How did the Domesday Book help William control England?

1
How could William work out how much land he owned?
Clue Dmsday B..K
2
How did the Domesday Book get its name?
?
Key words Domesday commissioner
LOs

• TBAT give 3 reasons why William created the
  Domesday book
• Explain what the book tells us
• Assess how people reacted to the book

3
? Your task
Text

• Read the text your teacher gives you and answer
  these questions
• Why did William commission the Domesday Book?
• How did he conduct the survey?
• What sort of questions did the commissioners ask?
• How did it help William control England

4
Why did William order the DB?

• To find out more about his new kingdom

5
How did William survey the country?

• 1085, William ordered survey
• Commissioners visited 13,000 villages
• Interviewed priest, steward 6 elderly villagers
• Soldiers threatened to kill liars
• Second visit to check

6
What did the commissioners ask?

• How many people lived there?
• Who owns the land?
• What type of people worked on the land?
• How many pigs, sheep cows did each man own?
• How many ploughs?
• How many mills ponds?

7
How did it help him control England?

• Tax
• Military service
• Law order especially quarrels over land

A page from the Domesday Book. What language do
you think it is written in?
8
What does the DB look like?

• Domesday Gods judgement
• One Winchester monk copied up findings
• Wrote on parchment
• 1000 sheep needed to make book
• www.learningcurve.gov.uk/focuson/domesday/the_stor
  y/intronfr.htm
• http//www.learningcurve.gov.uk/focuson/domesday/

The Domesday Book
http//www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/domesday/
9
? Your task

• Choose 4 commissioners and 2 soldiers from the
  class. The rest will work in pairs as peasants!
• While the commissioners prepare their questions,
  the peasants must agree in their pair upon their
  answer to Domesday Survey type questions, e.g.
  how many ponds there are in the village, how many
  ploughs, who owns the land etc.
• After 10 minutes order the peasants to be silent!
  And then select a pair to interrogate. Send one
  of the pair outside and then the commissioners
  can ask their survey questions, e.g. how many
  people live in the village, how many ponds are
  there etc? You may want to ask the peasants to
  swear an oath to be truthful on the Bible! Call
  in the second peasant when the commissioners have
  finished and ask them same questions. If there
  are any major differences in their stories then
  it is off with their heads!

10
Your task

• Imagine you are either a farmer or a lord of the
  manor
• Write a letter to King William I to tell him
  about the royal investigators who have just
  carried out the Domesday survey in your village,
  and how you feel about the survey.
• Use the extra sheet as well to give you more
  information if possible.

11
Letter to King William expectations
Everyone must include For even better work, also include WOW factor! For excellent work you could also include
How the survey was carried out (investigators, questions etc) Description about your reaction to the survey and why Specific examples of what the investigators found out about in your village How and why this is a big change for people in England How William would gain from this, and why that might be unpopular Examples of other people who may have had a different view than you about the survey and why
12
Red, Amber, or Green?

• I have only done the minimum for the task and
• could have pushed myself further
• I have done reasonably well at achieving as
• much as I could, but perhaps there is still room
• to challenge myself even more next time
• I have tried my hardest on this task and
• achieved as much as I could

13
How did the Domesday Book get its name?
?
Key words Domesday commissioner
LOs

• TBAT give 3 reasons why William created the
  Domesday book
• Explain what the book tells us
• Assess how people reacted to the book