The detailed picture of the english landscape it offers has no equal in any country, while it is valuable not only in the picture it allows local historians to construct of their area in the eleventh century but also as the foundation document of the national archives. Facts about domesday book talk about a manuscript record created under the order of king william the conqueror. Below are some of the most commonly asked questions about the domesday book please read the information before you contact us with a. Domesday book national archives information leaflet internet archive copy from august 2004 exchequer. Stephen baxter has argued that the jurors names from ely and cambridgeshire can be found to be those of loyal. Pages in category domesday book the following 15 pages are in this category, out of 15 total. Domesday book, compiled in 1086 at the behest of william the conqueror, has been described as the most valuable piece of antiquity possessed by any nation david hume and viewed by historians as the final act of the norman conquest. Definition of domesday from the collins english dictionary. At christmas, 1085, whilst staying at goucester, william the conqueror decided to conduct a far ranging survey of his kingdom, its boroughs and manors, for tax purposes, becoming known as the domesday book, from the old english dom, meaning reckoning, due to the exacting and invasive nature of its questions, the survey was completed in 1086.
To gather the information, the king sent commissioners out into the kingdom to take evidence on oath from the sheriff. Domesday book was ordered by william the conqueror william i in 1085. The first volume great domesday contains the final summarized record of all the counties surveyed except essex, norfolk, and suffolk. The national archives is the home of domesday book, the oldest surviving. The domesday book also known as domesday, or book of winchester was a record of all taxable land in england, together with such information as would indicate its worth. It acquired the name domesday book because of the huge amount of information that was contained in it. The book is also called as great survey for it covers the information in many parts of wales and england. The anglosaxon chronicle states while spending the christmas time of 1085 in gloucester, william had deep speech with his counsellors and. This vast database of information was incorporated in the book of winchester in 1086. Very well taken care of, no damage, especially with it being dated in 1998. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. It is likely that some of the information originally surveyed was omitted when it was written up into great domesday. The survey provided the king with information on potential sources of funds when he needed to raise money. The various inquiries instituted during the middle ages, such as the domesday book and the breviary of charlemagne, were so far on the roman model that they took little or no account of the population, the feudal system probably rendering information regarding it unnecessary for.
Here are some facts about domesday book, the great norman survey of the wealth of england. The book does record a great number of households and taxable value for stanton. The information contained within domesday book, however, can be as much a source for manipulation of evidence as it can be regarded a unique source. However, by 1179 the native population was calling it domesday book, a reference to the book mentioned in the bible that would be produced at the day of judgement. Frequently asked questions the domesday book online. The domesday book is actually not one book but two. The domesday book is one of medieval englands greatest treasures. Every entry in domesday book supplies that information. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of.
Slaves formed the fourth largest group among the peasantry, over 10% of the recorded population and significantly higher than this if allowance is made for their almost complete omission from the counties of circuit 6. In 1086 william made a land register of his territory to know how much money. The domesday book was a survey designed to record everything that people owned in england. The domesday book legal definition of the domesday book. What role did surviving anglosaxon institutions play in its make up. It is our earliest public record, the foundation document of the. The purpose of the book was to count the land, livestock and worth of each landholder. Faced with the threat of foreign invasion, king william wants to know how much tax he can raise, so. Along with a string of castles throughout england, the domesday book was to give william huge authority in england. Earnest and resourceful, william was not only one of the greatest of english monarchs but. Over a million people contributed to this digital snapshot of britain.
It is also the starting point for most local historians researching the history of their area. Even though connie willis 1992 doomsday book won both the hugo and the nebula awards and that many readers therefore do consider it mostly science fiction and fantasy, my personal reaction when i originally read doomsday book in 1998 right after having finished with my phd dissertation, and yes, as a bit of a treat and reward for myself for. The domesday book online frequently asked questions. This omission was certainly a quirk of the return from the northern circuit. Whatever was recorded in domesday book was legally binding.
It has been cited as an example of digital obsolescence on account of the physical medium used for data storage. Information from its description page there is shown below. A complete translation domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english history. Domesday book also known as domesday, or book of winchester was the record of the great survey of england completed in 1086, executed for william the conqueror. The domesday book is closely linked with william the conqueror s attempt to dominate medieval england. Along with a string of castles throughout england, the domesday book was to give william huge. The new forest was first recorded as nova foresta in domesday book in 1086, where a section devoted to it is interpolated between lands of the kings thegns and the town of southampton. It can be incorporated in to a lesson on the domesday book as an opportunity for pupils to see how it may have worked in practice. The survey was similar to a census by a government of today. Reviewed in the united states on february 25, 2019. Tr introduction the first approach to a modern assessment roll or cataster is the well known.
