thumb|300px| the danelaw, as recorded in the anglo-saxon chronicle (also known as the danelagh; old english: dena lagu;*  ), is a historical name given to the part of england in which the laws of the danes held sway"the old english word dene âdanesâ usually refers to scandinavians of any kind; most of the invaders were indeed danish (east norse speakers), but there were norwegians (west norse [speakers]) among them as well." âlass, roger, old english: a historical linguistic companion, p.187, n.12. cambridge university press, 1994. and dominated those of the anglo-saxons. it is contrasted with west saxon law and mercian law. the term has been extended by modern historians to be geographical. the areas that constituted the danelaw are in northern and eastern england. the origins of the danelaw arose from the viking expansion of the ninth century ad, although the term was not used to describe a geographic area until the 11th century ad. with the increase in population and productivity in scandinavia, viking warriors, having sought treasure and glory in the nearby british isles, "proceeded to plough and support themselves", in the words of the anglo-saxon chronicle, for the year 876.quoted by richard hall, viking age archaeology (series shire archaeology), 2010:22; gwyn jones, a history of the vikings. revised ed. oxford: oxford university press, 1984:221. danelaw is also used to describe the set of legal terms and definitions created in the treaties between the west-saxon king, alfred the great, and the danish warlord, guthrum, written following guthrum's defeat at the battle of edington in 878. in 886, the treaty of alfred and guthrum was formalised, defining the boundaries of their kingdoms, with provisions for peaceful relations between the english and the vikings. the language spoken in england was also affected by this clash of cultures with the emergence of anglo-norse dialects. the danelaw roughly comprises 15 shires: yorkshire, five boroughs of leicester, nottingham, derby, stamford and lincoln, as well as essex, the kingdom of east anglia shires of cambridgeshire, suffolk an
9th-century_establishments Anglo-Norse_England Invasions_of_England Post-medieval_constructs_about_the_Middle_Ages