preface.
 

HE publication by Government a few years since of the Domesday Survey

in facsimile excited an interest in that remarkable document such as probably

was not created by its first issue in Roman type by authority of Parliament in

1783.    Many persons who  had never before  cared  for antiquarian subjects became

anxious to form acquaintance with the great Record of which they had read in their

childhood,  and which stands out so conspicuously in early English history, now that

it was  to  be  seen  with  the very  same  aspect which  it  presented  to  the  Norman

Conqueror.     Undoubtedly  much  disappointment was  the   result :   many   could   not

read  the  cramped writing  of  the  scribes  of   the   nth   century :   some  who  could

accomplish  this  were  unable  to  understand  the   contractions   of   the   Latin  words :

others, when they had mastered these preliminarie;^,  found a difficulty in determining

the  meaning  to  be   assigned   to   the   peculiarly   constructed   sentences   which   they

encountered:   while  all  were  sorely  puzzled  to  find  the places  in which they were

interested, or respecting which they required information ;   and uncertain when once

found whether that was all that was recorded of the locality in question, or whether

it might not occur half a dozen times in other parts of the Record.    In consequence

of   all  this  there  arose  a  demand  for  an  English   translation  of   Domesday ;   and

translations, with the Latin  text in extenso, of several counties were brought out by

a London publisher.     Having myself been instrumental in procuring the publication

of the  Bedfordshire facsimile, I  received  afterwards  from various gentlemen of the

county letters  of this  kind:   ** My  copy   of   Domesday  has  come  to  hand,   but  I

** shall want you to teach me how to read it."—^'The facsimile of Domesday would

*' be very interesting if one could but make  use  of it;  you  ought  now to give us

''a  translation,"  &c., &c.     I did accordingly commence an extension of the  Latin

text  and  an  English  translation,   with  a view   of   placing  it  in   the  hands  of the

County Archaeological   Society,  to  be   published,  or not,  at their discretion ;   and

I  had  almost completed my task when circumstances broke off my connection with

that Society, and, happily, caused my work to be laid aside.     I say ''happily,"  for

upon   subsequently   looking   over   my   own   manuscript,   as   well   as   some   of   the

published translations of other counties,  I became convinced that a bald translation

of Domesday   is  of no  value whatever:   the  difficulty of reference  is  as  great  as

with  the  original:   and  the  sameness  of character in  the  entries is  more palpable

and becomes more wearying when  repeated over and over again in  English words

at full, than when the eye catches up the meaning in a rapid glance over the Latin

contractions.    In  this  conviction  I  was glad  to  find  myself sustained by the high