For many centuries individual entries from domesday were copied as evidence of ancient demesne and land title. 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, they were protected. The original 11th century ce name seems to have been more. The original manuscript was destroyed in the second world war, but printed copies survive.
See more ideas about domesday book, william the conqueror and doomsday book. 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. The ninehundredth anniversary of the production of domesday book was heralded. The settlements in france followed a series of raids on the french coast from mainly denmark, but also norway, and.
Click on a county name on the map to continue, or use the list of links below it. 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. Produced under the supervision of the most renowned domesday scholars, this authoritative translation of the complete domesday offers a. Abington was first mentioned in the doomsday book recording the first. Earl roger of shrewsbury bishop g eoffrey of coutances. Further recordings include adam gamel 1260 assize rolls of yorkshire, and jordan gambel 1297 the ministers accounts of the earldom of cornwall. Domesday book contains fascinating information such as land ownership, livestock and even local customs. The majority of these still exist in some form today. Dodgson, exemplifies the complexities of place name evidence. Domesday book shows that between 1066 and 1086 the number of slaves in. This is an entry for dunwich, suffolk, in the domesday book. To see full names of counties hold your mouse over the name. It is on show alongside lincolns original copy of magna carta, a document outlining basic rights which was signed by king john in 1215. The domesday book one of the most valuable records of the uks past history.
It recorded every piece of property and every particular concerning it. Apr 06, 2012 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. Within it, the domesday book gave the names of landholders in each county, the. England after 1066 william the conqueror domesday book, history. There were 357 places in the county of staffordshire in domesday book. Tr introduction the first approach to a modern assessment roll or cataster is the well known. While spending the christmas of 1085 in gloucester, william had deep speech. The domesday book online contents of the domesday book. This page simply records all owner names mentioned in domesday book. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesday i. Domesday book place name forms all the original spellings of english placenames in domesday book link to pdf file. 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.
As its name suggests, because of its comprehensive nature, including the. Census names of land owners was good, but the old english dialect made reading difficult. The glossary at back of the book helped but i would prefer a modern. 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. According to the domesday book, over ten percent of englands population in 1086 were slaves. The existing literature on this remarkable memorial is so extensive, that it has not appeared advisable to quote largely from it. William needed information about the country he had just conquered so he could administer it. Christopher department of geosciences, nelson mandela metropolitan university, port elizabeth, south africa the union of south africa was established a century ago in may 1910. In 1086 william the conquerer commanded a survey of the country for taxation purposes. The domesday book provides extensive records of landholders, their tenants, the amount of. The initial letters or capitals of each county are picked out and illuminated in.
It is also the starting point for most local historians researching the history of their area. Oct 10, 2018 the domesday book was never meant to be singular, it was originally two books, great domesday and little domesday. 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. 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. In 1086, king william i the conqueror wanted to find out about all the land in his new kingdom. The name domesday was subsequently adopted by the book s custodians, being first found in an official document in 1221. Surnames mentioned in the domesday book british surnames. All these vineyards were in the hands of normans or the great abbeys. It is currently contained in five volumes, after its rebinding in 1984 to improve its preservation. Original latin version phillimore translation alecto translation. What africa might look like if it had never been colonized1,699px.
Domesday book online simple to use directory with interactive map of england in norman times. Its a land survey, compiled in 1086, that covered much of england and parts of wales. The survey was similar to a census by a government of today. The first, called little domesday, covers essex, norfolk, and suffolk. 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. John gunthers copy with his name and address in chicago printed on the first page, signature matches other gunther signed works. Domesday book, the original record or summary of william is survey of england. The main manuscript, socalled great domesday, written by a single scribe, contains the final version of the surveys of all english counties south of the rivers ribble and tees, with the exception of norfolk, suffolk, and essex. The english people said this name, domesday book, was given to it, because, like the day of doom, it spared no one. It is now forty years since galbraith published the making of domesday book. In a parallel development, around 1100 the normans in southern italy completed their catalogus baronum based on domesday book. The name was listed as gereburg in the domesday book and literally means the earthwork, or the fortification built of earth derived from the old english word eorthburgh the living of yarborough is a discharged rectory, valued in the kings books at.
