Domesday Book: Total Information Awareness

The Domesday book is now searchable online. We'll pass over that William used the famous census in the middle of his general slaughter of the populace, and for the purpose of further subjugation of the English people, far worse than the battles that brought him to power.

(Much like today. Information collected for political control. )

My withering criticism of the Norman Conquest aside, below is the entry for Wargrave, the village near Henley where I lived for a year at Timber Cottage, a small house that dates to at least the 14th century (spooked the 11-year old me out, man, coming from Splitlevelville, Alaska); what we heard was that the namesake timbers were from Thames barges, and the barges were a hundred years old when torn apart for the house, and they were of course built of local oak, from around the 11th century.

Hard not to like the names: Aethelgifu, free woman, and Froger the sheriff.

Place name:	Wargrave, Berkshire
Folio:	57r Great Domesday Book
Domesday place name:	Weregrave
People mentioned:	Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel; Aethelgifu, free woman; Almaer; Almaer, free man; Eadraed the priest; Earl Harold; Earl of Roger de Breteuil Hereford; Froger the sheriff; Gilbert; Hervey; King Edward as landholder; King Edward as lord; Leofflaed; Peter, Bishop of Chester; Priest of Geoffrey de Mandeville; Queen Edith; Rainbald; Richard; Robert; Saxi; Walter Giffard; William the deacon; Wulfflaed; Wulfric, free man