The Domedsay Book

I have unearthed remarkable evidence concerning the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings. The Immediate aftermath. Like the first fifteen minutes. Something went horribly wrong and Duke William of Normandy was not best pleased.

It seems that in the course of the battle he lost something, something very precious and private, something so precious and private no one must even know it was missing. It had to be retrieved and retreived quickly. Only William, his hard hearted man Le Pedvin, and a Norman of little note called Martel, seemed to be in on the secret.

William sent them on a mission to recover what was lost and bring it back before anyone noticed. To disguise the nature of their task he engaged Ranulf de Sauveloy, a remarkably organised and meticulous Norman who was, as a result, widely reviled, and a Saxon called Cnud Mabbut, who supposedly knew his way round the country.

They set off from the battlefield in the dark of night on this vital expedition but trouble was also coming from the North.

I have entitled the piece the Domesday Book, (No, Not That one) to avoid any confusion.

Unfortunately it will challenge modern thinking about the Battle and will have historians up and down the country throwing their slide rules at the radio.