GCSE · History · AQA · Spec 8145

Domesday Book

Imagine officials arriving in your village to ask who held this land in 1066, who holds it now, and what it is all worth. And their verdict is final.

The big question

Was Domesday mainly about tax?

The claim

William ordered the Domesday survey mainly so that he could collect tax.

Place each piece of evidence to load the balance. Mark the strong ones — they count double.

William wanted to know who held what land and how much it was worth, so he could make sure everyone paid him the correct tax.
Evidence 1: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
The Norman takeover of land had been chaotic. Some land had been grabbed illegally, and Normans made rival claims to the same territory.
Evidence 2: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
Geld, a tax, was set at a national rate for each hide (a unit of land), for example two shillings a hide. Count the hides, and you know what each shire can raise, in money and in soldiers.
Evidence 3: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
By settling who held which land, William strengthened his royal authority and looked like a fair ruler to Anglo-Saxons and Normans alike.
Evidence 4: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
In 1085 the king of Denmark was threatening to invade England, and William needed money for his armies and castles.
Evidence 5: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
The record of who held what let William confirm what his nobles owed him under the feudal system, such as military service, relief and guardianship.
Evidence 6: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
Once the land was recorded, William summoned his tenants-in-chief to a ceremony where they paid homage, recognising that they held their land from him.
Evidence 7: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
The name 'Domesday' refers to the Day of Judgement: the king passing a final judgement on what tenants owned and how much tax they owed.
Evidence 8: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence

How it was done

From a king's order to a finished book

Put the stages of the Domesday process in the order they happened.

1 · First stage6 · Last stage

Detailed questions: how many hides, ploughs, mills and fisheries; how much woodland and pasture; how many free men and enslaved people; and the land's value in 1066 and now
William orders a survey of the possessions of his kingdom (1085)
The records are compiled into two volumes, which become known as Domesday Book (1086)
First questions at each settlement: the name of the manor, who held it in 1066 under Edward the Confessor, and who held it in 1085
Answers are checked against witnesses, Anglo-Saxon and Norman, summoned to the shire court, and the decision reached is final
Commissioners are sent into every shire

Watch out: The survey and Domesday Book are not the same thing. The survey was the questioning; the book is the two volumes of records compiled from it in 1086.

Predict, then check

The shire and its number of hides are made up for practice. The rate of two shillings a hide is a real example.

Imagine a made-up shire with 1,000 hides of land. Geld is set at a national rate of two shillings per hide. How much geld could William expect from this shire?

Check your thinking

So what exactly is Domesday Book?

Your friend is revising and says, 'Domesday Book? Easy, I know what that is.'

Which is closest to what you think right now?

It's the survey itself: the commissioners going round asking their questions.It's a record of who held the land at the time it was written, and nothing earlier.It's basically a list for collecting tax, and that's all it was for.It's the two volumes made in 1086 from the survey, recording land in 1066 and at the survey.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

It's the survey itself: the commissioners going round asking their questions.

This is a common misconception

Close, but that's the survey, not the book. The survey (ordered in 1085) was the questioning. The records compiled from it in 1086, two volumes of them, became known as Domesday Book. One produced the other.

It's a record of who held the land at the time it was written, and nothing earlier.

This is a common misconception

It records two moments, not one. For each manor it asked who held it in 1066 under Edward the Confessor and who held it in 1085, and it gave the land's value in 1066 and at the time of the survey. Those two snapshots are what make it so useful.

It's basically a list for collecting tax, and that's all it was for.

This is a common misconception

Tax is part of the story, but 'that's all' goes too far. Historians do not fully agree on its purpose: settling who held which land and confirming nobles' feudal duties are argued too. What everyone agrees is that it gave William a very detailed account of landholding.

It's the two volumes made in 1086 from the survey, recording land in 1066 and at the survey.

This matches the evidence

Spot on. The survey came first; the book is what it produced. And because it recorded who held each manor, and what it was worth, at two moments, it can show how England changed under Norman rule.

Survey first, book second: two dates in every entry, and a purpose historians still debate.

Why historians love it

Reason it through

Why is Domesday Book so valuable to historians today?

Link 1 of 3

First link · your turn

Think about the value questions the commissioners asked. How many moments in time did they record for each manor?

Locked — reveal the link above first

Your turn to write

Explain it in your own words

Explain why Domesday Book was important to William. [6 marks]

Your answer

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

The mark scheme

Says it showed who held what land and what it was worth, so William could make everyone pay the correct tax. (1 mark)
Uses hides: with geld set per hide, he could work out what each shire could raise and how many soldiers. (1 mark)
Links this to 1085: a Danish invasion threat, and the money he needed for armies and castles. (1 mark)
Says it settled who held which land after chaotic Norman land-grabbing and rival claims. (1 mark)
Says settling land strengthened his authority and made him look fair to both Anglo-Saxons and Normans. (1 mark)
Says it let him confirm nobles' feudal duties (military service, relief, guardianship), sealed by homage. (1 mark)
Recognises that historians do not fully agree on which purpose mattered most. (1 mark)

Model answer

Domesday mattered to William for money and for control. It told him who held each piece of land and what it was worth, so he could make sure everyone paid him the right tax. Because geld was charged per hide, counting hides let him calculate what each shire could raise and how many soldiers it could provide, which mattered in 1085 when the king of Denmark threatened invasion and William needed money for armies and castles. It also settled who held which land after a chaotic Norman takeover full of illegal grabs and rival claims. That strengthened his authority and made him look fair to Anglo-Saxons and Normans, and it let him confirm what his nobles owed him, such as military service, relief and guardianship, which they recognised by paying homage. Historians do not fully agree which of these purposes was most important.

