6
The last few years of William’s reign unfolded much the same as the previous years, with constant rebellions and military confrontations in both Normandy and England. He did, however, finally find time to work on the administration of his government in England and the result was the astonishing accomplishment known as the Domesday Book. This book held the results of a nationwide survey in which every plot of land in England was accounted for, as well as the number of citizens, the value of their possessions, and even how many animals they owned. The purpose was to ascertain their taxability for the king so he could collect more taxes from the richest areas of England. Being a Norman, he was unfamiliar with much of England so this census gave him the most accurate accounting of the land and inhabitants of England than was ever attempted before.
The speed at which the survey was undertaken is beyond impressive. William first conceived of the idea of this national census at Christmas 1085 in Gloucester.1 He spent winter planning out the process in which the survey would be conducted and by spring he had sent men across the kingdom to begin recording the required information from each county, city, and shire. By August 1086, the survey had been completed. It only took the king’s appointees a mere six months to gather the information for 30,000 manors and 13,000 other places of note.2 The king’s commissioners had managed to record all the vital census information about England in only six months. After the completion of the book, King William called all his English magnates to Salisbury and made them swear a public oath of fealty to him.
With the Domesday Book complete and the fresh oath of loyalty taken from his magnates, William felt comfortable enough to return to his homeland in Normandy in late 1086. By this time William was nearing 60 years old and not surprisingly he was very tired and worn down from the past twenty years of constant fighting. He was extremely overweight, and he was also suffering with serious stomach or intestinal issues.3 All these factors combined caused William to enter the first inactive phase of his long career, one in which he rested peacefully in Rouen so he could try to recover from his various maladies. He did rally from his bed once in July 1087 to fight King Philip of France who was attempting to seize the city of Mantes near Normandy. William employed his usual burn and destroy tactics upon the city, during which he was either injured by fire or collapsed from the heat of the flames.4
King William was transported back to his home in Rouen and took to his deathbed surrounded by his sons Henry and William as well as his closest adherents. His son Robert was not present. A priest was called so he could make his final confession and he ordered that all his prisoners should be released upon his death. Then he formally declared his eldest son, Robert Curthose, as heir to the duchy of Normandy, but not to England. He designated the next king of England to be his second son, William Rufus. King William ordered his son William to sail immediately to England and find the archbishop of Canterbury who was the only man who could coronate kings in England. On 26 September 1087, William Rufus was crowned William II at Westminster Abbey in England.