Danelaw

The Danelaw was a historical part of England where Danish laws applied, existing between the late ninth century and the Norman Conquest. It originated from the conquest and occupation of large parts of eastern and northern England by Danish Vikings in the late ninth century. English kings later allowed the Danes to maintain their own laws in these areas in return for loyalty to the English crown, following an early tenth-century Anglo-Saxon conquest. The term "Danelaw" was first recorded in the early 11th century and approximately covered Yorkshire, the central and eastern Midlands, and the East of England.