Two strands, each backed by evidence: money and soldiers on one side, land and loyalty on the other. Then say how far historians agree.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

Who held this land, and what is it worth? Why a king wanted the answer for a whole kingdom.

What you need to know

In 1085, towards the end of his reign, William ordered a survey of the possessions of his kingdom, covering most of England and parts of Wales.
Commissioners in every shire asked who held each manor in 1066 and in 1085, then counted hides, ploughs, woodland, pasture, mills, fisheries, free men and enslaved people, and recorded the land's value then and now.
Answers were checked against Anglo-Saxon and Norman witnesses at shire courts, and the decision was final.
The records were compiled in 1086 into two volumes known as Domesday Book. The survey and the book are not the same thing.
Historians do not fully agree on its purpose: tax and soldiers, or settling land, royal authority and feudal obligations.

The big picture

In 1085 William ordered a survey of his kingdom. Commissioners went into every shire and recorded who held each manor, what was on it and what it was worth, both in 1066 and at the time of the survey. The records, compiled in 1086, became Domesday Book. Historians debate why William wanted it (tax and soldiers, or settling land and feudal duties), and they value it as a unique snapshot of how England changed under the Normans.

Key points

1A hide was land that could support one household (about 120 acres). Geld was charged at a national rate per hide, so counting hides showed what each shire could raise.

2The survey was huge: over 13,000 settlements, about two million words, in around six months.

3'Domesday' refers to the Day of Judgement: the king's final judgement on what tenants owned and what tax they owed.

4Evidence for tax: William wanted everyone to pay the correct tax, and in 1085 a Danish invasion threat meant he needed money for armies and castles.

5Evidence for land and authority: it resolved chaotic, sometimes illegal land-grabbing, made William look fair, confirmed nobles' feudal duties, and was followed by a homage ceremony.

6For historians it records two dates, so it shows change: the growth of towns, and Yorkshire land still recorded as waste 16 years after the harrying of the North.

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Worked example

Problem

Explain why landholders' answers were checked against witnesses at the shire courts.

⚠ Watch out

Calling the survey 'Domesday Book', or saying Domesday was 'just a tax list'. The 1085 survey produced the book in 1086, it recorded two moments in time, and historians do not fully agree on its purpose.

🧠

Memory hook

Domesday = Day of Judgement. Two snapshots (1066 and the survey), one final verdict on who holds what and what they owe.

✓

Check yourself

Cover the page. Can you explain how the survey differs from the book, name the two moments each entry records, and give one piece of evidence for each purpose?

Flashcards

(15)

When did William order the Domesday survey?

In 1085, towards the end of his reign.

Who carried out the survey, and where?

Commissioners William sent into every shire, covering thousands of settlements across most of England and parts of Wales.

What were the commissioners' first questions at each settlement?

The name of the manor, who held it in 1066 under Edward the Confessor, and who held it in 1085.

Name four things the detailed questions counted.

Any four of: hides, ploughs, woodland, pasture, mills, fisheries, free men, enslaved people. They also recorded the land's value in 1066 and at the survey.

What was a hide?

The basic unit of land that could support one household, roughly 120 acres.

What was geld?

A tax traditionally used to defend England against Viking or other invasions, set at a national rate per hide.

What was a manor?

A unit of land overseen by a lord.

How big a job was the survey?

Over 13,000 settlements visited, about two million words written up, completed in around six months.

Survey or book: what's the difference?

The survey (ordered 1085) gathered the information. The two volumes of records compiled from it in 1086 are Domesday Book.

Where does the name 'Domesday' come from?

The Day of Judgement. It stood for the king's final judgement on what tenants owned and how much tax they owed.

Why did the Danish threat of 1085 matter to Domesday?

William needed money for his armies and castles, and Domesday may have told him how much geld, and how many soldiers, his kingdom could provide.

What land problem could Domesday help William solve?

Chaotic Norman colonisation: land grabbed illegally and rival claims to territory. Settling it strengthened his authority and made him look fair.

Which feudal obligations could Domesday help William confirm?

Nobles' duties to him, such as military service, relief and guardianship. Tenants-in-chief then paid homage, recognising they held their land from him.

What does Domesday show about Yorkshire?

16 years after the harrying of the North, many land values had not recovered and large areas were 'waste': no one lived or farmed there, so no tax could be collected.

Why do historians call Domesday unique?

No comparable 900-year-old inventory of an entire country survives. It gives a village-by-village snapshot of England.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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Was Domesday mainly about tax?

From a king's order to a finished book

So what exactly is Domesday Book?

Explain it in your own words

More AQA GCSE History topics