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 was only a few years since the Danegeld, the tax collected from all England to ward off the raids of Danish sea-rovers, had been abolished.

From In the Days of the Guild by Lamprey, Louise

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

Though there were no Danish invaders now, William continued to levy the Danegeld, and he had rents and payments due to him in many quarters which had been due to his predecessors.

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

For a time they were kept at bay by a money payment which reminds one of the Danegeld paid by our forefathers to the sea-robbers of northern Europe.

From The Awakening of China by Martin, W. A. P. (William Alexander Parsons)

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