Maitland, domesday book and beyond university of tulsa. Again, the latin form in the domesday text is given exactly. To collect the landtax efficiently, royal officials needed information arranged in geographical order, hundred by hundred and village by village, so they would know exactly where to go and how. 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. Full text of yorkshire place names, as recorded in the. 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. An index of personal and place names in domesday book woodbridge, 1997 k. Domesday book place name forms all the original spellings of english placenames in domesday book link to pdf file. Our vision is to lead and transform information management, guarantee the survival of todays information for tomorrow and bring history to life for everyone. The majority of these still exist in some form today. In both indexes the exact latin forms given in domesday book and all variant spellings have been retained. The national archives is the home of domesday book, the oldest surviving public. Sep 24, 2004 domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english historyand arguably in world history. Domesday book at midwinter in the year 1085 william the conqueror wore his crown at gloucester and there he had deep speech with his wise men.
The index locorumlists all placenames in domesday, except where linked to an institution. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesday i. Domesday book is a detailed survey and valuation of landed property in england at the end of the 11th century. Salt was a necessity of life and the salt industry is the most fully recorded industry in domesday book. 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 medieval history of all the. 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. In the 11th century, surnames were still in a state of flux and many people still did not have what we would consider a. For any one of these, onomasts might well be grateful. 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. Please note that modern place names may cover land that belonged to more than one 11thcentury manor, and where these manors were held by different people. This page simply lists all places mentioned in domesday book.
In the east riding of yorkshire, for instance, only 4 placenames are recorded in sources earlier than 1086. At the time of the domesday book, devonshire was still subdivided into the old anglosaxon hundreds. The index locorumlists all place names in domesday, except where linked to an institution. Domesday book place name forms all the original spellings of english place names in domesday book link to pdf file. The domesday book provides extensive records of landholders, their tenants, the amount of. 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. Crossreferences to other counties have also been included. The hundred of hemyock covered fifteen place names. The domesday book first mentions this as berchelei, meaning a clearing in a woodland of birch trees. 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.
Apart from the wholly rural portions, which constitute its bulk, domesday contains entries of. Hemyock was the chief manor, or head of the hundred. An index of latin personal and place names in domesday book. The modernised names of the places in the hundred of hemyock are. Why do you think domesday book was named after the day of judgement. Completed a mere seven months later, by 1 august 1086, the survey provided a detailed record of,418 settlements. The national archives learning curve focus on domesday. Domesday book gives the names of many places that are still around today. Though the domesday book is kept at the national archives tna, their search facility here in fact only searches a modern english translation, with both place names and personal names modernized. Abraham farleys edition 17731783 domesday book was an item of great interest to the antiquarian movement of the 18th century. 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. The original 11th century ce name seems to have been more. Its name domesday, the book of the day of judgment, attests the awe with which the work has always been regarded. For example, doncaster would probably have originated as a roman fort on a hill, from the roman caster and celtic don.
There is a passage in the bible that talks about what will happen on the day of judgement. Its a land survey, compiled in 1086, that covered much of england and parts of wales. Full text of yorkshire place names, as recorded in the yorkshire domenday book, 1086. The outcome of that speech was the mission throughout all england of barons, legates or justices charged with the duty of collecting from the. Surnames mentioned in the domesday book british surnames. The survey was ordered by william the conqueror at christmas 1085 and undertaken the following year. 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. Yorkshire place names, as recorded in the yorkshire domenday book, 1086. Yorkshire place names, as recorded in the yorkshire. May 02, 2018 the domesday book first mentions this as berchelei, meaning a clearing in a woodland of birch trees. For these three counties the full, unabbreviated return sent in to winchester by the commissioners is preserved in the second volume little domesday, which. An index of personal and place names in domesday book woodbridge, 1997. The clear referencing to standard editions of db and comprehensive coverage of the names make this a valuable resource.
The first volume great domesday contains the final summarized record of all the counties surveyed except essex, norfolk, and suffolk. Are there any saxon or norman place names in your area. 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 the text. Commercial site with extracts from domesday book domesday book entries including translations for each settlement. See the actual domesday book page for liverpool written in latin additional links about liverpool domesday book domesday place names open domesday see the actual written records for the west derby hundred mike roydens history of west derby. Completed a mere seven months later, by 1 august 1086, the survey provided a detailed record of,418 settlements in england in thirtyfour counties. 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. A brief guide to using the domesday book and associated documents to.
For example, of the 500 placenames in g listed in ekwalls concise oxford dic tionary of english placenames, domesday book is the earliest source cited for over 200 while only 71 are traced to preconquest sources some of which are themselves only preserved in post. To see full names of counties hold your mouse over the name. Domesday book life in towns and villages the national archives. Though the domesday book is kept at the national archives tna, their search facility here in fact only searches a modern english translation, with both placenames and personal names modernized. The domesday book was a survey designed to record everything that people owned in england. The problem is that its layout makes it a spectacularly unhelpful guide to the logistics of taxation. Thus to search for ricardus filius gisleberti you somehow have to know what you want to search for is richard fitz gilbert.
The domesday book online contents of the domesday book. Awliscombe and some other places were subdivided into several individual holdings or manors, each held by a different person, so listed separately in the domesday book. Note that the same name is not necessarily the same person. For example, doncaster would probably have originated as a roman fort on a hill. This page simply records all owner names mentioned in domesday book. The record was compiled in 10861087, a mere twenty years after the norman conquest, at the order of william the conqueror. 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. Scandinavian elements found in the domesday book english.
It records who held the land and how it was used, and also includes information on how this had changed since the norman conquest in. Click on a county name on the map to continue, or use the list of links below it. 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. Domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english historyand arguably in world history. Virtually all of the place names decided on up to around the 14th century were due to the environment of the area. Name, type, places owned before the conquest, places owned after the conquest. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesdayi. Sawyer, ma assistant in history in the university of edinburgh domesday book is important not only for historians but also for students of english place names. Female names in the domesday book nancys baby names.
Awliscombe and some other places were subdivided into several individual holdings or manors, each held by a different person, so listed separately in the domesday. Domesday book online simple to use directory with interactive map of england in norman times. 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. Domesday book online simple to use directory with interactive map of england in norman times commercial site with extracts from domesday book domesday book entries including translations for each settlement. 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. Domesday book, the original record or summary of william is survey of england. Large numbers of brinepits latin, putei and salthouses saltpans latin, salinae are recorded elsewhere, notably. Domesday book placename forms all the original spellings of english placenames in domesday book link to pdf file.
A prosopography of persons occurring in english documents 10661166. Some places now in modern day wales are listed under the nearest english county in the. There are some 418 towns and villages recorded in the domesday book, covering 40 of the old counties of england. You are an old norman soldier who fought at the battle of hastings.
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