Folio Archives 46: Domesday Book FS 2003 and Alecto 1987
Talk Folio Society Devotees
Join LibraryThing to post.
1wcarter
Domesday Book 2003
I suspect everyone reading this has heard, at least in vague outline, of the Domesday Book, which was effectively a catalogue of everything of value in England in 1086.
It was initially called the King's Book, but took on the Domesday title after the day of doom, due to the awe in which it was held by the English under Norman subjugation.
Commissioned by William I, and compiled over two years, it details every landholder in the country, the rents paid, the number of ploughs used, the number and types of residents (freemen, villains, serfs, slaves etc.), water mills, meadowland and numerous other intricate details that vary slightly from place to place.
The Great Domesday covers 31 counties in southern and western England from Kent to Cornwall and North to Worcestershire. The Little Domesday covers the eastern counties of Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk in greater detail than the Great Domesday because this was the original source of the Great Domesday for the other counties, but these three counties were never incorporated into the Great book, in which some of the deatial was omitted. In the Little Domesday details of how many sheep, horses, pigs and even bee hives could be found in each Lord's domain were detailed.
Between 1987 and 1992 Alecto Historical Editions produced a magnificent facsimile set with a huge individual volume for every county. Each county edition consisted of three volumes housed in a solander box (43.5cm. tall) that included a bookstand and a board backed dedication to Queen Elizabeth II. Each county had the 179 page book "Domesday Book Studies" in common, there was a thin volume containing a facsimile of the Domesday Book for that county and both historic and contemporary lift-out maps of the county, and the third volume was a commentary and translation of the Domesday Book for that county. A superb (but very expensive) limited edition set of only 1000 copies. I own the edition covering the county of Worcestershire (No.331 of 1000).
In 2003 the Folio Society took the Alecto translation of the Great and Little Domesday, as well as the invaluable index, and published the details for every county in a beautiful three volume set.
There is a brief introduction by Prof. G. H. Martin, a comprehensive glossary (both of which which appear at the beginning of each volume), and then the translation which fills 90% of the volumes. The back of volume three has the 127 page index.
The Folio Society edition is quarter-bound in bonded leather with picture blocked art vellum covers and gilt spine title. It is printed by the Bath Press on ivory wove paper. The page count for the three volumes is xiv + 1430, and in the slipcase they are 28x18.5x14.5cm. The slipcase is printed on three sides with a magnified extract from the Domesday Book (which also is used on the endpapers), while there is bonded leather on the slipcase top and bottom. There are no illustrations.
In 1974 I lived for a few months in the tiny village of Henham in Essex. I was able to look up the Little Domesday entry for the village and learn that in 1086 it was in the demense of Ralph Baynard, and in the village there was one free man (Awine Still), 5 villeins, 3 boarders and 2 slaves. There were 2 ploughs, woodland for 80 pigs, 3 acres of meadow, the whole village consisted of 1.5 hides and 30 acres, and paid rent of £4.
This is obviously not a book to read, but anyone with English ancestry would find it fascinating to use it as a research tool and find out what was happening in the place they came from, or the place they live now, from nearly a thousand years ago, in the same detail as I discovered about Henham.
Alecto Historical Editions
Limited edition single county - Worcestershire. 1988
Dedication board in Solander box
Three volumes in Solander box
Worcestershire translation volume
Worcestershire map and facsimile volume
Domesday Studies volume
Folio Society Domesday Book
Three volume set 2003
Slipcase rear.
Endpapers
Typical Great Domesday page.
Typical Little Domesday page.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed at : http://www.librarything.com/topic/266300
I suspect everyone reading this has heard, at least in vague outline, of the Domesday Book, which was effectively a catalogue of everything of value in England in 1086.
It was initially called the King's Book, but took on the Domesday title after the day of doom, due to the awe in which it was held by the English under Norman subjugation.
Commissioned by William I, and compiled over two years, it details every landholder in the country, the rents paid, the number of ploughs used, the number and types of residents (freemen, villains, serfs, slaves etc.), water mills, meadowland and numerous other intricate details that vary slightly from place to place.
The Great Domesday covers 31 counties in southern and western England from Kent to Cornwall and North to Worcestershire. The Little Domesday covers the eastern counties of Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk in greater detail than the Great Domesday because this was the original source of the Great Domesday for the other counties, but these three counties were never incorporated into the Great book, in which some of the deatial was omitted. In the Little Domesday details of how many sheep, horses, pigs and even bee hives could be found in each Lord's domain were detailed.
