DOOMESDAY BOOK.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2788, 11 October 1910, Page 7

DOOMESDAY BOOK.

THE RECORD THAT BEAT ALL RECORDS. Everyone knows something of it. We are continually hearing it quoted as a great historical evidence. It seems, indeed, to lie at the very roots and foundation of modern English history. And yet, how many of us are there who could say precisely of what Domesday Book consists, what it contains, or where it is at the present time ? Undoubtedly it is one of the most remarkable compilations that has ever been undertaken, and, certainly, few equal it in completeness of detail and accuracy of fact. For it has been said that "there was not a single hide of land, no, nor even a yard of land, which is not set down

. . . . not even an ox, or a cow, or a swine that was on the land, was left out of the record." But, unfortunately, the record is not complete. Intentionally, no doubt, it contains no mention of the larger towns in the country. One may search in vain for any entry relating to London, Winchester, and similarly important cities. Invariably they were passed over, and thus it is that the familiar phrase "according to Domesday" is not met with in their histories.

It was not until the year 1085, when he was keeping Christmas with his Court at Gloucester, that William the Conqueror ordered a full survey to be made of the whole of England. The country was but newly conquered, it was imperative for purposes of taxation, policy, and military discipline, that the wealth and resources of every parish and manor should be ascertained. And the order for the survey is strong evidence of the wise statesmanship and excellent government of a king whose character and place in history are only of late years beginning to be properly appreciated. He selected, amongst others, Walter Giffard, Bishop of Lincoln., and Henry de Farrers, men of marked ability and organising power, to supervise the "justiciaries" in their work of compilation. And arduous and incessant the work must have been. The justiciaries visited the whole of England- with the exception of the three northern counties, then ceded to Scotland, and Durham, over which the bishop held independent jurisdiction. Committies were appointed in every shire, and these supplied the necessary information to the actual compilers. Sheriffs, priests, manor-holders, "reeves." and the bailiff and six free-men from every "vill," attended before the committees and rendered a strict account as to the area of the manors or parishes; the character of the land, whether wood, meadow, arable; its fisheries and mines ; the number and character of its tenants and inhabitants, the name of the holder of the demesne in the time of Edward the Confessor, and its gross value then, and at the time of inquiry.

And so expeditious were the officers that, notwithstanding the vast amount of travelling, organisation, careful inquiry, and clerical work involved, the record was complete, and presented to the King by the Easter of the following year. Truly an admirably engineered, brilliantly executed piece of work. As to the book itself, it is not one volume, but two. The first consists of nearly four hundred folio pages, closely and laboriously written. The entries commence with Kent (Chent, it is called), and comprise the whole of the southern counties to Cornwall. Then, returning to Middlesex, the Home Counties, Gloucester, Hereford, and Worcester are dealt with. Then the Eastern Midlands, Shropshire, Derby, and other counties are included, and the record concludes with Cheshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Lincoln.

The second volume, which is of quarto size, contains four hundred and fifty pages, but the writing is much larger, and not nearly so closely alligned, and only three counties—those of Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk—are included. In both there are evidences of the remarkable thoroughness with which the survey was prosecuted. They form not only a census return, but an excellent criterion to the character of the country, its political, social, and industrial condition. So far as the census is concerned, it may be briefly said that 6 <2 tenants held their land and manors direct from the crown, in addition to which about as many "ecclesiastical corporations" also held land under the King. There were, also, some 8,000 under-tenants holding manors or land from their feudal chiefs. The King retained possession of 1,420 manors ; his son, Peveril, held 162, but none of his remaining children received any portion of the conquered territory. Most of. the remaining possessions were distributed amongst the nobles, household officials, and leaders of the King's Norman following, though, here and there, a well-affected Saxon was permitted to retain his ancient holding. Just prior to the making of the survey, Northumbia (which then included Yorkshire) had revolted against the Norman's rule, and their rebellion had been put down with a strong and rigorous hand. The Conqueror's weapon of "fire, slaughter, and devastation" were ruthlessly employed against the insurgents. On the wild moorlands 0 f Yorkshire, and along the sheltered dales, "the red cock crowed from house and barn," the inhabitants were put to the sword without mercy and the rebellion was quashed. Needless to say, Domesday Book, faithful in all its details, contains many a painful echo of this melancholy business. Manor after manor is reported as having been "wasted," and so drastic was the remedy that in four hundred places that had belonged to the leaders who had favoured the claims of Edgar Atheiing, a total of some forty or forty-five cottagers and ''villeins" are recorded. In one respect, and that an im-

portant one, the wonderful record is faulty. Jt was written by Norman?., strange to the country and the language. It naturally follows that their rendering of names (especially of placenames) is often defective. Hence it is foolish to regard the Domesday spelling of a name as authoritative— not infrequently it is the reverse.

Formerly it was usual for Domesday Book to be carried from place to place as the Sovereign moved his or her Court. Now, however, it has its permanent resting place, and is ; never disturbed even for reference. For, since the early years of the last century, when Parliament caused an exact counterpart to be printed, this has been consulted for all purposes of reference, and the aged and thumbmarked original is permitted to remain within its case, guarded with as jealous a care as it deserves.— "Scraps."