It is a highly detailed survey and valuation of land holding and resources in late 11th century england. Domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english historyand arguably in world history. Le domesday book ou simplement domesday, en francais livre du jugement dernier, est. 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.
Domesday book the domesday book was a survey designed to record everything that people owned in england. List of towns and cities in england by historical population. Early censustaking in england and wales office for national. This detailed inventory of land and property was a massive undertaking at the time, taking many years to complete. It is the starting point of recorded history for the majority of english villages and towns which are organized by county. The population of england at the time of domesday has been tentatively estimated at between 1. Domesday book life in towns and villages the national archives. Dyer, towns and cottages in eleventhcentury england, studies in medieval history presented to r. The domesday book county edition addison publications. Its survey, completed in 1086, gave an overview of population and a breakdown of which lands were leased to whom as tenants under the new feudal system. The population of the entire country was probably between 1. 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 survey could not have been made without the machinery of government that the anglosaxons bequeathed to the normans.
Domesday is our most famous and earliest surviving public record. Domesday book 108688 provides a glimpse into social structures after the norman invasion in 1066, and gives a clear sense of division between the norman conquerors, who possessed most of the land, and the anglosaxon conquered. This first english census, considered by some as the most remarkable administrative accomplishment of the middle ages, provides a record of english social. The precise purpose of the enterprise is not known but the most likely reason was to determine who legally owned what land, to settle disputes of ownership and to measure. Appendix i sources and methods for learning about the population of medieval england. Since long before the norman conquest, the population of england has been ethnically diverse. The norman conquest of 1066 changed the demographics of england, with many settlements having been destroyed by the invading army.
Little domesday book ldb, which covers norfolk, suffolk and essex. Domesday book county edition enquire about this book. The domesday book one of the most valuable records of the uk s past history. T he domesday book is the result of a record made at the time of william the conquerors survey of england in 1086. Domesday book was ordered by william the conqueror william i in 1085. Interpreting old and middle english literature, oxford university press, 2005, p. Seminar university of canterbury, nz, april 2008 by john mcdonald abstract. 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. Domesday book is the earliest, and by far the most famous, english public record. It has been cited as an example of digital obsolescence on account of the physical medium used for data storage. It is not surprising that so many scholars have felt.
While celebrated as an achievement by william and his supporters, the domesday book struck doom and gloom into the hearts of englands population, which led to its infamous title. The plotted data is an extract from the open domesday book. The starting point is the total of rural households recorded in domesday book, to. The domesday book of england, compiled in 1086, is one of the major inventories or censuses undertaken in medieval europe williams and martin 2002. However, these figures are much lower than the 4 million people there are estimated to have been in roman times. 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 national archives is the home of domesday book, the oldest surviving public record. It also contained information about what taxable sources of income each area supported. In 1086, william the conqueror ordered the creation of the domesday book, a systematic survey of the kingdom of england. London was a settlement in domesday book, in the hundred of ossulstone, mentioned in the chapters for devon, essex, leicestershire, middlesex, surrey and worcestershire it had a recorded population of 204. The survey was a massive enterprise, and the record of that survey, domesday book, was a remarkable achievement. A history since the domesday survey arnold publication by andrew hinde isbn. 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. For anyone interested in where they live now or where they come from, domesday reveals fascinating facts about customs, value and ownership of their village, town and county more than 900 years ago.
Now available in one volume, here is the complete, authoritative translation from the original latin, together with an index of places and a glossary of terms used. According to the domesday book, over ten percent of england s population in 1086 were slaves. If ownership of property was disputed, whatever was recorded in domesday was the final word on the matter. The pioneering study was by russell 1948 and his assumptions are set out in the first column of table 1. Domesday book, the original record or summary of william is survey of england. This map shows the population size and distribution of villages in surrey after the norman conquest in 1086ad. It confirms that england possessed a sophisticated system of coinage, an effective system of taxation, a hierarchy of public courts and a robust system of justice. Unlike the modern census records, the domesday book was designed not to count the numbers of the population. The total population of england at the time of domesday was around 12 million people. Surnames mentioned in the domesday book british surnames. A benchmark estimate of population for 1086 can be derived from domesday book. The original manuscript was destroyed in the second world war, but printed copies survive. The domesday book early england s most important document dec 21, 2018 patricia grimshaw the battle of hastings in 1066 marked the start of william the conquerors rule over england when he defeated the anglosaxon king harold ii on the battlefield. The domesday book online frequently asked questions.
