Edexcel GCSE History · Option B1

Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88

Exam-style questions with answers for Option B1 Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88 in Edexcel GCSE History (spec 1HI0). 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 · Option B1, Key topic 1.1
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 2 · Option B1, Key topic 1.1
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 3 · Option B1, Key topic 1.1
What was the Witan? [1 mark]
Answer:
The council of leading nobles and churchmen who advised the king and helped choose a new king.
Question 4 · Option B1, Key topic 1.1
State two features of the Anglo-Saxon economy. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: most people were farmers (1); England was wealthy, with a strong silver coinage (1); growing towns and trade, especially in wool (1); taxes such as the geld could be collected efficiently (1).
Question 5 · Option B1, Key topic 1.1
Describe the social system in Anglo-Saxon England. [2 marks]
Answer:
The king and earls were at the top, followed by thegns, who held land in return for service (1); most people were ceorls (free peasants) and there were also slaves (1).
Question 6 · Option B1, Key topic 1.2
Explain why the house of Godwin was powerful by 1060. [2 marks]
Answer:
Godwin's sons held the richest earldoms, with Harold as Earl of Wessex (1); Edward the Confessor had married Godwin's daughter Edith (1).
Question 7 · Option B1, Key topic 1.2
What was Harold Godwinson's embassy to Normandy (c1064)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Harold visited Normandy and was taken into William's household (1); William claimed Harold swore an oath to support his claim to the English throne (1).
Question 8 · Option B1, Key topic 1.2
Why was Tostig exiled in 1065? [2 marks]
Answer:
The thegns of Northumbria rebelled against his harsh rule and high taxes (1); Harold supported the rebels' demands, so Edward exiled Tostig (1).
Question 9 · Option B1, Key topic 1.2
Why was there a succession crisis in 1066? [1 mark]
Answer:
Edward the Confessor died in January 1066 without children.
Question 10 · Option B1, Key topic 1.3
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 11 · Option B1, Key topic 1.3
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 12 · Option B1, Key topic 1.3
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 13 · Option B1, Key topic 1.3
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 14 · Option B1, Key topic 1.3
What was Edgar the Aethling's claim to the throne? [1 mark]
Answer:
He was the great-nephew of Edward the Confessor, the closest blood relative, but only about 14 years old.
Question 15 · Option B1, Key topic 1.3
What happened at the Battle of Gate Fulford (September 1066)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Hardrada and Tostig defeated the northern earls Edwin and Morcar near York (1); this forced Harold to march north quickly (1).
Question 16 · Option B1, Key topic 1.3
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 17 · Option B1, Key topic 1.3
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 18 · Option B1, Key topic 1.4
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 19 · Option B1, Key topic 1.4
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 20 · Option B1, Key topic 1.4
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 21 · Option B1, Key topic 2.1
What was the submission of the earls in 1066? [1 mark]
Answer:
After Hastings, Edwin, Morcar and Edgar the Aethling submitted to William at Berkhamsted, before his coronation on Christmas Day 1066.
Question 22 · Option B1, Key topic 2.1
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 23 · Option B1, Key topic 2.1
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 24 · Option B1, Key topic 2.1
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 25 · Option B1, Key topic 2.2
Why did Edwin and Morcar revolt in 1068? [2 marks]
Answer:
They had lost land and power to Normans (1); Edwin had been promised marriage to William's daughter, but it did not happen (1).
Question 26 · Option B1, Key topic 2.2
Describe the rebellions in the North in 1069. [2 marks]
Answer:
Edgar the Aethling and northern rebels, helped by a Danish fleet, attacked York (1); they killed hundreds of Normans and destroyed the castles (1).
Question 27 · Option B1, Key topic 2.2
Who was Hereward the Wake? [2 marks]
Answer:
An Anglo-Saxon thegn who led a rebellion at Ely in 1070–71 with Danish help (1); William captured Ely, but Hereward escaped (1).
Question 28 · Option B1, Key topic 2.3
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 29 · Option B1, Key topic 2.3
State two long-term effects of the Harrying of the North. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: a large number of people died from famine (1); Domesday Book shows much of Yorkshire as 'waste' in 1086 (1); there were no further major northern rebellions (1).
Question 30 · Option B1, Key topic 2.3
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 31 · Option B1, Key topic 2.4
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 32 · Option B1, Key topic 2.4
How was the Revolt of the Earls defeated? [2 marks]
Answer:
Earl Waltheof told Lanfranc about the plot (1); Lanfranc and loyal Anglo-Saxon forces stopped the rebels before a Danish fleet arrived (1).
Question 33 · Option B1, Key topic 2.4
What happened to Waltheof after the revolt? [1 mark]
Answer:
He was executed in 1076, the only English earl William executed.
Question 34 · Option B1, Key topic 3.1
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 35 · Option B1, Key topic 3.1
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 36 · Option B1, Key topic 3.1
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 37 · Option B1, Key topic 3.1
Define the term 'forfeiture'. [1 mark]
Answer:
Losing your land if you broke your oath of loyalty to your lord, for example by rebelling.
Question 38 · Option B1, Key topic 3.1
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 · Option B1, Key topic 3.1
Who was Lanfranc? [1 mark]
Answer:
An Italian monk who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070 and reformed the English Church.
Question 40 · Option B1, Key topic 3.1
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 · Option B1, Key topic 3.2
Who acted as regents when William was in Normandy? [1 mark]
Answer:
Trusted men such as Bishop Odo, William FitzOsbern and Lanfranc.
Question 42 · Option B1, Key topic 3.2
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 43 · Option B1, Key topic 3.2
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 44 · Option B1, Key topic 3.2
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 45 · Option B1, Key topic 3.2
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 46 · Option B1, Key topic 3.3
Describe the culture of the Norman aristocracy. [2 marks]
Answer:
They spoke French, and Latin was used for official writing (1); they valued chivalry, horses and knightly skill, and built castles and great churches (1).
Question 47 · Option B1, Key topic 3.3
Who was Bishop Odo? [2 marks]
Answer:
William's half-brother, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent, who was regent in England (1); he was imprisoned in 1082, probably for planning to take knights to Italy (1).
Question 48 · Option B1, Key topic 3.4
What was Robert's revolt in Normandy (1077–80)? [2 marks]
Answer:
William's eldest son rebelled because he was given no real power (1); he defeated his father at the Battle of Gerberoy in 1079 (1).
Question 49 · Option B1, Key topic 3.4
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 50 · Option B1, Key topic 3.4
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.

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Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88

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