This article is about the 11th century census. See BBC Domesday Project for the multimedia project and Doomsday Book (novel) for the Connie Willis novel. Doomsday Book is a 1992 Science fiction novel by American Author Connie Willis.

The 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 I of England, or 'William the Conqueror'. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland William I of England ( 1027 His reign which brought Norman culture to England had an enormous impact on the subsequent course of England in the Middle Ages The survey was similar to a census by a government of today. A census is the procedure of acquiring information about every member of a given population While spending Christmas of 1085 in Gloucester, William "had deep speech with his counsellors and sent men all over England to each shire . Gloucester (ˈɡlɒstɚ) is a city, district and County town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. . . to find out . . . what or how much each landholder had in land and livestock, and what it was worth. " (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)

One of the main purposes of the survey was to find out who owned what so they could be taxed on it (eg. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of Annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. A peasant would most likely have had not much money so therefore William could only tax them a small amount, though someone such as a lord would be taxed more) and the judgment of the assessors was final—whatever the book said about who owned the property, or what it was worth, was the law, and there was no appeal. It was written in Latin, although there were some vernacular words inserted for native terms with no previous Latin equivalent and the text was highly abbreviated. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The name Domesday comes from the Old English word dom, meaning accounting or reckoning. Thus domesday, or doomsday, is literally a day of reckoning, meaning that a lord takes account of what is owed by his subjects. Christians believe that in the Last Judgment as recorded in Revelation, Christ would carry out a similar accounting of one's deeds—hence the term doomsday also referred to this eschatological event. In Christian eschatology, the Last Judgment or Day of the Lord is the judgment by God of every human who ever lived The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John, Apocalypse of John ( pronounced, from the Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου Eschatology (from the Greek, Eschatos meaning "last" and -logy meaning "the study of" is a part of Theology ^[1]

In August 2006, a complete online version of Domesday Book was made available for the first time by the UK's National Archives. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The National Archives (TNA is a British Governmental organisation created in April 2003 to maintain a National archive for " England, Wales

Contents 1 The Domesday Book 2 The survey 3 Purpose 4 Subsequent history 5 Bibliography 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

The Domesday Book

The Domesday Book is really two independent works. One, known as Little Domesday, covers Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. Suffolk (ˈsʌfək is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common The other, Great Domesday, covers the rest of England, except for lands in the north that would later become Westmorland, Cumberland, Northumberland and County Durham (because some of these lands were under Scottish control at the time). England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Westmorland (formerly also spelt Westmoreland, an even older spelling is Westmerland) is an area of north-west England and one of the 39 Historic counties Cumberland is one of the 39 Historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 (excluding Carlisle from 1915 and now forms part of Northumberland is a county in the North East of England. The non-metropolitan county of Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. There are also no surveys of London, Winchester and some other towns. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Winchester or Winton ( archaic) is a historic city in southern England, with a population of around 40000 within a radius of its centre The omission of these two major cities is probably due to their size and complexity. Cumberland is missing because it was not conquered until some time after the survey and the Prince-Bishop William of St. Carilef had the exclusive right to tax Durham; the omission of the other counties has not been fully explained. See also List of Bishops of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican Bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in William de St-Calais (also Calais or Carileph or Carilef) (d 1096 was a medieval Norman Monk, Abbot of the abbey Durham (ˈdʌrəm in RP, locally ˈdʏrəm is a small city and main settlement of the City of Durham district of County Durham, England Parts of the North East of England were covered by the 1183 'Boldon Book', which listed those areas liable to tax by the Bishop of Durham.

Despite its name, Little Domesday is actually larger — as it is far more detailed, down to numbers of livestock. It has been suggested that Little Domesday represents a first attempt, and that it was found impossible, or at least inconvenient, to complete the work on the same scale for Great Domesday.

For both volumes, the contents of the returns were entirely rearranged and classified according to fiefs, rather than geographically. Under the system of Feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud, feoff, or fee, often consisted of inheritable lands or revenue-producing Instead of appearing under the Hundreds and townships, holdings appear under the names of the local barons, i. Baron is a specific Title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin (liber e. . those who held the lands directly of the crown in fee.

In each county, the list opened with the holdings of the king himself (which had possibly formed the subject of separate inquiry); then came those of the churchmen and religious houses; next were entered those of the lay tenants-in-chief (barons); and last of all those of women, of the king's serjeants (servientes), of the few English thegns who retained land, and so forth. The English people (from the adjective in Englisc) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to England who predominantly speak English A thegn or thane was an attendant servant retainer or official in Early Medieval Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon culture.

In some counties, one or more principal towns formed the subject of a separate section; in some the clamores (disputed titles to land) were similarly treated separately. This principle applies more specially to the larger volume; in the smaller one the system is more confused, the execution less perfect.

