LAUSR

Humans have kept rudimentary statistical records since they first learned to whittle a notch on a stick. The earliest surviving records of more “sophisticated” data-gathering date back to the tenth century, and the most famous of all ancient statistical documents is arguably Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of property ownership in England and parts of Wales that was published in 1086. Over the next six pages, James Walker, John Lee and Stephen Broadberry synthesise and analyse ancient sources to address three fascinating questions: What can Domesday Book tell us about medieval England and Wales? How can we estimate medieval populations? What was the size of the medieval economy? v Medieval statistics