Hello and welcome to today's history lesson.

My name is Mr. Merritt and I'll be guiding you through today's lesson.

So let's get started.

Today's lesson on the Norman England historic environment is going to be focusing on the geography of Norman Wales, and by the end of today's lesson we'll be able to describe the geography of Norman Wales.

In order to do that, we need to use some key terms. And our key terms for today are mountainous, fertile, and kingdom.

Mountainous means having many mountains.

Fertile means an area is capable of producing crops, and a kingdom is a country or area ruled by a king.

Today's lesson will consist of two separate learning cycles, and our first learning cycle is looking at the physical geography of Norman Wales.

So let's get going.

Now, in recent years, historians have become more interested in the ways in which physical landscape and geography has affected the development of human societies.

And in order to understand the actions of the Normans in Wales, it is therefore necessary to begin with a consideration of the country's physical geography.

Wales is famous for its mountains and valleys which dominate the northern and central sections of the country.

Running through Wales like a spine are the Cambrian mountains, whilst Yr Wyddfa, apologies if I got the pronunciation wrong there, it's Mount Snowdon is another name for it, which is the country's highest peak is located in Gwynedd and that's in the northwest as part of the Snowdonia range of mountains.

Further south, the Bannau Brycheiniog, the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains rise up like a barrier near the border with England.

Before the Norman Conquest, an earthwork known as Offa's Dyke was constructed along the border for a distance of over 18 miles.

It's an incredible feat of engineering, which added to the natural barriers between the Anglo-Saxons and the Welsh.

Now, the mountainous physical landscape in North and Central Wales restricted human settlement to an extent since it limited the amount of land that could be used to grow crops and tended to isolate settlements in one valley from those in neighbouring valleys, or at least make communications between different settlements more challenging.

Further south, and particularly in areas along the coast the land was flatter and more fertile, making it much more suitable for arable farming.

Since pre-Roman times, the densest human settlements were to be found in these areas.

Major rivers include the Severn, the Dee, the Wye, and the Usk, and these were each important channels for communication and trade, both before and after the Norman Conquest.

And frequently, they're often strategically important.

So a really good example would be Chepstow Castle, which is on the screen in front of you there.

It was built by William Fitz Osbern, and it controlled a key crossing point of the River Wye, which runs through the border country between Wales and England, known as the Wales Marches.

Let's stop for a quick check for understanding.

So it's a discussion-based question, and I'd like to consider what impact did the mountainous geography of Wales have on human settlements? So pause the video, whilst you consider that question, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

I hope you've got on okay with that task.

So let's think what you could have said.

You might have said that it restricted human settlement to an extent, that it limited the amount of land to grow crops, that are isolated settlements from one another, and that it made communication between settlements more challenging.

If you've got something different to myself, and that's absolutely fantastic, but hopefully you've got at least some of those in the screen there in front of you as well.

Now, the coastline of Wales stretches for over 1600 miles.

It's a massive coastline and it's also extremely varied.

There are rocky headlands and cliffs, white sandy beaches and estuaries and deep inlets known as rias.

This huge coastline has always been important for settlement in Wales with the largest populations combining flatter land and coastal locations.

It's also meant that communication by sea has been very important throughout Wales's history, especially given the challenges of communication through the country's mountainous interior.

Between Wales and Ireland is the Irish Sea, and it's only 45 miles across at its narrowest point between St.

David's head in Pembrokeshire in Wales and Rosslare in county Wexford in Ireland.

Trade and communication between Wales and Ireland had always been important.

The Normans understood the military significance of Wales' coastline and they positioned castles along the coast in order to keep control over ports and trade and also guard against invasion.

So the combination of mountainous regions, fertile land, and strategic rivers made Wales an intriguing and attractive location to the Norman settlers who arrived along its border in the 11th century following the Norman Conquest of England.

Okay, let's have another quick check for understanding now.

I'd like you to identify two natural features that have been important for communication and trade in Wales.

Is it the coastline, the forests, the mountains, or the rivers? So choose two options now.

