1. a tax imposed in medieval England to raise funds for protection against Danish invasions or to pay tribute to Danish raiders
Usage: historical

Examples

• The Anglo-Saxon kings collected danegeld from their subjects to buy off Viking raiders.
• Danegeld was first levied in 991 AD after the Battle of Maldon.
• The payment of danegeld often encouraged more Danish attacks rather than preventing them.
• King Ethelred the Unready raised enormous sums through danegeld during his reign.
• Medieval chroniclers recorded the heavy burden that danegeld placed on English peasants.
• The term danegeld literally means ‘Danish money’ in Old English.