Domesday Book, centuries-old survey of England, goes online

The Middle Ages met the Internet age on Friday when the Domesday Book8212;a survey of England conducted almost 1,000 years ago8212; went online.

The Middle Ages met the Internet age on Friday when the Domesday Book8212;a survey of England conducted almost 1,000 years ago8212; went online. The book, a record of the people and lands ruled by William the Conqueror, is the oldest record held by Britain8217;s National Archives and one of Britain8217;s most valuable documents. Now anyone with an Internet connection can download copies of handwritten records that provide a picture of life in the 11th century8212;for a fee of pound;3.50 per record.

8216;8216;It is important that people of all ages should be able to read and use this national treasure,8217;8217; said Adrian Ailes, a Domesday expert at the National Archives, which in the past few years has placed millions of historical documents8212;from World War I records to 1960s public information films8212; on the Net.

The Domesday Book was compiled on the orders of William I, who became the King of England when he defeated Saxon King, Harold, at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. In 1085, he ordered a survey to determine the taxable value of his kingdom.

Officials fanned out across England to assess who owned the land and what was on it. The result is a detailed record that lists more than 13,000 places. Farmland, woodland, meadows, pastures, mills and fisheries are enumerated; estimates given of the number of freemen, indentured peasants and slaves on each estate.

The book exists as two parchment volumes8212;Little Domesday, which covers part of eastern England, and Great Domesday, which includes much of the rest of England and the Welsh borders. Scotland and parts of northern England that remained outside William8217;s control were not included.

The book8217;s name is thought to come from Doomsday, the Biblical day of judgment8212;a reference to its authority.

It depicts a highly structured feudal society, in which the royal family and a handful of barons owned 40 per cent of the land. Most people were either freemen; semi-free peasants called sokemen; indentured peasants known as villains or cottagers; or slaves.

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Many place names listed in the book are still recognisable, although the places themselves have been transformed. Holborn, now a central business district of London, was Holeburne, home to peasants and a vineyard. Islington8212;now a busy commercial and residential area of north London8212;was the rural village of Iseldone.

The book is one of Britain8217;s best-known documents, but a poll commissioned by the National Archives suggests not everyone is sure what it is. While 80 per cent of respondents had heard of the Domesday Book, 13 per cent thought it was a chapter in the Bible8212;and 2 per cent thought it was a book by Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown.

8211;JILL LAWLESS