December 17 at Picquigny on the Somme, Wiliam Longsword was ambushed by men loyal to Arnulf the Count of Flanders while the two were at a peace conference negotiating he was killed and a his 10 year old son Richard I the fearless was his heir, Louis IV of France seized Normandy, installed the boy Richard in his father's office, then placed him in the care of the count of Ponthieu. The king then split the lands, giving lands in lower Normandy to his vassals vassals Herbert of Vermandois (Rouen), Hugh the Great (Bayeux) and Arnulf of Flanders (ended in 945). King Louis kept Richard in confinement at Lâon, but he escaped with the assistance of Osmond de Centville, Bernard de Senlis (who had been a companion of Rollo), Ivo de Bellèsme, and Bernard the Dane. Richard became the new duke and ruled until 996.
