| Treaty Of Alfred And Guthrum |
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THE TEXT A Prologue begins the document, outlining that it is a treaty between " King Alfred and King Guthrum and the councillors (" Witan ") of all the English race and all the people which is in East Anglia ". The first point is the most famous. ''First concerning our boundaries: up on the Thames , and then up on the Lea , and along the Lea unto its source, then straight to Bedford , then up on the Ouse to Watling Street ''. This has been used by many as the Boundary of the Danelaw . However, there is no mention of this, and it appears to be primarily a political boundary, perhaps created in the wake of Alfred's taking of London . The second article raises and ' Danelaw ' social structures did not necessarily correlate, and so a carte-blanche simplification may have been the only way forward. The third section sets out regulations on the number of Oaths a Plaintiff and Defendant are required to produce in a case of manslaughter. The fourth stipulates that a man must know his warrantor when purchasing slaves, horses or oxen. The fifth sets out how the English and Danes could interact. ''And we all agreed on the day when the oaths were sworn, that no Slaves nor freemen might go without permission into the army of the Danes, any more than any of theirs to us. But if it happens that from necessity any one of them wishes to have traffic with us, or we with them, for cattle or goods, it is to be permitted on condition that hostages shall be given as a pledge of peace and as evidence so that one may know no fraud is intended.'' BIBLIOGRAPHY
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