General Notes

1  BIRT
2  DATE 1028
2  PLAC Falaise, Normandy
2  SOUR S20517
3  DATA
4  TEXT Date of Import: Feb 11, 2001


[ddandrm.ged]


Domesday Book
Free Concise Encyclopedia Article

Domesday Book, written record of a statistical survey of England ordered by William I. The survey, made in 1086, was an attempt to systematically register the landed wealth of the country, to determine the revenues due the king. The previous system of taxation was of ancient origin and had become obsolete. By listing all feudal estates, both lay and ecclesiastical, the Domesday Book enabled William to strengthen his authority by exacting oaths of allegiance from all tenants on the land, as well as from the nobles and clergy on whose land the tenants lived. These documents were frequently used in the medieval law courts, and in their published form they are occasionally used today in cases involving questions of topography or genealogy.

"GENEALOGY OF THE ELIOT FAMILY"
page 9

In the "History of the Conquest of England," translated from the French of A. Theirry, vol. 1, pp. 283, 4, is given the following account of the landing of the Conqueror:--

"William's troops landed, without encountering any resistance, at Pevensey, near Hastings, on the 28th of September, 1066. The archers landed first--they wore short habits, and had their hair cut close. Next followed the horsemen, wearing steel head-pieces, tunics, and cuirasses, and with long heavy spears, and straight two-edged swords. After them came the workmen of the army, pioneers, carpenters, and smiths, who unloaded on the strand, piece by piece, three wooden castles, framed and prepared beforehand. The Duke [William] was the last to come ashore; who, in setting his foot upon the land, made a false step, and fell upon his face. A murmur immediately arose, and some voices cried out-- 'God preserve us! this is a bad sign!' But William, rising instantly, said--'What is the matter? What astonishes you? I have grasped the land with my hands; and by the splendor of God, how far soever it may extend, it is mine--it is yours!' This quick repartee prevented the effect of the bad omen."

Wace, in "his Chronicles of the Conquest," p. 119, says:--

"I shall never put in writing, and would not undertake to set down, what Barons, and how many Knights, and how many vavassours, and how many soldiers, the Duke had in company; but I heard my father say--I remember it well, although I were but a lad--that there were seven hundred ships less four, when they sailed from St. Vallerie; and that there were, besides these ships, boats and skiffs, for the purpose of carrying the arms and harness."

And on p. 130:--

"As the ships were drawn to the shore, and the Duke first landed, he fell, by chance, upon his two hands. Forthwith all raised a loud cry of distress--'An evil sign,' said they, 'is here!' But he cried out lustily--'See! Seigniors! By the splendor of God, I have seized England with my two hands! Without challenge, no prize can be made! All is our own that is here; and we shall now see who shall be the bolder man!' Then one of his MEN ran forward, and put his hand on a hut, and took a handful of the thatch, and turned to the Duke, saying heartily--'Sire, come forward and receive seizin; of this land I give you seizin; without doubt the country is yours!' And the Duke said--'I accept it; may God be with us!'"

In Carte's History of England, printed in 1747, vol. 1, p. 385, he gives this account:--

"The debarkation being made, with as much order and precaution as if the enemy had been in view, William quitted his ship, (see Wace, p. 481;) and as he advanced to the shore, sinking too deep into the mud, fell on his hands. Which some of his soldiers taking for a bad omen, he cried out immediately--like C‘sar, upon the same mischance, at his landing in Africa--''Tis thus I take possession of the country!' To humor this notion, one of his FOLLOWERS, running to a house near the place, plucked some of the thatch, and bringing it to him, delivered it into his hands, to give him, as he said, seizin of England."

Hollingshed's Chronicles, a very old work, reprinted in London, in 1807, vol. 1, p. 760, says:--

"At his going out of his ship unto the shore, one of his feet slipped, as he stepped forward, but the other stuck fast in the sand. The which, so soon as one of his KNIGHTS had espied, and seeing his hand whereupon he stayed full of earth, when he arose, he spake aloud, and said--'Now, sir Duke, thou hast the soil of England fast in thy hand, and shalt of a Duke ere long become a King!' The Duke, hearing this tale, laughed merrily thereat; and coming on land, by and by, made his proclamation, declaring upon what occasion he had thus entered the realm."

Speed's History of Great Britain, printed previous to 1675, describing the landing of William, says:--

"He fell into the mud, and all to bemired his hands; which accordingly was presently considered for a lucky presage. For now, said a CAPTAIN--'Oh! Duke, thou hast taken possession and holdest that land in thy hand; whereof shortly thou shalt become king."

It is thus stated by Hume:--

"When William, the Conqueror, first set foot on English land, he stumbled and fell; but he had the presence of mind, it is said, to turn this omen to his advantage, by calling aloud that he had taken possession of the country; and a SOLDIER, running to a neighboring cottage, plucked some thatch, which, as if giving him seizin of the kingdom, he presented to his General."

DOMESDAY BOOK
from "The Domesday Book Online"

The Domesday Story
Why it was needed | How it was compiled | Little and Great Domesday
Why it was compiled

During the last years of his reign, King William (the Conqueror) had his power threatened from a number of quarters. The greatest threats came from King Canute of Denmark and King Olaf of Norway. In the Eleventh Century, part of the taxes raised went into a fund called the Danegeld, which was kept to buy off marauding Danish armies.

One of the most likely reasons for the record to be commissioned, was for William to see how much tax he was getting from the country and therefore how much Danegeld was available.

The Domesday survey is far more than just a physical record though. It is a detailed statement of lands held by the king and by his tenants and of the resources that went with those lands. It records which manors rightfully belonged to which estates, thus ending years of confusion resulting from the gradual and sometimes violent dispossession of the Anglo-Saxons by their Norman conquerors. It was moreover a 'feudal' statement, giving the identities of the tenants-in-chief (landholders) who held their lands directly from the Crown, and of their tenants and under tenants.

The fact that the scheme was executed and brought to complete fruition in two years is a tribute of the political power and formidable will of William the Conqueror.--- © 1999-2000 domesdaybook.co.uk. All right reserved--- http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/story.html





Research by Ron Myers copyright 1999, 2000, all rights reserved.  This information is provided for private personal use only.