The life of Matilda and medieval women
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use my knowledge about Matilda's life to draw wider conclusions about the lives of medieval women.
Key learning points
- Historians can learn about medieval women by studying Matilda's early life.
- Historians can learn about medieval women by studying Matilda's role in the Anarchy.
- Historians can learn about medieval women by studying Matilda's court.
- Historians can learn about medieval women by studying Matilda's later life.
- Matilda's life is one particularly well documented way in which historians can learn about medieval women.
Keywords
Baron - a baron is a great lord or landholder in the kingdom
Anarchy - the Anarchy was an absence of government in society; political or social disorder
Civil war - a civil war is a war between citizens of the same country
Empire - an empire is a group of countries or provinces ruled from the centre by one person or a group of people
Common misconception
Surnames have always been used and they generally aren't changed from one generation to the next.
During the medieval period, people went by their first name and one or more given names. These given names could be nicknames based on their place of origin or occupation or a distinguishing feature. Some people chose their own given names.
Teacher tip
For Task C-1, have students walk around the classroom and 'teach' their facts to other students. Increase the difficulty by asking them to explain why their facts are important and what they can tell us about the lives of medieval women.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following were NOT reasons for tensions reducing in the civil war in the 1140s?
Q2.Complete the sentence: Stephen agreed Matilda's Henry would inherit the throne after his death, which led to a peaceful succession.
Q3.Why did the death of Stephen's son, Eustace, remove an obstacle to the end of the civil war?
Q4.Complete the sentence: a is a formal agreement between two countries.
Q5.Where did Matilda spend the rest of her life following the end of the civil war?
Q6.Which of the following examples show how much Henry II valued his mother's advice?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keyword to the correct definition.
a great lord or landholder in the kingdom
an absence of government in society; political or social disorder
a war between citizens of the same country
a group of countries or provinces ruled by one person or a group
Q2.Put the following events in Matilda's early life in chronological order.
Q3.Put the following events in Matilda's later life in chronological order.
Q4.Which of the following women played an important role in Matilda's story?
Q5.What was one of the reasons that England did not have another female ruler for the next 400 years after the Anarchy?
Q6.What can Matilda's life teach historians about medieval women?
To help you plan your 7 history lesson on: The life of Matilda and medieval women, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 history lesson on: The life of Matilda and medieval women, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 history lessons from the Medieval women: what can we learn from Matilda about women in medieval England? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.