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Domesday is written in a heavily abbreviated Latin with small marks to show where a letter or letters have been left out to save space rather like today we write ‘won’t’ as an abbreviation for ‘will not’.
This is the Domesday entry for one of the manors
of Earley, near Reading in Berkshire. We read that in 1086 it was held directly by the King. Another neighbouring manor, also called Earley, was held by a Norman tenant of the King, Osbern Giffard.
The following is an expanded translation (Domesday words directly translated in bold) of the entry for the royal manor of Earley, Berkshire:
The King (William) holds in demesne Earley (in lordship – that is, by and for himself; he has not let it out to a sub-tenant). Almar (an Anglo-Saxon) held it in alod (freehold) from King Edward. Then (in 1066, it was assessed for tax purposes) at 5 hides, now (in 1086 it is assessed) for (the equivalent of) 4 hides. (There is) Land for use by 6 ploughs. In demesne (on the lord’s land there is land for) 1 plough and (there are) 6 villans (villagers) and 1 bordar (smallholder) with 3 ploughs. There (are) 2 slaves (owned by the King) and 1 site (or close) in Reading (presumably owned by or part of the manor) and (there are) 2 fisheries worth (rendering) 7s and 6d (per year) and 20 acres of meadow. (There is) Woodland for (feeding) 70 pigs. At the time of King Edward (1066) it was worth 100s, and afterwards (when William acquired the manor) and now (1086) it is worth 50s.
Domesday Book reveals an elaborate feudal structure of landholding from the King down. Under the feudal system land was supposedly held directly or indirectly from the King who stood at the top of the feudal ladder. The King granted land called fiefs to the tenants-in-chief beneath him - his chief barons, bishops and abbots. This was partly as a reward for helping him to conquer the kingdom, partly to keep their loyalty, and partly to ensure that certain difficult geographical areas were being securely held for him. In return he received their loyalty and service. This service usually came in the form of supplying the King with a number of men-at-arms and knights for a specific period should he wish to raise an army. In turn the barons could parcel out the land given to them to their own sub-tenants who likewise owed them loyalty and service – again usually military. Domesday is thus more than a legal and fiscal document. It is also a feudal record in which the description of the land follows the feudal hierarchy.
Apart from the feudal structure Domesday also gives the
and details of their customs, sokemen, unfree peasants and slaves on each manorBy analysing the vast amounts of information we discover that in 1086 that:
tenants-in-chief: Thorkhill of Arden and Coleswain of Lincoln with large estatesDomesday Book provides details of:
By comparing the information in Domesday relating to 1066 and 1086 we can gauge the impact of the Norman conquest in such areas as:
Domesday often provides fascinating insights into local customs and laws giving us a rare picture of everyday life in late 11th century England. For example, in:
(nobleman) was sent from every 5 hides to attend himDomesday Book is not a census and does not contain the names of everyone living in late 11th century England. Although Domesday contains many thousands of names it is probable that only two families can, with any certainty, trace their lineage back in the male line to an Anglo-Saxon forebear mentioned in Domesday. Anglo-Norman ancestors who held large estates and are often given surnames in Domesday are easier to trace. But even here the problem remains that between 1086 and 1154, the date of the first continuous series of public records, there is a gap in the archives. For more information consult A.J. Camp, They Came with the Conqueror (Society of Genealogists, 1990).
