The Domesday Book

What was the Domesday Book?

The Domesday Book was a survey of England that William commissioned at the end of 1085. It aimed to find out how much was owned by each landholder, and whether they could pay more tax.

Why was the Domesday Book created?

The Domesday Book was produced because William needed to raise more taxes.

• ❖ There was a heavy geld tax in 1084.
• ❖ In 1085 William raised a massive - and expensive - army to defend England against the threat of a Viking invasion.
• ❖ In 1085, while the Domesday Book was being written, William raised another tax.
• ❖ It may have been a way of getting around the special privileges that meant that many tenants-in-chief didn't have to pay tax on some of their land.

What was in the Domesday Book?

The Domesday Book was a huge document.

• ❖ The Domesday Book was a record of what each landholder owned in each area of England.
• ❖ It was 913 pages long and recorded details of about 1,000 tenants-in-chief and 8,000 under-tenants.
• ❖ It was later called the Domesday Book because the comprehensive information it gathered made people feel as if they had reached the Day of Judgement ('Doomsday').
• ❖ It was written in Latin.

What was the significance of the Domesday Book?

The Domesday Book was an important document that affected the economy, the military, and the law in Norman England.

What was the financial significance of the Domesday Book?

The Domesday Book allowed the king and his clerks to see how much money in tax, or relief payments, were owed on each estate.

What was the legal significance of the Domesday Book?

The Domesday Book was a way of sorting out legal disputes, especially for Anglo-Saxons who claimed to have lost land in land-grabs.

What was the military significance of the Domesday Book?

The Domesday Book allowed William to see how many soldiers were available if they were needed, for example in response to the Viking threat of 1085.