Given the increase in frequency and severity of Viking raids on Carolingian territory from about the late 8th century through the 10th century, I wonder why no effective counterattack seems to have been launched (I am not familiar with any counterattacks on Viking homeland territory at all, but if you know of any please let me know). It seems curious that Carolingian rulers – including Charlemagne himself – would not have done more to protect the empire, particularly after the raid on the abbey at Lindisfarne in 793. To me, the Viking raids on monasteries were particularly tasteless, and I would think that a strong push to stop this would have materialized.
Does anyone know why the reaction to the Vikings was so “defensive” in nature, and not “offensive”? The giving of the danegeld tribute to the Vikings, starting with Charles the Bald, is particularly odd. Why did the Carolingians think that temporarily halting the raids through payments was the solution to the problem? Was the Empire not strong enough to launch counterattacks of its own?
