Danish money

The tax was associated with the Scandinavian invasions of England at the end of the X century . In July 991 , a large Viking army landed on the English coast, which, having defeated the Anglo-Saxon troops at the Battle of Maldon , ravaged East Anglia , Essex and Kent . King Ethelred II was forced to redeem the world from the Scandinavians at the cost of paying 10,000 pounds in silver. Similar payments for the cessation of Viking raids took place earlier (for the first time - in 856 ), but it was in 991 that the fundraising for the payment of the amount was first organized throughout the country, based on the profitability of the land holdings of the free population of England. Over the next twenty-five years of the ongoing incursions of the Danish Vikings, the collection of redemption money acquired a relatively regular nature and turned into an extraordinary land tax.

Similar fees for the payment of ransom to the Vikings existed in the 9th century and in other areas of Europe subject to Scandinavian raids. Snorri Sturluson and Rimbert mention tribute paid to Swedish Vikings by the people of Finland and the Baltic states . The kings of France also periodically levied funds to pay ransoms to the Normans , who ravaged the country's coastal regions. However, it was in England that these payments acquired a regular character and transformed into a state tax.

After 1012, “Danish money” in England began to be levied almost annually and was no longer directed exclusively to the payment of ransom. Under Knud the Great and his sons, the funds raised were spent on maintaining the army, including from hired Normans, designed to protect the country's borders from new Viking attacks. Part of the amount went to finance the construction and maintenance of the combat readiness of the fleet. Significant funds were also distributed between the Huskerls , who constituted the elite units of the Anglo-Saxon army. Thus, the collection acquired the character of a military tax and was called the Heregeld ( al. Heregeld - war money). Heregeld remained one of the most important sources of replenishment of the treasury of the Anglo-Saxon state until 1051 , when this tax was abolished by Edward the Confessor .

According to some estimates, the total amount of "Danish money" recovered during the Anglo-Saxon period amounted to about 60 million pence . The outflow of such a volume of money from the country led to the fact that during archaeological research in Denmark more coins of Anglo-Saxon coinage were found than in the territory of England itself.

After the Norman conquest of England in 1066 , the collection of “Danish money” was resumed. King William I turned this fee into a regular tax, the proceeds of which went to the state treasury and, although still intended to finance the country's defense, were spent relatively freely by the monarchs of the Norman dynasty . Although not all documentary sources of collecting “Danish money” have been preserved, many researchers ^[1] believe that tax collection at the end of the 11th – beginning of the 12th centuries became almost annual. It was to assess the amount of "Danish money" that could be levied on each land in England, in 1086 the country carried out the first in Europe general land census , the results of which were recorded in the Doomsday Book .

Data on the collection of "Danish money" in the Anglo-Norman monarchy indicate that the standard rate for this tax was 2 shillings per guide . However, since tax collection was regulated solely by the will of the king and tradition, sometimes “Danish money” was collected in an increased amount. So, in 1084 , under the threat of a Scandinavian invasion of England, William the Conqueror collected a tax at the rate of 6 shillings from a guide, and in 1096 , William II announced the collection of 4 shillings from a guide ^[2] . It is also obvious that during the reign of William II, the tax amount was significantly increased, and exemptions from it were reduced, as a result of which, thanks to the “Danish money”, the king managed to accumulate significant funds in the treasury. Actively resorted to the practice of collecting this tax and Henry I. However, already in the era of Stefan Blois , apparently, “Danish money” was not levied or was levied extremely sporadically and on a limited territory, since no documents on tax collection in England were preserved for this period ^[3] .

When calculating the amount payable as a tax, not only the size of land ownership in the guides, but also its productivity, recorded in the Doomsday Book , was taken into account. A tax was levied on all free landowners in the kingdom. Dependent categories of the peasantry, both in the Anglo-Saxon period ( gebours , genites , cotsets ), and after the Norman conquest ( villeins , borderlands , cottarii ), did not pay "Danish money" - instead, they owed corvée and quitrent duties to their lord. The tax was also levied on the lands of semi-free categories of the population (for example, from the congregations ), which prevailed in Danelaga . Payment of “Danish money” was one of the most important criteria for personally recognizing the free status of a farmer.

The circle of persons exempted from tax was constantly expanding. In addition to dependent categories of the population, “Danish money” was not levied from the lands of the royal domain , the possessions of county sheriffs and barons of the Chessboard Chamber , and also from church lands. With the development of city self-government, the number of cities that were granted special tax exemptions by the kings increased. In addition, some Anglo-Norman barons have also succeeded in abolishing the tax liability for their possessions. As a result, at the beginning of the reign of Henry II, instead of the expected 5,000 pounds , collecting “Danish money” brought no more than 3,000.

By the middle of the XII century, the regularity of charging "Danish money" began to decline. As a source for replenishing the state treasury, this tax began to be supplanted by others that were more effective in terms of collection and accumulated amounts: “ shield money ” recovered from knightly linen , and waist paid by cities and peasants. After 1162 , the collection of "Danish money" ceased. In 1194 , as an extraordinary measure, the tax was collected for the last time by Richard the Lionheart ^[4] .

Rudyard Kipling has a poem called “ Danegeld ”, that is, “Danish money” (translated by S. Stepanov “Tribute to Denmark”) ^[5] .

• Doomsday book
• Morton A.A. History of England. - M., 1950.
• Petit Dutayy, S. The feudal monarchy in France and in England X-XIII centuries. - SPb., 2001.
• Shtokmar V.V. History of England in the Middle Ages. - SPb., 2001
• Stenton, F. Anglo-Saxon England. - Oxford, 1971, ISBN 978-0-19-821716-9
• Poole, AL From Domesday Book to Magna Carta 1087-1216. - Oxford, 1956, ISBN 978-0-19-821707-7