Domesday book of 1085 badequella bakewell, derbyshire. Domesday book, the famous land and population census held during the time of edward the confessor d. Domesday book simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It has been cited as an example of digital obsolescence on account of the physical medium used for data storage. Its name domesday, the book of the day of judgment, attests the awe with which the work has always been regarded. Commercial site with extracts from domesday book domesday book entries including translations for each settlement. As old english law codes make clear, slaves could be treated like animals. Edgar lee masters domesday book signed 1st edition 1920 ebay. A complete translation domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english history. It was once thought that the vine was reintroduced into england by the normans after an absence of almost 700 years following the departure of the romans. Note that the same name is not necessarily the same person. The personal name gamel is recorded in the domesday book of 1086. There are some 418 towns and villages recorded in the domesday book, covering 40 of the old counties of england.
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. In fact there are two domesday books little domesday and great domesday, which together contain a great deal of information about england in the 11th century. Domesday book was the result of the great survey commissioned by william the conqueror at gloucester at christmas 1085. Domesday book synonyms, domesday book pronunciation, domesday book translation, english dictionary definition of domesday book. Domesday book is a public record and its information has always been made available. The anglosaxon chronicle states while spending the christmas time of 1085 in gloucester, william had deep speech with his counsellors and.
While spending the christmas time of 1085 in gloucester, william had deep speech with his. Domesday 1986 now available online, after a long effort to save it from outdated videodiscs, the bbc domesday project aimed to record the state of britain 900 years after the original domesday survey. Domesday extracts online service offering high quality prints and pdfs of domesday book for your chosen settlement. Early records of the name mention willemus filius raunaldi who was listed in the domesday book of 1086, in which rainaldus is a common christian name. Domesday book on public display at lincoln castle bbc news. In the 11th century, surnames were still in a state of flux and many people still did not have what we would consider a. 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. 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. Rename this file and keep as a backup, then place the downloaded version in the domesday explorer directory.
Domesday definition and meaning collins english dictionary. The surname dates back to the early th century, see below. At over 900 years old, domesday is the earliest surviving public record and the foundation document of the national archives. The domesday book is a great land survey from 1086, commissioned by william the conqueror to assess the extent of the land and resources being owned in england at the time, and the extent of the taxes he could raise. 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.
Domesday book definition of domesday book by the free. Edgar lee masters domesday book signed 1st edition 1920. Domesday book is the oldest government record held in the national archives. The written record of a census and survey of english landowners and their property made by order of william the conqueror in. The record was compiled in 10861087, a mere twenty years after the norman conquest, at the order of william the conqueror. 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. We looked at names from king henry iiis fine rolls th century a couple of weeks ago, so now lets go back a bit further and look at names from the domesday book 11th century what is the domesday book.
The alternative saxon origin is less commonly cited in this etymology, the name is constructed from the saxon words rhein, pure, and hold, love. Pronunciation of domesday book with 3 audio pronunciations, 3 synonyms, 1 meaning, 5 translations, 6 sentences and more for domesday book. The survey was executed for william i of england william the conqueror. Because of its importance many copies have been made including at least three from the th century including the exchequer abbreviation, domesday abbreviatio catalogue reference. An african presence in thirteenthcentury britain our migration story. 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. Now you have the opportunity to discover your town or villages distant. The domesday book legal definition of the domesday book. 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. The original name of africa precolonization alkebulan. Vineyards are recorded at 45 places in domesday book, 32 of these in great domesday, all in southeastern 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. Yarbrough name meaning, family history, family crest.
This unusual surname is of old scandinavian origin, and is a variant of the more familiar gamlin, itself a diminutive of the old norse personal byname gamall old danish gamal, old, recorded as gamel in the domesday book of 1086. Since then his thesis has been refined in various ways, but there has been no serious challenge to his central propositions. Sussex the following pages include domesday placenames and landowners, and beneath some are links to websites containing the local history of that place. The initial population censuses of the eighteenth and nineteenth century often. Uploaded by the open domesday project, released under ccbysa by professor john palmer and george slater. The latter was a longer version that did not make it into the final edition. Original latin version phillimore translation alecto translation notes. Female names in the domesday book nancys baby names.