History Quiz All these questions are on topics that we will cover in the first half-term at The Perse. Print out this quiz and have a go at all of the questions. Then download the answers and see how well you have done. Good luck! 1. The Normans invaded England in 1066. Which of these tribes did not live in England prior to the Normans? (Hint: more than one group did not).

A) Celts B) Romans C) Native Americans D) Vikings E) Carthaginians F) Anglo-Saxons G) Spartans

2. In 1938, at Sutton Hoo (an estate in Suffolk), landowner Mrs Edith Pretty hired archaeologist Basil Brown to dig up some barrows (large man-made mounds of earth) on her estate. This led to the discovery of one of the richest treasures ever dug from British soil. The archeologists found an imprint of a ship, a burial chamber, rare and beautiful pieces of jewellery, fragments of a six stringed musical instrument, gold coins from Gaul in France, silver spoons, bowls and chain-mail, a helmet, shield and sword from Sweden. Mrs Pretty generously gave these treasures to the nation and they can be seen today in the British Museum. A) What is an archaeologist? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… B) Below are three of the items excavated from Sutton Hoo. What do you think each item is and what would it have been used for? i) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

ii) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iii) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

C) Historians believe that the Sutton Hoo site dates back to the seventh century AD (600-700 AD), though they are still puzzled about who the ship and treasures were built for. Beowulf, an Old English Poem written in Anglo-Saxon England, sheds some light on what sort of person would have been buried in such a way (though there was no body found at Sutton Hoo). Below is an extract from Beowulf:

“They set down their beloved king amidships, close by the mast. A mass of treasure was brought aboard from distant parts. No ship, they say, was ever so well equipped with swords,

weapons and armour.” Using the extract from Beowulf to help you, which sort of person do you think the treasures at Sutton Hoo were in honour of? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3. On the 5 January 1066 King Edward the Confessor died, plunging England into crisis as he did not have an heir to succeed him. There were, however, four contenders who all had a claim to replace Edward. These were: Harold Godwinson of Wessex (in England), William, duke of Normandy, Harold Hardrada, King of Norway, and Edgar Ætheling, who was Edward the Confessor’s nephew. The Witan (council of the most important noblemen) was assembled in London to decide on who would succeed Edward. A) What is an heir?............................................................................................................................................... B) Below is information on the four competing contenders to the throne. Imagine you have the casting vote in the Witan and it is up to you to decide on who the next King of England will be. Use the table below to form your opinion on the contenders’ respective abilities and right to the throne. Give each contender a mark out of 10.

Contender

Is he a good

warrior?

Does he have

English blood?

Does he have a right to

the English throne?

Has he got a good

claim to be king?

Is he a good

leader?

Mark /10

Harold Godwinson

William, duke of

Normandy

Harold Hardrada

Edgar Ætheling

HAROLD GODWINSON Although Harold was not a direct relation to Edward the Confessor, he was married to Edward’s wife (therefore he was brother-in-law to Edward). Harold had the support of the majority of the Witan and claimed to have been made King by Edward on his deathbed. According to Harold, Edward’s dying words were: “I commend my wife and all my kingdom to your care.” If this is accurate then Harold had a rightful claim as he was carrying out the King’s final wish. Despite not having any royal blood, Harold was English and very experienced for he had been involved in running the country for years. He also had a reputation for being an outstanding soldier.

WILLIAM, DUKE OF NORMANDY

William was the cousin of Edward the Confessor and thus could claim to have royal blood. Edward had promised William the throne in 1051 and Harold Godwinson had also sworn his allegiance to William in 1065. William was a very successful ruler of Normandy and had proved himself to be an excellent soldier and leader. However, he was French and the English people did not wish for a foreigner, especially a Frenchman, to be their next King. As well as this, Harold Godwinson claimed that he only sworn the oath of support in 1065 because he was shipwrecked off Normandy and imprisoned by William.

HARALD HARDRADA Harold was the King of Norway. He had some royal blood, as he was related to King Canute, the King of England between 1016 and 1032. Harold claimed that this gave him the right to invade England. He was frequently at war and usually emerged victorious. He was a tremendous warrior and had travelled across and beyond Europe fighting numerous battles. However, he had a reputation for being cruel and taxing his subjects heavily to pay for his wars. Therefore he was an unpopular, but much feared and respected King. In 1066 Harold had a large army and he had gained the support of Tostig, Harold Godwinson’s brother.

