Danelaw in Viking Age England: The Distribution, Impact, and Duration of Danish Law

This book provides the first comprehensive reassessment in over 30 years of the Danelaw, an area of north-eastern England, established in the late 9th century in a treaty made between King Alfred of Wessex and King Guthrum of East Anglia. It revisits its duration, its boundary, trade dynamics, and identity.

Re-examining the Danelaw and its boundary with Wessex, the author considers a synthesis of documentary, literary, scientific, and archaeological evidence. Through innovative statistical modelling, the regions of Viking Age England are empirically reconstructed, confirming long-held suspicions about its structure. This book reviews the origins of the Danelaw and the challenges associated with its creation and the analysis reveals, counter-intuitively, that the volume of trade increased during this period. Examining the reception of the Danelaw and impact, alongside the full extent and duration of Danish law, this book reveals the nuances of Viking Age England, socially constructed and characterised by complexity and ambiguity.

Applying a cutting-edge methodological approach, including the use of geographic information system (GIS) mapping, this book is an indispensable resource for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars of Medieval History and Archaeology.