The Domesday Book was an official document compiled by the English government in 1086. It was essentially a national census of the kingdom of England. Even though the Domesday Book was sort of a failure, because it was incomplete, missed towns and entire regions of England, and was filled with mathematical errors, it was still an exceptional document. Because no other medieval monarch was in a position to even attempt to take a national census, except the rulers of England in 1086, and no medieval ruler had attempted a national census.