Danes, Saxons and Normans; or, Stories of our ancestorsEdgar, John G. (John George)
History
Danes, Saxons and Normans; or, Stories of our ancestors
Edgar, John G. (John George)
Great Britain -- History -- Norman period, 1066-1154; Vikings -- Great Britain
The House of Godwin having been overthrown; the son of Siward
executed; one grandson of Leofric in the grave, the other in a
dungeon; and one son of Cospatrick relegated to obscurity in Durham,
the other condemned to exile in Lothian; William the Conqueror shook
off all feelings of apprehension in so far as concerned the
vanquished, and bethought him of casting up accounts with the
companions of his victories. With this view he commissioned Walter
Gifford, Henry de Ferrars, Remi, Bishop of Lincoln, and other persons
of distinction, to traverse the country in all directions, and
ascertain what amount of property each man possessed, and what
proportion each should contribute towards the revenue.
This process, however necessary, does not appear to have been highly
gratifying to those whom it chiefly concerned. Indeed, the Norman
king and the Norman barons had, ere this, begun to regard each other
with distrust and hostility. William accused them of caring more for
their private interests than the general welfare; and they retaliated
by reproaching him with greediness of gain and a desire to appropriate
to himself, under the pretext of public utility, the wealth that had
been acquired by their united exertions. No forcible opposition,
however, was offered to the inquest which William ordered; and the
Royal commissioners proceeded to the execution of their laborious
duties.
Making progresses through the various counties of England, the
commissioners established a court of inquiry in each place of
importance, and caused the results of their investigations to be
regularly registered in a book. The king's name was placed first, with
the lands and revenues he enjoyed; then the names of the chiefs or
smaller proprietors, according to their military rank and the value of
their territory. The whole business was conducted with the utmost
regularity, and with such care as rendered the lapse of years
inevitable before the completion of their inquiry.
When this territorial register, described by the Normans as the "Grand
Roll," but talked of by the Saxons as "Doom's-Day Book," was
completed, all the Norman chiefs, clerks as well as laymen, were
convoked, in 1086, to discuss and decide the various claims that had
been made and disputes that had arisen during the inquest. It was a
magnificent assembly, presided over by William, and consisting of
prelates, barons, and knights, glutted with the blood and gorged with
the spoil of the slaughtered and banished Anglo-Saxon lords. But many
of them came thither in no amicable mood; and the Goddess of Discord
availed herself of their frame of mind to celebrate a festival.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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