Focus on Domesday explores the following areas:

Discover the story behind it	Death of Edward the Confessor 1066: a year of battles From king to conqueror Wealth of a nation
How was it made?	A difficult job Collecting the information (includes film clips with actors in reconstruction) Writing it up Which places are included?
Take a closer look	Why Latin? What we can find out
Activities	Tasks Quiz Domesday game

Focus on Domesday contains a glossary and there is a printable PDF available that contains all images and the text. A translation for the document on the home page is also included.

Suggestions on how to introduce Domesday Book as a topic:

• Discuss how different styles of handwriting have developed; the lack of a printing press until the 15th century; how rare books were at this time; the existence of ancient languages; and the pains and pleasures of using original handwritten documents!
• Show the pupils a page from Domesday Book, available online. Ask them to note down their observations, for example, its age, the language used, letter shapes, and so on.
• Ask the pupils to identify individual letters and then words that seem to be familiar.
• Give students some background information on the creation of Domesday Book. Ask them to speculate about the information it contains, how that information was collected, who wrote it and what problems may have been encountered.

Extension Activities

• Pupils role-play a visit from William’s men to carry out a survey of a village. Use the “How it was made” section and the film clips to help get started.
• Write a newspaper obituary for William the Conqueror.
• Visit Domesday Book at The National Archives.
• Attend the Domesday Workshop: Year 7 Special Event: Domesday Book - Day of Judgement offered by the Education Service at The National Archives.