The Domesday Book stands as a testament to the significant expansion of the royal administration, and bears evidence to William's consolidation of royal authority. The record allowed William to see which lord owned what, how much it was worth, and how much each lord owed him in taxes and military services. By recording such details, William was able to recover his royal rights and maximize revenues and military conscription. Moreover, it eliminated any dissent as the names of the King's barons and churchmen who held lands were also record, thus any attempts to dispute a tax demand where rendered fruitless.
It appears not much as changed, as the people of England, much like some people of today, were not the biggest fans of taxes, hence "Domesday Book." Once called the Winchester or King's Roll, the Domesday Book was granted its current title from the Dialogus de Sacarrio -- a book written about the exchequer in c.1176. With "Domesday" sounding quite similar to "Dooms Day," it is often believed that the title is a metaphor for the day of judgement because, much like the judgement of your soul, its records and decisions were final.
Words Cited:
Bennet, Judith M. Medieval Europe: A Short History. 11th ed., McGraw-Hill.
National Archives. “Domesday Book - Survey and Making of Domesday.” The National Archives, The National Archives, 26 Apr. 2017, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/domesday/discover-domesday/making-of-domesday.htm.
National Archives. “Discover Domesday.” The National Archives, The National Archives, 26 Apr. 2017, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/domesday/discover-domesday/.
The pages include before and after wealth too, making it particularly interesting. I will try to get the document on moodle soon. Great images. The urban areas of London and Winchester were not included. What does this say about William's power there?
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of Peter the Great of Russia, who taxed just about everything under the sun including beards. Both leaders used taxation to consolidate their power; economic and political strength are closely entwined. I'm also wondering about the production of the book - how long did it take to create and by whom?
ReplyDeleteSince everything was taxed so heavily, I would be interested to know how long this took, what the parameters were for taxation, and what liberties would have been taken to collect all of this information. Even with modern tax codes and record keeping, some people still fall through the cracks. I think it would be an incredible feat to first create this book, and then to enforce it.
ReplyDeleteAlso I definitely thought this would be a book about the end times, but hey, taxes are pretty terrible!
The book cover is unique compared to the other books at this time is because it is made with wood, while most books have a leather cover. It looks to be written in Latin. The main purpose of the book was to give King William an accounting of the kingdom. This allowed him to tax “fairly” and know who was not providing their share to support the kingdom. This was important because it was not just for monetary purposes, but to make sure the army was at full strength, which was needed to protect the country from attacks.
ReplyDeleteI like that you describe the meaning of the book's name at the end, it was very helpful. Not going to lie, I read the name as "Doom's Day" throughout the entire post until I got to the last paragraph and caught myself. The pictures are also so cool to look at! I am in the History of the Printed Book class and I think bookbinding, and the work of scribes are so unique in this time period.
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