william the conqueror

[grahamjsmith]

to what extent was an effective administration the key to William's control

[Dead_Meat]

When William invaded 'England' there was already an extensive administration that had been in place for centuries.
Each county was sub-divided into smaller and smaller areas, and each of these sub-divisions had its own mini-jurisdiction that accounted for tax-collecting, land-ownership, tithes, etc.
Since these reported back to the next level, these to the next level and so on, the administration of the country was easily the best in Europe at the time.
From what I've read, William looked at it, sensibly decided not to touch it, just made a few changes in laws, taxes as he saw fit.
In essence, the reports from these mini-admin centres were the reason the Domesday Book was able to be compiled when it was.

[incitatus]

Yes William did exactly what the Romans did: Inserted his vassals as a layer above the existing saxon heirarchy and left the rest alone. The only real change was making such an accurate survey of the kingdom he had won: the Domesday Book was as much a tool of repression as it was of taxation. Even so william was not a bad king, just loathed by the Saxons after it became apparent he could not be bullied.