Direct Loyalty of Tenants
The Salisbury gathering emphasizes that major landholders owe allegiance to William regardless of intermediate feudal relationships.
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1086 in England
Explore 22 historical events and records for England in 1086.
Historical records for England in 1086
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 22 of 22 unique records.
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August
Oath
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
Oath of Salisbury
William summons leading landholders to Old Sarum, where they swear loyalty directly to him.
Other events (month unknown)
Arundel Castle
Completes the construction of Arundel Castle
Capture of Apulia
Leads a Norman expedition & captures Apulia
Commission
The Royal commissioners oblige landowners to give information under oath
Domesday Agricultural Resources
The inquiry records plough teams, meadow, pasture, woodland and other resources that contribute to the value of estates.
Domesday Book
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.
Domesday Book
Reveals England has a population of 1.5 million.
Domesday Book
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
Domesday Book
The survey's main purpose is to determine what taxes had been owed during the reign of King Edward the Confessor.
Domesday Book
made of the City of London and Winchester, probably due to their tax-exempt status.
Domesday Commissioners Dispatched
Royal commissioners travel through England collecting sworn evidence in local courts for William's national survey.
Domesday Landholding Inquiry
The survey records who held each estate before the Conquest and who holds it under William.
Domesday Valuation Inquiry
William's commissioners record past and current estate values to clarify taxation and royal revenue.
Doomsday Book
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
Doomsday Book
Commissioned to list assets of landowners for taxation & administration
Great Domesday Compilation
Survey returns for most counties are condensed into the volume later known as Great Domesday.
Little Domesday Survey
Detailed returns for East Anglia are preserved in the volume later known as Little Domesday.
Marriage
William the Conquerors daughter marries Alain Duke of Brittany
Oath
Replaces Englands Earls with his supporters. Private wars are outlawed. Meets 170 Tenants-in-Chief & other Lords at Salisbury obtaining an oath of fealty
Royal Revenue Assessment
William uses the Domesday inquiry to improve knowledge of the resources available for taxation and defence.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.