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Difficulty: Very hardThe Domesday Book and Feudalism

In 1086, William the Conqueror commissioned the Domesday Book to record the land, livestock, and inhabitants of England. Beyond its role as a survey for taxation, how did the Domesday Book serve as the primary administrative pillar of the feudal system?

  1. A
    It functioned as a social census that granted peasants the right to claim ownership of the land they worked if they could prove it was historically Anglo-Saxon.
  2. It provided the King with a definitive legal record to verify the exact extent of land held by his tenants-in-chief, allowing him to precisely enforce the military service and financial dues they owed him.Answer
  3. C
    It was a public registry that enabled knights to appeal directly to the King to be released from their military duties if the recorded value of their land fell below a certain threshold.
  4. D
    It was a religious ledger commissioned to identify land that should be returned to the Anglo-Saxon Church to pacify the local population and prevent further Viking-led rebellions.

Answer

The Domesday Book served as an administrative pillar by providing the King with a definitive legal record to verify land holdings and enforce the specific military and financial obligations owed by his tenants-in-chief.
The correct answer is correct because the feudal system was built on a hierarchical exchange where the King owned all land and granted it to others in return for service. The Domesday Book provided the necessary data to make this system functional and enforceable, as it created an indisputable record of what each lord held and what they owed the Crown.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the relationship between the 1086 survey and the structure of Norman governance.
The Domesday Book recorded the value and occupancy of almost every piece of land in England.
To identify how the survey functioned as more than just a list of assets.
2
Link the findings of the survey to the core 'land-for-service' principle of the feudal system.
Realization that land tenure was the basis for military service and loyalty to the King.
The feudal hierarchy depended on the King knowing exactly what resources his subordinates controlled.
3
Synthesize how the data allowed the King to consolidate power over the nobility.
The King could use the record to ensure tenants-in-chief were providing the correct number of knights and payments.
It established a centralized legal authority that reinforced the rigid hierarchy of lords, knights, and peasants.

Key Concept

The integration of land surveys and feudal obligations in Norman England.
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

The Domesday Book and Feudalism

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