- Danegeld
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/dayn"geld'/, n.(in medieval England) an additional tax on land believed to have been levied originally as a tribute to the Danish invaders but later continued for other purposes.Also, danegeld, Danegelt, danegelt /dayn"gelt'/.[bef. 1150; ME denegeld, danegeld, OE (Domesday Book) Danegeld. See DANE, GELD2]
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Tax levied in Anglo-Saxon England to buy off Danish invaders during the reign of Ethelred II (978–1016).The term continued to be used to refer to taxes collected by the Anglo-Norman kings in the 11th and 12th century.* * *
▪ Anglo-Saxon taxa tax levied in Anglo-Saxon England to buy off Danish invaders in the reign of Ethelred II (978–1016); it also designates the recurrent gelds, or taxes, collected by the Anglo-Norman kings. The word is not recorded before the Norman Conquest, the usual earlier (Old English) term being gafol (“gavel,” or “tribute”). Though the Danes were sometimes bought off in the 9th century in both England and France, the word Danegeld is usually applied to the payments that began in 991 and continued at intervals until 1016. Danegeld is distinct from heregeld, an annual tax levied between 1012 and 1051 to pay Danish mercenaries. The Anglo-Norman and Angevin kings continued the geld until 1162.* * *
Universalium. 2010.