1. What types of question will be on my exam?
Top Exam Tips!
What types of question will be on my exam?
How far do Interpretations A and B differ? Explain your answer using the interpretations and your contextual knowledge.
[4 marks]
Knowledge and quiz questions ranging from 1-2 marks!
A statement, followed by 2 bullet points to discuss.
[12 marks]
This is a BALANCE question you look at both sides and write a conclusion.
Describe 2 problems or Describe an event…
[4 marks]
What do I revise:
Who the claimants were?
Problems at the death of Edward the Confessor
The Battle of Stamford Bridge
The Battle of Hastings
Why William won at Hastings?
The reasons for Harold’s death.
Task:
Set:
Due:
Match up the Claimants and reduce the problems
Complete the problem Pictionary clues.
Read the information about Stamford Bridge and answer the questions
The Battle of Hastings: Complete the Story Board
Complete the colour code on: William’s prep and Harold’s weaknesses.
Source inference grid on Bayeux Tapestry
Source comparison on Harold’s death.

2. King Edward the Confessor of England died in 1066
King Edward the Confessor of England died in He did not have a son who would become the next king. This led to problems because there were 3 candidates who all wanted the throne!
Candidate 1: HAROLD GODWINSON
I am the only true Englishman claiming the throne. I am also the most powerful man in England. I am a very good soldier and England needs a strong ruler right now. The English council, the witan, want me to be king. I belong to the most powerful family in the whole of England. We already control Wessex but are very ambitious and would like to control the whole of England. I have the best claim to the throne because I am also Edward's brother-in-law. William says I promised to help him become king. I only did this because he forced me to. He was holding my nephew hostage and said he would only be released if I swore to be loyal to him.
Candidate 2: WILLIAM OF NORMANDY
I have the best claim to the throne because Edward himself promised it to me. When Edward was a boy in 1016, King Cnut invaded England and Edward ran away to Normandy for safety. Edward stayed in Normandy until he became King of England in It was important, at that time, for Edward to protect his throne from attack and rebellion.Edward turned to me for help. I sent Norman soldiers to live in England and protect Edward. In return, Edward promised the English throne. Harold of Wessex also said that I should become King of England when Edward died.
Candidate 3: HARALD HARDRADA
I am King of Norway and have a good claim to the throne of Denmark. The Danes have conquered England in the past and so I think I should be King of England too. The Vikings invaded England long ago, in the 860s, and settled in the north. In 1016 the Viking King Cnut became King of England, Denmark and Norway. England was ruled by Norwegian kings right up until 1042 when the Saxon king Edward, stole the throne from us. I have the right to be King of England and want to rebuild King Cnut's great Viking empire. There are a lot of Viking families still living in the North of England who would like me to be King of England and will help me with my invasion.
Candidate 4: EDGAR AETHELING
I am Edward the Confessor's nearest relative. I am only eight years old and my name is Edgar Aetheling. I may be young but I am English. Many people wonder how I could make important decisions and fight wars because I am so young but I will have many English nobles helping to make decisions for me. I should be King of England because I am the nearest thing to an heir that Edward the Confessor has.

3. What problems did the death of Edward the Confessor cause?
Who were the claimants to the throne?
Edgar
Viking Harald Hardraada
Harold Godwinson
William of Normandy
Edward the Confessor promised me the throne for helping him defeat a rebellion.
I am the closest male blood relative to Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor promised me the throne on his death bed and the witan chose me.
I am related to King Cnut a previous King and am a powerful King of Norway already.
Task: Match the claim to the contender by drawing a line!
What problems did the death of Edward the Confessor cause?
My name is Edward the Confessor and I died in January The problem was that I died aged 62 but had no children and so no-one to take the throne from me (heir). My closest relative was 14 and had no experience so could not rule. This was a problem because it led to lots of arguing about who should be the next King and 3 men claimed the throne. Harold Godwinson, Harald Hardraada and William of Normandy.
Another problem caused by my death was confusion over who the next King should be because I had promised the throne to two different men. William of Normandy had helped protect me during a rebellion and so I had promised him the throne in 1051.But on my death bed I had changed my mind and chosen Harold Godwinson, who was English and had the support of the Witan. This caused problems because William was outraged and it led to an invasion which caused more problems as a Frenchman took the throne.
Task: Reduce the 2 key problems to 2 sentences: Problem 1:
Problem 2:

