Two ceremonies took place on Lammas Day, 1087, at Old Sarum. First, every noble in England gathered here to take an oath of loyalty to the King. But then came the handing over of the Book, the ultimate weapon to keep them in line. Now nobody could hold back anything, and it was this book, the Domesday Book, that made the gathering at Old Sarum unique in the history of feudal monarchy in Europe. For the Book ultimately was England. For centuries after, this was the secret of English government, a partnership between the power of the landed classes and the authority of the state, between the guardians of the green acres and the keepers of knowledge. In the right hand corner, the gentry, in the left hand corner, the civil service. And in between them, the eternal umpire, the King.