Lesson video

Hello and thank you for joining me today for this Oak Academy History lesson.

My name is Mrs. Knox, and today I'll be guiding you through everything that you need to know to be successful with this lesson.

So let's begin.

Our lesson today is part of the AQA GCSE Historic Environment topic on Norman England.

In our lesson today, we'll be focusing on how to structure your answer to the historic environment question on Castle Acre Priory.

And by the end of today's lesson, you'll understand ways to approach the 16-mark historic environment question.

In our lesson today, we'll use some key vocabulary.

So let's take a look at those words now.

The first term that we'll use today, is second order concepts, which is ways in which questions about history are shaped.

We'll also use the word continuity, which is when something continues without changing.

We'll also use the word causation, which is why something happens, what its causes are.

And finally, we'll use the word consequence, which is the results or impacts of something.

Today's lesson will be in three sections.

So let's begin now with section one, which will look at knowledge about the site.

Sometimes historians look at the causes of things in Norman England, such as why William won the Battle of Hastings.

Sometimes historians are interested in what changed or stayed the same, continued, after the Norman Conquest, or what has happened as a consequence of events or actions.

We call these second order concepts, change, continuity, causation and consequence.

All historic environment questions will feature one second order concept, change, continuity, causation or consequence.

An example question might be, "Reform was the main reason for the expansion of monasteries in Norman England.

How far does a study of Castle Acre Priory support this statement?" The phrase, the main reason for shows the question is about causation.

In other words, what was the reason for, means the same as what caused? So here's a check of your understanding.

Which of these statements is about causation? Is it A, the main reason for castle-building in Norman England was for defence.

B, Church reforms under Lanfranc had relatively little impact in Norman Wales.

Or C, the Normans kept more than they changed in government and law in England.

Press pause now and then press play when you're ready to hear the correct answer.

That's right.

You should have said that A was about causation.

In other words, the main reason for something.

You should have ticked that the main reason for castle-building in Norman England was for defence.

Well done if you got that correct.

Now, historians do not always agree with each other about change, continuity, causation or consequence.

One might argue that there was very little continuity, while another might argue that, in fact, there was very little change.

Historians certainly do not always agree about the causes or the consequences of historical events or processes.

Or if they do agree about them, then they may not agree about their importance.

Let's have another check now with your understanding.

I'd like you to work out which second order concept these two historians are arguing about.

Remember, you can choose from change, continuity, causation or consequence.

Let's have a look at the statements together.

The historian on the left says, "In my view, religious devotion was not the main factor.

Normans built monasteries because of Church reform.

That is why reformist orders of monks like the Cluniacs were brought to England for new monasteries." The historian on the right, however, argues the following.

"Religious devotion was clearly the reason why Normans built monasteries.

They were built as places of worship and prayer with architecture that was designed to impress people and make them feel closer to God." Press pause now, and when you're ready to hear which second order concept was being debated, press play.

Welcome back.

You should have said that the historians were debating the second order concept of causation.

In this example, the debate was about the reasons why monasteries were built.

In order to be convincing, historians need to do more than state their argument.

They need to use evidence to back up their claim.

This is the same for you.

When you answer your historic environment question, you need to use your knowledge about your historic environment site to support your points.

Let's have a look at this model answer.

We have part of an answer to a question about whether the main purpose of Norman monasteries was to impress the English.

As we look at the answer, I'd like you to think about where the student has used their own knowledge to back up their point of view.

The student has said, "The main purpose of Norman monasteries was to impress the English.

Castle Acre Priory was built close by to De Warenne's castle, connecting military and religious power.

The priory was built with a high church tower, so it was very visible for local people.

The intricate Romanesque decorations of the priory's west end would also have amazed and impressed local people." Press pause now, and when you're ready to see where the student used their own knowledge, press play.

On the screen now, you can see where the student has used a good level of knowledge to support their answer.

Here is another part of an answer to a question about whether the most important changes that Normans introduced to monasteries in England were architectural changes.

The answer reads, "It is true that the Normans introduced many architectural changes.

