Domesday book was a comprehensive survey and record of all the landowners, property, tenants and serfs of medieval norman england which was compiled in. Each entry contains lists of variant spellings of the name, an explanation of its. Sep 24, 2004 domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english historyand arguably in world history. Cliffords tower in york, bunratty castle in northern ireland, or white castle in gwent.
Domesday book simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. We know this from other evidence such as anglosaxon charters, architectural evidence or the origins of the place name itself. The domesday book is actually not one book but two. Uploaded by the open domesday project, released under ccbysa by professor john palmer and george slater. The survey ascertained the economic resources of most of the country for purposes of more accurate taxation. Curia regis rolls from 1204 and 1208 record it as belescot.
An entry in the book of fees for 1242 records it as balescot. The national archives learning curve focus on domesday. Virtually all of the place names decided on up to around the 14th century were due to the environment of the area. Domesday book gives the names of many places that are still around today. Domesday database launched online an online database which promises to change our understanding of english society on the eve and in the aftermath of the norman conquest has been launched online.
Scandinavian elements found in the domesday book english. Its a land survey, compiled in 1086, that covered much of england and parts of wales. Are there any saxon or norman place names in your area. He cotranslated domesday book, which is a foundation document of the british national archives. A firedamaged document seen as the domesday book for northern ireland but inaccessible to scholars for more than two centuries has been digitally restored, transcribed and made available online in 1639, charles i brought a case before the star chamber and successfully claimed estates in northern ireland belonging to the irish society and the city of london livery companies. Domesday received its name in the 12th century, for it was regarded as the ultimate authority, the last word on matters of property. At most, some place names have continued to accrue prefixes or suffixes, such as little. The many norse place names demonstrate the big influence scandinavian vikings had in the british isles. The placenames found in the domesday book are township and estate names, and may include other villages and hamlets that receive no specific mention in. Cumberland the following pages include domesday place names and landowners, and beneath some are links to websites containing the local history of that place. George munford an analysis of the domesday book, of the county of norfolk 1858 the domesday of st. Welldon finn, the norman conquest and its effects on the economy, 10661086 1971. The place names found in the domesday book are township and estate. Palliser, domesday book and the harrying of the north, northern history, vol.
The name domesday book was not adopted until the late 12th century. There is a passage in the bible that talks about what will happen on the day of judgement. The dictionary includes every surname that currently has more than 100 bearers. Domesday book, compiled in 1086 at the behest of william the conqueror, has been described as the most valuable piece of antiquity possessed by any nation david hume and viewed by historians as the final act of the norman conquest. The domesday book was compiled on the orders of william the conquerer to catalogue the ownership and value of land in the newly conquered territories of england. Therefore, the domesday book is a valuable source for historians trying to find out about sussex in the late 11th century after. Domesday is a most remarkable and valuable record, created in 10851086 by order of william the conqueror, so that he might fully know and understand the nation he ruled over. Dictionary of british place names companion website oxford. Not every place that existed in 1086 appears in the domesday book. Sawyer, ma assistant in history in the university of edinburgh domesday book is important not only for historians but also for students of english place names. The actual name of the 2nd domesday was the return of owners of land, 1873. Domesday book, the original record or summary of william is survey of england.
Coningsby lincolnshire, recorded in the domesday book as cuningesbi, combines the on konungr which means king, and the on suffix bysettlement, farm, giving. First, the way in which preconquest landholders are recorded in domesday book makes it difficult to identify individuals. Domesday book is one of the most famous historical records held by the national. The population of the entire country was probably between 1. Finn, the domesday inquest and the making of domesday book 1961 and introduction to domesday book 1963. There were only 18 towns of over 2000 inhabitants in the domesday england of 1086. Anglo saxon place names may account for the origin of the knowlton surname. Nov, 1986 michael woods domesday quest as mine is titled is a very readable but thorough account, not only of the domesday book, but of its context the processes already existing that allowed william the conqueror to have such a task completed with the accuracy he apparently managed.
