 The tax assessment in the Domesday Book was known as geld or danegeld and was a type of land-tax based on the hide or ploughland.It was originally a way of collecting a tribute to pay off the Danes when they attacked England, and was only levied when necessary.Following the Norman Conquest, the geld was used to raise money for the King and to pay for continental wars; by 1130, the geld was being collected annually.