The Domesday Book
The Domesday Book is one of Medieval
England's greatest treasures. The Domesday Book is closely linked with William
the Conqueror's attempt to dominate Medieval England.
Along with a string of castles throughout England,
the Domesday Book was to give William huge authority in England.
To further extend his grip on
England, William I ordered that a book be made containing information on who
owned what throughout the country. This book would also tell him who owed him
what in tax and because the information was on record, nobody could dispute or
argue against a tax demand. This is why the book brought doom and gloom to the
people of England - hence "Domesday Book". The decision of what
someone owed was final - rather like Judgement Day when your soul was judged for
Heaven or Hell.
William ordered the survey of
England to take place about twenty years after the Battle
of Hastings. The Saxon Chronicle states that it took place in 1085, while
other sources state that it was done in 1086. The whole survey took less than a
year to complete and the books can be found in the Public Records Office.
The Domesday Book forms a remarkable
record of the state of England in the mid-1080's. A sample of the questions
asked is found at Ely Cathedral;
|
How many ploughs are there in the manor
?
How many mills and fishponds ? How many freemen, villagers and slaves are there in the manor ? How much woodland, pasture, meadow ? What does each freeman owe in the manor ? How much is the manor worth ? |
Norman officials checked the answers
and the punishments for giving false information were severe. The reeve
from a manor and six peasants were questioned for every manor visited. A reeve
was a type of farm manager.
The questions were designed to find
out how much each manor owed the king in tax. It also told Williamwho owned
what land and how much it was worth. The book lists each manor and its owner and
the value of that manor. The book has three values in it for each manor :
|
How
much it was worth before the invasion of 1066
How much it was worth during the invasion and How much it was worth after the invasion |
For Sussex in particular, the
Domesday Book contains some interesting information about the area around
Pevensey and Hastings - fifteen manors were attacked so badly that they were described as "waste"
(as in waste land) by
the men sent out to gather information for the Domesday Book. This gives a clear
indication of how badly the coastal area of Sussex between Pevensey Bay and
Hastings was affected by the Norman invasion. Other areas in East Sussex faired
little better.
Though the Domesday Book gives historians a
detailed 'picture' of what life was like in England in 1085-1086, the book did
miss out important cities such as Winchester (then a major English city) and
London. In all, 13,418 places were visited and the final record was produced in
Winchester by a monk.
The survey - where it was carried
out - was considered so thorough that one Englishman wrote:
| "so very thoroughly did William have the enquiry carried out, that there was not a single piece of land, not even an ox, cow or pig which escaped the notice of the survey." |
Everybody had to pay their tax to
the king. This
meant that no lord or other nobleman could build up enough money to raise a
private army to challenge William. It also meant that William had money to
increase the size of his own army - paid for by English taxes. William did not
live long enough to see the benefit of the Domesday Book. He died in September 1087 but his successor,
William II (also known as
William Rufus) did benefit as he knew as soon as he was crowned who owed him
what and who his troublesome lords might be - because of the wealth they had.
Source: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/domesday.htm
The Domesday Book
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