Chichester, 19741992 the english translations for the great domesday counties, together with images of the latin text, are available in searchable form on cd, known as domesday explorer, published by phillimore and co. Penistone is another place which is named in the domesday book of 1086, where it is listed slightly differently as penstone. Lackford hall was built around 1570, but the parish dates back much further than that. The oxford dictionary of family names in britain and ireland. Medieval surnames genealogy lines of descent for over 1800. Domesday book the domesday book was a survey designed to record everything that people owned in england. It is near the very end of the bible revelation chapter 20, verses 11. The information collected during the survey was written up in a fair copy, later known as domesday book, which in fact comprises two volumes. The second most common set of irish surnames are those of norman, welshnorman or anglonorman origin. Fiona discussed how the 2nd domesday presented the first complete picture of the distribution of landed property in the united kingdom of great britain and ireland since the domesday book of 1086. Little domesday book ldb, which covers norfolk, suffolk and essex. For each name, there is a treatment of linguistic origins, etymology, frequency in the anglosaxon corpus, the broad chronology of its use, a bibliography of published work, lists of variant spellings in domesday book and variant forms in the modern editions, and a distribution map linked to a tabular list of the parcels of land associated with. I have transcribed all names exactly as they appear in my sources with one exception. Watermills were the most economically important machines in 11th.
This page simply records all owner names mentioned in domesday book. Place names in the united kingdom come from a variety of backgrounds with briton place names, roman place names, viking place names etc creati. Commercial site with extracts from domesday book domesday book entries including translations for each settlement. We looked at names from king henry iiis fine rolls th century a couple of weeks ago, so now lets go back a bit further and look at names from the domesday book 11th century. Containing entries for more than 45,000 english, scottish, welsh, irish, cornish, and immigrant surnames, the oxford dictionary of family names in britain and ireland is the ultimate reference work on family names of the uk. Each volume includes notes, tables of tenants names and place names, and a map. The first volume great domesday contains the final summarized record of all the counties surveyed except essex, norfolk, and suffolk. Jan 25, 2012 the bbc domesday reloaded blog is the place to explore, share, reminisce and comment on stories from the national project from both 1986 to present day. Domesday book is not a census and does not contain the names of everyone living in late 11th century england. Place names show an astonishing capacity for survival, as the dates alone of most of the earliest spellings testify, even though it should be remembered that every name will of course be older than its earliest occurrence in the records, often a good deal older. Why do you think domesday book was named after the day of judgement.
The domesday book also known as domesday, or book of winchester was a record of all taxable land in england, together with such information as would indicate its worth. It was ordered by william the conqueror the winner of the recent battle of hastings so that william could determine how much money in taxes he could raise and to give william a better sense of the territory he had just conquered. For example, doncaster would probably have originated as a roman fort on a hill, from the roman caster and celtic don. Possible bowles ancestor references in the domesday book of 1086 back to the norman origin of the bolles of swineshead.
Only a minority of publications on anglosaxon history do not depend on it in some way. If you have a local history site that you would like to be included on these pages please get in touch via the contact page. Some very important towns were surveyed, but the results were never. Uk and ireland genealogy huge amount of family and local history resources. The place names likely represented a group of people who settled at a specific location and the name of the group leader would then taken to represent the place. Three essays in the early history of england by frederic william maitland domesday book and the east riding by f. Of these towns, the two largest, london and winchester, were left out of the domesday book entirely. Uniform with the edition, a onevolume guide to domesday book by rex welldon finn was published in 1973. Domesday book place name forms all the original spellings of english place names in domesday book link to pdf file. The chronology and languages of english place names. Chepstow castle, cliffords tower in york, bunratty castle in northern ireland, or. Ann williams is a british historian and author specializing in english medieval history.
The domesday book of 1086 records the placename as berescote. In both indexes the exact latin forms given in domesday book and all variant spellings have been retained. Domesday book online simple to use directory with interactive map of england in norman times commercial site with extracts from domesday book domesday book entries including translations for each settlement. Down, it does not relate to any ford or other feature in the landscape at dunsfort. In the year 1086 ad, only two decades after the last viking invasion in 1066, the english domesday book a manuscript record of the great survey of large parts of england and parts of wales, was completed. The name domesday is a variant of doomsday, meaning day of judgment. The record was compiled in 10861087, a mere twenty years after the norman conquest, at the order of william the conqueror. Chronology and languages of english place names oxford.
