Produced under the supervision of the most renowned domesday scholars, this authoritative translation of the complete domesday offers a. The english people said this name, domesday book, was given to it, because, like the day of doom, it spared no one. Chichester, 19741992 the english translations for the great domesday counties, together with images of the latin text, are available in searchable form on cd, known as domesday explorer, published by phillimore and co. Domesday was originally kept with the royal treasury at winchester. The original manuscript was destroyed in the second world war, but printed copies survive. Bbc two the story of britain, the domesday book animation. Domesday book, the original record or summary of william is survey of england. It has been cited as an example of digital obsolescence on account of the physical medium used for data storage. Domesday book is securely housed in the national archives museum in england, where it is cared for by a team of conservators. Abraham farleys edition 17731783 domesday book was an item of great interest to the antiquarian movement of the 18th century. Sussex the following pages include domesday placenames and landowners, and beneath some are links to websites containing the local history of that place. The information collected during the survey was written up in a fair copy, later known as domesday book, which in fact comprises two volumes. Harvey states in her paper domesday book and anglonorman governance, many of the nearcontemporary texts have suffered because all have been turned into domesday satellites.
Domesday book online simple to use directory with interactive map of england in norman times. Original latin version phillimore translation alecto translation. The name domesday was subsequently adopted by the book s custodians, being first found in an official document in 1221. Domesday book is the oldest government record held in the national archives. The domesday book was compiled on the orders of william the conquerer to catalogue the ownership and value of land in the newly conquered territories of england. Of the various classes under which domesday book groups the rural population the largest was. Winchester was the norman capital as it had been of the saxons, so the treasury was there at that time. It contains the results of a huge survey of land and landholding commissioned by william i in 1085. In 1086, king william i the conqueror wanted to find out about all the land in his new kingdom. 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.
Note that the same name is not necessarily the same person. Its name domesday, the book of the day of judgment, attests the awe with. Today, domesday book is available in numerous editions, usually based per county and available with other local history resources. Domesday definition and meaning collins english dictionary. The novel won both the hugo and nebula awards, and was shortlisted for other awards. We prefer the original spelling of the time, which had the same connotation. Domesday book simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Uploaded by the open domesday project, released under ccbysa by professor john palmer and george slater.
Learn more about out why and how domesday was created, and how to interpret it, in discover domesday. This omission was certainly a quirk of the return from the northern. A complete translation domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english history. In 1086, king william i the conqueror wanted to find out.
By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesday i. Domesday is a most remarkable and valuable record, created in 10851086 by order of william the conqueror, so that he might fully know and understand the nation he. Commissioned by william the conqueror in the year 1085 and finished in 1086, the book is a superb example of thorough and speedy administration, unequaled by any other project undertaken during the middle ages. Domesday book, compiled in 1086 at the behest of william the conqueror, has been described as the most valuable piece of antiquity possessed by any nation david hume and viewed by historians as the final act of the norman conquest. In the 11th century, surnames were still in a state of flux and many people still did not have what we would consider a surname. Doomsday book is a 1992 science fiction novel by american author connie willis. In 1986, the bbc released the bbc domesday project, the results of a project to create a survey to mark the 900th anniversary of the original domesday book. Rename this file and keep as a backup, then place the downloaded version in the domesday explorer directory.
As the anglosaxon chronicle indignantly declared, not a rood of land, not a peasants hut, not an ox, cow, pig, or even a hive of bees escaped. The original 11th century ce name seems to have been more. Publication date 1920 publisher new york, the macmillan company. The name domesday book, commonly applied from the 12th century ce, may derive from doom, the term for a customary law in anglosaxon england, or be a reference to the day of judgement, referred to in the bibles book of revelation, reminding that the records in domesday book were final and could not be disputed. Today the domesday book is kept at the national archives in kew. This was the age of the county history, with many accounts of the english shires being published at this time, and domesday book, as a property record of early date that happened to be arranged by county, was a major source for the medieval history of all the. The detailed roles of this area for the domesday book, taken in 1086, have not survived. Slaves formed the fourth largest group among the peasantry, over 10% of the recorded population and significantly higher than this if allowance is made for their almost complete omission from the counties of circuit 6. Surnames mentioned in the domesday book british surnames. In shropshire, as in other counties, both the names and the bounds of forests altered with time, but. In 1986, the bbc released the bbc domesday project, the results of a project to create a survey to mark the 900th anniversary of the original. Or the great survey of england of william the conqueror, 1086 1862 9781166036393.
Faced with the threat of foreign invasion, king william wants to know how much tax he can raise, so sets out to record every person, every manor. This ancient name found in the spellings of forst and frost, is of anglosaxon origin, and has the unusual distinction of being recorded as a surname as early as 1086 in the domesday book, and also of having retained its original forms through the millenium since. Commercial site with extracts from domesday book domesday book entries including translations for each settlement. The record was compiled in 10861087, a mere twenty years after the norman conquest, at the order of william the conqueror. If you have a local history site that you would like to be included on these pages please get in touch via the contact page. The book of winchester was the domesday book compiled by officials of william the conqueror on his orders and published c1086.
