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{{Short description|Code of laws compiled by Alfred the Great}}
{{for multi|the census book ordered by William the Conqueror|Domesday Book|the 2021 book by [[Niall Ferguson]]|Doom (book){{!}}''Doom'' (book)}}
[[File:Законы Альфреда титул.JPG|thumb|''The Legal Code of Ælfred the Great'', by Milton Haight Turk, 1890]]

The '''Doom Book''', '''''Dōmbōc''''', '''Code of Alfred''' or '''Legal Code of Ælfred the Great''' was the [[code of law]]s ("dooms" being laws or judgments) compiled by [[Alfred the Great]] ({{circa}}&nbsp;893 AD). Alfred codified three prior [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] codes&nbsp;– those of [[Æthelberht of Kent]] ({{circa}}&nbsp;602 AD), [[Ine of Wessex]] ({{circa}}&nbsp;694 AD) and [[Offa of Mercia]] ({{circa}}&nbsp;786 AD)&nbsp;– to which he prefixed a modified version of the [[Ten Commandments]] of [[Moses]] and incorporated rules of life from the Mosaic Code and the Christian code of ethics.

==Contents==

The title ''Doom Book'' (Old English ''dōm-bōc'') comes from the Old English word ''dōm'' meaning ''judgment'' or ''law'' – as in Alfred's admonishment to "Doom very evenly! Do not doom one doom to the rich; another to the poor! Nor doom one doom to your friend; another to your foe!"<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Thorpe|editor1-first=Benjamin|title=Ancient Laws and Institutes of England: Comprising Laws Enacted Under the Angl-Saxon Kings from Æthelbirht to Cnut, with an English Translation of the Saxon; the Laws Called Edward the Confessor's; the Laws of William the Conqueror, and Those Ascribed to Henry the First; Also, Monumenta Ecclesiastica Anglicana, from the Seventh to the Tenth Century; and the Anciety Latin Version of the Anglo-Saxon Laws|volume=1|date=1840|publisher=G.E. Eyre and A. Spottiswoode |page=55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9FYtAQAAMAAJ |access-date=13 November 2014}}</ref> This reflects [[613 Mitzvot|Mosaic Law]], which says "You shall do no injustice in judgment! You shall not be partial to the poor; nor defer to the great! But you are to judge your neighbour fairly!"<ref>{{bibleref|Leviticus|19:15}}</ref>

The Christian theologian [[F. N. Lee]] extensively documented Alfred the Great's work of collecting the law codes from the three Christian Saxon kingdoms and compiling them into his Doom Book.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dr-fnlee.org/king-alfred-the-great-and-our-common-law/ |title=Alfred the Great and our Common Law |access-date=25 May 2015}}{{Self-published source|date=November 2014}}</ref> Lee details how Alfred incorporated the principles of the Mosaic law into his Code, and how this Code of Alfred became the foundation for the [[Common Law]].

In the book's extensive prologue, Alfred summarises the Mosaic and Christian codes. Michael Treschow, UBC Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, reviewed how Alfred laid the foundation for the Spirit of Mercy in his code,<ref>Michael Treschow, "The Prologue to Alfred's Law Code: Instruction in the Spirit of Mercy", ''Florilegium'' 13, 1994, pp. 79–110.</ref> stating that the last section of the Prologue not only describes "a tradition of Christian law from which the law code draws but also it grounds secular law upon Scripture, especially upon the principle of mercy".

The law code contains some laws that may seem bizarre by modern standards, such as: "If a man unintentionally kills another man by letting a tree fall on him, the tree shall be given to the kinsmen of the slain."<ref>Simon Keynes (1999). "King Alfred the Great and Shaftesbury Abbey". ''Studies in the Early History of Shaftesbury Abbey''. Dorset County Council.</ref> On the other hand, this precept may have anticipated the future common law of [[negligence]], which provides that a person who is injured by the unintentional carelessness of another is entitled to recover compensation for his or her injury. In the context of the aforementioned law, the felled tree would be a valuable commodity.