Apart from the wholly rural portions, which constitute its bulk, Domesday contains entries of interest concerning most of the towns, which were probably made because of their bearing on the fiscal rights of the crown therein. These include fragments of custumals (older customary agreements), records of the military service due, of markets, mints, and so forth. From the towns, from the counties as wholes, and from many of its ancient Lordships, the crown was entitled to archaic dues in kind, such as honey. Honey is a sweet and Viscous fluid produced by Honey bees (and some other species and derived from the nectar of Flowers According to the

The information of most general interest found in the great record is that on political, personal, ecclesiastical and social history, which only occurs sporadically and, as it were, by accident. Much of this was used by E. A. Freeman for his work on the Norman Conquest. Edward Augustus Freeman ( August 2, 1823 &ndash March 16, 1892) was an English Historian.

The survey

From the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it is known that the planning for the survey was conducted in 1085, and from the colophon of the book it is known that the survey was completed in 1086. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of Annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. A colophon in publishing can refer to A brief description usually located at the end of a book describing production notes relevant to the edition A printer's It is not known when exactly Domesday Book was compiled, but the entire work appears to have been copied out by one person.

Each county was visited by a group of royal officers (legati), who held a public inquiry, probably in the great assembly known as the county court, which was attended by representatives of every township as well as of the local lords. The unit of inquiry was the Hundred (a subdivision of the county, which then was an administrative entity), and the return for each Hundred was sworn to by twelve local jurors, half of them English and half of them Normans. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France.

What is believed to be a full transcript of these original returns is preserved for several of the Cambridgeshire Hundreds, and is of great illustrative importance. History Cambridgeshire is noted as the site of some of the earliest known Neolithic permanent settlement in the United Kingdom, along with sites at Fengate The Inquisitio Eliensis, the Exon Domesday (so called from the preservation of the volume at Exeter), which covers Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, and the second volume of Domesday Book, also all contain the full details which the original returns supplied. Exeter ( (IPA ˈeksɪtər is a city, district and County town of Devon, England. Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name Dorset ( (or archaically, Dorsetshire) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county Etymology The county formerly 'Wiltonshire' or 'Wiltunscir' (9th century is named after the former county town of Wilton (itself named after the River Wylye

Through comparison of what details are recorded in which counties, six "circuits" can be determined.

1. Berkshire, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey, Sussex
2. Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire (Exeter Domesday)
3. Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex
4. Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire
5. Cheshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire — the Marches
6. Derbyshire, Huntingdonshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire

Purpose

For the object of the survey, we have three sources of information:

• The passage in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which tells us why it was ordered:

"After this had the king a large meeting, and very deep consultation with his council, about this land; how it was occupied, and by what sort of men. Berkshire (ˈbɑːkʃə or /ˈbɑːkʃɪə/ say Baak-shuh/-sheer sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South Wildlife Hampshire has wildlife typical of the island of Great Britain KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name Dorset ( (or archaically, Dorsetshire) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county Etymology The county formerly 'Wiltonshire' or 'Wiltunscir' (9th century is named after the former county town of Wilton (itself named after the River Wylye Bedfordshire (abbreviated Beds) is a County in England that forms part of the East of England region. Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. History Cambridgeshire is noted as the site of some of the earliest known Neolithic permanent settlement in the United Kingdom, along with sites at Fengate Hertfordshire (ˈhɑːtfədʃə(r, abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. Leicestershire (ˈlɛstəʃə(r or ˈlɛstəʃɪə(r abbreviation Leics Northamptonshire (or archaically the County of Northampton; abbreviated Northants History See also History of Oxfordshire The county of Oxfordshire was formed in the early years of the 10th century and is broadly situated in the Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. Geography Warwickshire is bounded to the northwest by the West Midlands Metropolitan county and Staffordshire, by Leicestershire to Cheshire (or archaically the County of Chester) is a county in North West England. History See also History of Gloucestershire Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century Constitution Herefordshire was reconstituted both as a new Non-metropolitan district (effective 19th July 1996 and as a new County comprising the area of the Shropshire (ˈʃrɒpʃɪə/ /-ʃə alternatively known as Salop or abbreviated in print only Shrops, is a county in the Worcestershire (ˈwʊstəʃə abbreviated Worcs) is a county located in the West Midlands region of central England. The Welsh Marches ( Welsh: Y Mers) is an area along the border of England and Wales on the island of Great Britain, in the current History The area that is now Derbyshire was first visited probably briefly by humans 200000 years ago during the Aveley Interglacial as evidenced by a Middle History The earliest English settlers in the district were the Gyrwas, an East Anglian tribe who early in the 6th century worked their way up the Ouse and the Cam Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the east of England. Nottinghamshire (abbreviated Notts) is an English county in the East Midlands, which borders South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire Yorkshire is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in Great Britain. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of Annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. Then sent he his men over all England into each shire; commissioning them to find out 'How many hundreds of hides were in the shire, what land the king himself had, and what stock upon the land; or, what dues he ought to have by the year from the shire. ' Also he commissioned them to record in writing, 'How much land his archbishops had, and his diocesan bishops, and his abbots, and his earls;' and though I may be prolix and tedious, 'What, or how much, each man had, who was an occupier of land in England, either in land or in stock, and how much money it were worth. ' So very narrowly, indeed, did he commission them to trace it out, that there was not one single hide, nor a yard of land, nay, moreover (it is shameful to tell, though he thought it no shame to do it), not even an ox, nor a cow, nor a swine was there left, that was not set down in his writ. And all the recorded particulars were afterwards brought to him. "

