The Domesday Book

Short History Of...

Noiser

History

4.8 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 31 August 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Following the Norman Conquest at the Battle of Hastings, Norman culture transformed the country, as William I governed through force and bureaucracy. One of his lasting legacies - the Domesday Book - was the result of a complex and extensive survey to find out who owned what, and how much tax they should pay. It provided a snapshot of medieval life and has survived almost 1,000 years of turmoil, war and politics. The Domesday Book can still be consulted in modern legal disputes today, but how did William’s bureaucrats create such an in-depth document about an entire kingdom? What does the book reveal about the king’s ruthless methods of conquering? And what light does it shine on the so-called Dark Ages? This is a Short History Of The Domesday Book. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Dr Chris Lewis, a fellow at the Institute of Historical Research in the University of London, and co-author of the book, Making Domesday. Written by Jo Furniss | Produced by Kate Simants | Assistant Producer: Nicole Edmunds | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay, Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw | Fact check by Sean Coleman Get every episode of Short History Of... a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Julie Andrews, and it is my great pleasure to bring you Jane Austen Stories,
0:06.4	the new show from the Noiser Podcast Network.
0:10.2	I'll be reading Pride and Prejudice.
0:13.6	We'll walk grand estates and take tea with well-dressed gentlewomen,
0:18.9	but in this tranquil corner of England, not everything is quite
0:24.1	as it appears. Listen to Jane Austen's stories wherever you get your podcasts.
0:30.9	It is the 14th of October 1066, late afternoon, on a battlefield near Hastings in the south of England.
0:38.3	A soldier is slogging it out with his double-edged sword,
0:44.3	swinging and blocking, reacting by instinct, muscle memory, adrenaline.
0:49.3	He's been fighting for hours.
0:55.0	The air is thick with a reek of blood and the groans of death.
1:00.0	He slips in gore, stumbles over a body, and takes shelter to catch his breath behind a fallen horse.
1:07.0	He is a Norman, a soldier from the northern region of France.
1:14.6	This is his first time across the sea, in the land they call Anglater.
1:20.6	He looks up, alerted by a thunder of hooves.
1:25.6	Ahead, a bedraggled line of Anglo-Saxons
1:29.3	raised their battle axes as a cluster of Norman cavalry sweep past
1:33.3	and skittle the English.
1:35.3	Then a gap opens up in their defences
1:39.3	and a single arrow fired by a Norman archer whistles through the air.
1:43.3	It lands with a sickening thud. fired by a Norman archer whistles through the air.
1:48.0	It lands with a sickening thud.
	...

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