Castle Acre Priory featured a Romanesque church with additional apses, a highly ornamented west end with arcades of arches and geometric decorations, and in the south tower, innovative gothic arches." I'd like you to look over the answer again and answer this question.

How many pieces of relevant evidence were used to support the student's answer? Press pause now, and when you're ready to hear the answer, press play.

You should have said that the student has used three or more supporting pieces of evidence.

You should try to do something similar in your own answers in order to produce a convincing response.

Finally, in this section of our lesson on using knowledge to support your answer, I'd like you to take a few moments to consider the sort of examples that you could provide to support the following reasons for the building of monasteries, religious devotion, religious reform and to impress.

Press pause now to note down your examples and then press play to see what you might have said.

For religious devotion, you could say to back up your answer that they were built for an order of monks, Cluniacs, who were dedicated to almost constant prayer.

For religious reform, you could say that Cluniacs kept strictly to the rule of St.

Benedict as per Lanfranc's reforms. And finally, in order to support your answer that Castle Acre Priory was built to impress, you could say that the large scale architectural innovation and highly decorated west end were all designed to impress.

We're ready to move on now to the second section of today's lesson.

In this section, we'll cover adding alternatives.

When discussing a historical topic, historians make counter-arguments if they disagree with another historian's interpretation.

In other words, they add an alternative point of view.

You will need to add alternatives when writing your answer to the historic environment question.

Here's an example of two historians showing alternative points of view.

On the left-hand side, the first historian makes an argument.

"The main change introduced by the Normans was a reform to monasticism.

Monasteries had drifted away from the rule of St.

Benedict, which was corrected under Lanfranc." The second historian on the right, then makes a counter-argument.

"Although the ninth century had seen a decline in English monasticism, in fact there had been a strong period of reform under King Edgar.

Norman criticisms of English monasticism were more about justifying William's invasion of another Christian country." In the example, you can see that these historians place different levels of importance on whether or not English monasticism require revitalization.

Here's another example of alternative arguments.

The historian on the left says, "Priories like Castle Acre would never have been founded without individuals like William de Warenne.

It was De Warenne who brought the Cluniacs to Lewis and Norfolk, and de Warenne money that paid for their new priory." Whereas the second historian says, "Individuals were important, but de Warenne and others were influenced by the wider reforms of the Church.

It was these reforms that made it fashionable for wealthy investors like de Warenne to bring the Cluniacs to his estates." In this example, the historians are disagreeing about why the Cluniac priories appeared in England.

On the one hand, the reason given is because of the role of individuals like De Warenne, and on the other hand, it was simply part of the wider reform of the Church in England and Europe.

Here's a chance now to check your understanding.

I'd like you to answer this question.

The Normans built priories to demonstrate power over their English subjects.

I'd like you to select the correct counter argument.

Is it A, the Normans wanted to have greater control of Christian worship which they believed had become corrupt under the Anglo-Saxons.

B, priories were built in close proximity to Norman castles to show the Normans had God's support to rule England.

Or C, the Normans already had castles to demonstrate power, so the building of priories was more likely about seeking forgiveness for their sins.

Press pause now and then press play for the correct answer.

Welcome back.

You should have said that the matching counter argument is in statement C.

The Normans already had castles to demonstrate power, and so the building of priories was more likely about seeking forgiveness for their sins.

In the 16-mark historic environment question that you'll be faced with, you'll be asked to add alternatives.

The historic environment question puts forward one argument.

For example, the main reason for A was B.

You were then asked, how far do you agree? You need to firstly explore the evidence to support the argument in the question and show how convincing it is.

And then secondly, you need to explore one or more other arguments.

Maybe the main reason for A was actually C or D.

Here is a question about Castle Acre Priory.

Reform was the main reason for the expansion of monasteries in Norman England.

How far does a study of Castle Acre Priory support the statement? Explain your answer.

In order to answer the question, you will need to consider what other reasons there were for the expansion of monasteries apart reform.

Have a think now about what other reasons for expansion you might consider? Here are some alternative reasons for the expansion of English monasteries.

You might have considered architectural innovation, to gain control, to reform, to show religious devotion, to create wealth and power, and the role of individuals.

