Medieval Britain 1066–1509, Year 11: Domesday Book, villages, towns and Forest law (Norman England option)

1086

提示It happened the year after the order was given.

为什么The survey was ordered in 1085 and carried out in 1086; the results were written up as Domesday Book. Royal commissioners held sworn inquests in local courts. Some modern scholars argue the finished book may have been compiled later than 1086.

In the time of King Edward (the position when he died, 5 January 1066)

提示It dates a holding to before the Conquest.

为什么For each estate Domesday recorded who held it in King Edward's time, who held it when William granted it, and who held it in 1086. Putting the three dates side by side shows how land had changed hands.

It records landholders and their property, not the whole population

提示Think about who the commissioners asked about.

为什么The people named in it are almost all landholders. It counts peasants and animals only as part of an estate. Parts of England, including London, Winchester and the far north, were left out.

Norfolk; Suffolk; Essex

提示The region is East Anglia plus a neighbour to its south.

为什么Little Domesday is smaller in size but fuller in detail. It seems to survive from an earlier, fuller draft made from the original returns; Great Domesday covers most other counties.

Probably to work out the tax he could raise and to settle disputes over land

提示Think about the king's money and quarrels between his barons.

为什么Historians do not fully agree on the purpose of the survey. It gave William a very detailed account of landholding, and probably of the tax and soldiers his kingdom could supply.

A villein

提示Unlike a freeman, he could not simply move to a different lord.

为什么Villeins made up a large share of the peasants. Under the feudal system the number of freemen fell and lords gained tighter control over villeins. Norman landholders often worked their villagers harder, which was resented.

The demesne

提示The word is a medieval cousin of 'domain'.

为什么The rest of the manor was held by the lord's tenants, who paid for it in labour, produce or money. Almost everyone in Norman England farmed for a living.

Land reserved for the king's hunting, not necessarily woodland

提示Think about its use, not its trees.

为什么Forest law protected the king's deer and boar and the greenery they lived on. A forest could include open land, village land and even towns as well as woods. William and his successors greatly increased the area under Forest law.

It banned them from using resources they depended on, such as wood, game and grazing

提示Think about what a village gathered in the wild.

为什么Punishments for breaking Forest law could be harsher than under the common law. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that the rich complained about the king's deer laws and the poor shuddered at them.

The Danelaw

提示Danish laws and customs applied there.

为什么Village life was not the same everywhere. The Viking settlement of the Danelaw left freemen there more independent of the lord of their manor than in other parts of the country.