TAX FAIRNESS IN ELEVENTH CENTURY ENGLAND

Alongside the Roman census from Augustus' time and the ecclesiastical surveys or polyptychs of the 8th and 9th century Carolingian kingdoms, the Domesday Survey of 1086 occupies a most significant place in accounting history. Domesday Book, the outcome of the Survey, lists the incomes, tax assessments, wealth and resources of most estates in England and was used as a working accounting document by the monarch and public officials to raise taxes, distribute resources and consolidate power. Although the Domesday document itself survives, many details of its construction and use have been lost in the mists of time. This paper describes research to discover how taxes were levied and which estates and tenants received favorable treatment.