The Danegeld was an English tribute raised to pay off Viking raiders (usually led by the Danish king) to save the land from being ravaged by the raiders. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001... A tribute (from Latin tribulum, contribution) is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often case in historical contests, of submission or allegiance. ... The term Viking is used to denote the explorers, traders and warriors who originated in Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Sweden and raided the coasts of the British Isles and other parts of Europe from the late 8th century to the 11th century. ...

Danegeld was continued later under the name tallage. The term has come to mean protection money, or any coercive payment. Tallage or talliage (from the French a part cut out of the whole) appears to have signified at first a tax in general, but became afterwards confined in England to a special form of tax: the assessment upon cities, boroughs, and royal domains. ... A protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a powerful organization coerces individuals or businesses to pay protection money which allegedly serves to purchase the organizations protection services against various external threats, whereas the actual threat comes from the organization itself. ...

History

This kind of payment was not unique for England. According to Snorri Sturluson and Rimbert, Finland and the Baltic states paid the same kind of tribute to the Swedes. In fact, the Primary chronicle relates that the regions paying protection money extended east towards Moscow, until the Finnish and Slavic tribes rebelled, fell into disarray and invited Rurik. Similarly, the Sami peoples were frequently forced to pay tribute in the form of pelts. Snorri Sturluson (1178 â€“ September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. ... Rimbert (or Rembert), archbishop in Hamburg-Bremen between 865 - 888 AD. Revered as a saint particularly in Friesland. ... Baltic states and the Baltic Sea The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a term which nowadays refers to three countries in Northern Europe: Estonia Latvia Lithuania Prior to World War II, Finland was sometimes considered, particularly by the Soviet Union, a fourth Baltic state. ... The Russian Primary Chronicle (Russian: Повесть временных лет, Povest vremennykh let, which is often translated in English as Tale of Bygone Years), is a history of the early East Slavic state, Kievan Rus, from around 850 to 1110. ... Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA: ) is the capital of Russia and the countrys principal political, economic, financial, educational and transportation center, located on the river Moskva. ... Rurik or Riurik (Old East Norse Rørik, meaning famous ruler) (ca 830 – ca 879) was a Varangian who gained control of Ladoga in 862 and built the Holmgard settlement (Rurikovo Gorodische) in Novgorod. ... Sami flag The Sami People (there are other names and spellings including Sámi, Saami and Lapp) are an indigenous people of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia, covering a total area in the Nordic countries corresponding to the size of Sweden. ...

The first payment of the Danegeld to the vikings took place in the ninth century in 856. English payment, of 10,000 pounds (3,732 kg) of silver, was also made in 991 following the Viking victory at the Battle of Maldon in Essex, when King Aethelred "The Unready" was advised by Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury and the aldermen of the south-western provinces to buy off the Vikings rather than continue the armed struggle. Events Battle of Maldon Sweyn I of Denmark recovers his throne Births Deaths Theophanu, empress, mother of Otto III Emperor Enyu of Japan Categories: 991 ... The Battle of Maldon took place in 991 near Maldon beside the River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Ethelred the Unready. ... Ethelred II or Æþelræd Unræd (c. ...

In 994 the Danes, under King Sweyn Forkbeard and Olaf Trygvason, returned and laid siege to London. They were once more bought off, and the amount of silver paid impressed the Danes with the idea that it was more profitable to extort payments from the English than to take whatever booty they could plunder. Events Otto III reaches his majority and begins to rule Germany in his own right. ... This article may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Olaf Tryggvason has been elected king, a painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo Olaf Tryggvason (969–September 9? 1000) (Old Norse: Óláfr Tryggvason, Norwegian: Olav Tryggvason) was son of Tryggve Olafsson, king of Viken (Vingulmark and Ranrike), and great-grandson of Harald Fairhair. ...

