ABSTRACT
The Bella Parisiacae urbis, by the monk Abbo of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, is a verse epic written near the end of the ninth century and is typical of the literature of the time in that it mingles the natural with the supernatural, thereby creating a literary world where the mundane gives way to the miraculous.1 As a result, the epic recounts two histories: the plight and deeds of Parisians besieged by Norsemen, and the miracles of Saint Germain, the heavenly patron of Paris. Thus, firstly, the work chronicles the years 886-897, a time of Viking attacks on Paris and other cities of West Francia and a period during which Carolingian rule began to weaken, leading to the eventual kingship of Odo, or Eudes, the first Robertian.2 Secondly, the poem tells of the supernatural interventions of Saint Germain who, in his ethereal form, repulses the Vikings to save Paris, a city under his protection.3 The narration of these events is found in the first two books of the epic. The third book is gnomic in nature and is filled with pithy and often arcane proverbial advice for the young novice newly accepted into the monastic community.
