The Domesday Book

One of the most renowned consequences of the Norman Conquest is the Domesday Book.  It was commissioned by William I as a comprehensive record of landownership under his rule.  Written in Latin, it is 913 pages long and mentions 268984 people – definitely no mean feat!  Unfortunately the Domesday Book was never completed, the project being abandoned when King Rufus ascended the throne in 1087.  As such, it does not cover all of the cities in England at that time, most notably excluding London, Durham and Winchester.  

Interestingly, the village which I live in is recorded in the Domesday Book (a fact which is probably much more exciting for me than anyone reading my blog!).

The Domesday Book was originally divided into two books:

-          The Great Domesday

o   larger in size

o   completed by one scribe and one assistant

-          The Little Domesday

o   smaller in size

o   contains more information than the Great Domesday book

o   it covers Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk

o   compiled at Winchester

The books were compiled by commissioners who were sent to every shire in the country.  They recorded the number of tenants on the land, the livestock and the land ownership records.  England during this period was centred on a Feudal System which meant that in return for land, landowners had to pay taxes to the King and perform military duties when called upon.  The Domesday Book provides a useful insight into the structure of society following the Norman Invasion, recording the Villani (the upper class peasantry), Bordars (small land owners), tradesmen and the Servi (who owned no property and mostly worked on the land or were servants).

A useful handout on the School History website could be helped to teach this concept, as it provides a helpful diagram, questions to work through and detailed explanation of the feudal system: http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year7links/1066/FeudalSystem.pdf

But why did William feel that the Domesday Book was necessary?

As the Domesday Book aimed to record all of the landowners in the country, stating who had owned it before 1066, who owned it in 1086 and how this came to pass, the Domesday Book was intended to settle local disputes between land ownership (especially following all the land seizures following 1066).  It also created revenue for the King as it recorded who should pay revenue and taxes.