WE'RE DOO..... er, uh...WE'RE DOMED!!
Posted on 08/04/2006 5:25:38 PM PDT by annie laurie
Today, a rather old book from the late 11th century England (1086 to be precise) will be brought online to be searched. The Domesday Book, is the earliest surviving survey and valuation of the King, his senior supporters, the land they owned and their resources.
If you'd wanted to look through it previously, you had to drag yourself over to the National Archive in a rather calm building in Kew West London, or cough up a couple of thousand pounds to get them on CD.
By going to the Domesday Web site, you can search and get an idea if there's anything in The Book about your chosen subject. If you want to see a scan of the page, you, me and anyone in the World will be able to pay £3.50 per page to see it.
Those not wanting to pay for the documents can head over to Kew where they can be printed out for nothing.
You might think that there's a little difficulty in using it, as many of the surnames used by people and names of areas have changed substantially over the last thousand-odd years. Luckily they thought of that one. Simply enter the modern name in the Place Name box, if you're a boffin with knowledge of ye-olde world, you enter the old name in the Other keywords box.
We don't want to cast a shadow over this notable event, but we wonder if it's right that UK residents, who already fund the National Archives through their taxes, should pay the same amount to access the info as those from abroad.There's a couple of theories as to why it's called the Domesday or Doomsday Book (depending on your preferenece) - Biblical Day of Judgement or when some bloke called Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. Neither of them particularly jolly.
Those long in the tooth will remember the BBC launch the BBC Domesday Project, to put the book on the 12-inch laserdisc. Sadly, these days, this project is remembered as an example of information lost to an old format that cannot be retrieved.
Excellent!! I've been researching several ancestors that appear in the book but not having access to he book itself was a bit of a pain. Thank you very much for the link.
You're most welcome :)
>>It was actually put together for that most popular of government activities. Tax collection.<<
Aha... the good old days when you taxed the nation you defeated instead of paying to rebuild the country... :)
They published each county for about 8 pounds sterling. (US currency would equal about 12 US dollars. I have mine copy for Middlesex. Today, unless I am mistaken, the official agency charges 3.50 pounds per page. My copy has 130 pages- both Latin and English translation. (All for 8 pounds)
It is rather expensive today. One has to accept certain things. For example the 1881 census for England and Wales is absolutely free, courtesy of the Church of the Latter Day Saints.
Someone woke up pretty quickly though. The six census from 1851 through 1901 (every ten years) are offered privately. They also list the free 1881 census without comment. The minimum rate is 4.50 pounds for an all too quick ten days and only ten single access to an entry.
Still worth it - if one knows what one is looking for. But it is money, money, money.
genealogy bump
One may be taken aback at prices asked, but it is all fair game. If the Government agencies feel like making an honest dollar, well ok.
Next there is good old private enterprise. I got on to BARNES AND NOBLE. The used book section immediately goes to the very PHILLIMORE PUBLISHERS (ahem, not Colchester, but Chichester).
Titled DOMESDAY BOOK . John Morris. Translations by Sara Wood. Prices run from $12.95 per complete county entries, to about $35 for more comprehensive works.
tens of thousands can do both - it's a great way to learn history
Some of my ancestors came from the West Riding - left almost 400 years ago for this land - Thank you , Lord! (England has been overrun...but I'm glad for my good ole English genes)
WE'RE DOO..... er, uh...WE'RE DOMED!!
They (The Vikings led by Rollo,) founded the Duchy of Normandy, after forcing a peace-settlement with France, which ceded the lands to the Normans who WERE Normans and not French.(in 911, led by the Viking, Rolf (Rollo, Robert, 1st Duke of Normandy, 2nd great great grandfather of William the Conqueror) \
Hehe :)
i would find any ancestry claim pre-plague to be dubious. there is pretty much no documentation, it is all claim based. I am sure some % are true and a much higher % are believed to be true but outside of the royal line there is a lot of wiggle room.
well discounting the various french-intrigues, which had a lot more to do with the french court and various dukedoms. The defeat of Richard III was one example, I don't recall if Edward II's wife left to france before returning to try to put her son on the throne..
Thanks for the ping. Bookmarked.
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