Its origin is old english, meaning the cottage, house or manor of a man called b. Although names like fitzgerald and tobin now seem very much irish names, they are actually of french origin, and tend still to be found most commonly in those parts of ireland were the normans were strongest. She was a senior lecturer in medieval history at the polytechnic of north london. Click download or read online button to get domesday descendants book now. About 90 per cent of places on the modern map of england south of the tees are recorded in domesday book. In 1986, david bates listed almost 2,000 items in his bibliography of domesday book.
This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Hundreds of place names of old norse origin in the british. Letford is a habitation name from the broad category of surnames that were derived from place names. The female names below appeared in the open domesday database just once, except where noted. This led the book to be compared to the last judgement, or doomsday, described in the bible, when the deeds of christians written in the book of life were to be placed before god for judgement. Hallam, domesday book through nine centuries london, 1986 a survey of how the domesday book has been used since its composition, and how antiquarians and historians have viewed the record. The origin of place names invariably goes back centuries. Surnames mentioned in the domesday book british surnames.
Domesday book is a manuscript record of the great survey of much of england and parts of. W brooks domesday book in relation to the county of sussex by w. Return of owners of land, 1873, wales, scotland, ireland. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. Essentially, its now possible for anyone to do in a few seconds what it has taken scholars weeks to achieve in the past. All of the products sold by were researched and created by swyrich corp. Domesday book attributes about 27,000 parcels of property to people bearing about 1,200 different personal names. Sussex and the domesday book sussex is extensively reported in the domesday book and many modern day towns and villages can be found in it. Sussex and the domesday book history learning site. I have replaced the medial s with a short s to make the lists more readable. In the 11th century, surnames were still in a state of flux and many people still did not have what we would consider a surname.
Domesday database launched online university of cambridge. Female names in the domesday book nancys baby names. Domesday books william i of england genealogy history. The name domesday book middle english for doomsday book came into use in. The bibliography on domesday book is therefore massive. The domesday book is the record of the great survey of much of england, and parts of wales, completed in 1086, done for william i of england, or william the conqueror. The domesday book, our earliest public record, is a unique survey of the value and ownership of lands and resources in late 11th century england. The yorkshire dunsforth is recorded in the domesday book as dunesford and means dunns ford, where dunn is a personal name ekwall 1960, 154. Pauls of the year mccxxii 1858 henry james domesday book, or, the great survey of england of william the conqueror a.
Male names in the domesday book i listed all the female names in the domesday book a while back, so today i thought id complete the project by listing all the male names. Domesday was compiled in a matter of months in at the end of william the conquerors life. Languages edit many languages have shaped and informed the nomenclature of england. Domesday extracts online service offering high quality prints and pdfs of domesday book for your chosen settlement. Wetherby yorkshire, recorded in the domesday book as wedrebi, combines the. The conqueror and his companions extensive information on many of those who arrived in england with william in 1066, and became the most powerful landowners in the domesday book. Mlxxxvi 1862 anderson, john corbet 18271907 shropshire. For example, doncaster would probably have originated as a roman fort on a hill.
Although domesday contains many thousands of names very few families can, with any certainty, trace their lineage back in the male line to an anglosaxon forebear mentioned in domesday. Apr 06, 2012 most of the names in the domesday book are male, as most landowners were men. The lane is often found on eccentric and unusual place names in the uk and its not difficult to understand why. If you were on the outside, how would you attack it. They were derived from preexisting names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Domesday descendants download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Background dunsfort is the name of both this parish and of a townland in it. Domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english history. Note that the same name is not necessarily the same person. Domesday survey wikisource, the free online library. The omission of the other counties and towns is not fully explained, although in.
Sitting on the irish border between northern ireland and ireland. Palmer, war and domesday waste, in armies, chivalry and warfare in medieval britain and france. This page simply lists all places mentioned in domesday book. The male names below appeared in the open domesday database just once, except where noted. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesday i. Now available in one volume, here is the complete, authoritative translation from the original latin, together with an index of places and a glossary of terms used.