Its original name was the winchester roll or kings roll, and sometimes as the book of the treasury. Its name domesday, the book of the day of judgment, attests the awe with which the work has always been regarded. Tr introduction the first approach to a modern assessment roll or cataster is the well known. When the book took the name domesday middle english spelling of doomsday in the 12th century, it was to emphasize its definitiveness and authority the analogy refers to the christian belief of a last judgment. Domesday book is a manuscript record of the great survey of much of england and parts of. The title of the book refers to the domesday book of 1086. Kivrin engle, the main character, says that her recording is a record of life in the middle ages, which is what william the conquerors survey turned out to be. Earl roger of shrewsbury bishop g eoffrey of coutances.
The domesday book is actually not one book but two. The existing literature on this remarkable memorial is so extensive, that it has not appeared advisable to quote largely from it. Find out how to search for your town or village, and how to access images of domesday along with an english translation, using our research guide. Domesday is by the far the most complete record of preindustrial society to survive anywhere in the world and provides a unique window on the medieval world. Tr introduction the first approach to a modern assessment roll or cataster is the well known domesday book. Hastings, 1066 william has conquered, but he cannot prove.
Original latin version phillimore translation alecto translation notes. The bbc domesday project was a partnership between acorn computers, philips, logica and the bbc with some funding from the european commissions esprit programme to mark the 900th anniversary of the original domesday book, an 11thcentury census of england. In the year 1085, william the conqueror spent christmas at gloucester. The domesday book records details of a survey of land ownership and taxation that was completed in 1086 under the direction of william the conqueror. The anglosaxon chronicle states while spending the christmas time of 1085 in gloucester, william had deep speech with his.
Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of william ingania of huntingdon, in the domesday book of 1086. Little domesday seems to be a survival of part of an earlier and fuller draft compiled from the original. Domesday book placename forms all the original spellings of english placenames in domesday book link to pdf file. Pronunciation of domesday book with 3 audio pronunciations, 3 synonyms, 1 meaning, 5 translations, 6 sentences and more for domesday book. They were handtyped on an ibm selectric typewriter, then photocopied for distribution. Domesday book also known as domesday, or book of winchester was the record of the great survey of england completed in 1086, executed for william the conqueror. The name domesday book was not adopted until the late 12th century. Included in the description of caverswall is a mention of a church at stoke but no. On this page are an extracts of the 1087 domesday book as far as they are relevant to the stokeontrent area of north staffordshire. The listing is certainly wideranging, but it has only a little in common with the original domesday book, which was ordered by william i in 1085 to assess the wealth of england for possible taxation purposes. The domesday book stands out in comparison to all other sources from this time. The survey was similar to a census by a government of today.
Domesday doomsday, judgment day received its name in the 12th century, for it was regarded as the ultimate authority, the last word on matters of property. Servus, translated as slave in the phillimore edition, is sometimes rendered as serf. While this is mainly true, the domesday now has a mystical. This page simply records all owner names mentioned in domesday book. The domesday book no not that one historical novel society.
Widow of earl waltheof of huntingdon and northumbria, whom she betrayed. This was during the reign of king william 1st, known as the conqueror, 1066 1087. This was the age of the county history, with many accounts of the english shires being published at this time, and domesday book, as a property record of early date that happened to be arranged by county, was a major source for the. Of the principle six towns of the city only burslem and fenton are in existence at the time. Little domesday book ldb, which covers norfolk, suffolk and essex. The first, called little domesday, covers essex, norfolk, and suffolk. Winchester was the norman capital as it had been of the saxons, so. Kent, leofwin, earl of son of countess gytha and earl godwin. William needed information about the country he had just conquered so he could administer it. The original book itself still survives, preserved for centuries at winchester, the. The detailed picture of the english landscape it offers has no equal in any country, while it is valuable not only in the picture it allows local historians to construct of their area in the eleventh century but also as the foundation document of the national archives. The first volume great domesday contains the final summarized record of all the counties surveyed except essex, norfolk, and suffolk. While spending the christmas of 1085 in gloucester. Thus to search for ricardus filius gisleberti you somehow have to know what you want to.
Holdings in 10 counties in midlands and east anglia. Though the domesday book is kept at the national archives tna, their search facility here in fact only searches a modern english translation, with both placenames and personal names modernized. It recorded every piece of property and every particular concerning it. Many genealogists refer to this book as the doomsday book. In august 2006, a complete online version of domesday book was made available for the first time by the the national archives. The national archives is the home of domesday book, the oldest surviving public record. The domesday book is the record of the great survey of much of england, and parts of wales, completed in 1086, done for william i of england, or william the conqueror the domesday book also known as domesday, or book of winchester was a record of all taxable land in england, together with such information as would indicate its worth as the scribes went round 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. The book arrived promptly and is in excellent condition. The name domesday book middle english for doomsday book came into use in the 12th century. The earliest names accorded to it the kings book and the great book of winchester, where it was first kept, in the royal treasury, were displaced as early as the twelfth century by a title which recalled the wonder with which the subjugated english had seen their norman.
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