1. HISTORY

2. HISTORY YEAR 7 HALF TERM 1: NORMAN CONQUEST
Key Vocabulary:
Battle of Stamford Bridge: The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, on 25 September 1066, between an English army under King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force led by King Harald Hardrada and the English king's brother Tostig Godwinson.
Battle of Hastings: On October 14th, 1066, the English army, led by King Harold II, was defeated by Duke William and the Normans at the Battle of Hastings.
William the Conqueror ( ): On Christmas Day, 1066, William the Conqueror (from Normandy) was crowned King of England.
Feudal System: A system developed by William where each group of people wed loyalty to the group above, starting with Villeins, knights, barons and ending with the King.
Motte and Bailey: A Motte-and-Bailey castle is a fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protected by a ditch and fencing (palisade).
Villein: A peasant who worked the land.
Domesday: ‘Day of judgement’.
Castle‐building William brought his rich and powerful friends over from Normandy to help control the English. In return for their support, he gave them large areas of English land. They soon realised that they needed protection from attacked by unhappy Englishmen. William’s men built castles all over England. By 1086, over 100 castles had been built across England. These castles were known as Mottle and Bailey castles. They were built at key points, to guard important roads, ports, river crossings and towns. How have castles changed over time? 1) Motte and Bailey Castles: They were weak against a determined attack. The wooden walls could quite easily be chopped or burned down, or just climbed over with ladders. (See Castle-building for diagram). 2) Stone Castles: Stronger walls and towers made these castles much more difficult to invade but tunnelling under the corners of the towers and using siege towers meant that stronger defences were eventually needed. 3) Concentric Castles: These had a curtain wall around them, a moat and round towers. The keep and barbican were guarded. The use of canons in the late 14th century meant that even these castles could be attacked successfully.
Defeating Saxon rebels William dealt with some of his problems very swiftly. 1) The march to London: William took two months to reach London and on his way his army burned, stole and killed people as they passed. 2) The Harrying of the North: When William’s trusted friend, Earl Robert, and 900 of William’s soldiers were murdered when they were sent up to rule Durham, the king acted quickly and brutally: “William came to York…stopping at nothing to hunt down the rebels hidden there. He cut down many and destroyed and burned homes. Nowhere else had William shown such cruelty. His fury was blind and he punished the innocent with the guilty. He ordered that all crops, cattle and food be burned, so that the whole region had nothing to live on”. Some estimate that 100,000 people died from starvation because of William’s actions.
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