Contents
1 Investigating the Middle Ages
Why was King Henry being whipped?
Welcome to the Middle Ages!
Meet the people of the Middle Ages
What were the headline events of the Middle Ages?
2 Was the Norman Conquest really so significant?
How confident was William of Normandy before the Battle of Hastings?
Stepped Enquiry: Why did William win the Battle of Hastings?
Has our artist done his homework? Reconstructing the Battle of Hastings
What kind of king did William become?
Stepped Enquiry: Was 1066 a disaster for everyone?
The Big Picture: Was the Norman Conquest really so significant?
3 Why did people in the Middle Ages build glorious cathedrals
but live in such simple houses?
Stepped Enquiry: Why did people in the Middle Ages build glorious cathedrals
but live in such simple houses?
Why were Heaven and Hell so important to people?
The pilgrimage game
The Big Picture: Religion in Britain before 1500
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4 Could medieval kings always do whatever they wanted?
50
5 Did rats and rebels change people’s lives completely?
68
The Big Picture: Could medieval kings always do whatever they wanted?
What makes a good medieval king? Case study: Edward III
Stepped Enquiry: Why did the barons rebel against King John?
How did the barons deal with troublesome kings?
The Big Picture: Could medieval kings always do whatever they wanted?
What can evidence tell us about the lives of medieval peasants?
What was the farming year like for peasants?
Stepped Enquiry: Why were so many people buried at Charterhouse Square?
Would you have joined the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381?
Was the Peasants’ Revolt really a failure?
The Big Picture: Did rats and rebels change people’s lives completely?
50
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90
6 Are medieval wars worth remembering?
The Big Picture: Are medieval wars worth remembering?
Would a soldier from 1066 have felt at home at the Battle
of Bosworth in 1485?
Are medieval wars worth remembering?
92
92
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96
7 Was there a World Wide Web in the Middle Ages? 102
8 What can Anne Herbert tell us about life during
the Wars of the Roses?
112
Why was there so much travel around the world in the Middle Ages?
Why is China in 1300 such an exciting place to land your time machine?
Poor and miserable people?
Did the nobles still want to be loyal to the king?
Did the nobles rush into fighting wars because they were greedy
for power and wealth?
How do we know about Anne Herbert’s life?
9 The Big Picture of the Middle Ages
Summing up the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages – what was really important?
How can Dick Whittington help us to sum up the Middle Ages?
Glossary Index 104
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