Meanwhile, at the Midwinter Gemot of 1085-1086, held in due form at Gloucester, William did one of his greatest acts."The King had mickle thought and sooth deep speech with his Witan about his land, how it were set and with whilk men." In that "deep speech," so called in our own tongue, lurks a name well known and dear to every Englishman.The result of that famous parliament is set forth at length by the Chronicler.The King sent his men into each shire, men who did indeed set down in their writ how the land was set and of what men.In that writ we have a record in the Roman tongue no less precious than the Chronicles in our own.For that writ became the Book of Winchester, the book to which our fathers gave the name of Domesday, the book of judgement that spared no man.
The Great Survey was made in the course of the first seven months of the year 1086.Commissioners were sent into every shire, who inquired by the oaths of the men of the hundreds by whom the land had been held in King Edward's days and what it was worth then, by whom it was held at the time of the survey and what it was worth then; and lastly, whether its worth could be raised.Nothing was to be left out."So sooth narrowly did he let spear it out, that there was not a hide or a yard of land, nor further--it is shame to tell, and it thought him no shame to do--an ox nor a cow nor a swine was left that was not set in his writ." This kind of searching inquiry, never liked at any time, would be specially grievous then.The taking of the survey led to disturbances in many places, in which not a few lives were lost.While the work was going on, William went to and fro till he knew thoroughly how this land was set and of what men.He had now a list of all men, French and English, who held land in his kingdom.And it was not enough to have their names in a writ; he would see them face to face.On the making of the survey followed that great assembly, that great work of legislation, which was the crown of William's life as a ruler and lawgiver of England.The usual assemblies of the year had been held at Winchester and Westminster.An extraordinary assembly was held in the plain of Salisbury on the first day of August.The work of that assembly has been already spoken of.It was now that all the owners of land in the kingdom became the men of the King; it was now that England became one, with no fear of being again parted asunder.
The close connexion between the Great Survey and the law and the oath of Salisbury is plain.It was a great matter for the King to get in the gold certainly and, we may add, fairly.William would deal with no man otherwise than according to law as he understood the law.But he sought for more than this.He would not only know what this land could be made to pay; he would know the state of his kingdom in every detail; he would know its military strength; he would know whether his own will, in the long process of taking from this man and giving to that, had been really carried out.Domesday is before all things a record of the great confiscation, a record of that gradual change by which, in less than twenty years, the greater part of the land of England had been transferred from native to foreign owners.And nothing shows like Domesday in what a formally legal fashion that transfer was carried out.What were the principles on which it was carried out, we have already seen.All private property in land came only from the grant of King William.
It had all passed into his hands by lawful forfeiture; he might keep it himself; he might give it back to its old owner or grant it to a new one.So it was at the general redemption of lands; so it was whenever fresh conquests or fresh revolts threw fresh lands into the King's hands.The principle is so thoroughly taken for granted, that we are a little startled to find it incidentally set forth in so many words in a case of no special importance.A priest named Robert held a single yardland in alms of the King; he became a monk in the monastery of Stow-in-Lindesey, and his yardland became the property of the house.One hardly sees why this case should have been picked out for a solemn declaration of the general law.Yet, as "the day on which the English redeemed their lands" is spoken of only casually in the case of a particular estate, so the principle that no man could hold lands except by the King's grant ("Non licet terram alicui habere nisi regis concessu") is brought in only to illustrate the wrongful dealing of Robert and the monks of Stow in the case of a very small holding indeed.
