AQA GCSE History · BA

Norman England, c1066–c1100

Exam-style questions with answers for BA Norman England, c1066–c1100 in AQA GCSE History (spec 8145). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below.

All questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
Why was there a succession crisis in 1066? [1 mark]
Answer:
Edward the Confessor died in January 1066 without children.
Question 2 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
Name the four claimants to the English throne in 1066. [2 marks]
Answer:
Harold Godwinson, William of Normandy, Harald Hardrada and Edgar Aethling (½ each).
Question 3 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
State Harold Godwinson’s claim to the throne. [2 marks]
Answer:
Edward named him heir on his deathbed (1); he was the most powerful earl in England and was chosen by the Witan (1).
Question 4 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
State William of Normandy’s claim to the throne. [2 marks]
Answer:
He said Edward promised him the throne in 1051 (1); he claimed Harold swore an oath to support him in 1064 (1).
Question 5 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
State Harald Hardrada’s claim to the throne. [1 mark]
Answer:
He claimed a deal between his predecessor Magnus and King Harthacnut gave him the right to the English throne.
Question 6 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
What happened at the Battle of Stamford Bridge (September 1066)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Harold marched north and surprised Hardrada and Tostig (1); both were killed and the Norwegian army destroyed (1).
Question 7 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
Explain why Stamford Bridge affected the Battle of Hastings. [2 marks]
Answer:
Harold’s army had to march about 250 miles south quickly (1); they were tired and had lost men (1).
Question 8 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
State two Anglo-Saxon tactics at Hastings. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: shield wall (1); fighting on foot (1); holding the high ground on Senlac Hill (1); housecarls with battleaxes (1).
Question 9 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
Describe the Normans’ feigned retreat at Hastings. [2 marks]
Answer:
Norman cavalry pretended to flee (1); Anglo-Saxons broke ranks to chase them and were cut down, weakening the shield wall (1).
Question 10 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
State three reasons why William won at Hastings. [3 marks]
Answer:
Any three from: the mix of archers, infantry and cavalry (1); feigned retreats (1); Harold’s army was tired (1); Harold was killed (1); William’s leadership (1).
Question 11 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
Explain why castles helped the Normans control England. [2 marks]
Answer:
They were built quickly in strategic places (1); a small number of Normans could dominate the local population (1).
Question 12 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
Describe a motte and bailey castle. [2 marks]
Answer:
A wooden keep on a raised earth mound (motte) (1); with an enclosed courtyard (bailey) protected by a ditch and palisade (1).
Question 13 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
State two revolts against William between 1067 and 1075. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: Edwin and Morcar (1068) (1); the rebellions in the North (1069) (1); Hereward the Wake at Ely (1070–1071) (1); the Revolt of the Earls (1075) (1).
Question 14 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
What was the Harrying of the North (1069–1070)? [2 marks]
Answer:
William destroyed villages, crops and livestock between York and Durham (1); thousands died of famine, and the North did not revolt again (1).
Question 15 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
What was the Revolt of the Earls (1075)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A rebellion by the earls of Norfolk, Hereford and Northumbria (Waltheof), which was defeated.
Question 16 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
How did William replace the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy? [2 marks]
Answer:
He confiscated land from rebels and gave it to Normans (1); by 1086 almost all major landholders were Norman (1).
Question 17 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
Who inherited England when William I died in 1087? [1 mark]
Answer:
William Rufus (William II); Normandy went to his elder son Robert Curthose.
Question 18 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
What was the Rebellion of 1088? [1 mark]
Answer:
A revolt by barons, including Odo of Bayeux, to replace William II with Robert Curthose; it failed.
Question 19 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part one
What was the Bayeux Tapestry? [2 marks]
Answer:
An embroidery made soon after 1066 telling the story of the Norman Conquest (1); it gives a Norman view, as it was probably commissioned by Bishop Odo (1).
Question 20 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
Define the term ‘feudal system’. [1 mark]
Answer:
A hierarchy in which land was given in return for loyalty and service, from the king down to peasants.
Question 21 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
Define the term ‘tenant-in-chief’. [1 mark]
Answer:
A baron or churchman who held land directly from the king in return for knights.
Question 22 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
Define the term ‘knight service’. [1 mark]
Answer:
The duty of a landholder to provide trained knights for the king for a number of days a year.
Question 23 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
What was homage? [1 mark]
Answer:
A ceremony in which a vassal swore loyalty to his lord.
Question 24 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
Define the term ‘patronage’. [1 mark]
Answer:
The power to give land, titles and positions in return for loyalty.
Question 25 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
Who were villeins? [1 mark]
Answer:
Peasants tied to the land who worked for their lord in return for a strip of land to farm.
Question 26 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