Time for a check of your understanding now.

How many reasons for the expansion of monasteries in Norman England can you remember from the previous slide? Press pause now and then press play to see the answers.

Here are the reasons you should have remembered.

The role of individuals, architectural innovation, the desire for control, to reform, to show religious devotion, and to generate wealth and power.

Well done if you remembered all of those alternative reasons for the expansion of English monasteries.

Here is the same question again.

Reform was the main reason for the expansion of monasteries in Norman England.

How far does a study of Castle Acre Priory support this statement? Explain your answer.

On the next slide, you're going to see the start of a student's answer to this question.

I'd like you to continue the answer by adding alternatives.

Here's the start of the student's answer now, and on the right of the answer, there are two sentence starters you can use to help you with your alternative answers.

Press pause now to complete the task and then press play to see what you could have said for the alternative paragraphs.

Welcome back.

Let's have a look at what you could have said.

You could have said that in addition to reform, "Another important reason for the expansion of monasteries was the religious devotion of the Normans.

Many of the Norman nobility founded monasteries as a way of guaranteeing their place in heaven after the killing of Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings.

They believed that one way to gain God's forgiveness was to find a community of monks to offer up prayers for their soul.

This would atone for their sins, so some nobles, like de Warenne, chose to found Cluniacs priories like Castle Acre Priory.

De Warenne was impressed with the Cluniac order as their spiritual approach seemed to offer the best chance of obtaining God's forgiveness.

However, it may actually have been about showing Norman control over England, rather than Christian beliefs, that led to the expansion of monasteries.

There were no Cluniac monasteries before the 1070s, so by founding a French monastery this meant the Normans could establish their religious authority.

These new religious houses were built next to castles, as a Castle Acre, to show that the Norman rule of England had God's blessing.

In the years following the Norman invasion, the establishment of Norman control was vital and therefore the need to assert control was undoubtedly a key reason for monastery expansion." Well done if you've managed to write detailed paragraphs like the two that we've just had looked at.

It's very important to show alternatives in your answer to the 16-mark question and to support those alternatives with detailed knowledge.

We're ready to move on now to the final section of today's lesson.

In this section, we'll cover reaching a judgement.

One approach to answering a historic environment question could look something like this.

The first thing is to unpack the question.

What is the second order concept it's asking about? Change, continuity, causation or consequence.

Next, you need to think about your knowledge and use it to support the questions argument.

Next, you need to discuss an alternative argument.

Next, repeat the process with another alternative argument.

Again, using knowledge to back it up.

And finally, you need to reach a judgement.

In other words, answer the question about how far you agree with the statement.

Here's a quick check of your understanding.

Which step is missing from the bottom of the diagram.

Press pause now and then press play to hear the answer.

You should have said that the final step that was missing was to reach a judgement.

Unpacking the question means identifying what judgement it is asking you to make.

Here's an example question.

The main change brought about by the building of priories in England was the increased power and control of the Normans.

How far does the study of Castle Acre Priory support this statement? Explain your answer.

You should refer to Castle Acre Priory and your contextual knowledge.

The second order concept that's being asked about in this question is to do with change.

The argument that is being put is that increased power and control for the Normans was the main change brought about by building priories in England.

The judgement that you were being asked to make is how far do you agree that increased Norman power and control was the main change? (Mrs. Knox clears throat) Now, in order to reach your judgement , you need to go through the following process.

You need to consider the questions argument against what you know from your historic environment site.

You need to think how far does what you know support the argument? And what is the alternative arguments? How far does what you know support the alternative arguments? And then use your decisions about how far to make your overall judgement.

Here is another historic environment-style question.

What is the judgement that you are being asked to make? I'd like you to discuss this with a partner.

The main consequence of building priories in England was the end of corruption within the English Church.

How far does a study of Castle Acre Priories support this statement? Press pause now to have your discussion and then press play to see what you should have discussed.

Welcome back.

You should have said that the judgement you are being asked to make is how far you agree that the main consequence of building priories in England was the end of corruption within the English Church.

Now when you're answering the question, you can make judgments all the way through your answer.

This is called making a sustained judgement.

