Hautvillers, 860 AD
Hautvillers, 860 ADThe family of refugees was a forerunner to many other people fleeing from the Norsemen. Most of those drawn to seek a haven in our abbey were monks who had undergone harrowing experiences. The justified reputation surrounding the defensive capabilities of our monastery, undoubtedly inflated in the telling, made them hasten to us for refuge. Though we were secluded and out of touch with events in Frankia, John made it his business to interrogate each of the new brothers to piece together a clearer picture. What he learnt reflected little credit on our Emperor, Charles the Bald. Charlemagne had sapped Frankia’s military strength, but the division of the Empire and the fighting between his grandsons for control of the middle kingdom worsened the situati
