Domesday Book

The Domesday Book is a type of census commissioned and collected during the late eleventh century by King William I, William the Conqueror. This is Europe's earliest census record. It contains details about livestock and land ownerships throughout Britain at the time of King William I's rule. This census was completed in just nine months after its commission in 1086.Though it is said to be a census of all of Britain many places seem to be left out due to size, or private ownership such as London, Winchester, and County Durham. Other's were not yet conquered like Northumberland, Westmorland and Cumberland. Some others have no explanation. There are actually two volumes of the Domesday Book, Great Domesday and Little Domesday. Great Domesday was written first and Little Domesday was written later, but is more comprehensive.

The Domesday Book was created with parchment. Parchment is made from animal skins. To complete the Domesday Book, between 500 and 800 sheep were used.

Many question the motivation of William I's motivation to call for such a comprehensive census. Some believe it was a display of the strength of his rule. Others argue that is was for economic reasons. Some suggest that he wanted to keep track of what was owed to him by the people he redistributed land to in his conquering. Some others still guess that is could have been a preparation for ware against the Danes and Norway. This would provide him with accurate statistics of Britain resources he could call upon should war occur.

The Domesday book has a very ominous ring to it despite the actual content of the book. This name occurred because of the all encompassing nature of the book and initial commentary on its observing of all the livestock, people and land in Britain that eerily sounded like end times scripture in the Christian Bible. This book has been used throughout the centuries in Britain as a source of legal justification and genealogy research along with an understanding of the workings of the feudal system at the time. The last known use for legal land ownership reasons was in the 1960's. Despite its obvious usefulness, it is full of holes in representation and human errors. This book is truly a monument to the abilities and resources of King William I and will always provide us a glimpse into the history of Britain.

References:

             Newman, Simon. "The Domesday Book." The Finer Times: War, Crime and History Resource. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2016. <http://www.thefinertimes.com/Middle-Ages/the-domesday-book.html>.  Domesday Book

Image:
These images are of the Domesday Book. These images are taken from the National Archives, Kew, London. Image of Domesday Book