What if the Vikings had managed to conquer Paris sometime around the 9th century?
How much more territory would they be able to overrun, besides Ile-de-France?
What would happen to the title of the King of West Francia? Would it go extinct? What would happen to his vassals, would they splinter and go their own separate ways?
How does East Francia/Germany react to this? Would they, in an opportunistic move, occupy previously disputed border territories?
 
A lot of the early kings were also kings of Aquitaine so presumably if the north of Gaul is harder to control then they're based more southerly.
"Viking France" isn't likely to be one continuous kingdom considering numbers. What you'll see is quicker integration of the Viking elite into Northern Francian society and a series of counts with Viking names fighting each other.
 
A lot of the early kings were also kings of Aquitaine so presumably if the north of Gaul is harder to control then they're based more southerly.
"Viking France" isn't likely to be one continuous kingdom considering numbers. What you'll see is quicker integration of the Viking elite into Northern Francian society and a series of counts with Viking names fighting each other.

A Danelaw in Gaul will be very different from Normandy, the Normans had a interest in assimilating fast, to become a integrated part of French society. A Danelaw on the other hand lack this need, and would have more use for more Norse settlers to help them lording it over the locals. They will likely still integrate in the long run, but we may see some areas like the coast becoming Norse speaking, while the pattern further inland would likely follow Lombard model in Italy, where Langobards and Romans integrated into Lombards.
 
A lot of the early kings were also kings of Aquitaine so presumably if the north of Gaul is harder to control then they're based more southerly.
"Viking France" isn't likely to be one continuous kingdom considering numbers. What you'll see is quicker integration of the Viking elite into Northern Francian society and a series of counts with Viking names fighting each other.
Dane law in France ?
 
Seems more likely to just be a supersized Normandy than a Danelaw

Dane law in France ?


Well, I'm not sure exactly how this would pan out. One of the key factors in the assimilation of the nobility is the culture and linguistics of the Court; the reason the Normans went native so quickly was because they, as vassals of the French King, had to politick in the court of Paris with French-speaking nobles in order to advance and keep their positions. If the conquest is complete, with the Norse totally or nearly totally replacing the domestic ruling class, than Nordic dialect could easily be the language of the courts (Particularly if commerce is directed back toward Denmark rather than the rest of France, making it a trade tounge as well), while "French"/Ile-de-France's vulgate would find its steady move towards unifying into a language the speakers around the former capital as the King and his nobles flee south to an area where different dialects are spoken. On the other hand, if they keep the lower level nobility in place to smooth over the administrative transition and have the Church remain in place (instead of just looting the monestaries and having the clergy flee) than the new Norse nobles would have a strong incentive to learn French, adopt local customs and Christianity, ect. in order to effectively govern and limit the risk of revolt from their vassals. In the former case, it'd look more Dane Law-ish, while in the later it'd look more like just Bigger Normandy.
 
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