==Manuscripts==
Manuscripts containing the Old English text are:<ref name=":0">Todd Preston, ''King Alfred’s Book of Laws: A Study of the Domboc and Its Influence on English Identity, With a Complete translation'' (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012).</ref>{{rp|8}}
* Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 173 (also known as the [[Parker Chronicle]])
* Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 383 (also known as the [[Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum]])
* London, British Library, Cotton MS Nero A I
* London, British Library, Cotton MS Otho B XI
* London, British Library, Burney MS 277
* Rochester Cathedral Library A. 3. 5 (also known as the ''[[Textus Roffensis]]'')

The text was translated into Latin during the reign of [[Cnut]] as the third part of the ''[[Instituta Cnuti]]'', and survives in the following manuscripts:<ref name=":0" />{{rp|8}}

* Rochester Cathedral Library A. 3. 5 (the ''Textus Roffensis'')
* London, British Library Cotton MS Titus A XXVII
* Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Colbert 3,860 
* Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Rawlinson C. 641

The text was independently translated into Latin a second time during the reign of [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] as part of the Latin compilation known as ''[[Quadripartitus]]'', which survives in [[Quadripartitus#Manuscripts|ten manuscripts]].<ref name=":0" />{{rp|8-9}}

==Editions and translations==
[[File:Alfred10commandments.png|thumb|First page of the laws of King Alfred]]

* {{cite book|title=The Legal Code of Alfred the Great |author= Alfred |editor-last= Turk |editor-first= Milton Haight |year=1973|publisher=AMS Press |isbn= 0-404-56546-8}}
* {{cite book|title=The Legal Code of Ælfred the Great |author= Alfred |editor-last= Turk |editor-first= Milton Haight |year=2004|publisher=Lawbook Exchange |isbn= 1-58477-392-8 | author-mask = 3}}
* Liebermann, F. (ed.), {{lang|de|italic=yes|Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen}} [The Laws of the Anglo-Saxons], 3 vols (Halle a. S.: Niemeyer, 1903–16; still the definitive critical edition)
* Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge (trans.), 1983, ''Alfred the Great: Asser's "Life of King Alfred" and Other Contemporary Sources'' London: Penguin, pp. 163–70 (translated extracts)
* Todd Preston, 2012, ''King Alfred’s Book of Laws: A Study of the Domboc and Its Influence on English Identity, With a Complete translation'' Jefferson, [[North Carolina | NC]]: McFarland, pp. 105–48 (diplomatic text and translation based on Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 173)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Nuttall|title=Dom-Boke}}
* {{cite book|title=The Legal Code of Ælfred the Great|author=Alfred|year=1893|publisher=M. Niemeyer}}
* {{cite book|title=King Alfred to the Twelfth Century: Legislation and its Limits|author=Wormald, Patrick|publisher=# Publisher: Blackwell Publishing, Inc.|year=2001|isbn=0-631-22740-7}}
* {{cite book|title=The Life of the Law: The People and Cases that Have Shaped our Society, from King Alfred to Rodney King|author=Knight, Alfred H.|year=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn= 0-19-512239-9}}
* {{cite book|title=The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. Volume I. From the Beginnings to the Cycles of Romance.year=1907–21}} [http://www.bartleby.com/211/0604.html VI. Alfred and the Old English Prose of his Reign. § 4. Codes of Law.]
* {{cite book|title=The Parker Chronicle and Laws|publisher=Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, MS. 173, facs.|editor1=Robin Fowler |editor2=[A.]H. Smith }}

==External links==
* {{Citation | title =	The Cambridge history of English and American literature: An encyclopedia in eighteen volumes | editor-first = A.W. | editor-last = Ward | editor2-first = A.R. | editor2-last = Waller | editor3-first = W.P. | editor3-last = Trent | editor4-first = J. | editor4-last = Erskine | editor5-first = S.P. | editor5-last = Sherman | editor6-first = C. | editor6-last = Van Doren | orig-year =	New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons; Cambridge, Eng.: University Press, 1907–21 | isbn =	1-58734-073-9 | place = New York | publisher = Bartleby | date = January 2000 | url = http://www.bartleby.com/211/0604.html | chapter = VI. Alfred and the Old English Prose of his Reign. § 4. Codes of Law}}.
* {{Citation | publisher = Fordham | url = http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/560-975dooms.html#The%20Laws%20of%20King%20Alfred | title = Laws of Alfred | work = Medieval Sourcebook}} English translation (partial, no preface etc.)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061022222009/http://www.imagesonline.bl.uk/britishlibrary/controller/subjectidsearch?id=9700&&idx=1&startid=7477 Alfred the Great: British Library Image]

[[Category:Anglo-Saxon law]]
[[Category:Old English literature]]
[[Category:9th century in England]]
[[Category:9th century in law]]
[[Category:9th-century books]]
[[Category:Alfred the Great]]
[[Category:893]]
[[Category:Germanic legal codes]]