<P> Each county's list opened with the king's demesne lands (which had possibly been the subject of separate inquiry). It should be borne in mind that under the feudal system the king was the only true "owner" of land in England, under his allodial title . He was thus the ultimate overlord and even the greatest magnate could do no more than "hold" land from him as a tenant (from the Latin verb teneo, "to hold") under one of the various contracts of feudal land tenure . Holdings of Bishops followed, then of the abbeys and religious houses, then of lay tenants - in - chief and lastly the king's serjeants (servientes), and Saxon thegns who had survived the Conquest, all in hierarchical order . </P> <P> In some counties, one or more principal towns formed the subject of a separate section: in some the clamores (disputed titles to land) were also treated separately . This principle applies more specially to the larger volume: in the smaller one, the system is more confused, the execution less perfect . </P> <P> Domesday names a total of 13,418 places . Apart from the wholly rural portions, which constitute its bulk, Domesday contains entries of interest concerning most of the towns, which were probably made because of their bearing on the fiscal rights of the crown therein . These include fragments of custumals (older customary agreements), records of the military service due, of markets, mints, and so forth . From the towns, from the counties as wholes, and from many of its ancient lordships, the crown was entitled to archaic dues in kind, such as honey . (In a parallel development, around 1100 the Normans in southern Italy completed their Catalogus Baronum based on Domesday Book .) </P> <P> The manuscripts do not carry a formal title . The work is referred to internally as a descriptio (enrolling), and in other early administrative contexts as the king's brevia (writings). From about 1100, references appear to the liber (book) or carta (charter) of Winchester, its usual place of custody; and from the mid-12th to early 13th centuries, to the Winchester or king's rotulus (roll). </P>

How did the domesday book get its name