4. Why did Harold Godwinson face problems when he became King?
King Edward the Confessor’s death caused a number of problems for Harold:
Problem 1: He was not the son of Edward and the straight forward heir to the throne. His claim to the throne was weak because he was married to Edward’s sister so not even related by blood. Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, was immediately crowned king and became King Harold II of England. The royal council, known as the Witan, supported him.
Problem 2: There were others who wanted the throne and would fight him for it. The first thing Harold Godwinson had to do was get an army to defend the kingdom from the two rivals. These were from other countries and were called Harald Hardrada and William of Normandy. He wasn’t sure who would invade first and where they would invade along the coast. This was a problem because he didn’t know where to put his army.
Problem 3: A third problem was that when Harald Hardraada invaded the North of England, Harold had to march his men on foot up to Stampford Bridge to fight. While Harold II was in the north of England fighting Hardrada, William, Duke of Normandy invaded Sussex. This was a problem because he had just fought a battle and was tired but had to rush back to fight another battle. Harold rushed back south to fight him. He had lost many of his best fighters in the Battle at Stamford Bridge and march his tired fighters back down the country to fight again. This was a big problem for Harold.
Draw a Pictionary clue and caption for each of the problems:
Problem 1:
Problem 2:
Problem 3:
© Mr Roberts 2016

5. The Battle of Stamford Bridge!
Task: Read the story and answer the questions.
In September 1066, Harold Hardraada invaded and landed near York in the North of England. He sailed across with 300 ships and about 10,000 Vikings. He also had the support of Harold Godwinson’s younger brother Tostig.
The Day of the Battle:
Harold Godwinson surprised the Vikings, who had left their armour on their ships 25 Kilometres away. However, Hardraada’s men soon gained control. One brave Viking blocked the bridge so the English could not reach the Vikings. The Viking killed 40 English soldiers. But Hardraada had a problem, as the English floated in a barrel under the bridge and stabbed the Viking from below. Hardraada was killed by an arrow to the neck and Tostig was found and killed. The Vikings only needed 25 ships to take their battered army home.
What was the Battle called?
Who fought at the Battle?
How many Vikings were there?
What problem did the Vikings have with their armour?
Who killed 40 English men and where?
How did they kill the Viking on the Bridge?
How did Hardraada die?
How did Tostig die?
Who won?
How many ships were needed to take the Vikings home?

6. The Battle of Hastings! The Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings
King Edward of England dies
Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England in He claimed that Edward the Confessor had named him the successor on his deathbed. Since he was a powerful lord in the country, he soon received the approval of the decision making body who could decide who would be king.
William of Normandy and Harald Hardraada of Norway were angry. They felt they both felt that they should be crowned King Harald believed he had a right to the throne of England based on a treaty between the King of Norway and one of earlier Kings of England. William was distantly related to Edward the Confessor and claimed that Edward the Confessor had promised him the throneof England on his death. This caused many problems between the 3 contenders
William prepares to invade England but could not cross the channel because…
Meanwhile, Harald Hardraada set sail from Norway and landed at…
King Harold had to march his troops 200 miles to fight Harald Hardrada at the battle of
where King Harold defeated Harald Hardraada. He then heard that William had landed near Hastings. He had to…
The next morning, Harold took up position on Senlac Hill. This was an advantage because…
William’s archers could not hit the Saxon’s because of their shield wall.
William’s men attacked the Saxons on the hill, then turned and ran away. Some Saxons followed them down the hill so William’s men turned around and…
Seeing that this worked, William ordered them to play a trick on King Harold. They pretended to run away three more times, and each time some of the Saxons followed them down the hill. By then, there was a gap in the shield wall.
By the end of the afternoon, King Harold was dead.
William was crowned the new King of England, Christmas Day.
The next morning, Harold took up position on Senlac Hill. This was an advantage because…
William’s archers could not hit the Saxon’s because of their shield wall.
William’s men attacked the Saxons on the hill, then turned and ran away. Some Saxons followed them down the hill so William’s men turned around and…
Seeing that this worked, William ordered them to play a trick on King Harold. They pretended to run away three more times, and each time some of the Saxons followed them down the hill. By then, there was a gap in the shield wall.
By the end of the afternoon, King Harold was dead.
William was crowned the new King of England, Christmas Day.
King Edward of England dies
Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England in He claimed that Edward the Confessor had named him the successor on his deathbed. Since he was a powerful lord in the country, he soon received the approval of the decision making body who could decide who would be king.
William of Normandy and Harald Hardraada of Norway were angry. They felt they both felt that they should be crowned King Harald believed he had a right to the throne of England based on a treaty between the King of Norway and one of earlier Kings of England. William was distantly related to Edward the Confessor and claimed that Edward the Confessor had promised him the throneof England on his death. This caused many problems between the 3 contenders
William prepares to invade England but could not cross the channel because…
Meanwhile, Harald Hardraada set sail from Norway and landed at…
King Harold had to march his troops 200 miles to fight Harald Hardrada at the battle of
where King Harold defeated Harald Hardraada. He then heard that William had landed near Hastings. He had to…
The next morning, Harold took up position on Senlac Hill. This was an advantage because…
William’s archers could not hit the Saxon’s because of their shield wall.
William’s men attacked the Saxons on the hill, then turned and ran away. Some Saxons followed them down the hill so William’s men turned around and…
Seeing that this worked, William ordered them to play a trick on King Harold. They pretended to run away three more times, and each time some of the Saxons followed them down the hill. By then, there was a gap in the shield wall.
By the end of the afternoon, King Harold was dead.
William was crowned the new King of England, Christmas Day.
King Edward of England dies
Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England in He claimed that Edward the Confessor had named him the successor on his deathbed. Since he was a powerful lord in the country, he soon received the approval of the decision making body who could decide who would be king.
William of Normandy and Harald Hardraada of Norway were angry. They felt they both felt that they should be crowned King Harald believed he had a right to the throne of England based on a treaty between the King of Norway and one of earlier Kings of England. William was distantly related to Edward the Confessor and claimed that Edward the Confessor had promised him the throneof England on his death. This caused many problems between the 3 contenders
William prepares to invade England but could not cross the channel because…
Meanwhile, Harald Hardraada set sail from Norway and landed at…
King Harold had to march his troops 200 miles to fight Harald Hardrada at the battle of
where King Harold defeated Harald Hardraada. He then heard that William had landed near Hastings. He had to…
The Battle of Hastings!
Task: Finish the story board by filling the gaps and drawing a picture for each box.
King Edward of England dies
Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England in He claimed that Edward the Confessor had named him the successor on his deathbed. Since he was a powerful lord in the country, he soon received the approval of the decision making body who could decide who would be king.
William of Normandy and Harald Hardraada of Norway were angry. They felt they both felt that they should be crowned King Harald believed he had a right to the throne of England based on a treaty between the King of Norway and one of earlier Kings of England. William was distantly related to Edward the Confessor and claimed that Edward the Confessor had promised him the throne  of England on his death. This caused many problems between the 3 contenders
William prepares to invade England but could not cross the channel because…
Meanwhile, Harald Hardraada set sail from Norway and landed at…
King Harold had to march his troops 200 miles to fight Harald Hardrada at the battle ofwhere King Harold defeated Harald Hardraada. He then heard that William had landed near Hastings. He had to…
The Battle of Hastings 
The Battle of Hastings 
The Battle of Hastings 
Finish the story board by filling the gaps and drawing a picture for each box.
Finish the story board by filling the gaps and drawing a picture for each box.
Finish the story board by filling the gaps and drawing a picture for each box.

