The Domesday Book represents the apex of administrative control in the early Anglo-Norman state. Commissioned at the Christmas Council of 1085 by William the Conqueror, it sought to record the extent, value, and ownership of every hide of land across his newly won kingdom. The survey was conducted through regional circuits where royal commissioners took sworn testimony from local juries, creating a precise record of the transition from Anglo-Saxon Thanes to the new Norman tenant-in-chief class. It served as the ultimate fiscal and legal authority, settling disputes of land tenure and feudal duty that would define the English landed class for centuries.
Regarded as the 'Great Survey,' the document is divided into Great Domesday (summaries of most counties) and Little Domesday (detailed accounts of Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk). Beyond mere taxation, it is the foundational document for English genealogy and manorial history, mapping the seismic shift in lordship following the Battle of Hastings. It effectively established the census of the feudal hierarchy, documenting the rights of the Crown, the Church, and the nobility while recording the status of the peasantry (villani, bordarii, and servi) within the manorial system.