New approaches to the inquest and the book on jstor. The subsequent report showed that each woman had, on average, 1. The most convenient introduction to the subject is ballard, the domesday inquest london, 1906. Apr 02, 2002 the domesday inquest paperback april 2, 2002 by adolphus ballard author visit amazons adolphus ballard page. Mar 23, 2000 domesday book is the oldest and most precious of the public records, but historians still disagree on its purpose. Apr 17, 2014 stephen baxter at kings college london elisabeth van houts at the university of cambridge david bates at the university of east anglia domesday. Essays into numerous aspects of the domesday book, shedding fresh light on its mysteries. This provocative new book proposes a complete reassessment, with. Domesday book was a land register drawn up by one of the greatest and most hated medieval administrators for administrative purposes. In 2000 david roffe rejected galbraiths model of the inquest and replaced it with a complex process based on later, betterdocumented inquests in the twelfth and especially in the thirteenth centuries domesday. The inquest and the book roffe has taken what was a relatively simple core of william is kingdomwide inquest.
Stephen baxter it is now forty years since galbraith published the making of domesday book. The anglosaxon chronicle states written in medieval latin, it was highly abbreviated and included. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Their method was that of the sworn inquest, by which answers were given to. Jan 08, 2021 the domesday inquest created a great public stage on which to act out the ritual completion of the process of colonisation, and the records of the inquest constituted unassailable title to those loyal to the king. The inquest and the book 1st edition by david roffe author visit amazons david roffe page. In arguing that the writing of domesday book was no part of the domesday survey, this book proposed a solution to a riddle that will change our perception of the norman conquest and norman kingship. Domesday book is the oldest and most precious of the public records, but historians still disagree on its purpose. A radically new interpretation of the domesday inquest and a redating of domesday book. For over thirty years scholarly attention has been fixed on those shadowy written records lurking behind domesday book. The representation of lordship and land tenure in domesday book. Domesday book was unrelated to the concerns which launched the inquest in 1085. Preface the mystique of the book domesday and title to land the inquest and government the texts the collection of data commissioners and the limits of their commission circuit reports the writing of great domesday the domesday inquest and the domesday book afterword bibliography index, roffe slowly and painstakingly disentangles all the strands that made up both the inquest and the kings book which came later.
The anglosaxon chronicle states then, at the midwinter 1085, was the king in gloucester with his. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesday i. Compiled from the records of a survey of the kingdom of england commissioned by william the conqueror in 1085, domesday book is a key source for the. The scribe probably began in late summer 1086 while results from the inquest were still. Doing things beside domesday book the university of chicago. The inquest and the book download online ebook en pdf. The representation of lordship and land tenure in domesday. Clarke, and david roffe have brought to light the mass of written evidence used in the making of domesday. R w h reskine and ann williams editors, the story of domesday book, chichester, 2003. Writing in 2000, david roffe argued that the inquest survey and the construction of the book were two. The colophon to little domesday book recorded that this survey was made in the 1086th year since the incarnation of the lord, and in the 20th of the reign of. Whether or not this new model is an appropriate tool to use in the late eleventh century is an.
The biodiversity heritage library works collaboratively to make biodiversity literature openly available to the world as part of a global biodiversity community. Compiled from the records of a survey of the kingdom of england commissioned by william the conqueror in 1085, domesday book is a key source for the history of england. But there are many minor essays dealing with questions of local interest. Domesday book, the original record or summary of william is survey of england. The domesday inquest, by contrast, was commissioned by william the conqueror in 1085 and was an enterprise of a different order. Overview compiled from the records of a survey of the kingdom of england commissioned by william the conqueror in 1085, domesday book is a key source for the history of england. Details the domesday inquest biodiversity heritage library. Williams reasons for compiling the domesday book will never be known for certain. An addition to the domesday manuscript probably made between 1114 and 1119 calls it the book of winchester.
