Domesday is Nigh

Imagine sitting in your little mud hut, tired after a long hard day of mud-farming. You put your feet up on a log and start to sink into relaxation. A calm begins to wash over you, lapping at your feet and up your legs like a warm tide. Not even the excitement of tomorrow's public flogging could motivate you from your seat. Just as your eyes are about to seal out the beams of sunlight that invade your cabin through the thatched roof, a loud knock almost turns your pitiful door into a pile of splinters. Outside is some guy wearing royal fabrics that are weathered and covered in muck from travelling. On the cart behind him is a giant square thing filled with parchment. Perched over the object with a massive feather quill, is the boy version of the man standing before you. His mouth opens and starts spitting out imperial decrees like apple seeds. Then he starts asking you questions like, "'Ow many bishops d'you 'ave in this 'ere shire?" or "If you are in possession ov any beasts, 'ow many and ov whut sort might they be?" If your medieval mind was like a webpage, then it would be visiting http://www.whoisthiswanker.com/ or maybe viewing images of pitchforks flying through the air after a retreating carriage of the King. --Of course I have no idea what is was like back then, but the collection of the information for the Domesday Book could not have been an enjoyable undertaking. However, it was still completed, amazingly. As far as the hypertext version goes, I can't say it would be as thrilling as the digital Bayeux Tapestry, simply because it's all statistics and information. It doesn't have any stories and not one single spear sticking out of anybody. It does provide a peak into the middle ages that a realtor or land surveyor might find fascinating - and those groups are often cast to the side when it comes to historical entertainment. One final comment on the power of books. The idea I appreciate most about this reading comes from the line "The fact that the scheme was executed and brought to complete fruition in two years is a tribute of the political power and formidable will of William the Conqueror." The book he compiled shows his strength as a leader more concretely than the wars and land he won. I think that speaks highly to the influence of the written word.