Eventually, the Viking leader Guthrum signed a deal with King Alfred of Wessex, establishing the Danelaw. It wasn’t really a state, but it was still annoying enough to the West-Saxons that they would devote a century to eradicating it, establishing England in the process. Even though they succeeded in the end, the Scandinavians have left a mark in the English language, archaeological finds and the gene pool that can still be seen today.