doomsday book

• survey of England
• finished - August 1086
• was used to find out who owned what
• William died 1087 so his son benefited more from the book
• financial significance

  many of Williams tenant-in-chiefs made deals so the didn't have to pay the geld tax on their land

  William was planning to reverse some of these privileges

  The king also made a lot of money from charging reliefs to new tenants or managing the estates to heirs who were too young to inherit

  he organised the Doomsday Book by shire so he could see his financial opportunities
• legal significance

  contained many cases of Anglo-Saxons claiming that their land had been taken from them

  the book surveys were done as fairly as possible to give all key people in each hundred a chance to say who owned what

  this helped sort out disputes, very important for Williams claim to be just and fair
• military significance

  the council that William held about the Doomsday Book was primarily called to discuss ways to counter a Viking invasion - William took these seriously

  the book does not record knight service but may have been a way to work out how many extra soldiers each tenant-in-chief could provide