New
New
Year 10
Edexcel

The submission of the earls in 1066

I can explain why the earls submitted to William at Berkhamsted.

New
New
Year 10
Edexcel

The submission of the earls in 1066

I can explain why the earls submitted to William at Berkhamsted.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. William needed to overcome a hostile Anglo-Saxon population if he wished to control England.
  2. Anglo-Saxon nobility rallied behind Edgar the Aethling as the next king of England.
  3. William’s army was vulnerable, in a foreign land with limited supplies.
  4. William used harrying and violence to induce submission from the Anglo-Saxon nobility.
  5. Earls Edwin and Morcar, Edgar the Aethling and Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, submitted to William.

Keywords

  • Plundered - plundered is when goods have been stolen violently from a place, especially during a war

  • Harrying - harrying is persistently harassing or carrying out attacks on an enemy or an enemy's territory

  • Submission - submission is the act of allowing someone or something to have power over you

  • Supplies - in this lesson, supplies are food or other things necessary for an army to operate

  • Foraging - foraging is going from place to place searching for things that you can eat or use

Common misconception

The Norman conquest was fully achieved by the victory at the Battle of Hastings.

In reality, there were many defiant Anglo-Saxons ready to carry on fighting and it took time for William to gain meaningful control over a hostile Anglo-Saxon population.

Trace William’s march through England on a map, marking key locations of violence and submission.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the words to their definitions.
Correct Answer:fyrd,an Anglo-Saxon army made up of mostly untrained peasant conscripts

an Anglo-Saxon army made up of mostly untrained peasant conscripts

Correct Answer:housecarl,the elite unit of the Anglo-Saxon army

the elite unit of the Anglo-Saxon army

Correct Answer:fleet,a group of ships, or all of the ships in a country's navy

a group of ships, or all of the ships in a country's navy

Correct Answer:knight,the elite unit of the Norman army

the elite unit of the Norman army

Q2.
William of Normandy invaded England after Harold Godwinson had fought the Battle of Bridge.
Correct Answer: Stamford, stamford
Q3.
William of Normandy won the Battle of against Harold Godwinson.
Correct Answer: Hastings
Q4.
Which of these were English tactics used at the Battle of Hastings?
a wedge formation to break up the enemy line
Correct answer: a defensive shield wall
use of housecarls to charge at the Norman cavalry
Correct answer: hold position at the top of Senlac Hill
Q5.
Which of these were Norman tactics used at the Battle of Hastings?
Correct answer: feigned retreat
Correct answer: use of highly trained knights
archers' attack from behind the shield wall
siege warfare
Q6.
What is the name of a rare contemporary account of this period, which offers a visual scene-by-scene breakdown of the Battle of Hastings?
Correct Answer: The Bayeux Tapestry, the Bayeux Tapestry, the Bayeux tapestry

6 Questions

Q1.
What keyword describes persistently harassing or carrying out attacks on an enemy or an enemy's territory?
Correct Answer: harrying, Harrying
Q2.
Why was the Norman conquest not fully achieved by the victory at the Battle of Hastings?
William still needed to fight another battle against Earls Edwin and Morcar.
Correct answer: There were many defiant Anglo-Saxons ready to carry on fighting.
William had to return to Normandy so didn't have time for a coronation.
Correct answer: It took time for William to gain control over a hostile Anglo-Saxon population.
Q3.
Match the keywords to their definitions.
Correct Answer:plundered,when goods have been stolen violently from a place

when goods have been stolen violently from a place

Correct Answer:submission,the act of allowing someone or something to have power over you

the act of allowing someone or something to have power over you

Correct Answer:foraging,going from place to place searching for things that you can eat or use

going from place to place searching for things that you can eat or use

Correct Answer:supplies,food or other things necessary for an army to operate

food or other things necessary for an army to operate

Q4.
Who did many Anglo-Saxon nobles initially rally behind as the next king of England following Harold's death?
William of Normandy
Edith Swan-Neck
Correct answer: Edgar the Aethling
Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Q5.
Put in order the area of which William and his army visited on their brutal march through south-east England, starting with the earliest.
1 - Romney
2 - Dover
3 - Canterbury
4 - London
5 - Wallingford
6 - Berkhamsted
7 - London
Q6.
Who submitted to William at Berkhamsted?
Correct answer: Ealdred the Archbishop of York
Correct answer: Edgar the Aethling
Correct answer: Earls Edwin and Morcar
Stigand the Archbishop of Canterbury
Harold Godwinson

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