Further payments were made in 1002, and especially in 1007 when Aethelred bought two years peace with the Danes for 36,000 pounds (13,436 kg) of silver. In 1012, following the capture and murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the sack of Canterbury, the Danes were bought off with another 48,000 pounds (17,916 kg) of silver. Events November 13 - English king Ethelred gives order to kill all Danes in England, leading to the St. ... Events Aethelred buys two years of peace with the Danes for 36,000 pounds of silver. ... Events Mael Morda starts a rebellion against Brian Boru in Ireland, which would eventually end in 1014 at the Battle of Clontarf. ... Arms of the see of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior clergyman of the established Church of England and symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... St Peters St, Canterbury, from the West Gate, 1993 Canterbury (Latin: Duroverum) is a cathedral city in the county of Kent in southeast England. ...

In 1016 Sweyn Forkbeard's son, Canute, became King of England. After two years he felt sufficiently in control of his new kingdom to the extent of being able to pay off all but 40 ships of his invasion fleet, which were retained as a personal bodyguard, with a huge Danegeld of 72,000 pounds (26,873 kg) of silver collected nationally, plus a further 10,500 pounds (3,919 kg) of silver collected from London. Events George Tsul, ruler of Khazaria, is captured by a combined Byzantine- Rus force, which effectively ends Khazarias existence. ... Canute (or Cnut) I, or Canute the Great (Old Norse: Knútr inn ríki, Danish: Knud II den Store, Norwegian: Knut den mektige) (994/995 – November 12, 1035) was king of England, Denmark and Norway and governor or overlord of Schleswig and Pomerania. ...

The total cost

It is estimated that the total amount of money paid amounted to some sixty million pence — more Anglo-Saxon pence of this period have been found in Denmark than in England. For silver pennies produced after 1820 see Maundy money The silver penny was introduced to England around the year 785 by King Offa of Mercia, in the English midlands. ...

Danegeld in a runestone

A runestone near Stockholm (U344) relates of a Swede who took three Danegelds under three different leaders: A rune stone Rune stones are somewhat flat standing stones with runic stone carvings from the Iron Age (Viking Age) and early middle ages found in most parts of Scandinavia. ... The Old town in Stockholm from the air is the capital of Sweden, located on the south east coast of Sweden. ...

in ulfr hafir onklati * Þru kialtakat Þit uas fursta Þis tursti * Þa — Þurktil * Þa kalt knutr

Translation: "But Ulf has taken three danegelds in England. The first one was with Toste, the second one with Thorkel and the third one with Canute the Great". Skoglar Toste or Skagul Toste (there are several variations) was a Viking from the Swedish province of West Götaland. ... Thorkel the High was a Jomsviking, a son of the Scanian chieftain Strutharald and the brother of Sigvald Jarl. ... Canute (or Cnut) I, or Canute the Great (Old Norse: Knútr inn ríki, Danish: Knud II den Store, Norwegian: Knut den mektige) (994/995 – November 12, 1035) was king of England, Denmark and Norway and governor or overlord of Schleswig and Pomerania. ...

Danegeld in a poem

Danegeld is the subject of a poem by Rudyard Kipling. Poetry (from Ancient Greek: (poiéo/poió) = I create) is traditionally a written art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865 – January 18, 1936) was a British author and poet, born in India. ...

See also

• Danelaw
• Dazdie
• Jizya tax
• Leibzoll tax
• Protection money
• Tallage

Green: Danelaw The Danelaw (from the Old English Dena lagu) is an 11th century name for an area of northern and eastern England under the administrative control of the Vikings (or Danes, or Norsemen) from the late 9th century. ... Dazdie was the tax paid by Roma state slaves in Bessarabia to the Russian Empire after the region was incorporated in 1812. ... In states ruled by Islamic law, jizya or jizyah (Arabic: جزْية) is a per capita tax imposed on non-Muslim adult males. ... The Leibzoll was a special toll which Jews had to pay in most of the European states in the Middle Ages and up to the beginning of the nineteenth century. ... A protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a powerful organization coerces individuals or businesses to pay protection money which allegedly serves to purchase the organizations protection services against various external threats, whereas the actual threat comes from the organization itself. ... Tallage or talliage (from the French a part cut out of the whole) appears to have signified at first a tax in general, but became afterwards confined in England to a special form of tax: the assessment upon cities, boroughs, and royal domains. ...

External links and references

• Kipling's poem