Although the term Danegeld is generally held to have been the name of the tribute payments made to the Vikings, prior to the Norman Conquest, the payments were actually referred to as "gafol". In 1012 Æthelred the Unready introduced an annual land tax to pay for a force of Scandinavian mercenaries, led by Thorkell the Tall, to defend the realm. Following Æthelred the kings of England used the same tax collection method to fund their own standing armies, this was known as "heregeld" (army-tax). Heregeld was abolished by Edward the Confessor in 1051. It was actually the Norman administration who referred to the tax as Danegeld.