At each stage of the process, you should ask, how far do I agree? First of all, with the statement in the question, and then with the alternative arguments you put forward.

You should use your knowledge to make your judgements.

Remember that specific historic environment knowledge is best.

Students sometimes write general answers without referring enough to their historic environment knowledge.

These are not generally successful answers.

Here's a check now of your understanding.

Aisha is answering the question, "The end of corruption within the Church was the main consequence of building priories in England." How far do you agree? I'd like you to read through her answer and decide how far Aisha is agreeing with the statement? Aisha says, "The priors of English priories were recruited from Normandy and strictly enforced the rule of St.

Benedict.

For example, Cluniac monks followed the vow of celibacy and focused their day around prayer.

They held lengthy church services and lived separately from local communities to dedicate themselves to prayer." Press pause now to decide how far Aisha has supported the view that the end of corruption within the church was the main consequence of building priories in England.

You should have said that Aisha has fully supported the statement that the end of corruption within the Church was the main consequence of building priories.

Notice how she's used her knowledge of the historic environment to support her view.

I'd now like you to add a judgement to Aisha's answer to show that she agrees that the end of corruption within the Church was the main consequence of building priories in England.

Press pause now to add this to her answer and then press play to see what you could have said.

Welcome back.

Let's have a look at what you could have added to her answer to make her judgement clear.

You could have said, "This shows that the main consequence of building priories in England was the end of corruption within the English Church as interference from nobles was now not tolerated and all priories had to follow Cluny Abbey's strict rules." Next, I'd like you to complete the table.

The table shows the counter arguments for three possible reasons for the building of Castle Acre Priory.

These are wealth and power, individuals and reform.

Arguments to support these reasons are already provided.

I'd like you to think of the counter arguments.

Press play to complete the table, then press play to see what you could have said.

Welcome back.

Let's see how you got on.

For wealth and power, you could have put forward a counter-argument that, "The construction of awe-inspiring buildings was the way the Norman showed their deep religious devotion." As a counter-argument to individuals being the reason, you could say, "The Abbot of Cluny controlled a network of monasteries across Europe and de Warenne needed his permission to find the Cluniac order in England." And finally, for a counter-argument to do with reform, you could have said that, "Reform of the English Church had already begun about 940 under King Edgar and Archbishop Dunston." Finally, today, I'd like you to attempt this question.

How far do you agree that wealth and power was the main reason for the building of Castle Acre Priory? You should write one paragraph explaining your judgement.

Make sure that your judgement is based on knowledge of the historic environment.

Press pause now to complete your response and then press play to see what you could have said.

Welcome back.

Your answer could have included some of the following.

"Although wealth and power was an important factor in the building of Castle Acre Priory, it was not the main reason.

It is true that Norman nobleman like de Warenne demonstrated their wealth, power and superiority over the English people through their investment in awe-inspiring buildings like Castle Acre Priory.

They were decorated in the ornate Romanesque and Gothic style, with pattern doors and thick stone columns and arcades.

They were also designed to deliberately tower over the landscape.

However, their ability to impress was more of an added bonus than their primary goal.

More importantly, at the end of the 11th century, the Cluniac order had become very influential in Western Europe.

Their expansion coincided with concerns about the decline of monasticism under the Anglo-Saxons and led the Normans to warmly welcome Cluniac priories such as Castle Acre as a way of revitalising the English Church.

The appointment of the Benedictine monk, Lanfranc, as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070 is further evidence of this.

Therefore, it was the desire for religious reform rather than the promotion of wealth and power that was the main reason for the building of Castle Acre Priory.

We've now reached the end of today's lesson, so it's time for a summary of everything you should take away.

All historic environment questions will feature one second order concept, change, continuity, causation or consequence.

Different arguments can be made about change, continuity, causation or consequence.

Historians make judgements about how far they agree with an argument on the basis of evidence.

When writing your answer, to the historic environment question, using knowledge about the site is very important.

Many thanks for all of your hard work in our lesson today.

I hope that you now have greater confidence in answering the historic environment question.

And I look forward to you joining me in a future Oak Academy History lesson.