• The list of questions which the jurors were asked, as preserved in the Inquisitio Eliensis
• The contents of Domesday Book and the allied records mentioned above.

Although these can by no means be reconciled in every detail, it is now generally recognized that the primary object of the survey was to ascertain and record the fiscal rights of the king. These were mainly;

• the national land-tax (geldum), paid on a fixed assessment,
• certain miscellaneous dues, and
• the proceeds of the crown lands.

After a great political convulsion such as the Norman conquest, and the wholesale confiscation of landed estates which followed it, it was in William's interest to make sure that the rights of the crown, which he claimed to have inherited, had not suffered in the process. More especially was this the case as his Norman followers were disposed to evade the liabilities of their English predecessors. The successful trial of Odo de Bayeux at Penenden Heath less than a decade after the conquest was one example of the growing discontent at the Norman land-grab that had occurred in the years following the invasion. The Trial of Penenden Heath occurred in the decade after Norman Conquest of England in 1066 probably in 1072 and involved a dispute between Odo Bishop of Bayeux Odo of Bayeux (c 1036 &ndash February 1097 Palermo) Norman Bishop and English earl was the half-brother of William the Conqueror, and was for Penenden Heath is a suburb in the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. The survey has since been viewed in the context that William required certainty and a definitive reference point as to property holdings across the nation so that it might be used as evidence in disputes and purported authority for crown ownership. ^[2]

The Domesday survey therefore recorded the names of the new holders of lands and the assessments on which their tax was to be paid. But it did more than this; by the king's instructions it endeavoured to make a national valuation list, estimating the annual value of all the land in the country, (1) at the time of Edward the Confessor's death, (2) when the new owners received it, (3) at the time of the survey, and further, it reckoned, by command, the potential value as well. King Edward the Confessor (c 1003 &ndash 5 January 1066 son of Ethelred the Unready, was the penultimate Anglo-Saxon King of England and the last It is evident that William desired to know the financial resources of his kingdom, and it is probable that he wished to compare them with the existing assessment, which was one of considerable antiquity, though there are traces that it had been occasionally modified. The great bulk of Domesday Book is devoted to the somewhat arid details of the assessment and valuation of rural estates, which were as yet the only important source of national wealth. After stating the assessment of the manor, the record sets forth the amount of arable land, and the number of plough teams (each reckoned at eight oxen) available for working it, with the additional number (if any) that might be employed; then the river-meadows, woodland, pasture, fisheries (i. This article is about the medieval system "Manors" redirects here In Geography, arable land (from Latin arare, to Plough) is an agricultural term meaning land that can be used for e. weirs in the streams), water-mills, salt-pans (if by the sea) and other subsidiary sources of revenue; the peasants are enumerated in their several classes; and finally the annual value of the whole, past and present, is roughly estimated.

It is obvious that, both in its values and in its measurements, the survey's reckoning is very crude.

The rearrangement, on a feudal basis, of the original returns enabled the Conqueror and his officers to see with ease the extent of a baron's possessions; but it also had the effect of showing how far he had engaged under-tenants, and who those under-tenants were. This was of great importance to William, not only for military reasons, but also because of his firm resolve to make the under-tenants (though the "men" of their lords) swear allegiance directly to himself. As Domesday Book normally records only the Christian name of an under-tenant, it is not possible to search for the surnames of families claiming a Norman origin; but much has been done, and is still being done, to identify the under-tenants, the great bulk of whom bear foreign Christian names.

To a large extent, it comes down to the king's knowing where he should look when he needed to raise money. It therefore includes sources of income but not sinks of expenditure such as castles; unless their mention is needed to explain discrepancies between pre-and post-Conquest holdings. Typically, this happened in a town, where separately-recorded properties had been demolished to make way for a castle.

