Tuesday 26 July 2011

Outlaws and Nottinghamshire Domesday Customs

The Domesday Book was written in 1086 at the command of William the Conqueror.

The Nottinghamshire section lists all the vills and parishes in exixtence at Domesday, listing the amount of arable, pasture, woodland, mills and ploughs that belonged to the different manors for taxation purposes.

As well as taxable property people are sometimes mentioned:

In Warsop (a village within Sherwood Forest- although not described as such) Domesday lists a blind man living with 1 bovate (an area of land equivalent to that which an ox could plough in one season- around 15 acres) in alms from the King.

Obviously charity existed in Medieval times- William the Bastard may have had a softer side too...

With regards to Outlaws Domesday lists in its section on Shire Customs:

'anyone exiled according to the law for any crime, no one but the king can restore peace to him'.

Outlaws were clearly a part of day to day life in the time of the conquest...

  

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