Hello and welcome to today's history lesson.

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

So, let's get started.

Today's history lesson, looking at the historic environment of Norman England, we'll focus on Sussex before the Norman Conquest.

And by the end of the day's lesson, we'll be able to describe Sussex, which is the county that Pevensey is in, before 1066.

In order to do that, we need to use some key terms. And our key terms for today are earldom, church, trade, and earl.

An earldom is the territory governed by an earl.

A church is a building used for public Christian worship.

Trade means the exchange of goods.

And an earl is a powerful English landholder.

Today's lesson will consist of two separate learning cycles, and our first learning cycle is answering the question, "What was Sussex like before 1066?" So let's get going.

Now, Sussex before 1066 was quite simply a mass of contradictions.

It contained some of the richest and the poorest areas in England.

It boasted relatively large towns, as relative to us today, but also included vast areas of wilderness.

The variation within Sussex was due to the difference between life on its coastline and life in its interior.

And on the screen in front of you is a map of England there, and I've just boxed off where Sussex is just in case you're not too sure.

So it's down on the south coast.

Now, the interior of Sussex was dominated by the Forest of Andred or the Forest of Anderida, either term is fine.

It's named after the Romans called Pevensey, Anderitum, which is why the forest holds its name.

Today though, we don't use that term.

We call it "the Weald." And the Weald was the largest area of woodland and heath.

And heath is an area of land that is not used for growing crops in England.

It was 120 miles wide from east to west, and it was 30 miles from north to south.

It was a really extensive area of wilderness just south of London.

It was inhabited by bores, by wolves, and quite possibly, at this point in time, by bears as well, as well as a few small human settlements as well.

Human habitation in the Weald was limited, however, due to the density of its forests.

Several settlements were missed by the royal commissioners who collected information for the "Domesday Book" in 1086, because navigating the Weald was just so difficult.

It's possible they're also low on time as well, but certainly, the difficulty of navigating through the Weald would definitely slowed them down even further.

Potentially they knew the settlements were there and decided to miss them, or it's entirely possible that they just couldn't find them.

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

What kind of land lay to the north of Pevensey? Was it dense woodland and heath, was it open farmland, or was it wide rivers and lakes? Make your choice now.

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

That's the correct answer.

And another check for understanding now.

It's a true of false statements.

Human habitation in the Weald was limited.

Is that true or is that false? Make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose true, then congratulations.

That's the correct answer.

The reason why it's true is that human habitation in the Weald was limited due to the denseness of the forests and the dangerous animal inhabitants, which included bulls, wolves, and quite possibly bears.

So, on the coastline, however, the situation was very different.

The "Domesday Book" records the Sussex coastline as having some of the highest population densities in England.

And although some people, no doubt migrated to this area following the Norman Conquest, it's fairly safe to assume that they were already significant urban centres on the Sussex coast for them to migrate to.

There were six mints in Sussex that created currency that was used around the country, suggesting that Sussex was an important centre for trade.

Some of these mints were created after the Norman Conquest, but some of them existed before the Norman Conquest as well.

Coins minted in Lewes, as an example, having found a far afield as Rome, which strongly implies that the Sussex coastline had significant trade links with Europe.

Lewes also had a thriving herring fishing industry, which was also matched by pig, cattle, and agricultural industries across the rest of the county.

Prior to the Norman Conquest, the coastline of Sussex, they were able to generate a fairly decent amount of wealth.

Thanks to the Weald though, Sussex was cut off from the rest of England to a certain extent.

It was the last area of England to convert to Christianity, for example, and its Bishop Wych of Selsey was one of the poorest in the country.

There were 50 or so churches in Sussex on the eve of the Norman Conquest, which demonstrates that its people had fully embraced Christianity by this point.

And the embrace of Christianity was no doubt, helped, by the fact that the graves of two different saints were present in the county.

So that was St.

Cuthman in Steyning Church, and St.

Cuthfled Lyminster Priory as well.

And these were popular destinations for pilgrims. And the reason why we were going to the graves of saints was to pray over their bones in order to be blessed by, hopefully healing or by some other form of miracle as well.

That's what people believed at this point in time.

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

I'd like you to identify two important religious centres in Sussex before the Norman Conquests.

So was that Lyminster Priory, Steyning Church, Winchester Cathedral, or York Minster? Make your choices now.

All right, if you chose A and B, then well done.

Those are the correct answers.

And another check for understanding.

It's a discussion-based question.

I'd like you to consider, what evidence is there that Sussex was the wealthy region prior to the Norman Conquest? So, pause the video while you create a list, and I'll see you in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

I hope you're doing okay with that task.

Let's think what you could have said then.

So you might have said that there were six mints that produced coins.

As I said, some of these were after, actually the Norman Conquest.

Some at least definitely existed before the Norman Conquest.

There was trade with Europe.

There was a large population.

And there were several types of industries as well.

So for instance, pigs, cattle, and herring industries.

If you've got any other different answers to myself, that's fantastic, but hopefully you've got ar least some of those in the screen in front of you there as well.

Okay, let's go for our first task for today now then.

So, I'd like you to match the feature to what it shows us about Sussex prior to 1066.

So the features we've got are the coastline, the Weald, industries, and religious centres.

I need you to match them to what it shows us, which is on the other side there.

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

Okay, welcome back.

Hope you're doing okay with that task.

So let's think about what the correct answers are now then.

So, the coastline was an important centre for trade.

The Weald cut Sussex off from the rest of England to a certain extent.

Industries like fishing and farmland contributed to the local economy.

