Domesday Book goes online
Back in the days when databases were made from sepia ink and
vellum, the most important database for any Englishman was the
Domesday (Doomsday) book, commissioned nearly a thousand years ago
as a complete census of England.
It's amazing that this priceless database has now been digitized
is now
searchable online.
As an amateur genealogist, I've spent entire days in the LDS
library in Salt Lake City studying the Domesday book reprints, and
it is fascinating reading.
The Doomsday book is a great place to search for English surname
origins. Last names were just becoming popular in the 11th
century, and peoples last names were often noted in relation to
their job (John the Lavender "Laundryman" became John Lavender), and
where a person lived often became their last name (William de
Burleston became William Burleston).
I know just enough French and middle English to hack through the
Doomsday book, and it's an amazing journey to another world.
See
Domesday books and CDs.
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