his great victory over the Franks, attracting hundreds of Scandinavians to his new Kingdom. Green boys and hardened veterans, the elderly and the young, entire families came to settle in Normandy just as they had done across Britain in the Kingdom of Jorvik after the Ragnarssons' conquests.
The Kingdom of Normandy**, March 6 of 868 AD. Comprised of the Viking stronghold of Cherbourg, the island fortresses of Jersey and Guernsey, and the Frankish castles of Bayeux, Percy, and Avranches.
*A Danegeld is the term given to a tax raised to pay for the tribute or protection money to Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged or to convince them to leave one's land. Also known as a "Danish Tax," or literally "Dane yield" from Old English.
**While coloquially known as the Kingdom of Normandy to both Franks and Bretons, Haesteinn's realm was neither a Kingdom nor did they identify as "Normans" at this time. To them it was the Jarldom of Kjarrborg (in-game Duchy rank), or Cherbourg, their chief settlement and stronghold in the region.
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