What is the Domesday Book and what was its purpose?
What is the Domesday Book and what was its purpose?
Domesday Book is the most complete survey of a pre-industrial society anywhere in the world. It enables us to reconstruct the politics, government, society and economy of 11th-century England with greater precision than is possible for almost any other pre-modern polity.
Why do they call it the Domesday Book?
A book written about the Exchequer in c. 1176 (the Dialogus de Sacarrio) states that the book was called ‘Domesday’ as a metaphor for the day of judgement, because its decisions, like those of the last judgement, were unalterable. It was called Domesday by 1180.
What’s in the Domesday Book?
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.), the amounts of woodland, meadow, animals, fish and ploughs on the land (if there were any) and other resources, any buildings …
Where is the Doomsday Book?
the National Archives
Domesday Book is kept at the National Archives in London.
What is the Domesday Book in medieval England?
Domesday Book was a comprehensive survey and record of all the landowners, property, tenants and serfs of medieval Norman England. It was compiled in 1086-7 under the orders of William the Conqueror (r. 1066-87). The record continues to be invaluable to modern historians of medieval England.
What impact did the Domesday Book have?
By studying Domesday Book, we can find out who controlled the land in England. In 1086 only a handful of English people held land. King William, his tenants-in-chief or the church had power over most of it. This shows us how thoroughly the Normans had taken over England by 1086.
What is a hundred in the Domesday Book?
Hundreds were the main administrative subdivisions of a county, with a significant role in financial, military, judicial, and political matters, centred upon the Hundred court, which met monthly. Its voice is often heard in Domesday.
Who actually wrote the Domesday Book?
The name “Domesday Book” came into use in the 12th century. Richard FitzNeal wrote in the Dialogus de Scaccario ( c. 1179) that the book was so called because its decisions were unalterable, like those of the Last Judgement, and its sentence could not be quashed….
| Domesday Book | |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | Medieval Latin |
What happened to the Doomsday Book?
In 1859, they were transferred to the new Public Record Office, London. They are now held at The National Archives at Kew. The chest in which they were stowed in the 17th and 18th centuries is also at Kew. In modern times, the books have been removed from the London area only rarely.
What effect did the Domesday Book have on England?
Consequences of the Domesday Book The detailed records made it possible for taxes to be raised and these helped William and future medieval monarchs administer and rule the country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyx1J6KtoAw