Subsequent history

(Main article on Publications of the Domesday Book)

Domesday Book was originally preserved in the royal treasury at Winchester (the Norman kings' capital). From antiquarian beginnings The Domesday Book was an item of great interest to the antiquarian movement of the Eighteenth century. Winchester or Winton ( archaic) is a historic city in southern England, with a population of around 40000 within a radius of its centre It was originally referred to as the Book of Winchester, and refers to itself as such in a late edition. When the treasury moved to Westminster, probably under Henry II, the book went with it. Westminster is an area of Central London, within the City of Westminster. In the Dialogus de scaccario (temp. Hen. II. ) it is spoken of as a record from the arbitrament of which there was no appeal (from which its popular name of Domesday is said to be derived). In the Middle Ages its evidence was frequently invoked in the law-courts; and even now there are certain cases in which appeal is made to its testimony.

It remained in Westminster until the days of Queen Victoria, being preserved from 1696 onwards in the Chapter House, and only removed in special circumstances, such as when it was sent to Southampton for photozincographic reproduction. Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901 was from 20 June 1837 the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Southampton ( IPA /ˌsaʊθˈhæmptən/ is the largest city in the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England In the 1860s the first Facsimile of the Domesday Book was created by the process of Photozincography (later termed Zinco) and was executed under the directorship Domesday Book was eventually placed in the Public Record Office, London; it can be now seen in a glass case in the museum at The National Archives, Kew which is in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. The Public Record Office (PRO of the United Kingdom is one of the three organisations that make up the National Archives (the others are the Historical Manuscripts The National Archives (TNA is a British Governmental organisation created in April 2003 to maintain a National archive for " England, Wales Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames ( is a London borough in south west London, England, which forms part of Outer London. In 1869 it received a modern binding. Most recently, the two books were rebound for its ninth centenary in 1986, when Great Domesday was divided into two volumes and Little Domesday was divided into three volumes. The ancient Domesday chest, in which it used to be kept, is also preserved in the building at Kew.

The printing of Domesday, in "record type", was begun by the government in 1773, and the book was published, in two volumes, in 1783; in 1811 a volume of indices was added, and in 1816 a supplementary volume, separately indexed, containing:

1. The Exon Domesday — for the south-western counties
2. The Inquisitio Eliensis
3. The Liber Winton — surveys of Winchester early in the 12th century
4. The Boldon Buke — a survey of the bishopric of Durham a century later than Domesday.

Photographic facsimiles of Domesday Book, for each county separately, were published in 1861-1863, also by the government. In the 1860s the first Facsimile of the Domesday Book was created by the process of Photozincography (later termed Zinco) and was executed under the directorship Year 1861 ( MDCCCLXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1863 ( MDCCCLXIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Today, Domesday Book is available in numerous editions, usually based per county and available with other local history resources. Local history is the study of the History of a relatively small geographic area typically a specific settlement parish or county

In 1986, the BBC released the BBC Domesday Project, the results of a project to create a survey to mark the 900th anniversary of the original Domesday Book. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) In August 2006 the contents of Domesday went on-line, with an English translation of the book's Latin. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Visitors to the website will now be able to search a place name, see the index entry made for the manor, town, city or village and, for a fee, download the appropriate page.

Although unique in character and invaluable to the student, scholars are unable to explain portions of its language and of its system. This is partly due to its very early date, which has placed a gulf between Domesday Book and later records which is difficult to bridge.

To the topographer, as to the genealogist, its evidence is of primary importance, as it not only contains the earliest survey of each township or manor, but affords, in the majority of cases, the clue to its subsequent descent.

Bibliography

• Domesday Book: A Complete Transliteration. London: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0-14-143994-7.
• Hallam, Elizabeth M. Domesday Book through Nine Centuries. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1986.
• Keats-Rohan, Katherine S. B. Domesday People: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents, 1066–1166. Dr Katharine S B Keats-Rohan (born 1957 is a history researcher at the University of Oxford specialising in Prosopography. 2v. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, 1999.
• Maitland, F. W. Domesday Book and Beyond. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-521-34918-4
• Wood, Michael. The Doomsday Quest: In Search of the Roots of England. London: BBC Books, 2005. ISBN 0-563-52274-7

See also

• Medieval demography
• BBC Domesday Project
• Quia Emptores
• Publications of the Domesday book since 1086
• Photozincography of the Domesday Book
• Cestui que

References

External links

• Domesday Book, from The National Archives (UK). The National Archives (TNA is a British Governmental organisation created in April 2003 to maintain a National archive for " England, Wales Searchable text and page scans (complete).
• Focus on Domesday, from Learning Curve. Annotated sample page.
• Domesday Book, an article from History Magazine.
• Secrets of the Norman Invasion Domesday analysis of wasted manors.

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