Domesday book is a manuscript record of the great survey of much of england and parts of. Produced under the supervision of the most renowned domesday scholars, this authoritative translation of the complete domesday offers a. Chesterfield was a settlement in domesday book, in the hundred of scarsdale and the county of derbyshire it had a recorded population of 2. Could be followed by a brief q and a on the experiences of the roleplaya small worksheet to discuss the different conversations and meetings had during the roleplay. Servus, translated as slave in the phillimore edition, is sometimes rendered as serf. The existing literature on this remarkable memorial is so extensive, that it has not appeared advisable to quote largely from it. Although scholars have adduced carolingian, byzantine and islamic parallels, no document of such an early date is so comprehensive in its account of a realm 1. Scandinavian elements found in the domesday book english. In 1085, king william i of england ordered a complete survey of all the land and property in the country. Contents explore records for towns and villages from the domesday book landowners information about the landowners featured in the records of the domesday book domesday history events in the domesday books history through the past 900 years. The information from the circuit summaries was collected and edited down to fit into one final volume, which we call great domesday.
By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesdayi. Twelfthcentury chroniclers alleged that william had created the forest by evicting the inhabitants of. He could collect in terms of taxes and the results of this survey were. It took two years to collect all the information for this survey. These pages can be accessed from the links in the bar above as you move around them. Produced at amazing speed in the years after the conquest, the domesday book provides a vivid picture of late 11thcentury england. At over 900 years old, domesday is the earliest surviving public record and the foundation document of the national archives. Bbc domesday was an ambitious attempt to capture the essence of the united kingdom. The basis of this electronic edition of the text is the translation published by phillimore and edited by john morris 35 volumes, chichester, 197386, with the following modifications. It was ordered by william the conqueror the winner of the recent battle of hastings so that william could determine how much money in taxes he could raise and to give william a better sense of the territory he had just conquered. Produced under the supervision of the most renowned domesday scholars, this authoritative translation of the complete domesdayoffers a remarkable portrait of. Its main purpose was to assess the wealth of england to aid the system of taxation.
Domesday book, the original record or summary of william is survey of england. Domesday book was a comprehensive survey and record of all the landowners, property, tenants and serfs of medieval norman england which was compiled in 10867 ce under the orders of william the conqueror r. In fact there are two domesday books little domesday and great domesday, which together contain a great deal of information about england in the 11th. Volume i great domesday contains the final summarized record of all the counties surveyed except essex, norfolk, and suffolk. The main volume, great domesday, is written on sheepskin parchment using black and red ink only red used for the county titles atop each page, and corrections and alterations. Find out how it was compiled, and what it reveals about life in. Then, at the midwinter, was the king in gloucester with his council after this had the king a large meeting, and very deep consultation with his council, about this land. How was the information in domesday book collected answers. The domesday book compiled in 10856 is one of the few historical records whose name is familiar to most people in this country. Domesday definition and meaning collins english dictionary. The domesday book is the record of the great survey of much of england, and parts of wales, completed in 1086, done for william i of england, or william the conqueror.
Domesday book covers all of england except the northern areas. The domesday book is a great land survey from 1086, commissioned by william the conqueror to assess the extent of the land and resources being owned in england at the time, and the extent of the. The bbc domesday project was a partnership between acorn computers, philips, logica and the bbc with some funding from the european commissions esprit programme to mark the 900th anniversary of the original domesday book, an 11thcentury census of england. Domesday book was a comprehensive survey and record of all the. Commissioned by william the conqueror in the year 1085 and finished in 1086, the book is a superb example of thorough and speedy administration, unequaled by any other project undertaken during the middle ages.
Indeed, it was noted by an observer of the survey that. The domesday book article about the domesday book by the. Then sent he his men over all england into each shire. Though invariably called domesday book, in the singular, it in fact consists of two volumes quite different from each other. Domesday book etc description of class e 31 in the national archives online catalogue the domesday book alan stanier see the internet archives copy of this page, from november 2004.
Bbc two the story of britain, the domesday book animation. Domesday book is a manuscript record of the great survey of much of england and parts of wales completed in 1086 by order of king william the conqueror. The domesday book compiled in 10856 is one of the few historical records. The domesday book is closely linked with william the conquerors attempt to dominate medieval england. How useful is domesday book as a source for the impact of. A highly detailed survey and evaluation of all the land kept by the king and his chief. The name domesday book was not adopted until the late 12th century. Known as the domesday book, this survey contained all the details of the names of places, the number of people, goods, and animals, and the use and the owners of the land. Learn how to access and understand the information within domesday book. This is an entry for dunwich, suffolk, in the domesday book. Domesday reloaded the story of the domesday project the bbcs domesday project launched in 1986, 900 years after william the conquerors original domesday book.
918 342 1412 1137 1537 1021 12 1048 996 615 94 281 95 1447 365 1229 1556 605 219 1332 826 1420 512 1025 1467 1377 1139 113 156 317 122 984 1008 1566 639 1246 579 1003 1123 322 1118 136 395 909 776 727 616