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Domesday Book Goes Online

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the not-doomsday-that's-in-a-ghostbusters-episode dept.

Accommodate Students writes "The Domesday Book has gone online. As one of the earliest public records goes online, anyone with an internet connection will be able to access this important document. Amongst other interesting facts, the BBC is reporting that the Book can still be used today in court for property disputes. In an interesting development, the National Archives are making online searches free, but downloads of data will cost £3.50 (approx $6.50 US). Similar launches of historical websites in the past have struggled to keep up with server loads in their first days and weeks, so it remains to be seen whether the Domesday Book online will be more or less fragile than the parchment originals."

4 of 100 comments (clear)

  1. cool by rucs_hack · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have property deeds from the 16th century in what is now oxfordshire, that I found years ago in a jumble sale of all places. I can track them back even further now.

    Sounds like it, anyway.

  2. Re:Cool! by NanoWires · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Believe it or not it does come from doomsday!! Read the Introduction to the Domesday book http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/domesday/discov er-domesday/
    The nickname 'Domesday' may refer to the Biblical Day of Judgement, or 'doomsday' when Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. Just as there will be no appeal on that day against his decisions, so Domesday Book has the final word - there is no appeal beyond it as evidence of legal title to land. For many centuries Domesday was regarded as the authoritative register regarding rightful possession and was used mainly for that purpose. It was called Domesday by 1180. Before that it was known as the Winchester Roll or King's Roll, and sometimes as the Book of the Treasury.
  3. property by denidoom · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I wonder who would gain from a property dispute? the Black Plague in the 14th century devestated the English population and as a result a lot of peasants became landowners themselves. They were able to negotiate these land deals because basically there weren't many laborers left to work the land and the lords were desperate, so they gave the peasants land in exchange for labor. In fact things were really rearranged quite a bit at that time (14th C) regarding property. I am unsure how anyone could prove a valid claim -they would have to do some serious researching into the following centuries proving the land wasn't legitimately sold or transferred.

    --
    Lane Myer: I have great fear of tools. I once made a birdhouse in woodshop and the fair housing committee condemned it.
  4. Re:Old tech vs new by plover · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yeah, this story made me wonder if anyone from the future would ever care about our "Domesday Wiki."

    --
    John