The Acta of William the Conqueror, Domesday Book, the Oath of Salisbury, and the legitimacy and stability of the Norman regime in England

Journal article

Dalton, P. 2021. The Acta of William the Conqueror, Domesday Book, the Oath of Salisbury, and the legitimacy and stability of the Norman regime in England. Journal of British Studies. 60 (1), pp. 29-65. https://doi.org/10.1017/jbr.2020.187
AuthorsDalton, P.
Abstract

Domesday Book is one of the most famous documents in English history, and arguably one of the most important. It is widely regarded as the product of a great survey of the landed resources of England set in motion at a council held by William the Conqueror with his magnates at Gloucester during Christmas 1085. Domesday Book and other written outputs of this survey cast enormous light on the nature of late Anglo-Saxon and early Anglo-Norman society, and on the tremendous impact of the Norman conquest. Domesday Book’s historical importance is, therefore, unquestionable, but there is much debate about how and why it was made. This article aims to contribute to the debate about its purpose by discussing what some of William the Conqueror’s royal acta reveal about the thinking of the king and his advisers close to the time when the great survey of 1086 was undertaken.

KeywordsDomesday Book; William The Conqueror; Normans; England; History
Year2021
JournalJournal of British Studies
Journal citation60 (1), pp. 29-65
PublisherCambridge University Press
ISSN0021-9371
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1017/jbr.2020.187
Official URLhttps://doi.org/10.1017/jbr.2020.187
Publication dates
Online26 Jan 2021
Publication process dates
Accepted12 Feb 2020
Deposited14 Sep 2020
Accepted author manuscript
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Permalink -

https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/item/8w2y8/the-acta-of-william-the-conqueror-domesday-book-the-oath-of-salisbury-and-the-legitimacy-and-stability-of-the-norman-regime-in-england

Download files

Accepted author manuscript
DomesdayArticleFinalx JBS.pdf
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
File access level: Open

  • 253
    total views
  • 357
    total downloads
  • 2
    views this month
  • 9
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

After Hastings: William the Conqueror's invasion campaign, 15 October-25 December 1066
Dalton, P. 2017. After Hastings: William the Conqueror's invasion campaign, 15 October-25 December 1066. Viator: Medieval and Renaissance Studies. 48 (2), pp. 139-178. https://doi.org/10.1484/J.VIATOR.5.115980
William the peacemaker: the submission of the English to the Duke of Normandy, October 1066-January 1067
Dalton, P. 2015. William the peacemaker: the submission of the English to the Duke of Normandy, October 1066-January 1067. in: Dalton, P. and Luscombe, D. (ed.) Rulership an Rebellion in the Anglo-Norman World, c.1066-c.1216: Essays in Honour of Professor Edmund King Farnham Ashgate. pp. 21-44
The accession of King Henry I, August 1100
Dalton, P. 2012. The accession of King Henry I, August 1100. Viator. 43 (2), pp. 79-109. https://doi.org/10.1484/J.VIATOR.1.102706
Monastic responses to war in King Stephen's reign: Selby Abbey and Pontefract Priory, Yorkshire
Dalton, P. 2007. Monastic responses to war in King Stephen's reign: Selby Abbey and Pontefract Priory, Yorkshire.
Allegiance and intelligence in King Stephen’s Reign
Dalton, P. 2008. Allegiance and intelligence in King Stephen’s Reign. in: Dalton, P. and White, G. (ed.) King Stephen's Reign (1135-1154) Woodbridge Boydell Press. pp. 80-97
The Outlaw Hereward the Wake: His companions and enemies
Dalton, P. 2009. The Outlaw Hereward the Wake: His companions and enemies. in: Appleby, J. and Dalton, P. (ed.) Outlaws in Medieval England and Early Modern England: Crime, Government and Society, c.1066-1600 Farnham, UK Ashgate. pp. 7-36
Introduction
Appleby, J. and Dalton, P. 2009. Introduction. in: Appleby, J. and Dalton, P. (ed.) Outlaws in Medieval and Early Modern England: Crime, Government and Society, c. 1066-1600 Farnham, UK Ashgate. pp. 1-6
Geffrei Gaimar's Estoire des Engleis, peacemaking, and the "twelfth-century revival of the English nation"
Dalton, P. 2007. Geffrei Gaimar's Estoire des Engleis, peacemaking, and the "twelfth-century revival of the English nation". Studies in Philology. 104 (4), pp. 427-454. https://doi.org/10.1353/sip.2007.0015
Ecclesiastical responses to war in King Stephen's reign: the communities of Selby Abbey, Pontefract Priory and York Cathedral
Dalton, P. 2011. Ecclesiastical responses to war in King Stephen's reign: the communities of Selby Abbey, Pontefract Priory and York Cathedral. in: Dalton, P., Insley, C. and Wilkinson, L. (ed.) Cathedrals, Communities and Conflict in the Anglo-Norman World Woodbridge Boydell Press. pp. 131-149
Sites and occasions of peacemaking in England and Normandy, c.900-c.1150
Dalton, P. 2006. Sites and occasions of peacemaking in England and Normandy, c.900-c.1150. Haskins Society Journal. 16, pp. 12-26.
The topical concerns of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britannie: history, prophecy, peacemaking, and English identity in the Twelfth Century
Dalton, P. 2005. The topical concerns of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britannie: history, prophecy, peacemaking, and English identity in the Twelfth Century. Journal of British Studies. 44 (4), pp. 688-712. https://doi.org/10.1086/431937
The date of Geoffrey Gaimar's Estoire des Engleis, the connections of his patrons, and the politics of Stephen's Reign
Dalton, P. 2007. The date of Geoffrey Gaimar's Estoire des Engleis, the connections of his patrons, and the politics of Stephen's Reign. The Chaucer Review. 42 (1), pp. 23-47. https://doi.org/10.1353/cr.2007.0020