ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the earliest decades of viking enmity and encroachment across the Frankish littorals (before 840), constituting the second phase of the proposed conceptual development model. Investigating incipient instances of Scandinavian incursion – perpetrated almost exclusively by small-scale hydrarchic assemblies – it critically examines these acts for their associated targets and motivations. Early political liaisons between Carolingian elites and viking hydrarchs are likewise assessed, as are potential early instances of regional Scandinavian encampment. Lastly, the chapter scrutinises the succession of Frankish countermeasures put in place to limit or stave off societal hardship and economic loss at the hands of inbound viking hosts.
