Danegeld

American  

[deyn-geld] / ˈdeɪnˌgɛld /

Also danegeld,

noun

1. (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.

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Danegeld British  

/ ˈdeɪnˌɡɛlt, ˈdeɪnˌɡɛld /

noun

1. the tax first levied in the late 9th century in Anglo-Saxon England to provide protection money for or to finance forces to oppose Viking invaders

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Etymology

Origin of Danegeld

before 1150; Middle English denegeld, danegeld, Old English (Domesday Book) Danegeld. See Dane, geld ²

Example Sentences

It has purchased brief truces at the cost of increasing levies of Danegeld drawn from the diminishing resources of the patient community.

From Outspoken Essays by Inge, William Ralph

It continued to be levied until 1163, in which year the name Danegeld appears for the last time in the Rolls.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9 "Dagupan" to "David" by Various

Besides all kinds of irregular expedients the Danegeld had been practically revived, and to it was now given the name of carucage, a tax of two shillings on every plough-land.

From A Student's History of England, v. 1 (of 3) From the earliest times to the Death of King Edward VII by Gardiner, Samuel Rawson

Large sums of money had been paid out in the form of Danegeld, 137,000 pounds silver, but to little purpose: the enemy returned each year as voracious as ever.

From Canute the Great The Rise of Danish Imperialism during the Viking Age by Larson, Laurence Marcellus

At a Great Council at Woodstock he resisted the king's resolution to levy the old tax of Danegeld, and in consequence Danegeld was never levied again.

From A Student's History of England, v. 1 (of 3) From the earliest times to the Death of King Edward VII by Gardiner, Samuel Rawson