Danegeld
Defined in 2 dictionaries — Bouvier (1914), Kinney (1893)
Bouvier's Law Dictionary and Concise Encyclopedia
John Bouvier; revised by Francis Rawle · 1914
A tax or tribute imposed upthe Danegeld was levied and paid to the Danes as a tribute. In its later form, from 1012, it was a tax levied to pay the wages of a Danish fleet in the service of the English crown. It was abolished about 1051. It was levied again by William in 10S3-4, and it was with a view of amending its assessment that the survey of the kingdom called Domesday was undertaken; 2 Holdsw. Hist. E. L. 119. A detailed history of the Danegeld cannot be written; Maitl. Domesday and Beyond 3.
A Law Dictionary and Glossary
George C. Kinney · 1893
danegelt, danigeld.
In old English law. The Danish tax or tribute; a tax upon land first imposed on the Saxons in the reign of Ethelred, for the purpose of bribing the Danes to desist from their depredations, and afterwards made permanent for the purpose of maintaining a force to defend the coast, thus becoming one of the chief branches of the royal revenue.