Hi Helen, thanks for your comment! Indeed, Lindisfarne was not the first, even in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. An entry for the year 789 has the Vikings arriving at the port of Portland and causing an incident (though not a raid). Further scholarship on the exploits of the Rus to the East puts trade routes as opening perhaps even before they knew how to put down a keel, so the movements of the so-called "Vikings" most certainly started much earlier. You should check out Alex's book, details are on the Vikingology page.
Hi Helen, thanks for your comment! Indeed, Lindisfarne was not the first, even in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. An entry for the year 789 has the Vikings arriving at the port of Portland and causing an incident (though not a raid). Further scholarship on the exploits of the Rus to the East puts trade routes as opening perhaps even before they knew how to put down a keel, so the movements of the so-called "Vikings" most certainly started much earlier. You should check out Alex's book, details are on the Vikingology page.