The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-11-18
DOMESDAY BOOK.
A Venerable Volume, Eight Hundred
Years Old-The Origin of Its Pecu-
liar

!
are all familiar with the name of this
book, though few of Us have ever seen
/ the inside or the outside of it. 1t may
! not be amiss, therefore, to collect few
! facts concerning it, SO that we may be
! in position to take an interest in the
/ subject which is about to call SO many
of the learned and scientific together.
There is the real book as it was pro-
! duced eight hundred years ago, and
there is fac-simile of it which was
! effected, after ten years of labor, in 1770.
! 1t IS the original document which forms
/ the subject of interest to US now.
/ The present home of this venerable
! book is the record office. 1t consists of
/ two volumes, a greater and lesser.
/ The first is large folio containing 382
! double-columed pages, written on vel
lum, aud deals only with thirty lone
counties. The writing is small. clear,
/ ard exquisite, and the red and black
| inks which were employed are as bright
! as if written yesterday.
The original binding was wood, cov-
! cred with leather and ornamented with
/ brass; this, however, had to be removed,
! a. ii was becoming wOrm-eaten, and
| would seriously have damaged the vel
| lum had ii remained. 1t IS fortunately,
! kept by the side of the book, so that
! those who take an interest in the art
! of book-binding eight hundred years
! ago may see and examine for them
! selves.
IN its new binding ornamented with
! silver, it turns quite nineteenth CEN
/ tury face to lookers-on; but YOU have
Z 10. -
] excellent preservation, that it is no child
! of our time.
| This book is among records what the
| hoh-i-nOor is among diamonds, ard has
been the object of incessant care from
| the first day of its existence until now.
| 1t was the constant companion of our
! early kings, travelling with them where
! soeVer they went until, in the reign of
! John, it was almost lost in the Wash
with several other valuable records.
After this it was thought better to keep
| it in place of safety, and we find that
it was early brought to Westminster,
and kept, with the kings seal, in the
! eXchequer under three locks and KEYS,
! in charge of the auditor, the chamber
| !ains, and deputy chamberlains of the
! excheCper.
The name by which this book is
! known is a startling one, and it is
worth while TO inquire the reason for
! giving 1t such a title. 1t is supposed by
some to have received it from "domus
! Del, a chamber in the cathedral at
! Winchester so called, in which the re-
turns We're arranged and written down
! and where for time the book was de-
| posted It is probable the words were
! pronounced rs in Italian, which would
give ''domus dei'' very much the sound
of domesday.
A second reason for the same may be
| found in the fact that doom" and
! day (dom. bocs) are Saxon equiva-
| tents of judiclum and their union i'll the
! composition of It's title thus emphasizes
''Domesday Book" as the greatest judi
! cial record OF tho age.
A third reason for such a name is that
the authority of 'Domesday Book has
never been permitted to be called in
! question, and when recourse has been
! had 20 it to determine doubt concern
ing the tenure of land or other matter
there could be no appeal against its de-
cision any more than a sentence pro-
nounced at doomsday Hence" says
an ancient historian, 1t is called
I Domesday Book.
Having looked at the outside and
! taken Il peep at the inside, we will look
! TO Its origin and purpose; and in order
| to do this, we must 90 back to the year
| lOS5-a period of Ieisurs to William,
| after long years of vigilance and anx-
| iety in queiling rebellion within and
| without. Like many another cOnqueror,
! when the battles were over and period
of peace and rest arrived, he wanted to
| take stock of his gains and see if they
were sufficient to repay him for years of
| sorrow, disappointment and bloodshed,
and if not, to make them SO. A man
! who could employ his leisure in think
ing and working out such scheme as
! the general survey of his country eight
/ hundred years ago was no ordinary
man, and we shall the better under
stand this if we quote a passage con-
cerning him from the Saxon Chron-
! icles." where he is described from per-
| sonal observation:
The King William about whom we
/ speak was very wise man, and very
| powerful, more dignitied and strong
! than any of his predecessors. He was
| mild TO the good man who loved God
( and over all measure severe to the man
who gainsaid his Will He
was also very dionified; so also was he
7 u very rigid and cruel man. so that no
! one burst do anything against his swill. "
With this character he was not likely
to nave allowed any obstacles TO stand
in the way of carrying out any purpose
! he had at heart. His idea was to take
q survey of his kingdom in so accurate
/ and detailed manner that, when COM
! pleted. he should be able to discover at
/ glance every hide of land, waste, and
water within its borders, the value and
/ the owners of the same, the condition,
/ employment, wealth, and consequence
| of every individual of the population.
Not a hide or yard of land, not an
OK, COW, or hog was omitted in the CEN
sus," says an ancient historian, and
Fuller. in his Church History" con-
! cludeS a sentence concerning the survey
with the words: so accurate were
they in the very fractions of land
There is no doubt that the survey was
made with so much exactitude and con-
ciseness that the king not only had no
! difficulty in getting perfect know
Ieuge OF the pOSSesslOns Ol Tue crown anu
the military strength Of the country but
it also pointed out to him the means of
increasing the revenue.
1t is said that William rendered him.
self universal proprietor of England,
and that his own annual fixed income
amounted to 100000 To understand
this sum it Is necessary to remember
that at that time pound contained
three times the amount of silver that it
does at present and that provisions were
ten times as cheap then as now; so that
all things considered. his income could
not have been less than S9.OO0.OOO or
$4,000. 900 of our money. To be able
TO read for ourselves all that the