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What was the Doomsday Book?

Updated: 8/19/2023
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15y ago

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The Doomsday Book (Alternately known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) is the record of the 1086 CE great survey of England . It was done for William I of England, AKA 'William the Conqueror'.

Domesday comes from the Old English word "dom" an accounting or reckoning. So Domesday or Doomsday was a Day of Reckoning. What were they checking for? The survey was an attempt to find out what or how much each landholder had in land and livestock, and evaluate its worth. The Reckoning was how much money each household would owe in taxes. The Dutch have this same use of reckoning in their word for a restaurant bill "Rekenen" a summing up.

About the book itself, it was written in Latin spiced up with Old English words for which no Latin equivalent. Copies still exist and it is on-line.

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From the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it is known that the planning for the survey was conducted in 1085, and from the colophon of the book it is known that the survey was completed in 1086. It is not known when exactly Domesday Book was compiled, but the entire work appears to have been copied out by one person.

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William the conqueror

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Q: What was the Doomsday Book?
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Why is it called the doomsday book?

The Domesday, or Doomsday Book is named after the Biblical Day of Judgement probably because it represented the final authority for property litigation and tax assessment. Other similar property-and-tax records were often called the Domesday Book of a given locality.


Where is the Doomsday book today?

i really don't know but somebody out here knows it. I don't read books like that.


Who gave the domesday book its name?

When people came to collect tax from the peasants, it was a bad day, a day of doom, so people called the book the domesday book. They just couldn't spellFirst of all, the manuscript did not carry a formal title, the work was referred to as a 'survey'. To the English, at the time, the book was held in awe and the word 'doom' was the Old English word for 'law or judgment' and did not mean disaster as is does in modern times. . The book became known as the 'Doomsday Book' in an allusion to the Last Judgment as is was 'a strict and terrible last account that cannot be evaded by any skillful subterfuge'. The decisions contained in the book, like those of the Last Judgment were unalterable. Further to this, the document became connected with the Latin phrase Domus Dei or House of God, as the book was kept in a church in Winchester. As a result of this, an alternative spelling of 'Domesdei' became popular for a while. The word Domusdei having similarities to Doomsday.


Why was the Domesday Book called the Domesday Book?

The Domesday Book consisted of two volumes held in the Royal Treasury at Winchester in Hampshire, where it was known as The Book of Winchester. It formed a definitive source of information in the settling of court cases and was frequently consulted. Later it was transported to Westminster, where it acquired the jokey nickname 'Domesday Book' because its authority in legal terms was as absolute as God's judgment or 'doom' of a human soul when it left the human body and met its appointed destiny.It was called the doomsday book as it means judgement day you couldn't escape it.


The Domesday Book was a?

The Domesday Book, also called the Doomsday Book, was a large census of the entire Kingdom of Britain.It was a massive land survey that William the Conqueror commissioned in 1085 so he would know what the size of his kingdom as well as what it contained. He did this so he could know how much taxes he could levy on the people.Willliam died before it was completed."there was no single hide nor a yard of land, nor indeed one ox nor one cow nor one pig which was left out".

Related questions

The Doomsday book was a what?

The Doomsday book was a book that was eventually placed in the Public Record Offence. In London englend.


Did people like the doomsday book?

yes , lots of people liked the doomsday book


What are the release dates for Doomsday Preppers - 2011 Doomsday Book of Revelation - The End Is Near 2-5 SUSPENDED?

Doomsday Preppers - 2011 Doomsday Book of Revelation - The End Is Near 2-5 SUSPENDED was released on: USA: 3 December 2012


Why was the doomsday book written?

The doomsday book was written after William [the conquer] demanded it so he could see how much tax he was getting from the country.


How big was the doomsday book?

very big


Which cheese is mentioned in The Doomsday Book?

cheshire


Who made the book of doomsday?

Warwick deeping


Who built the doomsday book?

sexing teens


How many pages has doomsday book got?

a lot


Was the area of Maghull mentioned in the doomsday book?

Yes it is.


Was the doomsday book violent?

Depends on what doomsday book your are talking about, but the doomsday book that was written as an article after the Russians and Americans had stock piles of nukes, they created the doomsday clock essentialy when it hits tweelve, doomsday would happen where all the nukes would destroy mankind. Now, the doomsday books for religion is most certianly violent, talking about the suffering and deaths of those who do not accept Christ. the story goes on and more detail but yes it is violent. no to violent i would say if it were to be aired on tv it would be like tv14 rating.


Who created the doomsday book?

If its revelation your talking about, its John the apostale