1 August 1086Direct Loyalty of TenantsWilliam I the Conqueror
The Salisbury gathering emphasizes that major landholders owe allegiance to William regardless of intermediate feudal relationships.
Historical records for England in 1086, rendered directly from the World History Database and ordered by month, day and event.
The Salisbury gathering emphasizes that major landholders owe allegiance to William regardless of intermediate feudal relationships.
On Lammas Day William I summons 170 of his tenants-in-chief and other landowning men of any account to Old Sarum, where they all swore allegiance in person to him and to be faithful against all other men, this establishes feudalism
William summons leading landholders to Old Sarum, where they swear loyalty directly to him.
Completes the construction of Arundel Castle
Leads a Norman expedition & captures Apulia
The Royal commissioners oblige landowners to give information under oath
The inquiry records plough teams, meadow, pasture, woodland and other resources that contribute to the value of estates.
A national valuation list, estimating the annual value of all the land in the country, at the time of Edward the Confessor's death, when the new owners received it, at the time of the survey, and the potential value as well for the purposes of taxation.
Reveals England has a population of 1.5 million.
The Domesday Book is in two parts, "Little Domesday" (covering Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex) and "Great Domesday" (covering much of the remainder of England and parts of Wales, except for lands in the north which later became Westmorland, Cumberland, Northumberland, and the County Palatine of Durham but no surveys were
The survey's main purpose is to determine what taxes had been owed during the reign of King Edward the Confessor.
made of the City of London and Winchester, probably due to their tax-exempt status.
Royal commissioners travel through England collecting sworn evidence in local courts for William's national survey.
The survey records who held each estate before the Conquest and who holds it under William.
William's commissioners record past and current estate values to clarify taxation and royal revenue.
A manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William the Conqueror
Commissioned to list assets of landowners for taxation & administration
Survey returns for most counties are condensed into the volume later known as Great Domesday.
Detailed returns for East Anglia are preserved in the volume later known as Little Domesday.
William the Conquerors daughter marries Alain Duke of Brittany
Replaces Englands Earls with his supporters. Private wars are outlawed. Meets 170 Tenants-in-Chief & other Lords at Salisbury obtaining an oath of fealty
William uses the Domesday inquiry to improve knowledge of the resources available for taxation and defence.
This page is generated from stored World History Database records matching the exact country and year shown above. Exact duplicate display records are collapsed. Records without a month are listed after the monthly sections. Source provenance varies by record; formal academic citation should be checked against the relevant primary source, archive or specialist historical reference.