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The Norman Conquest
Read the introduction and the sources and then answer
the question which follows.
➜ Introduction
On Saturday, 14 October 1066, Duke William of Normandy and his army won a
decisive victory over the Anglo-Saxon forces led by King Harold. Throughout
the day, the English army with their impressive shield wall defended the ridge
at Senlac Hill. Finally, overwhelmed by superior military discipline and the
skills of the Norman archers and cavalry, the English forces were annihilated
and Harold was killed.
Source A: an extract from William of Poitiers, a Norman priest who became a chaplain to
William the Conqueror. He was not present at the Battle of Hastings. He wrote his account
around 1071 and his story is inspired by his admiration for Duke William.
Evening was now falling and the English saw they could not hold out much longer
against the Normans. They knew they had lost a great part of their army, and also that
their king with his two brothers and many of their greatest men had fallen. Dismayed
at the heroic courage of the duke, who spared none who came against him, they began
to fly as swiftly as they could, some on horseback and some on foot. Many lay on
the ground bathed in blood. Many left their corpses in the depths of the forest. Many,
fallen on the ground, were trampled to death under the hooves of horses. The brave
Normans carried on their pursuit, striking the English rebels in the back and bringing a
happy end to this famous victory.
Source B: an extract from a modern historian writing about the achievements of the Normans
after the Battle of Hastings.
King William’s first task was to reward the Norman and French barons who had
fought with him. He gave them lands taken from English thanes [Saxon lords] who
had died in battle. William’s barons were hated foreigners so they built castles and
shut themselves away whenever danger threatened. William’s barons were not given
land for nothing. William made more definite arrangements and they had to provide
a certain number of mounted knights to raise an army for their king. The need to
give military service in return for land is known as the feudal system. William’s
clerks made a great survey which came to be known as the Domesday Book. A new
language, Norman French, was brought to England. Under bishops and abbots from the
Continent, the organisation of the English Church developed.
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1 The Norman Conquest
Source C: a nineteenth-century painting showing William the Conqueror leading his Norman
knights against the English at Hastings during the Norman Conquest. Victory at this battle was
total. The battleground was stained with the blood of the best of the English nobility.
Question
Using ALL the sources and your own knowledge, how true is it to
say that the Battle of Hastings completed the Norman Conquest of
England?
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The First Crusade, 1095–99
Read the introduction and the sources and then
answer the question which follows.
➜ Introduction
In 1095, at the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II announced the launch of
the First Crusade. The aim was to capture Jerusalem permanently from the
Muslims and to recover the Holy Land in the name of Christianity. People
greeted the idea with great enthusiasm. The sources give information about
the taking of Jerusalem in 1099 and the massacre of the inhabitants.
Source A: an extract from a modern textbook describing the attack on Jerusalem in 1099.
Once a section of the wall was captured, scaling ladders enabled many of the
assailants [attackers] to climb into the city. The Crusaders, maddened by so great a
victory after so much suffering, rushed through the streets and into the houses and
mosques, killing all that they met, men, women and children alike.
Source B: an extract from William of Tyre, a twelfth-century writer who described the fall of
Jerusalem.
The valiant Godfrey of Bouillon, the knights and other men-at-arms who were with
him, descended from the walls, all armed, into the town. They went together through
the streets with their swords in their hands. All them that they met, they slew and
smote [cut] down, unarmed men, women and children, sparing none. They slew so
many in the street that there were heaps of dead bodies. The foot-soldiers went to
other parts of the town holding in their hands great poleaxes and other weapons,
slaying all the Turks they could find. For they [the Turks] were people that our men had
the greatest hatred for and so would gladly put them to death.
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Source C: a nineteenth-century painting of the final capture of Jerusalem by the crusaders on
15 July 1099.
1095–99
Question
Using ALL the sources and your own knowledge, is it true to say that
the First Crusade achieved all its aims?
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3
Richard the Lionheart
Read the introduction and the sources and then
answer the question which follows.
➜ Introduction
Richard the Lionheart was one of the most inspirational rulers of his day.
As a warrior he was more than a match for Saladin. In the Holy Land, his
siege craft at Acre drew the admiration of the other crusading commanders.
Although in England for barely six months in his ten-year reign, the
basic organisation of the country remained intact. Richard made careful
arrangements for the administration of the kingdom during his absence and
certain aspects of government, such as the keeping of written records, were
improved.
Source A: an extract from a modern textbook describing some of the qualities of Richard I.
In the popular mind today, Richard is a national English hero, the fearless warrior and
glorious crusader who struggled against all the odds to come within reach of capturing
Jerusalem from the legendary Saladin on the Third Crusade. But, as king, he never spent
more than six months in England. It has been argued by historians that Richard was an
utterly irresponsible king who diverted the wealth of England to his own glory in France
and the Holy Land and who recklessly endangered the security and stability of his island
realm. But far from setting out on crusade without a care for the safety of his kingdom,
Richard did what he could in the short time available to him. There now seems little
doubt that he was one of the ablest men to have sat on the throne of England.
Source B: an extract from the Chronicle of Richard of Devizes, a twelfth-century Benedictine
monk at Winchester. A well-informed author, he wrote enthusiastically about Richard I.
The time of commencing his journey pressed hard upon King Richard. He, who had
been the first of all Princes on this side of the Alps in taking up of the cross, was
unwilling to be the last in setting out. Richard was a king worthy of the name of king,
who in the first year of his reign left the kingdom of England for Christ. So great was
the devotion of the king that he speedily did run to avenge the wrongs of Christ.
However, while he kept this great matter in his mind, he appointed the Bishop of
Durham to be chief justice of the whole realm. The king then received security from
the Welsh and the Scots that they would not pass their borders for the annoyance of
England during his absence. In the year of the Lord, 1190, the King crossed the Channel
to Neustria [Normandy], the care of the whole kingdom being committed to the
Chancellor [William, Bishop of Ely].
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3 Richard the Lionheart
Source C: a twentieth-century illustration of Richard the Lionheart fighting in the Third Crusade.
Question
Using ALL the sources and your own knowledge, is it true to say that
Richard the Lionheart merely used England as a bank from which to
take money to pay for all his foreign adventures?
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