Danegeld
A Law Dictionary and Glossary · George C. Kinney · 1893
A Law Dictionary and Glossary
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.