Okay, if you chose A and D, then very well done.

Those are the correct answers.

And let's go for our first task for today.

So I've got a table on the screen in front of you there, and what I'd like you to do is to complete the table by correctly matching the geographical features to their impact on Welsh societies.

I'd like you to try and consider two impacts for each of the geographical features.

So the geographical features we're going to focus on are the coastlines, flatlands, mountains, and rivers.

All of the different impacts are on the screen in front of you there just below the table, there's two impacts per geographical feature.

And if you can think of any more to add to that, then that'd be absolutely fantastic.

But pause the video whilst you complete this task and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you got okay with that task.

So let's think about what you should have said then.

So in terms of the coastline, the impact this had on Wales is that it allowed for trade with Ireland and is also extremely varied, essentially because of the extreme variety of the coastline.

In terms of flatland, it had fertile farmland and dense settlements.

In terms of the mountains, it isolated settlements and also provided limited farming.

And in terms of the rivers, they were strategically important along the border and they were also important communication channels.

So hopefully you got all of those correct.

Let's go for our second and final learning cycle of the day, which is looking at the human geography of Norman Wales.

Now, before the arrival of the Normans, the diverse landscape of Wales ensured that the country played host to a wide variety of cultural and political groups.

There is evidence that hunter-gatherers were active in the region in the prehistoric period with farming communities beginning to establish themselves in the fertile land of the south and west around about 3000 BCE.

Later still, some societies began to make use of the rugged mountainous regions to secure their territories against rivals, constructing hill forts on elevated ground.

And there's an example of that on the screen there in front of you as well.

Not a huge amount left, but that was where an Iron Age hill fort was based and it's a fantastic location in terms of defence.

Now, when the Romans arrived in the first century, they began their conquest of the country.

They built new towns and roads throughout the country, but the major centres of Roman power were Caerleon in the south, and Carmarthen then in the west.

Roman power extended across the country, but many remote groups, particularly those who lived in the mountainous north, were essentially able to continue their way of life almost unaffected by the Roman occupation.

Okay, let's go for a quick check for understanding now.

So it's a discussion-based question, and I'd like to consider why was Roman influence greater in southern Wales than in northern Wales.

So pause the video whilst you consider that question and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hope you've got okay with that task.

So let's think of what you could have said then.

So you might have said that the flat coastal region in the south made travel easier, that it had good farming lands, that the south contained dense settlements even before Roman occupation, that northern peoples defended themselves with hill forts on high ground and that roads are difficult to build in mountainous areas.

Hopefully you might got some of those on the screen in front of you, if you've got any different ones, any additional ones, and that'd be absolutely fantastic.

Now, between the departure of the Romans and the arrival of the Normans, political power in Wales was held by a series of small localised kingdoms, which were ruled by kings or chieftains.

By the arrival of the Normans in the 11th century, there were effectively five main kingdoms. There was Gwynedd in the northwest, which included Snowdonia and the fertile island of Anglesey.

There was Powys in the east, which included much of the Welsh Marches between Wales and the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia.

There was Deheubarth in the southwest, which was a powerful kingdom which often challenged for control of the south, and there was also Gwent in the southeast as well.

And Gwent was the location of the former Roman power base of Caerleon, and it also occupied the fertile farmland of the south and the strategically important Severn Estuary, which separated south Wales from England.

There were other kingdoms as well at various different points in Wales's history.

For instance, there's Ceredigion on the west coast.

There was Brycheiniog in the Bannau Brycheiniog in the Brecon Beacons.

And by the 11th century an area at the south of the Welsh Marches called Archenfield was all that remained of the Welsh kingdom called Ergyng.

And this region south of Hereford was under English control, but it kept most of its Welsh laws and customs so that it was never really clear in Norman times, whether it was Welsh or English.

Christianity was really important in connecting settlements in Norman Wales.

Roman Wales had been Christian and by around about 500 CE, a number of small independent monasteries had developed, which were often in remote parts of the country where the monks could focus on their spiritual life by isolating themselves from others.

