Scandinavian-Britain

II.THE DANELAWI. THE AGE OF ALFREDTHAT part of Britain which theDanes conqueredin the days of King Alfred was called in Anglo-SaxonDena/agu, the district in which the Danes' law prevailed.The word lagu in the sense of " laws " comesfrom the Scandinavian log, which in itssecondary usemeant not only "laws," but the group of people whowere ruled by a given code. Gtdathings log, or Thr&ndatog, came to be almost geographical expressions forthe country which owned the rulings of the Gulathing,or the neighbourhood of Trondhjem. Hence theform " Danelaw," used by recent historians as aconvenient rendering of Denalagu,is not misleading,beside being more readable than the hybrid" Danelagh."King Alfred's life covers the period of this conquest,the second half of the ninth century. After thetentative attacks of the first sixteen years, came theinvasion of theGreat Army, which created the Danelaw,followed by the futile attempt of Hastein (Hasting)to settle in Alfred's realm. By the year 900 the eth-map of England had been drawn on linesnologicalwhich last, with alterations in details only, to this day.The story is one of stirring deeds on both sides.82