Domesday Book - The Library Edition
The Complete Edition of Great and Little Domesday
The complete Domesday Book is published in this Library Edition as a perfect facsimile and translation for public and private libraries, book collectors and history lovers. The Library Edition is produced in both Great Domesday and Little Domesday sets, and it is also possible to become the owner of the entire collection. Only 300 copies were made of this limited-edition publication. The hard-wearing set of cases and books, published by Alecto Historical Editions, and bound in Irish Linen, is designed for frequent reference.
Putting the facsimile and the translation alongside each other allows for line-by-line reading
The material is exceptional and has been described as ‘the finest facsimile of an historic document ever printed’ (United Press International). Every stroke of each scribe’s pen is as clear (or indeed unclear) in today’s edition as they are in the original manuscript. A special acid-free paper named ‘Domesday Parchment’ was commissioned to replicate the weight and character of the original parchment folios. All this to achieve a replica of the highest quality for historians, codicologists, palaeographers and history lovers with an interest in this most comprehensive of all censuses.
An expert editorial board managed the policy governing the translations, maps and indexes. This team of specialists included Professor Sir James Holt, representing medieval studies in general; the former Keeper, Sarah Tyacke, and Dr Elizabeth Hallam-Smith, representing the Public Record Office. Dr Ann Williams was the Editor-in-Chief and Professor G. H. Martin was the General Editor.
The board worked together to ensure readers are fully supported and to encourage further research of Domesday, so that this edition will remain the definitive, standard reference to the manuscript for years to come.
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The Library Edition of Great Domesday covers the 31 Counties of England excluding Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex and comprises the following elements:
Facsimile: Two cases containing the folios sewn into quires in the same way that the manuscript was originally put together in the 11th Century.
Translations: Two cases containing the translation, also in county booklets, with page-for-page, column-for-column match to the original text
Indexes: One case of county booklets with indexes of place names, persons and ecclesiastical bodies and also an index of the modern names of places.
Maps: One case with 28 maps covering the 31 counties, based on 1:100,000 Ordnance Survey maps
The Library Edition of Little Domesday – the original circuit return for Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, that was never entered in Great Domesday but kept as a companion volume to complete the coverage of the survey. Because it was never condensed by the main scribe, this text is even more detailed than the edited returns for Great Domesday and is of unparalleled interest and value.
Facsimile: Three cases, split by County, with the folios gathered into the original quires
Translations: Three books with line-by-line translations to match the facsimile.
Indexes: Bound in the translation volume, including county indexes of place names, persons and ecclesiastical bodies
Introductions: Also included in the translation volume with a bibliography and glossary
Maps: Three county maps included in the case with the facsimile, based on 1:100,000 Ordnance Survey maps
There is a combined price for Libraries wishing to purchase both Great and Little Domesday Books.
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