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Island Realms's District of
Danelaw
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The region of the Danelaw
The region of "The Danelaw" spanned from Northumbria, to East Anglia, all the way down to the borders of Wessex in England. The name Danelaw however described not only the region, but also the time period of English history when Danish Vikings invaded and took a large chunk of Britain from the Saxons.
HISTORY: The year is 865, and after many years of coastal attacks by Viking parties, England sees it's first Viking settlers. Two Danish brothers, Halfdan Ragnarsson and Ivar the Boneless spent a winter in the region of East Anglia, and within the next 5 years, took Northumbria and all of East Anglia for their own. In response to the invasion, the King of Wessex Aethelred and his brother Alfred launched an offensive against the Danes at Nottingham unsuccessfully. Ivar and the Danes were allowed to keep Nottingham by king Bergred of Mercia in exchange for the safety of his lands. However in 871 when Aethelred died, Alfred took over and did not have a strong enough army to defend his lands. He was forced to pay tribute to the Danes. This caused Ivar to look to Mercia thus breaking their tentative peace with Bergred. There are very few accounts of Ivar's existence past 871 and it is said that Halfdan took over the so called "great army". The campaign for Mercia lasted until the end of 874, and claimed the life of Bergred. After taking Mercia, it is said that the great army split. Halfdan took half of the army in 875 to tighten his grip in the still rebellious part of Northumbria called Bernicia, which was of particular interest to him because of it's many rich churches and monasteries. It is said that he continued this campaign until his death in 877. Guthram on the other hand had turned his attention Southward. In 876 Guthrum invaded Wessex. He took two fortresses Wareham and then Exeter but was forced back to Mercia again after a fleet of Danish ships he intended to rendezvous with were destroyed in a storm. Several years later, Guthrum once again attacked, and was ultimately unsuccessful. As part of the surrender agreement, Alfred forced Guthrum to convert to Christianity. 
Alfred the Great
Peace between the Danes and the Saxons of Wessex would last until 884 when Guthram, persuaded by a new fleet of Vikings from Francia, attacked the region of Kent in Wessex. Guthrum suffered defeat at the hands of Alfred. This defeat lead to the writing of the treaty of Alfred and Guthrum, which allowed for Danish self-rule within the area designated as Danelaw. The significance of this for Alfred and Wessex was two fold: they had seen the successful conversion of Guthram and his followers, and it represented a significant shift of power. The people of Wessex no longer lived in fear of Guthrum and his Vikings for Guthrum signing the treaty signified that he was eventually satisfied to stay within Danelaw.
Although the treaty survived Guthrum who died in 890, the Danes never gave up trying to take over the British Isles. From 1016 to 1035 Canute the Great of Denmark ruled over the entire kingdom of Britain. LEGAL ASPECTS OF THE DANELAW: The Danelaw established many equivalences in many areas of English law, including the settlement of murder and wrongful death cases, and the division and subdivision of land. There were also of course some differences between the laws of the Danes and the Saxons. The most note worthy difference was the fact that in the Saxon ruled areas, there were a great many more slaves than in the Danelaw. In the Danelaw, there were more free land owners, though in some places, the feudal system still prevailed. Many believe that the reason for this was the church. The Saxons had been Christian for a much longer time then the freshly converted Danes, and therefore the feudal system was more rigidly applied and abided by, whereas it was very new concept to the Danish Vikings. ARCHEOLOGICAL FINDS: Overall, the Danelaw region is not home to many sites that would be indicative of the events that occurred within that time period. The most famous site is at York, which at the time of the Danelaw as a major city for the Vikings as it was accessible by ship. The other major site within the Danelaw region is the cremation site at Ingleby, Derbyshire, which is made up of 59 barrows and is the only known Scandinavian cremation cemetery in the British Isles.
Sources: *Viking Empires By Angelo Forte, Richard Oram and Frederik Pedersen *www.wikipedia.org *www.bbc.co.uk/schools/vikings *Crime and Punishment in England: An Introductory History By John Briggs *Europe in the Middle Ages by Robert S. Hoyt *www.hemyockcastle.co.uk/ *http://ads.ahds.ac.uk |
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