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The Danelaw (/ ˈ d eɪ n ˌ l ɔː /, Danish: Danelagen; Norwegian: Danelagen; Old English: Dena lagu) [2] was the part of England between the early tenth century and the Norman Conquest under Anglo-Saxon rule in which Danish laws applied. [3]
Viking raids on England began in the late 8th century, and were largely of the "hit and run" variety. [2] However, in 865 various Viking armies combined and landed in East Anglia, not to raid but to conquer the four Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England. The annals described the combined force as the "Great Heathen Army". [3]
Map of England in 878 showing the extent of the Danelaw. Between the 8th and 11th centuries, raiders and colonists from Scandinavia, mainly Danish and Norwegian, plundered western Europe, including the British Isles. [90] These raiders came to be known as the Vikings; the name is believed to derive from Scandinavia, where the Vikings originated.
The Danelaw, established through the Viking conquest of large parts of the Anglo-Saxon cultural sphere, was formed as a result of the Treaty of Wedmore in the late 9th century, after Alfred the Great had defeated the Viking Guthrum at the Battle of Ethandun. Between 1016 and 1042 England was ruled by Danish kings.
There had been Viking raids against Britain since the 8th century, but it was not until the 860s that Viking armies were formed with the intention of conquering lands. [4] In 865 the Great Heathen Army landed in East Anglia and started the invasion that would lead to the creation of the Danelaw. [5]
However, the raiding of England continued on and off until the 860s, when instead of raiding, the Vikings changed their tactics and sent a great army to invade England. This army was described by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as a "Great Heathen Army" (OE: mycel hæþen here or mycel heathen here). [20] [21] [22] [23]
Derby was the first of Five Danelaw Burgh's to be defeated by Aetheflead's Army in the "liberation of the Danelaw" along with, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham and Stamford. [2] [3] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that in 917 "Aethelflaed Lady of the Mercians, with God's help, before Lammas obtained the borough that is called Derby. With all that ...
Sweyn's elder son, Harald II, succeeded him as King of Denmark, while his younger son, Cnut, was proclaimed King of England by the people of the Danelaw. However, the English nobility sent for Æthelred, who upon his return from exile in Normandy in early 1014 managed to drive Cnut out of England.