The Domesday Book​—An Extraordinary Survey

William, the duke of Normandy (a region of France), conquered England in 1066. Nineteen years later he commissioned a survey of his new realm. Compilations of this survey came to be called the Domesday Book. Why is it still one of England’s most important historical records?

WILLIAM landed near Hastings, England, in September 1066. There, on October 14, he defeated the army of English King Harold, who was killed. On Christmas Day 1066, William, later known as the Conqueror, was crowned in London’s Westminster Abbey. How would the English fare under their new king?

The Great Survey

King William I ravaged the north of the country and depopulated vast tracts of land. “Even by the fairly barbaric standards of the age,” writes former Oxford University staff tutor Trevor Rowley, “the ‘harrying of the North’ (1068-70) must be judged as savage.” William faced constant uprisings, and his army of occupation, numbering ten thousand or less, lived amid a hostile population of perhaps two million. The people of Normandy eventually built over 500 fortifications throughout the country​—the most famous being the Tower of London.

In December 1085, 19 years after his invasion, William spent five days with his court officials at Gloucester, England, planning a survey of the country, excluding London and Winchester. Early the following year, royal commissioners were sent simultaneously to each of seven different regions to question county representatives and assess the country’s wealth.

The king had to raise money to pay his army of occupation. He also needed to settle disputes over land ownership. Achieving these goals would ensure that people from Normandy and other parts of France would settle in England, and thus Norman supremacy would be maintained.

“Domesday”

Soon after his victory over the English, King William gave Norman barons the holdings of English nobles. William’s survey of England revealed that half of the value of the whole country was by then in the hands of fewer than 200 men, only 2 of whom were English. Of the 6,000 or so English subtenants,  many had no alternative but to lease land they had rightfully owned before 1066, while the poor and dispossessed managed as best they could.

The survey legalized the takeover of property by the Normans. It also revalued for tax purposes land and tenancies, along with woodlands and meadows. Even individual animals​—an ox, a cow, a pig—​were included in the survey. The oppressed English viewed these findings with apprehension, knowing there was no appeal possible. They likened the great survey to the “Day of Judgment,” or the “Day of Doom.” Later, therefore, it was named the Domesday Book survey.

The Domesday Book is composed of two volumes written on parchment in Latin. Great Domesday, larger in page size, has 413 leaves; and Little Domesday, 475 smaller ones. * It was left uncompleted when William died in 1087. How was all of this accomplished in one year?

The Normans inherited from the English a governmental structure with some details of owners and tenants, as well as fiscal and tax records. Using this foundation, the Normans then made new tax assessments by sending officers to each county to conduct a public inquiry.

The Book Today

During the Middle Ages, the Domesday Book often traveled with the royal household. It was first used mainly to settle land claims; however, in the 18th century, the noted English jurist Sir William Blackstone referred to it to determine the right of certain tenants to vote. It has been stored in various locations, but it is now in The National Archives of the United Kingdom.

To mark its 900th anniversary in 1986, it was rebound into five volumes. A revised translation of its text into English is available for scholars and historians. A BBC commentary called it “the foundation document of the national archives and . . . still valid as evidence of title to land.” In 1958 it was used to verify the right of an ancient town to hold its market.

Archaeologists continue to consult the Domesday Book to locate medieval English and Norman settlements. It remains a uniquely valuable source of information that laid the foundation for the development of the English nation.

[Footnote]

[Box/​Picture on page 23]

WILLIAM’S CRUSADE

William suggested that the pope elevate William’s invasion to that of a crusade, promising in return greater papal control over an errant English church. The pope readily agreed. This was “a triumph of diplomacy” for William, writes Professor David C. Douglas. Another noted historian, George M. Trevelyan, in his History of England, concludes that “the Papal banner and blessing were a useful asset to William in an undertaking that otherwise looked more like a robbery under arms than a crusade.”

[Credit Line]

© The Bridgeman Art Library

[Map on page 22]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

ENGLAND

LONDON

Hastings

English Channel

NORMANDY

[Picture Credit Line on page 22]

Book: Mary Evans/​The National Archives, London, England