Between 1987 and 1992 Alecto Historical Editions produced a magnificent facsimile set with a huge individual volume for every county. Each county edition consisted of three volumes housed in a solander box (43.5cm. tall) that included a bookstand and a board backed dedication to Queen Elizabeth II. Each county had the 179 page book "Domesday Book Studies" in common, there was a thin volume containing a facsimile of the Domesday Book for that county and both historic and contemporary lift-out maps of the county, and the third volume was a commentary and translation of the Domesday Book for that county. A superb (but very expensive) limited edition set of only 1000 copies. I own the edition covering the county of Worcestershire (No.331 of 1000).
In 2003 the Folio Society took the Alecto translation of the Great and Little Domesday, as well as the invaluable index, and published the details for every county in a beautiful three volume set.
There is a brief introduction by Prof. G. H. Martin, a comprehensive glossary (both of which which appear at the beginning of each volume), and then the translation which fills 90% of the volumes. The back of volume three has the 127 page index.
The Folio Society edition is quarter-bound in bonded leather with picture blocked art vellum covers and gilt spine title. It is printed by the Bath Press on ivory wove paper. The page count for the three volumes is xiv + 1430, and in the slipcase they are 28x18.5x14.5cm. The slipcase is printed on three sides with a magnified extract from the Domesday Book (which also is used on the endpapers), while there is bonded leather on the slipcase top and bottom. There are no illustrations.
In 1974 I lived for a few months in the tiny village of Henham in Essex. I was able to look up the Little Domesday entry for the village and learn that in 1086 it was in the demense of Ralph Baynard, and in the village there was one free man (Awine Still), 5 villeins, 3 boarders and 2 slaves. There were 2 ploughs, woodland for 80 pigs, 3 acres of meadow, the whole village consisted of 1.5 hides and 30 acres, and paid rent of £4.
This is obviously not a book to read, but anyone with English ancestry would find it fascinating to use it as a research tool and find out what was happening in the place they came from, or the place they live now, from nearly a thousand years ago, in the same detail as I discovered about Henham.
Alecto Historical Editions
Limited edition single county - Worcestershire. 1988
Dedication board in Solander box
Three volumes in Solander box
Worcestershire translation volume
Worcestershire map and facsimile volume
Domesday Studies volume
Folio Society Domesday Book
Three volume set 2003
Slipcase rear.
Endpapers
Typical Great Domesday page.
Typical Little Domesday page.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed at : http://www.librarything.com/topic/266300
2folio_books
Just to add that the Folio version isn't a Limited Edition. It's essentially a reference work but unfortunately doesn't cover the area of England in which I live - the north east. I assume the Normans were too frightened of the natives.
3boldface
>2 folio_books: "I assume the Normans were too frightened of the natives."
More villains than villeins?
More villains than villeins?
4David_E
Perhaps our canny northern ancestors, knowing the Normans were coming, hid everything and greeted them with "Nothing to see here".
5TheEconomist
>2 folio_books: "It's essentially a reference work but unfortunately doesn't cover the area of England in which I live - the north east. I assume the Normans were too frightened of the natives."
There was a similar (but later) survey that covered much of the North-East of England; it was produced in 1183, covered the Bishopric of Durham and is now generally known as the Boldon Book. I don't think that the Alecto series covered this, but it was included in the earlier (and smaller-format) edition published by Phillimore.
There was a similar (but later) survey that covered much of the North-East of England; it was produced in 1183, covered the Bishopric of Durham and is now generally known as the Boldon Book. I don't think that the Alecto series covered this, but it was included in the earlier (and smaller-format) edition published by Phillimore.
6LesMiserables
Does anyone know what the retail price was for the Three volume set 2003?
7mr.philistine
>6 LesMiserables: Strangely this title is missing mention in any of the prospectuses from 2000 to 2009. I searched a few years before and after this range as well. It is also absent from the 'Prospectus Index' - another useful tool for locating titles, on the FS wiki page.
8LesMiserables
>7 mr.philistine: Yes, intriguing. It would have been nice if Folio 60 listed the RRP too.
9LesMiserables
Just heard back from FS.
“ I'm afraid we don't have exact information on the price this title was offered at back in 2003. However, my manager has located an old catalogue and he believes it should have been somewhere between £100-£120. ”
So factoring in inflation this would be about £200 today.
“ I'm afraid we don't have exact information on the price this title was offered at back in 2003. However, my manager has located an old catalogue and he believes it should have been somewhere between £100-£120. ”
So factoring in inflation this would be about £200 today.