Wales actually maintained a continuous belief in Christianity, which England did not.

When the Anglo-Saxons invaded England, they brought with them their own religion and pretty much stamped out Christianity in England, but it remained in Wales, which is why we had this history of monasticism in Wales.

One of the most important of these monasteries was founded by St.

David in Pembrokeshire and St.

David's monastery became a centre of learning and of strict observance of monastic rules, which included poverty, celibacy, and obedience.

These monasteries helped to form connections between their communities and Wales, and because of the wide travels of some monks between Wales and Christian communities throughout Europe.

Okay, let's have a quick check for understanding now.

So I'd like to identify two of the Welsh kingdoms that existed in the 11th century.

Are they Deheubarth, Mercia, Powys or Strathclyde? So choose two of those options now.

Okay, if you chose A and C, then very well done.

Those are the correct answers.

And let's have another check for understanding.

Which Christian buildings were of particular importance in Wales? Was it basilicas, minsters, or monasteries? Make your choice now.

Alright, if you chose C, then congratulations.

That's the correct answer.

Okay, let's go for our next task.

So it's a table on the screen in front of you there.

And what I'd like you to do for each Welsh kingdom within the table, I'd like you to identify where in Wales it was located and also describe one feature of the kingdom.

So I've helped you out by doing a couple there for you.

So the first Welsh kingdom there is Gwynedd, it's located in the northwest.

Powys, I said a feature of Powys is that it was bordered the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia.

So pause the video whilst you complete the rest of this table for Deheubarth, Gwynedd and Ergyng, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hope you got okay with that task.

Let's think what you could have said then.

So in terms of Gwynedd, we already knew that it was in the northwest, but a feature of Gwynedd was that it included Snowdonia and the island of Anglesey.

In terms of Powys, it was located in the east, and we already know that it bordered the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia.

In terms of Deheubarth, it was located in the southwest and it was a powerful kingdom that often challenged for control of the south.

For Gwent, it was in the southeast and it was centred on the former Roman city of Caerleon.

And for Ergyng, it was south of Hereford, and it was unclear if it was English or Welsh during the Norman period.

So hopefully you've got an understanding of those different Welsh kingdoms as well.

And let's go for our next and final task for today.

I'd like to explain two ways in which the physical geography of Wales has impacted the history of human settlement in the country.

So pause the video whilst you complete this task and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you're okay with that task.

So let's think what you could have said then.

So you could have said one way in which the physical geography of Wales has impacted the history of human settlement in the country is in the location and success of monasteries.

Wales' mountainous north and centre meant that many communities were necessarily small and isolated, which was perfect for communities of monks who wish to isolate themselves in order to focus on spiritual matters.

Paradoxically, it was also these isolated monastic communities that helped to forge links with other religious communities across Europe as some monks were seasoned travellers.

Another way in which the physical geography of Wales has impacted the history of human settlement in the country is in the creation of a number of small kingdoms rather than a united people.

Natural barriers such as mountains, isolated communities, and limited communication and trade between them.

This would've made it harder for a single kingdom to unify the country due to the difficult terrain that had to be crossed, as well as cultivating individual identities within communities which differed from those around them.

Now, if you've got a different understanding of the way in which the physical geography of Wales has impacted the history of human settlement in the country to me, that's absolutely fine.

As long as you can support your answer with evidence and explain it, then that's absolutely fine.

It's a perfectly good answer.

Okay, let's summarise today's lesson now then.

So the mountainous north and central areas of Wales created small, isolated communities.

The extensive Welsh coastline has been fundamental for trade and communication throughout the history of Wales.

The Romans mostly restricted their power in Wales to the fertile south and west, building urban centres such as Caerleon and Carmarthen.

Rather than being a unified entity, throughout most of its history, Wales has been separated into a number of smaller kingdoms. There's a strong history of Christianity and monasticism in Wales.

Thank you very much for joining me today.

Hopefully you've enjoyed yourself.

Hope you learned something, and hopefully I'll see you again next time.

Bye-Bye.