Domesday book is the oldest government record held in the national archives. William died in 1087 before the writingup work was completed. The domesday book is one of medieval englands greatest treasures. Depicts domesday book as the written evidence of a potentially insecure conquest successfully transforming itself, by a combination of administrative insight and military might, into a permanent establishment. The domesday book, our earliest public record, is a unique survey of the value and ownership of lands and resources in late 11th century england. It is not known when exactly domesday book was compiled, but the entire copy of great. The survey was similar to a census by a government of today.
This page simply lists all places mentioned in domesday book. The domesday book was a record of every farm, village and house so that he knew how much rent he should get. Hallam, domesday book through nine centuries london, 1986 a survey of how the domesday book has been used since its composition, and how antiquarians and historians have viewed the record. Servus, translated as slave in the phillimore edition, is sometimes rendered as serf. You can control the zoom level at which captions appear with the set current zoom level icon. Along with a string of castles throughout england, the domesday book was to give william huge. Places domesday book into its wider historical, social, and economic contexts. Domesday book was a comprehensive survey and record of all the. An overview of the greater domesday book and little domesday book. While we share this sentiment with medieval readers, back then you couldnt just bring any book with you. Watermills were the most economically important machines in 11th. Extract from domesday book, a manuscript record of the great survey of. 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 the purposes of taxa. 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.
The national archives is the home of domesday book, the oldest surviving public record. The domesday book online frequently asked questions. Theres no better way to go than the fullon tasting menu, a onceinalifetime marriage of the best ingredients, creative thinking, and high standards, along. Williams reasons for compiling the domesday book will never be known for.
Below are some of the most commonly asked questions about the domesday book please read the information before you contact us with a question, it may be answered here. Doomsday book is the first book in the oxford time travel series. This, as you would imagine covers the greater area of land. Little domesday book ldb, which covers norfolk, suffolk and essex. William the conqueror wished to know the details of the land he had conquered, england. The pages of the nations finest treasure the domesday book can now be explored on the web. Ivy church is based on the remains of an augustinian priory founded by king stephen in the 12th century. I have never seen the domesday book for real before. The original 11thcentury document, which is stored at the national archives in kew, has been seen. In some counties, one or more principal towns formed the subject of a.
The existing literature on this remarkable memorial is so extensive, that it has not appeared advisable to quote largely from it. The domesday book provides a fascinating insight into the 11thcentury norman takeover of anglosaxon england. That is why we have called the book the book of judgement. In fact, more anglosaxon place names are recorded in domesday book than in all the anglosaxon documents put together. Doomsday book is a rare example of a story where the protagonist of a time. William needed information about the country he had just conquered so he could administer it. Why do you think king william was interested in knowing the value of the land. Domesday book goes on special display at lincoln castle. Doomsday book is a 1992 science fiction novel by american author connie willis. Books on the go there is nothing like reading outside. It is not known when exactly domesday book was compiled, but the entire. The domesday book provides a fascinating insight into the 11thcentury norman.
Two popular misconceptions are that england before the norman conquest. The other 80% went to tenantsinchief tenentes in capite, 1,100 new. Chichester, 19741992 the english translations for the great domesday counties, together with images of the latin text, are available in searchable form on cd, known as domesday explorer, published by phillimore and co. May 09, 2017 the domesday book recorded 19,500 people and over,400 places, far more than in any previous document. The domesday book was a survey designed to record everything that people. The domesday book there are,418 places listed in the. Bbc two the story of britain, the domesday book animation. The domesday book got its name because its lists were so complete that it reminded people of the last judgment which people also call doomsday, or domesday in christianity, when lists of what people have done go before god for people to be judged. The record was compiled in 10861087, a mere twenty years after the norman conquest, at the order of william the conqueror. They wrote down all of the information in latin, as with the final domesday document itself. We are long overdue for a similar work to document life on the planet earth. The domesday book is closely linked with william the conquerors attempt to. In 1085, williams kingdom had come under threat from king canute of.
The only thing missing, i think, are quality reproductions of the actual pages themselves to read alongside the translations, but im sure there are other books which do this and the domesday book itself is now online. Unfortunately for him he died in 1087, from injuries caused by being. In 1859, they were taken to the public record office in london, where today they are. The domesday book shows how cosmopolitan the population of lincoln was. If you click on any spot on a map, its name will appear in the title bar. But what william the conqueror didnt have in the domesday book was an easy way of searching its reams of data. May 20, 2014 1085 and the compilation of the domesday book. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. How many of the places listed in the domesday book still exist. Jun 07, 2014 although there is some more recent housing discreetly tucked away most of the buildings date from the mid sixteenth to midseventeenth centuries. He let his knights and barons have big areas of land, and wanted rent money from them.
Though the domesday book is kept at the national archives tna, their search facility here in fact only searches a modern english translation, with both placenames and personal names modernized. 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. Great domesday appears to have been largely written by the one scribe although some six scribes were used for little domesday. When william, king of england, found out about this, he went to england with a. Go to this site providing information about the facts, history of the domesday book. Who owned the land at the time of domesday in 1086. The domesday book was called domesday because the book was invented in the time of the.
Produced at amazing speed in the years after the conquest, the domesday book provides a vivid picture of late 11thcentury england. It is possible that news of williams death, on 9 september 1087, brought the. You can also show all placenames by clicking on the show captions icon, best used where there are only a scattering of points on the map. Jun 05, 1992 doomsday book left me a little messed up in the head and i wanted to replace the imagery and train of thought with something new. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. 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. Domesday book simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Penguin books deserve a big pat on the back for making this massive door stopper book available at such a reasonable price. If you want to do a bit of further study, there is quite a lot about the domesday book online. The information collected during the survey was written up in a fair copy, later known as domesday book, which in fact comprises two volumes. 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. The domesday book is closely linked with william the conquerors attempt to dominate medieval england. Tr introduction the first approach to a modern assessment roll or cataster is the well known. The domesday book is actually not one book but two. And to be able to go and see the actual domesday book, you know. Goodreads members who liked 1,000 places to see before. Faced with the threat of foreign invasion, king william wants to know how much tax he can raise, so sets out to record every person, every manor. Girdle books were bound so that it had a flexible cover tail that could be tucked into a girdlebelt for ease of carrying. Galbraith, the making of domesday book oxford, 1961 e. Domesday is now available online, and you can search for your town or village, and download images of domesday along with an english translation of the entry.
Sep 28, 2009 domesday book was compiled by a team of inspectors acting for king william i in 1086, taking only months to gather the information. In the books fictional universe, history resists time travel that would cause the past. Its origins are even older for it was well established even before being recorded in the domesday book. 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. About 90 per cent of places on the modern map of england south of the tees are recorded in domesday book. Find out how to search for your town or village, and how to access images of domesday along with an english translation, using our research guide. Find out how it was compiled, and what it reveals about life in. When domesday refers to number of ploughs it is referring to the taxable amount. If you are into history, and most especially, if you are into english history, then you should have this book on your shelf. On 5 january 1066, edward the confessor, the king of england, died. Bates, a bibliography of domesday book woodbridge, 1986 v. Frequently asked questions the domesday book online. The world of domesday exhibition depicts life in 11th century england.