Why did the Domesday book help William control the Saxons?

Answer 1

William, Duke of Normandy was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066.

William took all the land and important jobs in the Government and Church away from the Saxons and divided it up amongst his Norman friends. He built castles to make the English feel so scared that they would not dare even to think about causing trouble. By 1085, William had a shortage of money and also many Normans had begun to disagree amongst themselves over the land they had been given as a reward for helping conquer England. William wanted to settle these disputes once and for all. Thus William decided to order a survey. The survey would list all the land in England. It would list who was looking after each area, what lands they had, and which other people lived there. Importantly, the survey would find out how much tax-money William could get from this land. Official government inspectors were sent around the country to gather information. The people in England spoke Saxon English and the Norman inspectors spoke French and Latin. A jury, which included the local important men such as the village priest and reeve who could understand the different languages, had to decide whether their neighbours were telling the truth.

The results of this survey were written into Domesday Book.

Answer 2

If by 'William' you mean 'William the Conqueror', then the short answer is that it was no use at all: most historian now believe that Domesday Book was compiled in the reign of William Rufus (1087-1101) or just possibly the early years of Henry I (1101-1135). The book was used in the routine administration of the shire and long continued to be so. The inquest of 1086, by contrast, on which it was based, was commissioned to meet a specific crisis of governemnt in 1085 when England faced invasion and could not muster the resources to defend itself. Its aims were many, but can be broadly categorized as the production of an inventory of royal lands, a reassessment of taxation, and a review of knight service. It resulted in a new 'social contract', agreed at Salisbury in August 1086, that was to form the basis of English feudalism throughout the Middle Ages.

I'm not sure that 'most historians now believe that Domesday Book was complied in the reign if William Rufus'. I have to say I dispute that. Up until the summer of 2010 it was a absolute given that it was William the Conqueror who ordered it to be compiled. I am sure of this because eminent historians from King's College London and Cambridge University launched the PASE project with the help of the BBC and at no point was it ever mentioned that William II had anything to do with it. In fact, it is mooted that the death of William I caused the Domesday Book to STOP being complied, as the returns from East Anglia were never incorporated into the heavily abbreviated final version and were left probably in the same format as they arrived with the scribe. I studied Domesday Book under two of the finest and one of the best known historians of their time and none of them ever suggested an alternative time for the work.

I also dispute the taxation idea. The information in Domesday Book could have been used for taxation, but it was not the primary function. In fact, the information could have been laid out far better to make it far more easy to use for taxation reassessment, but it was not. It is laid out by land holder in each geography and not by value. Values come right at the end of each entry. Names are highlighted, not values. It was, whatever else, primarily concerned with landholding and by whom. There are well respected Historians who assert that it was a tax book, but the latest research as delivered by Dr Stephen Baxter of King's College London, say that is not the case.

William II died on Thursday 2nd August 1100, not 1101.

To answer the original question, no use to William the Conqueror at all because he died before it was finished.

Answer 3

it helped William because he was able to get free food and everything !

Answer 4

It was useful to whoever ruled England as it informed the king how much he could tax the landowners.

Answer 5

because he was king mann!!

Answer 6

because iu