The Domesday Book (pronounced 'Doomsday Book') was a great land survey ordered by William the Conqueror in 1086. It was to assess the land and resources being owned in England at that point in time, and to see the extent of which he could raise taxes. William died before it was fully completed.
During the last years of his rein, William has his power threatened to be taken away from him from a number of people. Part of the taxes raised went into a fund called the Danegeld, which was money used to bribe attackers to leave them in peace. One of the most likely reasons that the record ordered was so William could see how much tax he could get from the country, and how much Danegeld was still available. Each record of each settlement in England contained it's monetary value, and anything that was still 'due to the Crown'.
It was written by an observer that 'there was no single hide nor a yard of land, nor indeed one ox nor one cow nor one pig which was left out'. This means that William was very thorough with his recordings, and it gave him complete control over the population. It also settled arguments between Saxons and Normans over land ownership. The book was like an old-fashioned version of Census, which records the population and each person's income.
The Domesday Book was a great land survey ordered by William the Conqueror in 1086. It assessed the land and resources of the population and gave William complete control over the population.
During the last years of his rein, William has his power threatened to be taken away from him from a number of people. Part of the taxes raised went into a fund called the Danegeld, which was money used to bribe attackers to leave them in peace. One of the most likely reasons that the record ordered was so William could see how much tax he could get from the country, and how much Danegeld was still available. Each record of each settlement in England contained it's monetary value, and anything that was still 'due to the Crown'.
It was written by an observer that 'there was no single hide nor a yard of land, nor indeed one ox nor one cow nor one pig which was left out'. This means that William was very thorough with his recordings, and it gave him complete control over the population. It also settled arguments between Saxons and Normans over land ownership. The book was like an old-fashioned version of Census, which records the population and each person's income.
The Domesday Book was a great land survey ordered by William the Conqueror in 1086. It assessed the land and resources of the population and gave William complete control over the population.