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. Domesday book encompasses two independent works in, originally, two physical volumes. The domesday book records details of a survey of land ownership and. I have transcribed the names from the phillimore domesday, which includes the original latin as well as a translation. Little domesday covering norfolk, suffolk, and essex, and great domesday covering much of the remainder of england except for lands in the north that later became westmorland, cumberland, northumberland, and the county palatine of durham and parts of wales bordering, and included within, english counties. Kilpeck was then known as chipitee,but streton sugwas, shobdon, eardisley and castle frome all made famous by the magnificent kilpeck school of norman architecture are right there in the herefordshire county of domesday,and even their original 11c names except kilpeck have remained unchanged. Great domesday book is the incomplete, last draft of the information collected by the domesday survey, commissioned by william the conqueror at christmas 1085 and using a detailed list of questions to record who owned which estate. The placenames found in the domesday book are township and estate names, and may include other villages and hamlets that receive no specific mention in. T he domesday book is the result of a record made at the time of william the conquerors survey of england in 1086.
The domesday book of 1086 lists in the following order the tenantsinchief in devonshire of king william the conqueror. Hamilton, inquisitio cantabrigiensis 1876, containing the only transcripts of the original returns and the. This interesting and unusual name, with variant spelling domesday, originated as an occupational name for a judges clerk or attendant. Original latin version phillimore translation alecto translation notes. The hull domesday project was conceived as an electronic translation of domesday book, coded to identify different textual elements names, places, categories of data and linked to databases of domesday names and places, a facsimile of the manuscript, and mapping facilities, all these elements enclosed in a software package which could interpret the coding.
Completed a mere seven months later, by 1 august 1086, the survey provided a detailed record of,418 settlements in england. Holdings in 10 counties in midlands and east anglia. Again, the latin form in the domesday text is given exactly. The databases of names and domesday statistics have been updated to reflect these identifications. As expected, the domesday book shows us that the areas where there is a greater number of occurrences of scandinavian place names elements are those within the danelaw, and, in general, where scandinavian settlement was the strongest, during the 8th, 9th and 10th century. The first volume great domesday contains the final summarized record of all the counties surveyed except essex, norfolk, and suffolk.
Ellis, general introduction to domesday book 1833, 2 vols. The domesday book online contents of the domesday book. The domesday book english medieval legal documents. This first english census, considered by some as the most remarkable administrative accomplishment of the middle ages, provides a record of. The original 11th century ce name seems to have been more mundane. The majority of these still exist in some form today. Surnames mentioned in the domesday book british surnames. Indeed, it was noted by an observer of the survey that. By contrast, the original domesday book an inventory of eleventhcentury england compiled in 1086 by norman monks is in fine condition in the public record office, kew, and can be accessed by. Visitors to the domesday website will be able to search place names and see the index entry made for each village, town or city for free.
Driven from see by william ii rufus in 1088, he became a counsellor to duke robert curthose of normandy and was often at odds with the exiled odo of bayeux. The following are the more important works to be consulted. Domesday book is a manuscript record of the great survey of much of england and parts of. One of the most important historical events of the medieval era is the domesday book. 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. There are some 418 towns and villages recorded in the domesday book, covering 40 of the old counties of england. 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. Chief justice and domesday commissioner, one of his scribes wrote most of the great domesday book. This would explain why he did not write up the return for the eastern circuit, which also survives in its original form and is known as little domesday book. Why it was written and what was involved in making it. Click on a county name on the map to continue, or use the list of links below it. The text was written in an abbreviated and stylized clerical.
Gender data is taken primarily from the pase database. This was the age of the county history, with many accounts of the english shires being published at this time, and domesday book, as a property record of early date that happened to be arranged by county, was a major source for the. Domesday book, the original record or summary of william i s survey of england. 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. Crossreferences to other counties have also been included. The domesday book provides extensive records of landholders. The written record of a census and survey of english landowners and their property made by order of william the conqueror in. Sawyer, ma assistant in history in the university of edinburgh domesday book is important not only for historians but also for students of english placenames. The name domesday book was not adopted until the late 12th century. The domesday book was a survey designed to record everything that people owned in england.
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. Widow of earl waltheof of huntingdon and northumbria, whom she betrayed. Now available in one volume, here is the complete, authoritative translation from the original latin, together with an index of places and a glossary of terms used. The anglosaxon chronicle states while spending the christmas time of 1085 in gloucester, william had deep speech with his. Domesday book definition of domesday book by the free. It is interesting to note that the domesday book compiled by the commissioners of william the conqueror in 1086, is named from the old english domes daeg i. The original manuscript of the domesday book is in the pro. This research guide explains how to access and understand the information within domesday book. Domesday book synonyms, domesday book pronunciation, domesday book translation, english dictionary definition of domesday book. For these three counties the full, unabbreviated return sent in to winchester by the commissioners is preserved in the second volume little domesday, which. Domesday book sources for research in english genealogy. The original manuscript was destroyed in the second world war, but printed copies survive.
Note that the same name is not necessarily the same person. The domesday book is actually not one book but two. The domesday book was commissioned in december 1085 by william the conqueror, who invaded england in 1066. For a more detailed introduction to domesday, and england at the end of the 11th century, when domesday was compiled, consult our online domesday exhibition the original domesday book itself can no longer be consulted except in very rare.
The most substantial change in this revised version of the original dataset is the addition of a single file ids. The earliest names accorded to it the kings book and the great book of. 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. Today, domesday book is available in numerous editions, usually separated by county and available with other local history resources. This page simply records all owner names mentioned in domesday book. The national archives is the home of domesday book, the oldest surviving public record. To see full names of counties hold your mouse over the name. It was ordered by william the conqueror the winner of the recent battle of hastings so that william could determine how much money in taxes he could raise and to give william a better sense of the territory he had continue reading domesday book. 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. Find out how to search for your town or village, and how to access images of domesday along with an english translation, using our research guide. Domesday book 1086 the middle ages encompass one of the most exciting periods in english history. The domesday book, our earliest public record, is a unique survey of the value and. Scandinavian elements found in the domesday book english. Domesday book, the original record or summary of william is survey of england.
This short three minute video covers what the domesday book is. This is a list of all the surnames mentioned in domesday which are still current in the uk. Learn more about out why and how domesday was created, and how to interpret it, in discover domesday. It is the starting point of recorded history for the majority of english villages and towns which are organized by county. In august 2006 the contents of domesday went online. In 1986, the bbc released the bbc domesday project, the results of a project to create a survey to mark the 900th anniversary of the original domesday book. Its a land survey, compiled in 1086, that covered much of england and parts of wales. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesdayi. Domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english historyand arguably in world history. Personal names in the domesday book by constanza of thamesreach genny grim. The place names found in the domesday book are township and estate names, and may include other villages and hamlets that receive no specific mention in the text. If yours is one of them, you have one of the earliest recorded surnames.
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