that william the conqueror boi Flashcards
1 - Who was the King of England who died in January 1066?
Edward the Confessor
2 - Who were the 3 contenders to be the next King?
Duke William of Normandy, Harold Godwinson and Harald Hardrada
3 - Why did William of Normandy think he had the right to be King?
1) In 1051, Edward had promised him the throne once he died
2) In 1064, Harold had sworn loyalty to William as the rightful future king of England
4 - Why did Harald the viking believe he had the right to be King?
The Vikings had previously ruled England
5 - Why did the Council of Witan choose Harold Godwinson to be King?
Edward was worried about threats to England he had wanted to strengthen an alliance between Normandy and England
6 - If William, Duke of Normandy, had been promised by Edward the Confessor he could be the next king, why had he been promised such a thing?
Edward was worried about threats to England he had wanted to strengthen an alliance between Normandy and England
7 - Had England always been ruled by a king?
England has been ruled by the Roman Empire between 43 and 410. Before that, it was made up of tribes, including the Celts
8 - What sort of a place had the Romans conquered in the year 43?
A few towns were developing, the most people still lied in small village settlements. Some of what was farmed was being sold abroad and the tin that Britain was rich in was being mined
9 - What did the Roman conquest of England end in the 4th century?
During the 4th century, the Roman Empire was coming under threat from other tribes. The Romen Emperor, Honorius, made the decision that the armies based in Britain were needed elsewhere
10 - Who invaded England when the Romans left?
The Angles and the Saxons - a mixture of people from modern-day Germany, Denmark and Northern Holland
11 - So, who were the “English” (the Anglo-Saxons) descended from?
A mixture of people from modern-day Germany, Denmark and Northen Holland
12 - When did the Vikings invade England?
In 793 - they first invaded England through Lindisfarne in Northumbria
(They were mainly after all of the riches that were found in England’s monasteries)
13 - Who rules England between 1034 and 1066?
1) King Canute was in charge of England in 1034. He had viking blood and believed heavily in his ability to harness God’s power
2) Harold Harefoot
3) Harthacnut (Anglo-Saxon)
4) Edward the Confessor (1042-1066)
14 - What would England have looked like in the year 1066?
A place that ad seen many years of different “houses” of families claiming the right to be king.
Most ordinary people worked on the countryside and had very fixed routines regarding what sort of work they would each month of the year
15 - Who invaded the north of England in 1066?
Harald’s viking army
16 - Why did Harold Godwinson win the Battle of Stamford bridge in October 1066?
The shield wall and their brutal force
17 - Who invaded the south of England in 1066?
William of Normandy
18 - Where on the south coast did his soldiers land?
Pevensey
19 - On what date did the Battle of Hastings between Harold Godwinson and William of Normandy’s armies take place?
October 14th, 1066
20 - Who won the Battle of Hastings?
William of Normandy and his army
21 - What was the name of the professional Anglo-Saxon army?
Housecarls
22 - What were the name of the working men who were called upon to support the professional Anglo-Saxon army?
Fyrds
23 - What were the main weapons and protection of the Housecarls?
Battle axes made from sharpened iron and heavy chainmail armour
24 - What were the main weapons and protection of the Fyrds?
Farming tools like pitchforks and scythes, usually used from cutting wheat
25 - How was all Anglo-Saxon fighting done?
On foot
26 - What did William’s army have that the Anglo-Saxons did not?
Archers and fighters on horseback called cavalry
27 - Why was Harold’s army exhausted before the Battle even began?
They had to march quickly, with heavy armour, from the north of England to the south (200 miles!)
28 - Why was Harold’s army in a strong position at the start of the Battle?
They were at the top of a hill and William’s men were at the bottom of it
29 - What smart tactic did William do to persuade Harold’s men to start leaving the top of Senlac Hill?
He faked a retreat so that Harold’s men men were encouraged to attack
30 - How did William motivate his men to fight so hard?
He got the support of the Pope for the fight and used this to prove to his men that God was on their side
31 - What happened when Harold’s men left the top of the hill?
They were no match for William’s highly skilled army
32 - How did Harold die at the end of the Battle?
He was either:
- shot in the eye with an arrow
- hacked to death with a sword
33 - Why did Harold’s army do when news of his death spread around the battlefield?
They ran away and some men took shelter at a nearby fort in Dover
34 - What did William do as soon as the Battle ended?
Hunted down soldiers loyal to harold Godwinson and killed them
35 - What was the name given to the brutal killing and destruction of the north of England that William carried out to ensure loyalty?
The Harrying of the North
36 - What was the name of the land sharing system that William put in place to encourage and reward loyalty to him?
The Feudal system
37 - What were the different ranks in the Feudal system?
The king, the barons, the knights and the peasants
38 - What did the tenants-in-chiefs/barons have to take in order to be granted land by the king?
An oath to fealty (loyalty)
39 - What did Knights have to provide in order to be given land by the Barons?
40 days of military service every year.
40 - What was the job of the peasants who worked on land on the manorial estates?
To grow and farm food.
41 - Why did William develop castles in England?
1) To watch over the population and give his Barons good places to rule areas of the country from.
2) To make sure strategic locations were secure. For example, castles were built at river crossings or near passes through mountains or hills.
3) A base from which to dominate land that was brought under Norman control. Castles were built in areas like Exeter, Warwick, Nottingham and York and used as part of the campaigns against unrest and protest in those areas.
42 - What was Matilda of Flanders the first queen to receive in English history?
Her own crowning ceremony (coronation)
43 - How did Matilda help William gain control of England?
She used her charm to persuade potential rebels in the south of England to support her husband’s right to be King of England.
44 - How did William the Conqueror (William I of England) die in 1087?
He fell off his horse whilst trying to capture more land in France and was impaled on a rock.