In arguing that the writing of domesday book was no part of the domesday survey, this book proposed a solution to a riddle that will change our perception of the norman conquest. The domesday book is one of our major sources for a crucial period of english history. However, there has never been a critical edition of the textand so, despite over 200 years of intense academic study, its evidence has rarely been exploited to the full. Domesday book ldb and the thirtyone documents referred to as its satellites. Galbraith, the making of domesday book 1961, has been the standard work on the domesday inquest for the past generation and remains the best introduction to the subject though many of its conclusions have recently been challenged by david roffe, domesday. The domesday inquest and the making of domesday book london, 1962. Domesday, or doomsday the name domesday book doomsday in earlier spellings was first recorded almost a century after 1086. Perhaps the most famous census ever, the domesday inquest was more than just a single book. However, there has never been acritical edition of the text and so, despite over 200 years of intense academic study, its evidence has rarely been exploited to the full. Between that date and 1179, it acquired the name by which it has since been known. The domesday inquest, by contrast, was commissioned by.
As long ago as 1832 sir francis palgrave thought it not improbable that the two volumes of domesday book represent different stages in the condensation of the inquest material and that volumes similar to little domesday once existed for other parts of the country whatever view we may take about the nature of the processes involved and. In particular, it overturns the general assumption that the domesday inquest was a. However, domesday was probably the result of a geld land tax inquest to. In 1986, on the 900 th anniversary of the domesday inquest, the bbc undertook a new domesday survey. It seems to have been compiled, probably under the supervision of rannulf flambard, from the records of the inquest after 1089 and is best interpreted as a response to the revolt, and consequent tenurial chaos, of 1088 p. Domsday book article about domsday book by the free. It is not known when exactly domesday book was compiled, but the entire copy of great domesday appears to have been copied out by one person on parchment prepared sheepskin, although six scribes seem to have been used for little domesday. Mar 23, 2000 domesday book was a land register drawn up by one of the greatest and most hated medieval administrators for administrative purposes. Aug 31, 2017 the identity of the moving spirit behind domesday book, together with the relationship of the 1086 inquest and great domesday book, remain contested. The domesday book is one of our major sources for a crucial period of. The more advanced student may be referred to maitland, domesday book and beyond new ed. Finn, the domesday inquest and the making of domesday book 1961 and introduction to domesday book 1963.
The commissioners asked the jurors several questions. Historical studies on the xith and xiith centuries london, 1895. Sally harvey depicts the domesday book as the written evidence of a potentially insecure conquest successfully transforming itself, by a combination of administrative insight and military might, into a permanent establishment. It seems to have been compiled, probably under the. Lecole des hautes etudes en sciences socials, paris, 17 october 20. In 1997 chancellor gordon brown ordered a register of national assets, dubbed domesday book ii by the press. New approaches to the inquest and the book 2018, trade paperback at the best online prices at ebay. However, there has never been a critical edition of the text and so, despite over 200 years of intense academic study, its evidence has rarely been exploited to the full. The most recent and radical reassessment of the survey and domesday book itself is in d roffe, domesday. A copy of a draft survey the ely inquest survives for cambridgeshire and appears to list the questions. Domesday book is a manuscript record of the great survey of much of england and parts of wales completed in 1086 by order of king william the conqueror.
Domesday book is the main source for an understanding of late anglosaxon england and the norman conquest. In 1941 5000 women were interviewed by british government officials to determine how many bras and corsets they owned. There was resistance from other branches of government. The procedures of the domesday inquest, and the major sources generated by the survey, are. The domesday inquest paperback april 2, 2002 by adolphus ballard author visit amazons adolphus ballard page. A county by county edition of the farley transcript, together with a translation, can be found in domesday book, ed j morris and others phillimore, chichester, 19751986. The inquest and the mechanics of justice chapter 1. Chapter 2 turns to land tenure, title, and the problem of tenurial continuity between 1066 and 1086. Some of the arguments are summarised in a lecture by the author, whose text is available online. New approaches to the inquest and the book 2018, trade paperback at the best online prices at. In arguing that the writing of domesday book was no part of the domesday survey. As long ago as 1832 sir francis palgrave thought it not improbable that the two volumes of domesday book represent different stages in the condensation of the inquest material and that volumes similar to little domesday once existed for other parts of the country. The inquest and the book by david roffe, hardcover.
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