Domesday Breviate
The following text has been taken from The National Archives MS E 164/1, which is what is called a ‘Domesday Breviate’. This is a summary version of the original Domesday Book commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This particular copy probably belonged to Neath Abbey in South Wales and was thought to have been commissioned by William de Briouze Jnr. This hypothesis is supported by the volume of additional materials appended to the Breviate, including his geneaology (fol. 233r), notes on the lordship of neighbouring Carmarthen (fol. 233v), and copies of various charters relating to the family and their lands, including the original grant by King John in 1203 [transcribed by G.T. Clark in his Cartae, vol. 2, Charter no. 283, pp. 287-8]. Despite sections of the manuscript being published in the past, the present annalistic account of the Welsh rebellions against the lords of Gower from 1272 - 1298 has never before been published or translated.
