- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Colour Library Direct Ltd; New edition edition (Aug 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1858334403
- ISBN-13: 978-1858334400
- Product Dimensions: 30.2 x 24.2 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 839,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Product Description
The great Norman administrative document is used as the basis for an enquiry into the changes undergone by the English countryside over the past 1000 years. A time chart setting "Domesday" in its medieval context leads onto a short essay on daily life in Norman England. The central text is a series of county gazeteers, containing over 12,500 entries, which list the "Domesday" settlements alphabetically by their modern spelling. Each entry gives the original "Domesday" information and a note on the history and present status of a settlement. A number of short essays on points of particular interest lend depth and detail to the picture. The text is interspersed with a large number of colour and b&w photograhs and maps.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
This coffee table size book is 350 pages. Following an introduction to the Domesday Book (DB), the main content is arranged by English counties. There is a list of entries in the DB, giving the landowner, churches, farms, etc. Sometimes this is followed by a comment by the 21st century editors. There are some photos to illustrate and for each county 2-3 places have been selected for more detailed attention. Here are some examples for Bedfordshire, the first county in the alphabetical list:
The county town of Bedford was called Bedeford in the DB and was owned by the Bishop of Lincoln. There is then a comment by the modern authors: "Prosperous county town. John Bunyan was imprisoned here for 12 years. Bedford Museum is on the site of the Norman castle. Cecil Higgins Art Gallery."
Generally, the 100 entries for this county are that brief - Sharnbrook having 2 mills and fishpond in DB is quite a detailed entry. There are three illustrations, of the market house at Ampthill, a 13th century church door from Eaton Bray, and an Anglo-Saxon brooch from Kempston - all interesting enough and obviously of the period around about the time of the DB (+/- 200 years) but not really tied in very well.
The three places selected for more detailed treatment look to have had the only three detailed entries: these are for Elstow, Turvey and Eaton Socon; they are located on a map and there are 2, 1 and 0 pictures respectively.
What am I trying to say? This book is a gazetteer, something you will thumb through for places you know - but be prepared for disappointments as the northern counties were not fully controlled and Northumberland seems to be missing altogether. The City of London also seems to have been exempt. It's not likely something you would want to read in chunks, unless you were a specialist in the area and the modern comments on each place can be a bit ... uninspiring. "Harrow: town with a famous public school" or "Tottenham: part of London" probably isn't going to add greatly to your understanding
I think the idea of making the DB more accessible and modern was great, but the execution falls some way short. I was quite glad I got this cheaply through Amazon Marketplace.
The county town of Bedford was called Bedeford in the DB and was owned by the Bishop of Lincoln. There is then a comment by the modern authors: "Prosperous county town. John Bunyan was imprisoned here for 12 years. Bedford Museum is on the site of the Norman castle. Cecil Higgins Art Gallery."
Generally, the 100 entries for this county are that brief - Sharnbrook having 2 mills and fishpond in DB is quite a detailed entry. There are three illustrations, of the market house at Ampthill, a 13th century church door from Eaton Bray, and an Anglo-Saxon brooch from Kempston - all interesting enough and obviously of the period around about the time of the DB (+/- 200 years) but not really tied in very well.
The three places selected for more detailed treatment look to have had the only three detailed entries: these are for Elstow, Turvey and Eaton Socon; they are located on a map and there are 2, 1 and 0 pictures respectively.
What am I trying to say? This book is a gazetteer, something you will thumb through for places you know - but be prepared for disappointments as the northern counties were not fully controlled and Northumberland seems to be missing altogether. The City of London also seems to have been exempt. It's not likely something you would want to read in chunks, unless you were a specialist in the area and the modern comments on each place can be a bit ... uninspiring. "Harrow: town with a famous public school" or "Tottenham: part of London" probably isn't going to add greatly to your understanding
I think the idea of making the DB more accessible and modern was great, but the execution falls some way short. I was quite glad I got this cheaply through Amazon Marketplace.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
England's heritage and geography from a unique perspective!
19 Aug 2001
Format:Hardcover
This beautiflly illustrated book presents England's geography and heritage from a unique persepctive: the Domesday Book. The book starts with an essay on the Domesday Book, complete with keys to reading and understanding an entry in the Domesday Book. The main part of the book is divided into 37 counties. Each section begins with a general survey of the county followed by short essays on individual areas that were chosen for their social and geographical diversity. The essays are tied to their original Domesday entries. A county gazeteer follows which lists the Domesday settlements alphabetically by their modern spelling. Each entry summarizes the Domesday information and includes, wherever possible, information on the settlement's history and present status. The book includes over 12,500 entries, hundreds of photographs and line drawings, a glossary and mini biographies of almost 200 major landholders at the time the survey was taken. A wonderful book for medieval history lovers!
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Finely illustrated guide to the Domesday Book
17 Feb 1997
Format:Hardcover
The book contains a very good summary of each English Shire covered by the Domesday Survey. Each Shire contains map and a focus on several towns, as well as, a list of all place names found in the survey.
There is also a glossary of terms, a list of important personages, and plenty of pictures of landscape and architecture.
There is also a glossary of terms, a list of important personages, and plenty of pictures of landscape and architecture.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
1066 and all that
31 May 2011
Format:Hardcover
One of the first items that William I of England (known as William the Conqueror or William the Bastard, depending on your point of view) had on his to-do list was to figure out how much his new subjects owed him in taxes. This required a census of much of England and parts of Wales, and was completed in 1086, the year before William's death. (I'll bet census-taker was a much more interesting job, back then). The results became known as the Domesday Book.
In August 2006 a complete online version of Domesday Book was made available for the first time by the United Kingdom's National Archives, if you prefer to do your searching online. This book is interesting in that it compares particular land-holdings then and now. The original Domesday book is now held in London at the Public Record Office.
This isn't a book that can be read straight through, but it can be browsed with pleasure. Be sure to read the introduction before plunging into the local histories. At the very least, you'll need to know what a hide of land is. Although much of the Domesday record is focused on land, taxes, and disputes over ownership, there are also brief glimpses of how people lived both before and after the Norman conquest.
In August 2006 a complete online version of Domesday Book was made available for the first time by the United Kingdom's National Archives, if you prefer to do your searching online. This book is interesting in that it compares particular land-holdings then and now. The original Domesday book is now held in London at the Public Record Office.
This isn't a book that can be read straight through, but it can be browsed with pleasure. Be sure to read the introduction before plunging into the local histories. At the very least, you'll need to know what a hide of land is. Although much of the Domesday record is focused on land, taxes, and disputes over ownership, there are also brief glimpses of how people lived both before and after the Norman conquest.
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