The domesday book was commissioned in december 1085 by william the conqueror, who invaded england in 1066. The world of domesday exhibition depicts life in 11th century england. The survey ascertained the economic resources of most of the country for purposes of more accurate taxation. All the country between the tees and the tyne was held by the bishop of durham.
It calls itself merely a descriptio and it acquired its name in the following century because its authority seemed comparable to that of the book by which one day all will be judged revelation 20. Domesday records the heads of families, so the total population of a a settlement was probably around five times larger than the number of households recorded. In the 11th century, surnames were still in a state of flux and many people still did not have what we would consider a. There is nothing like it in england until the censuses of the. Early censustaking in england and wales office for. The domesday book early englands most important document. It is interesting that several of the domesday towns, like oxford and york, continued to grow during the medieval period, while others like wallingford, thetford, and dunwich became quiet backwaters. Domesday book also proves england was tightly governed. It is the record of a survey which, according to the anglosaxon chronicle, william the conqueror ordered to be taken at christmas 1085. Whatever was recorded in domesday book was legally binding. In a parallel development, around 1100 the normans in southern italy completed their catalogus baronum based on domesday book. The survey was intended to be a complete record of people and production of the kingdom conquered by william, duke of normandy, 20 years beforehand, with a view to the extraction of taxes. Royal agents took the evidence of local men in each. The domesday book is one of the most renowned, respected and revered public records ever to have been published.
Domesday book the reader wiki, reader view of wikipedia. Data collected in the domesday survey of 1086 can be used to reconstruct the eleventh century economy of england. Domesday book contains fascinating information such as land ownership, livestock and even local customs. Norwich, york and lincoln, with populations of between 4,000 and 5,000 each. The national archives exhibitions uniting the kingdoms. The domesday book compiled in 10856 is one of the few historical records whose name is familiar to most people in this country. William the conqueror commissioned the domesday book after his conquest of england in 1066.
Its main purpose was to assess the wealth of england to aid the system of taxation. Domesday book is the most famous english public record, and it is probably the most remarkable statistical document in the history of europe. 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. For historians it can be used, amongst other things, to discover the wealth of england at the time, information about the feudal system existent in society the social hierarchy from the king down to villagers and slaves, and information about the geography and demographic situation of the. It does not record names, nor does it give accurate population statistics, but it does give us an indication of the size of badsey, aldington and wickhamford. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesday i. The domesday book was compiled on the orders of william the conquerer to catalogue the ownership and value of land in the newly conquered territories of england. The domesday book provides an invaluable insight into the economy and society of 11th century norman england. However, england s first formal census and now its oldest public record was made in 1086 on the orders of william i, as he wanted to know who lived where and who owned what and if property had changed hands since edward the confessors reign. According to the domesday book, over ten percent of englands population in 1086 were slaves. Domesday book, but scrutiny of a range of manorial entries. A page from the domesday book, for warwickshire public domain image from wikipedia the survey contained in the domesday book extended to all england, with the exception of northumberland, cumberland, westmoreland, and durham. Various calculations of the population of late eleventhcentury england have been made from.
Domesday book sources for research in english genealogy. Containing a final judgement on each person and the amount they owed the king, it was considered to be similar to the bibles judgement day, when it was believed souls would either be judged fit for heaven or right for hell. Similar works edit in a parallel development, around 1100 the normans in southern italy completed their catalogus baronum based on domesday book. The first thorough survey of england was in 1086 when william the conqueror ordered the production of the domesday book.
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