Siege of Paris (451)

Siege of Paris, 451
Part of the Hunnic invasion of Gaul
"Saint Geneviève restores confidence and calm to the Parisians frightened by the approach of Attila" (Pantheon of Paris).
Location Paris, Roman Gaul, Western Roman Empire Result Western Roman victory
Belligerents
Western Roman Empire	Huns
Commanders and leaders
Genevieve	Attila

The Siege of Paris in 451 was a major historical event that took place during the final years of the Western Roman Empire. The siege was triggered by the invasion of the Huns, a nomadic people from Central Asia, led by their leader Attila.

Shortly before the siege, Saint Genevieve prophesied that the city would be spared, but that those who fled Paris would be killed. ^[1] Genevieve and Germanus' archdeacon persuaded the people of Paris that she "was not a prophetess of doom" ^[2] and convinced the women that instead of joining their husbands and abandoning their homes, to pray and do acts of penance to spare the city. It is claimed that the intercession of Genevieve's prayers caused Attila's army to go to Orléans instead. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

References

1. Sluhovsky 1998, p. 11–2.
2. Attwater & John 1993, p. 151.
3. MacErlean, Andrew (1909). "St. Genevieve". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
4. Bentley, James (1993). A calendar of saints: the lives of the principal saints of the Christian Year. London: Little, Brown. p. 9. ISBN   9780316908139.
5. Attwater & John 1993, p. 151–152.
6. Sluhovsky 1998, p. 12.

Works cited

• Attwater, Donald; John, Catherine Rachel (1993). The Penguin Dictionary of Saints (3 ed.). New York: Penguin. pp. 151–152. ISBN   0-14-051312-4 . Retrieved 11 October 2023.

• Sluhovsky, Moshe (1998). Patroness of Paris: Rituals of Devotion in Early Modern France. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill. ISBN   90-04-10851-3.