And religious centres were the popular destination for pilgrims. So hopefully you got those correct answers down there as well.

Let's go for our second task for today.

I'd like you to describe three features of Sussex before 1066.

And please use full sentences for your answer as well.

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

Okay, welcome back.

I hope you're doing okay with that task.

Let's think of what you could have said.

So you might have said that "One feature of Sussex before 1066 was its coastline.

There were six mints in Sussex that created currency that was used around the country, suggesting that Sussex was an important centre for trade.

Coins minted in Lewes had been found as far afield as Rome, which strongly implies that the Sussex coastline also had significant trade links with Europe.

Another feature was its areas of rich farming land and fishing resources.

Sussex had thriving industries, including livestocks, which is pigs and cattle, crops, and fishing, specifically herring fishing.

And a third feature of Sussex was its religious centres.

There are around 50 churches in Sussex on the eve of the Norman Conquest in 1066.

For example, St.

Cuthman in Steyning Church, and St.

Cuthfled at Lyminster Priory, were popular destinations for pilgrims who prayed over the bones of these saints in order to be blessed by miracles." So hopefully you got a similar answer to myself in the sense that you've given a feature and you've explained it.

If you've got different features to me, that's brilliant, that's absolutely fine, but hopefully at least your answer follows the same format as mine.

Let's move on to our second and final learning cycle for today, which is looking at the earldom of Wessex.

Now, the kingdom of the South Saxons or Sussex, as it became known, had been one of the original seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that ruled over most of England.

However, over the years, it had been conquered and absorbed by both Mercia, primarily, and then after that, Wessex.

And it was Wessex that controlled Sussex on the eve of the Norman Conquest.

The earldom of Wessex was huge.

It consisted of roughly all of the southern third of England.

So, quick check for understanding now, which earldom did Sussex form a part of in 1066? Was it East Anglia, Mercia, or Wessex? Make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose C, then congratulations.

That is the correct answer.

And another check for understanding now.

How much of England did the earldom of Wessex take up? Was it roughly a quarter, roughly a third, or roughly one-half? Make your choice now.

All right, if you chose B, then congratulations.

That is the correct answer.

Now, the first Earl of Wessex was a man called Godwin, who was given this title by Cnut the Greats in we think around about roughly 1020.

And Godwin was almost certainly born in Sussex, and he rose from pretty much obscurity to gain this title.

His most famous son, who is Harold Godwinson, later became King Harold II.

And he also became Earl of Wessex after the death of his father in 1053.

Harold Godwinson obviously went on to become King of England in 1066, which sparked the Norman Conquest.

But prior to that, he was the Earl of Wessex.

Even after he became King, Harold Godwinson's power and wealth derived from the lands that he owns.

So they derived from Wessex.

And one of the reasons that the previous king, Edward the Confessor, had been so weak, was because he did not have a large area of land of his own that he could use to generate power and wealth.

Edward's lands were spread around the country as opposed to being concentrated in one area that can give him a power base.

Even though all of Harold's brothers and brothers-in-laws controlled the other earldoms of England, he would've felt especially protective of his own lands, and responsible for the people who lived in them.

William was no doubt aware of this facet of the English monarchy.

And so by landing at Pevensey and pillaging the surrounding lands, he could be sure of attracting Harold's attention and quite possibly forced him into making a rash decision.

A quick check for understanding again now.

So it's a true of false statements.

Harold Godwinson had no personal connection to the region of Sussex.

Is that statement true or false? Make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose false, then well done.

That's the correct answer.

But let's find out why it's a false statements.

Well, prior to becoming King Harold II, Harold Godwinson was Earl of Wessex, which Sussex was a part of.

After becoming King, much of Wessex remained Harold's lands.

And it's also likely that his father, Godwin, was born in Sussex as well.

Right, to our next task for today.

So I'd like you to explain two reasons why William the Conqueror chose Sussex as the place to launch his attack on Harold Godwinson.

So identify two reasons and then explain them in detail as well.

Pause the video while you complete this task, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hope you're doing okay with that task.

Let's think what you could have said then.

So you might have said, "One reason why William the conqueror chose Sussex as the place to launch his attack on Harold Godwinson, was because Sussex was part of the earldom of Wessex, which had been King Harold's personal earldom.

Kings of England gained much of their power and wealth from their own land holdings.

So by directly attacking a part of Harold's own lands, it reduces power, as well as being a very provocative move which could cause Harold to act rashly.

Another reason why William the Conqueror chose Sussex as the place to launch his attacks on Harold Godwinson, was because Sussex was rich in wealth and resources.

The coastline was a centre for trade and consisted of several relatively highly populated areas, which was perfect for soldiers who have been promised plunder, and there were also multiple sources of food such as herring, pig, and cattle industries, which meant that William would've no problem feeding his army once they landed in England." So hopefully your answer is similar to mine in its format, in the sense that I identified a feature and then explained it.

If you've got different features to myself, then that's absolutely fantastic.

But hopefully at least your answer follows the same format as mine.

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

So the coastline of Sussex contained several relatively well-populated and rich Anglo-Saxon towns, whereas the centre and north of Sussex was dominated by the heavily-forested Weald.

Although it had been the last region of England to convert to Christianity, by 1066, Sussex had several important religious sites.

Sussex was an important trading region that minted coins and had established trade links with Europe.

And Sussex was part of the vast earldom of Wessex, which is the power base of the Godwin family.

Thank you very much for joining me today.

Hopefully you've enjoyed yourself.

I hope you learned something.

And hopefully I'll see you again next time.

Buh-bye.