What was the Anglo-Saxon shire system? [2 marks]
Answer:
England was divided into shires, each run by a sheriff (shire reeve) (1); shire courts met regularly, and the Normans kept this system (1).
Question 27 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
How did the role of the sheriff change under the Normans? [1 mark]
Answer:
Sheriffs became Normans with more power, collecting taxes and running castles.
Question 28 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
What were the Marcher earldoms? [1 mark]
Answer:
Powerful earldoms on the Welsh border, such as Chester and Shrewsbury, set up to defend against the Welsh.
Question 29 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
Define the term ‘trial by ordeal’. [1 mark]
Answer:
A test such as carrying hot iron or being thrown in water, believed to reveal God’s judgement of guilt.
Question 30 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
Define the term ‘trial by combat’. [1 mark]
Answer:
A Norman method in which the accused fought the accuser; God was believed to give victory to the innocent.
Question 31 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
What was the murdrum fine? [1 mark]
Answer:
A fine on a whole area if a Norman was murdered there and the killer was not found.
Question 32 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
What was the Domesday Book (1086)? [2 marks]
Answer:
A survey of land and property in England (1); recording who held land and what it was worth, for tax and to settle disputes (1).
Question 33 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
State two reasons why the Domesday Book was made. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: to know how much tax could be raised (1); to settle land disputes (1); to know how many knights could be raised (1); the threat of Danish invasion in 1085 (1).
Question 34 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
What were the forest laws? [2 marks]
Answer:
Large areas, such as the New Forest, were reserved for royal hunting (1); local people were banned from hunting or gathering wood, with harsh punishments (1).
Question 35 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
State two changes to towns under the Normans. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: castles were built in towns, destroying houses (1); trade with Normandy increased (1); new towns developed (1); Norman French was spoken by the elite (1).
Question 36 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
Describe village life under the Normans. [2 marks]
Answer:
Most people farmed strips in open fields and worked on the lord’s land (1); life followed the farming seasons, with little change for most peasants (1).
Question 37 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part two
What was the Anglo-Saxon earldom system? [1 mark]
Answer:
England was divided into large earldoms, such as Wessex and Mercia, each run by a powerful earl.
Question 38 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part three
Who was Stigand? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury, replaced by Lanfranc in 1070 because he held more than one bishopric (pluralism).
Question 39 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part three
Who was Lanfranc? [1 mark]
Answer:
An Italian monk who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070 and reformed the English Church.
Question 40 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part three
State three reforms made by Lanfranc. [3 marks]
Answer:
Any three from: replaced Anglo-Saxon bishops with Normans (1); moved bishops’ seats to larger towns (1); set up Church courts (1); enforced clerical celibacy (1); held regular Church councils (1).
Question 41 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part three
Define the term ‘simony’. [1 mark]
Answer:
Buying or selling Church positions.
Question 42 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part three
Describe the Norman rebuilding of cathedrals. [2 marks]
Answer:
Nearly all English cathedrals were rebuilt in the Romanesque style (1); eg Durham and Canterbury, with thick walls, round arches and huge size (1).
Question 43 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part three
Explain why Church courts were introduced. [2 marks]
Answer:
To separate Church and secular justice (1); clergy would be tried by the Church under canon law (1).
Question 44 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part three
How did William II clash with the Church? [2 marks]
Answer:
He kept bishoprics vacant to take their income (1); he quarrelled with Archbishop Anselm, who went into exile (1).
Question 45 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part three
What was the Investiture Controversy? [2 marks]
Answer:
A dispute over whether kings or the Pope should appoint bishops (1); it caused conflict between William II and Anselm (1).
Question 46 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part three
Explain why the Church was wealthy. [2 marks]
Answer:
It owned about a quarter of England’s land (1); it received tithes and gifts (1).
Question 47 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part three
State two Norman reforms of monasteries. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: Norman abbots replaced Anglo-Saxons (1); stricter discipline, eg Lanfranc’s Constitutions (1); new abbeys built, eg Battle Abbey (1); new orders arrived, eg the Cluniacs (1).
Question 48 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part three
Describe daily life in a Norman monastery. [2 marks]
Answer:
Monks followed the Rule of St Benedict, with services day and night (1); they worked, studied and copied manuscripts (1).
Question 49 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part three
What was the role of monasteries in education? [1 mark]
Answer:
They ran schools that taught Latin to boys preparing for the Church.
Question 50 · Spec 3.3.2 BA, Part three
Explain why Latin replaced English in official documents. [1 mark]
Answer:
The Normans used Latin for Church and government records, while Norman French was spoken at court.

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Norman England, c1066–c1100

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