Editing William the Conqueror (section)

=== Domesday Book ===
{{Main|Domesday Book}}
[[File:Domesday Book - Warwickshire.png|upright|thumb|A page from the ''[[Domesday Book]]'' for Warwickshire]]

At Christmas 1085, William ordered the compilation of a survey of the landholdings held by himself and by his vassals throughout his kingdom, organised by counties. It resulted in a work now known as the ''[[Domesday Book]]''. The listing for each county gives the holdings of each landholder, grouped by owners. The listings describe the holding, who owned the land before the Conquest, its value, its tax assessment, and usually the number of peasants, ploughs, and any other resources the holding had. Towns were listed separately. All the English counties south of the River Tees and [[River Ribble]] are included. The whole work seems to have been mostly completed by 1 August 1086, when the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' records that William received the results and that all the chief magnates swore the [[Salisbury Oath]], a renewal of their oaths of allegiance.<ref name=Bates198>Bates ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 198–202</ref> William's motivation in ordering the survey is unclear, but it probably had several purposes, such as making a record of feudal obligations and justifying increased taxation.<ref name=DNB/>