Domesday book great domesday the national archives. Produced under the supervision of the most renowned domesday scholars, this authoritative translation of the complete domesday offers a. 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. You can also access the discover domesday exhibition, explaining why domesday. Produced under the supervision of the most renowned domesday scholars, this authoritative translation of the complete domesdayoffers a remarkable portrait of. Produced under the supervision of the most renowned domesday scholars. 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. 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. Pages in category domesday book the following 15 pages are in this category, out of 15 total.
This book was compiled by order of william the conqueror containing a survey of all the lands in england, their value, owners, and other. Any given doomsday the phoenix chronicles, book 1 by handeland, lori and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Winchesterbogen, men blev i folkemunde kaldt dommedagsbogen. The survey was executed for william i of england william the conqueror. The real story in 1086 the new king, william of normandy, ordered his men to survey and record the new land that he had conquered. The world of domesday exhibition depicts life in 11th century england. 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.
The first volume great domesday contains the final summarized record of all the counties surveyed except essex, norfolk, and suffolk. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of. Domesday book the critical image paperback march 16, 2000 by peter kennard author 5. Domesday book 1086 the middle ages encompass one of the most exciting periods in english history. It has been cited as an example of digital obsolescence on account of the physical medium used for data storage. 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 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 as the scribes went round england, they were protected. The first time the domesday book was available to purchase by the ordinary interested person. The first draft was completed in august 1086 and contained records for,418 settlements in the english counties south of the rivers ribble and tees the border with scotland at the time. There were 357 places in the county of staffordshire in domesday book. The information collected was recorded by hand in two huge books, in the space of around a year. Domesday is a most remarkable and valuable record, created in 10851086 by order of william the conqueror, so that he might fully know and understand the nation he ruled over. What is known as domesday book is in fact a composite work in two volumes. 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 taxes he could raise.
The existing literature on this remarkable memorial is so extensive, that it has not appeared advisable to quote largely from it. A complete translation penguin classics new ed by martin, geoffrey isbn. In 1086 william made a land register of his territory to know how much money. Southampton, 1863 monochrome photographic facsimile. Sussex the following pages include domesday placenames and landowners, and beneath some are links to websites containing the local history of that place. Domesday book, the original record or summary of william is survey of england. 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.
While spending the christmas time of 1085 in gloucester, william had deep speech with his. Campbell henry clifford darby cambridge university press, 1962 domesday book. One of the most important historical events of the medieval era is the domesday book. It surveys england south of the river tees, recording data for both 1066 and 1086, thus documenting the norman conquest, one of the greatest upheavals in english history. 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 century. For these three counties the full, unabbreviated return sent in to winchester by the commissioners is preserved in the second volume little domesday, which. 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.
Domesday book is the oldest government record held in the national archives. 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. Servus, translated as slave in the phillimore edition, is sometimes rendered as serf. While spending the christmas of 1085 in gloucester, william had deep speech. The domesday book online frequently asked questions.
Uploaded by the open domesday project, released under ccbysa by professor john palmer and george slater. 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. Domesday book of 1085 badequella bakewell, derbyshire. Tr introduction the first approach to a modern assessment roll or cataster is the well known. Links and bibliography for domesday book for source material on the internet, click here works useful to the genealogist. The name domesday book middle english for doomsday book came into use in the 12th century. Volume one, known as great or exchequer domesday, is an abbreviated version of the returns from 32 counties.
Remarkably, three original manuscripts of domesday book survive. Domesday book is the oldest government record held. Domesday book domesday book was unique in western europe and it set a standard. 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 encompasses two independent works in, originally, two physical volumes. The domesday book was commissioned in december 1085 by william the conqueror, who invaded england in 1066. The domesday book is actually not one book but two. Camp, my ancestors came with the conqueror london, 1990 this booklet not primarily concerned with domesday book examines evidence about the few men known to have fought on the norman side at hastings, and gives an index to several versions of the spurious battle. He could collect in terms of taxes and the results of this survey were. The site was built as a nonprofit project by me, anna powellsmith, using data created by professor j. 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. What can we learn about england in the 11th century. Domesday book is our oldest and most famous public record.
The anglosaxon chronicle states while spending the christmas time of 1085 in gloucester, william had deep speech with his counsellors and. Domesday book, or the great survey of england of william the conqueror, a. The national archives is the home of domesday book, the oldest surviving public record. The king sent his officials out across the country to write down a huge list of every person, household and even livestock animals that they found.
In 1086, king william i the conqueror wanted to find out. It does follow the original domesday book, but is only written as an english text and is one book for both volumes. William needed information about the country he had just conquered so he could administer it. Exon domesday is a fair copy of returns for the southwestern counties. Little domesday covering norfolk, suffolk, and essex, and great domesday covering much of the remainder of england except for lands in the north that later became westmorland, cumberland, northumberland, and the county palatine of durham and parts of wales bordering, and included. Rename this file and keep as a backup, then place the downloaded version in the domesday explorer directory. 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. The domesday book though it has left us an invaluable source of information for historians, geographers and linguists, the domesday book for all its detail leaves many mysteries about itself.
An overview of how the normans started to control britain, starting with the domesday book. The survey was similar to a census by a government of today. This is the first free online copy of domesday book. A complete translation domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english history. Without a doubt, cowells interpreter is the most famous, and infamous, of the english law dictionaries. Domesday definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Domesday doomsday, judgment day received its name in the 12th century, for it was regarded as the ultimate authority, the last word on matters of property. We know that william the conqueror, over the christmas of 1085 that he and his court spent at gloucester, decided to have a great survey of his english. Pronunciation of domesday book with 3 audio pronunciations, 3 synonyms, 1 meaning, 5 translations, 6 sentences and more for domesday book. If you have a local history site that you would like to be included on these pages please get in touch via the contact page. The domesday book provides extensive records of landholders, their tenants, the amount of land they owned, how many people occupied the land villagers, smallholders, free men, slaves, etc. Produced at amazing speed in the years after the conquest, the domesday book provides a vivid picture of late 11thcentury england. It appeared first as a hard back and then later as a paper back.
870 1179 1592 1467 419 360 851 7 525 314 595 457 1507 1218 965 114 49 643 608 1514 55 81 1111 985 46 165 1038 584 300 354 496 740 536 575 1245