Dominic de Guzmán, Saint 221southwestern England; a draft return for Cambridgeshire;
a more complete copy of the Domesday results for Ely;
and the so-called Little Domesday, the draft copy for East
Anglia.
The Domesday Bookwas a survey of land to establish
the lands and rights of the king and his revenues accord-
ing to two principles. First the land of the king was
listed geographically according to vill, shire, and hun-
dred. These were the Anglo-Saxon administrative and
regional units according to which taxes were levied and
justice dispensed. Second, the lands of tenants were
listed according to type of tenure by shire. Tenants
were listed with all their properties in a shire. For each
property three dates were generally established: the
owner at the time of King EDWARD THECONFESSOR’S
death in January 1066, the owner at the time of the
Norman Conquest by WILLIAMI THECONQUERORin the
autumn 1066, and the owner at the time of the compila-
tion in the 1080s. The many cases of disputed ownership
noted reflected the major changes in land ownership
over the two decades after the conquest.
Traditionally the inquest and the survey were carried
out in 1086. It was mentioned in the ANGLO-SAXON
CHRONICLESas occurring when William I was threatened
by an imminent invasion from DENMARK. Requiring
assessment of his English military resources, he ordered a
compilation of his own land and the rights owed him by
his tenants in chief. Commissioners spread out over the
country to inquire into who owned what land and under
what taxation and obligations. The final results were
compiled not later than 1088 and were preserved in the
present Domesday Book,considered one of the greatest
administrative achievements of the entire Middle Ages in
England. The chief compiler was Rannulf Flambard (d.
1126), one of the most hated government officials of
medieval England.
Further reading:Geoffrey Martin, trans., Domesday
Book(New York: Penguin, 2003); Vivian Hunter Gal-
braith, The Making of Domesday Book(Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1961); Vivian Hunter Galbraith, Domesday Book:
Its Place in Administrative History (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1974); Elizabeth M. Hallam, Domesday Book
through Nine Centuries(London: Thames and Hudson,
1986); David Roffe, Domesday: The Inquest and the Book
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).
Dominican order(Ordo praedicatorum, Order of
Preachers, Blackfriars) An order founded by Saint
DOMINIC, whose main objectives were PREACHING and
study in the service of the church, it was founded at the
time of the ALBIGENSIANheresy in southern FRANCE. This
heresy was perceived as a serious threat to the unity of
the church. The order, its name, rule, and purposes, were
formally recognized by Pope Honorius III (r. 1216–17) in
the bulls of 1216 and 1217. Two general chapter meet-
ings, held at BOLOGNAin 1220 and 1221, determined the
order’s ultimate character.
The Dominicans adopted the rule of Saint Augus-
tine. They accepted the principles of poverty, mendi-
cancy or begging for their living, and the owning of no
property other than their churches and houses. The
founders of the order also promoted a humble life, wan-
dering, and preaching the true FAITH. The Dominicans
abandoned physical work, stressing the importance of
study, education, and teaching. They were mainly active
in urban centers.
The order spread rapidly throughout Europe dur-
ing the 13th century, and the Dominicans set up
schools, which soon became centers of study and edu-
cation. The highest ranking school of the Dominican
system was attached to a university whose teachers also
served as professors of theology. The Dominicans were
known throughout the Middle Ages as university teach-
ers. The contributions of ALBERTUSMagnus, Thomas
AQUINAS, and Robert Kilwardby (d. 1279) to SCIENCE,
PHILOSOPHY, and THEOLOGY were enormous. The
achievement of the canonist RAYMONDof Peñafort was
also important.
The Dominicans were directly subordinate only to
the pope and served the PAPACY in various missions.
They were appointed to preach in favor of the CRUSADES,
to collect and levy papal taxes, to undertake diplomatic
tasks, and to preach against heretics. The Dominicans
soon extended their ministry to include missionary
activity directed against JEWS, Muslims, MONGOLS, and
others. They also filled the ranks of the INQUISITION,
earning their nickname the Domini canes,“the Lord’s
watchdogs.”
The Dominicans had a Second Order, which con-
sisted of nuns who lived in convents and adopted a rule
similar to that of the friars. There was also a Third Order
of LAITY, people who were to live in accordance with the
Dominican spirit.
See alsoCATHERINE OFSIENA.
Further reading:Simon Tugwell, ed., Early Domini-
cans: Selected Writings(New York: Paulist Press, 1982);
Rosalind B. Brooke, ed., The Coming of the Friars(Lon-
don: George Allen and Unwin, 1975); William A. Hin-
nebusch, The History of the Dominican Order, 2 vols.
(Staten Island, N.Y.: Alba House, 1966).Dominic de Guzmán, Saint (Domingo) (ca. 1170–
1221)Spanish founder of the Dominican order
Dominic was born about 1170 to the noble Guzmán
family in the town of Caleruega in CASTILE. As a young
man, he studied the liberal arts and theology at Palencia.
After he was ordained a PRIEST, he joined the CATHEDRAL
canons of the city of Osma, who lived a community life
under the rule of Saint AUGUSTINE. In 1201 he was
elected subprior of the cathedral chapter.