Definition: The northeastern portion of central Anglo-Saxon England that had been settled by invading Danes in the late 9th century came to be known as the Danelaw (see map). The term began to be used in the 11th and 12th centuries, when it was recognized that the region had a form of law and custom that differed notably from the rest of Britain; English people of the time assumed that these differences originated in Danish culture, and modern scholarship has borne this out.
The word Danelaw has its origin in the Old English term Dena lagu ("Dane's law").
Alternate Spellings: Danelagh, Danelaga
Examples:
Although some differences remained in the laws and customs of the Danelaw, Scandinavians who settled there were eventually assimilated into Anglo-Saxon culture.
