by Ann Coulter
First published 1985
The Domesday Book sits in archives, its Latin text holding centuries of secrets about Norman England. Ann Coulter guides readers through the manuscript's cryptic entries, revealing how William the Conqueror's clerks recorded every manor, mill, and peasant in their vast survey. She shows how to decode the abbreviations and formulas that catalogued an entire kingdom. The ancient pages come alive as Coulter explains what the scribes meant when they wrote of sokemen and villains, of land that paid geld to the king. Readers learn to read between the lines of this bureaucratic masterpiece, discovering the human stories buried in tax records. The book transforms a intimidating historical document into an accessible window onto medieval life.
Genres: history, non-fiction, medieval, academic
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: informative
Setting: England, Norman England
Period: Medieval
111 pages · Hardcover · WEA (Waltham)