EDGAR ÆTHELING Edgar was Edward the Confessor’s nephew. Although he was born in Hungary, Edgar had the most royal blood out of the four contenders. Upon his father’s death in 1057, Edgar was nominated as heir apparent by Edward. This gave him a very strong claim to the throne. However, he needed the support of others to become King. He was only fourteen-years-old in 1066 and did not have control of an army. Therefore despite being the closest blood relation to Edward, and having the support of some nobles, Edgar was too young and powerless to enforce his claim when the Witan assembled in London. i) In your opinion, who should succeed Edward? .......................................................................................... ii) Explain your choice: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4. On the 6 January 1066 one of the four contenders was chosen by the Witan to be the next King of England. This decision was unpopular with the other contenders and two of them prepared to invade England and take the throne that they believed was rightfully theirs. This culminated in two famous battles at Stamford Bridge on the 25 September 1066 and Hastings on the 14 October 1066 which would fundamentally change the course of English history. When explaining how events occurred and why they happened, historians use a range of sources to create a narrative (story of what happened) and write as objective (reliable) an account as possible. Some sources are more useful to historians than others, and it is a historian’s task to make out from the source material available to them what really took place. At The Perse you will often be presented with sources and asked to judge their reliability and usefulness. Examine the sources below and see if you can identify, using the sources, four reasons for why William duke of Normandy emerged victorious over Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings. SOURCE A ‘Harold marched his army towards London by forced marches; and, although he knew that he had lost some of his best men in the recent battle (Stamford Bridge), and that half of his troops were not yet assembled, he did not hesitate to meet the enemy. William, Count of the Normans, had arrived with a countless host of horsemen, slingers, archers and foot-soldiers, and had brought with him also powerful help from all parts of France.’ Written by Florence of Worcester, a monk, in 1115.

SOURCE B ‘William took Harold by surprise before his men were ready for battle. The English army had a very small space; and many soldiers, seeing the difficult position, deserted King Harold. Even so, he fought bravely from dawn to dusk, and the enemy’s army made little impression on him until, after a great slaughter on both sides, the King fell.’ An English account of the battle from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. SOURCE C ‘William’s army advanced steadily in good order. The crossbowmen were at the front. Next came the infantry, and the knights were at the back. Harold’s army was a vast host gathered from all the provinces of England and reinforced by their allies the Danes. They did not care to fight on equal terms, so they took up their position on a hill with the forest behind them. They dismounted and drew themselves up in close order on foot. The Norman foot-soldiers then attacked, but it seemed that they would be overwhelmed by the English missiles. Then our knights crashed into the enemy with their shields. The English remained on high ground and kept close order. They were superior in numbers and in the way their spears broke our shields. Thus they pushed our knights down the hill. William stood out boldly in front of those in flight, and restored their courage. Our men marched up the hill a second time. They realised that they would suffer heavy losses, but then remembered the trick of retreating. They turned round and pretended to flee. Several thousand English quickly gave pursuit. The Normans suddenly turned their horses, surrounded the enemy and cut them down. Twice this trick was used with great success.’ A Norman account given by William Poitiers. He was not at the battle but was alive at the time and took his account from other eyewitness accounts of those who were at the battle. SOURCE D

Portion of the Bayeux Tapestry showing the Norman cavalry (horsemen) attacking the Anglo-Saxons during the Battle of Hastings.

Four reasons why William emerged victorious at Hastings: Reason One - …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Reason Two - …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Reason Three - …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Reason Four - ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5. William was victorious in battle, but the Norman Conquest of England was far from complete. En route to London he took Dover castle and burnt and pillaged all of the villages he passed through. The map below shows the route that he followed to reach London. He was crowned William I on Christmas Day 1066 at Westminster Abbey.

A) Despite his victory at Hastings, why was William still in a vulnerable (weak) position following the battle? What did he still have to accomplish? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. B) Looking at the map above, why do you think William decided to follow the route through Sussex and Kent and round to the north of London, rather than simply marching directly north to the south of London from the battlefield at Senlac Hill? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

6. William finally subdued the Saxon rebels and consolidated his position by 1072. One of the ways in which he imposed Norman power throughout England was to build castles. The first type of castle to appear in England was a motte-and-bailey. These were wooden castles which could be erected rapidly by the Normans, taking only 7-10 days to build. The motte-and-bailey castle was a relatively cheap but effective defensive fortification. The diagram below shows the main features of a motte-and-bailey castle.

A) Using the diagram above, identify two defensive features of a motte-and-bailey castle: (i)………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. (ii)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. B) What was the major weakness of a motte-and-bailey castle? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The motte-and-bailey castles were soon strengthened with the construction of stone walls around the motte and the bailey. Although at first the wooden keep remained, by the end of William’s reign the stone keep had been introduced. These ‘great towers’ had such thick and high walls that there was no longer any need for a moat or a motte. Over time, curtain walls were built around the stone keep as an extra layer of protection. The most famous stone keep castle is the White Tower (or Tower of London) built to guard the approach to the city up the River Thames. The illustration below shows what a stone keep castle looks like. C) Can you identify three advantages that the stone keep castle has over a motte-and-bailey castle? (i)………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. (ii)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. (iii)………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

7. Before William I’s death in 1087, he had introduced feudalism to England. This legal and social system made it far easier for William to control England. As England was far too large for William to manage by himself, he shared out the land, granting his nobles (earls, barons and bishops, many of whom had fought for William at Hastings) vast swathes of land in return for loyalty and military service when required. Underneath the nobles were the knights who were given land from the nobles and paid allegiance to them. Finally the peasants were at the bottom of the feudal system. They worked for the knights and were given land to farm and live on by the lord of the manor (the knight). The nobles became the tenants-in-chief, holding land directly from the Crown. The knights were the under-tenants. The diagram below shows how the feudal system worked.

Use the diagram above to answer the following questions: A) Who held the most power in the feudal system? ……………………………………………………………………………… B) Why would the feudal system have made it easier for the King to control his subjects? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………