1. Is Simon Schama right? Did William totally change Saxon crime prevention?

2. Watch this clip of an historian talking about a famous event. What famous event is he talking about?

3. What can you remember about THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS? Watch the clip again – what is Simon Schama saying about the significance of the Battle of Hastings?

4. “There are times and places where history comes at you with a rush, violent, decisive and bloody; a truck load of trouble. Wiping out everything that gives you your bearings in the world: law, customs, loyalty and language. And Hastings is one of those places…Here, one kind of England was annihilated and another kind of England set up in its place.” Look at Simon’s quote. 1. How does Schama make his interpretation exciting to read? 2. How does he convince us that the Battle of Hastings saw England change significantly? Simon Schama

5. Is Simon Schama right? Did William totally change Saxon crime prevention?

6. Saxon crime prevention system

7. Is Simon Schama right? Did William totally change Saxon Justice? Use W.S 1 to help you decide.

8. 1. William destroyed people’s homes to make way for new castles. Many Saxons suffered. Some Saxons became angry with their Norman conquerors and fought back, sometimes killing Norman soldiers. William ordered that if any Norman was murdered all the people of the region had to join together to pay a hefty fine. It was called the Murdrum fine. 2.William decided the laws of the Saxon Kings should be kept the same. He therefore kept Saxon trial by jury, tithings and the hue and cry. 3. The Normans kept the religious ritual of Saxon trial by Ordeal. 4. The Normans introduced another form of trial by ordeal, trial by combat. The accused fought the accuser until one was beaten or killed. God had decided that the loser was guilty and then he was hanged. 5. William used the death penalty for serious crimes. William used fines for lesser crimes. He ordered that fines should be paid to the king’s officials instead of to the victims as compensation. 7. William introduced new laws. He introduced the hated Forest Laws. Trees could not be cut down for fuel or for building. People in the forests were forbidden to own dogs or bows and arrows. The punishment for hunting deer was to be blinded. People really resented this new law as poaching was seen as a way of life. 8. Occasionally, whole areas rebelled against the Normans. William dealt with them harshly. In 1069 the people of York rebelled. William sent his army to devastate the area. Thousands of innocent people were murdered along with the rebels. Corpses lay rotting in the streets, villages and fields of crops were burnt down. WS1 Very Important Not Important Continuity Change The Norman Justice system a. This was a change. William introduced this because he was a religious and believed that God should decide who was guilty. The Normans were also a warrior nation and trial by battle had been an old Norman custom. b. This was a change because the murdrum fine was a new punishment. It was paid to the King instead of the victim. It was introduced to try to deter the Saxons from harming their new Norman lords. However, this could also be seen as continuity. It was simply a larger version of a tithing, or the hue and cry. It was meant to deter everyone in the region from attacking the Normans. c. This law was changed because William and his Norman friends loved to hunt. If the Saxons hunted deer, there wouldn’t be enough for the Normans to kill. If trees were cut down, there would less wooded areas for the deer to live. d. This was continuity. William believed the old King, Edward the Confessor, had promised him the throne. By the keeping Edward’s laws he was showing respect to the old king, and that he was Edward’s rightful heir. In any case he realised that 5000 Norman knights couldn’t keep control of 1.5 million Saxons. The Saxons already had an effective system of policing in place e. William changed fines because he believed that crimes were committed against the King’s peace, rather than against the individual. This was also a useful way to increase his income. Task: 1.Match the explanation letter in the bottom box to the number it goes with in the top box 2.Three explanations have not been completed. Write them below: f. g. h. 3. Now decide where the numbers go on the change / continuity graph above 4. Use your graph to decide how far does this support Schama’s interpretation that William totally changed Saxon Justice?

9. How much did William change Saxon crime prevention?

10. Is Simon Schama right? Did William totally change Saxon crime prevention? Write a response to Schama. Include: How he tries to convince us that this was a massive change – (his interpretation) Whether our evidence supports his claim? Whether our evidence disagrees with his interpretation? Overall why you think he is wrong or right