Danelaw Established

The Danelaw was formally established following the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum, circa 886, which defined the boundary between Anglo-Saxon-controlled territory and lands under Norse law in England. The boundary ran roughly along the old Roman road of Watling Street. This agreement followed decades of Viking incursions beginning with the Great Heathen Army's arrival in 865. The Danelaw encompassed fifteen shires across northern and eastern England, where Scandinavian legal customs, land tenure systems, and place-name conventions persisted for generations.