The
Domesday Book is the earliest public record in England (late
11th century) which detailed the lands and resources held by the King 
and his,
heretofore, countless tenants.
[note: the book was written in Latin - click on above image to view]
On
Christmas Day in 1085, 20 years after the Norman
Conquest of England, William the Conqueror ordered a complete survey of
all the lands in England.
He commissioned the great survey to discover the resources and taxable values of
all the boroughs and manors in England. He wanted to document all citizens and
list all their lands and possessions to discover who owned what, how much it was
worth, and how much was owed to The King of England.
It was a massive enterprise, and the record of that survey, Domesday Book, was a
remarkable achievement.
The Domesday Book was compiled during 1085/86 and remained as
the only English census record until 1801. In addition to documenting land
ownership, it was probably also used for the
purpose of recording taxes and determining military service
within the primitive feudal system.
It has remained to this day as one of the most
researched books in the world. The huge volumes
recorded who owned the land, who lived on it, the types
of livestock on the land, it's
value, and the taxes
which were due the monarchy. It was originally called the "King's Book" and then
the "Great Book of Winchester" due to it's location, for centuries, at
Winchester, the capital of the ancient Saxon Kingdom of Wessex. The book
eventually became known as "Domesday"
because the Anglo-Saxons, to whom it applied, felt it
resembled God's final day of judgment. However, the book was
held in reverence, as it has has always been to this day. An Anglo
Saxon landowner described the book
in this way:
"He sent his men all over
England into every shire ... Also he had a record made of ... how much everybody
had who was occupying land in England, in land or cattle, and how much money it
was worth. So very narrowly did he have it investigated, that there was no
single hide nor a yard of land, nor indeed (it is a shame to relate but it
seemed no shame to him to do) one ox nor one cow nor one pig which was there
left out, and not put down in his record: and all these records were brought to
him afterwards."
The Domesday Book was England's
most complete and detailed survey until the modern census came along in
the 19th century. The historic book is now housed at the
Public Records Office in London. It is divided into two volumes - "Great
Domesday" and "Little Domesday". "Great Domesday" has two parts and describes 31
counties. "Little Domesday" (which, ironically, is the larger of the 2 books) is
bound in 3 parts and is devoted to the 3 largest English counties, Essex,
Norfolk, and Suffolk. As is the case in even a modern day census, it was out of
date before it's completion. Estate ownership, sub-tenants, buildings, and of
course, livestock, changed hands during the 2 year survey.
An important feature of this ancient manuscript is the manner that names were recorded. Due to the conquest and settlement of England's territories by the Normans ("Northmen"/"Norsemen"), descendents of the Vikings) many of the names entered were Norman influenced names. More importantly, for the first time known in history, the use of first and last names were recorded for the documented individuals and families. The names were often "Trade Names", William the Blacksmith {Smith}" - John the Tailor {Taylor}, etc. Others referred to locations - Steven of Eastwood, David of Essex, etc. Thus began the practice of family surnames which has had a revolutionary effect on all facets of historical and genealogic research and studies.
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Author's Note:
I've just discovered a new website that will explain much more,
and especially should prove to be an extraordinary genealogic tool.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/domesday.asp