7. By the end of the afternoon, King Harold was dead.
The next morning, Harold took up position on Senlac Hill. This was an advantage because…
William’s archers could not hit the Saxon’s because of their shield wall.
William’s men attacked the Saxons on the hill, then turned and ran away. Some Saxons followed them down the hill so William’s men turned around and…
Seeing that this worked, William ordered them to play a trick on King Harold. They pretended to run away three more times, and each time some of the Saxons followed them down the hill. By then, there was a gap in the shield wall.
By the end of the afternoon, King Harold was dead.
William was crowned the new King of England, Christmas Day.

8. What factors helped William win the Battle of Hastings?
Task colour code the reasons William won into:
William’s Leadership and Preparation.
Harold Mistakes.
William got the Pope to bless his army and carried a flag so his men felt they would win because God was on their side.
Harold ignored the advice by his counsellors to wait and rest before fighting William.
William encouraged his men to play a clever trick on Harold’s by pretending to retreat.
William had built ships to bring across temporary castles, 10,000 men and 4,000 horses .
Harold marched his men 280 miles in 9 days so they were very tired when they arrived at the battle.
Harold could not stop his men from breaking the shield wall and chasing after William’s men. When they got to the bottom of the hill they were surrounded and killed.
Harold ignored his younger brother Gyrth’s advise who said Harold should wait for the fryd and the archers to arrive and then attack William.
William arrived at Hastings early and rested his men and built defences such as a motte and bailey castle.
Harold had wrongly guessed that William would land at Dover. William landed at Pevensey, which was completely undefended.
Which is more important?

9. Source Analysis! A piece from the Bayeux Tapestry.
1077, probably made in Normandy on the orders of Bishop Odo, King William’s half- brother The scene shows two English soldiers being killed. Above the killing of both men is written ‘Hic Harold Rex interfectus Est’ which means ‘Here King Harold is killed.’
What can you see?
What can you suggest is happening?
What can you learn from this source?
Who else do you think could be Harold?

10. How did Harold die?
Interpretation A: 1130 written by William of Mamesbury, a monk Historian.
‘ Harold continued, but when he fell, from his brain pierced with an arrow… he gave into death… and one of the soldiers then gashed his thigh as he lay dead.
Interpretation B: 2000, A Modern Historian.
‘ In recent years some people have thought that Harold might be the figure on the floor being attacked by the Knights, rather than the man with the arrow. But it seems obvious the world Harold Rex is written directly above the man with the arrow. I believe the knights would have attacked him once he had been shot.’
Interpretation C:1067, Guy of Amiens a medieval writer from France
‘ With the point of his lance the first knight pierced Harold’s chest, drenching the ground in blood. With his sword the second knight cut off his head.’
Reason given in interpretation for Harold death:
Description or quote from interpretation to back this up: A B C