When King Edward of England died in 1066, the man who replaced him was Harold Godwinson, who was one of Edward's advisors and the second most powerful man in England. Harold was the obvious choice, because he was Edward's brother-in-law and because of his powerful position in England.The problem was, William, the Duke of Normandy, who was Harold's distant cousin, also laid claim to the English throne; and another person, Harold Hardrada, the King of …showed first 75 words of 1033 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1033 total…purposes. <Tab/>The reason he needed this was so his Norman bureaucracy could do their work properly, because they now had proper records. What they had to do was go to around to each hide of land and note down its size, ownership and resources. Although this book was a remarkable success, some small areas escaped notice. The records left behind have given historians a lot of information on Norman life.