Domesday book online the domesday book was commissioned in december 1085 by william the conqueror, who invaded england in 1066. Associated with the reign of william the conqueror, the domesday book was created to provide the king with a means of maintaining control over medieval england. Mar 05, 2015 the domesday book is one of medieval englands greatest treasures. The domesday book compiled in 10856 is one of the few historical. This map shows every place in domesday that can still be located today. William the conqueror children, battle of hastings. 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. In 1086, king william i the conqueror wanted to find out about all the land in his new kingdom. His hold was secure on normandy by 1060, following a long struggle to establish his throne, and he launched the norman.
While spending the christmas time of 1085 in gloucester, william had deep speech with his counsellors and sent men all over england. The domesday book was commissioned in december 1085 by william the conqueror, who invaded england in 1066. Domesday book the domesday book was a survey designed to record everything that people owned in england. 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. Horrible histories measly middle ages new census for the. The world of domesday exhibition depicts life in 11th century england. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesdayi. Battle of hastings in 1066 ce and the subsequent norman conquest.
Jul 12, 2011 a funny poem about what william the conqueror was looking for in england. Domesday book was a comprehensive survey and record of all the. The national archives is the home of domesday book, the oldest surviving public record. While spending the christmas time of 1085 in gloucester, william had deep speech with. Domesday book on public display at lincoln castle bbc news. Sometimes called just domesday, it is a written record of a survey of england ordered by william the conqueror in 1066. About the time of a rebellion by earl godwine against edward the confessor, william is promised succession to the english throne. Based on the domesday survey of 10856, which was drawn up on the orders of king william i, it describes in remarkable detail, the landholdings and resources of late 11thcentury england.
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. The investigation was carried out by order of william the conqueror. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesday i. Trevor foulds, nottingham city historian and author of the book version of the latin edition of the thurgarton cartulary, has hypothesised that matilda was an elder daughter of william the conqueror called matilda, daughter of the king in domesday and charters. Domesday book domesday book is the oldest government record held in the national archives. Domesday book, the original record or summary of william is survey of england. Sussex and the domesday book the county of sussex is regularly mentioned in the domesday book, with many of its towns and villages recorded in the important survey. To further extend his grip on england, william i ordered that a. The survey was executed for william i of england william the conqueror. The domesday book is closely linked with william the conquerors attempt to dominate medieval england. Sutherland the domesday book is closely related to william the conqueror or william the bastard, king of england and duke of normandy, ca. The leader of the norman, william the conqueror, needed to know what he could tax and how many people were in his new kingdom. William the conqueror, the victor of that battle who was crowned the king of england.
In 1066 william the conqueror commissioned the domesday survey, which included a record of the state of the country on the eve of the norman invasion in 1066. Domesday book is a manuscript that collects the results of a large census carried out in england and in wales in 1086. Domesday book article about domesday book by the free. William needed to raise taxes to pay for his army and so a survey was set in motion to assess the wealth and and assets of his subjects throughout the land. He was a great a man who dominated england in middle ages, but vast sums of money were needed to rule such enormous lands. 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 income, particularly agricultural income, in order to apply a future tax. The policies of william the conqueror, king of england from 1066 until his death in 1087, may be largely responsible for eventually making britain the most powerful nation in europe. William the conqueror, the norman conquest history online. Rollos power was inherited first by william, nicknamed longsword d. After the norman invasion and conquest of england in 1066, the domesday book was commissioned in december 1085 by order of william the conqueror. Then, at the midwinter 1085, was the king in gloucester with. William was an attempting to register the landed wealth of the country in a systematic fashion and to determine the revenues due him. The main purpose of the domesday book was to raise taxes and william the conqueror who had conquered england in the battle of hastings in 1066 had ordered its creation, he wanted. The domesday survey was prompted by ignorance of the state of land holding in england, as well as the result of the costs of defence measures in england and renewed war in france.
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 article about domesday by the free dictionary. Domesday book after the battle of hastings in 1066, the normans conquered the rest of england. The domesday book is a manuscript record of the great survey, completed in 1086 on orders of william the conqueror, of much of england and parts of wales. 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. Normandy went to his eldest son, robert, and england to his second surviving son, william. It records the number of households, the economic resources, who owned the land, and the tax paid to the king, for almost every settlement in england. The domesday book, which contains two million words, was commissioned in december 1085 by norman king william the conqueror after his invasion of. As a result, the book has become a great source for historians hoping to learn more about sussex after the battle of hastings in 1066.
Along with a string of castles throughout england, the domesday book was to give william huge authority in england. Domesday book was compiled in ad 1086 for william the conqueror. See more ideas about domesday book, william the conqueror and history. The domesday book was created around 20 years after the battle of hastings, when william i demanded information about the ownership status of the country he was now ruling. Apr 17, 2019 the policies of william the conqueror, king of england from 1066 until his death in 1087, may be largely responsible for eventually making britain the most powerful nation in europe. The scope, speed, efficiency and completion of this survey was remarkable for its time and resulted in the twovolume domesday book of 1086, which still exists today. Sep 24, 2004 domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english historyand arguably in world history. Domesday book facts, summary, composition, creation. Warfare between william and geoffrey, count of anjou, round domfront and alencon. When william the conqueror, decided to invade england in 1066, he invited his three halfbrothers, richard fitzgilbert, odo of bayeux and robert of mortain to join him. The domesday book is one of medieval englands greatest treasures. The record was compiled in 10861087, a mere twenty years after the norman conquest, at the order of william the conqueror. The precise purpose of the enterprise is not known but the most likely reason was to determine who legally owned what land. A prosopography of persons occurring in english documents 1066 1166.
Domesday book woodbridge, 1999 a list of corrections to this and the companion volume, compiled by rosie bevan, is available on the foundation for medieval genealogy website. Richard, who had married rohese, daughter of walter giffard of normandy, also brought with him members of his wifes family. Chester was the only town of any size in the county, with 508houses, and it was the only borough with burgesses. Just over a quarter was owned by the king and his officials, and as much again by the church, leaving around 40% in. What was the value of the land when william the conqueror became king in 1066. When william was born in 102728, robert was count of hiesmois. The domesday book is actually two large books that contain detailed records of everybodys landholdings and wealth in medieval england and took a year to compile. He was a descendant of rollo and was duke of normandy from 1035 onward. When william secured control over england after defeating harold at the battle of hastings he introduced new ways of running that country that gave him tight. In fact there are two domesday books little domesday and about england in the 11th century. The national archives education service domesday book. 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. Nov 19, 2018 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 records that barely 5% of land by value remained in english hands.