landholding is how land is owned or rented

tenure is the conditions under which land is held

inheritance is land or other property that is passed on to an heir when someone dies

castelry is land under the control of a castle and used to support the castle

relief is a payment made by an heir to their overlord to be allowed to inherit a fief

Land and inheritance in Norman England

History

Pupils will learn about how changes to government influenced ordinary people

Pupils know about William's conquest of England and consolidation of power

Norman England: how far did Norman government change England?

land or other property that is passed on to an heir when someone dies

land under the control of a castle and used to support the castle

Match the keywords to the correct definitions.

Which keyword describes a payment made by an heir to their overlord to be allowed to inherit a fief?

Who owned all the land in the Norman landholding system?

The system was not new and had been used by William in Normandy.

The system was brand new and had not been used by William in Normandy.

The system caused a huge change in how landholding in England worked.

The system caused no change in how landholding in England worked or who gained.

The system caused a huge change in who benefitted from landholding.

Which of the following are reasons why historians talk about a ‘tenurial revolution’ in Norman England?

land that could be granted to others for a set period

land specifically for supporting castles (castelries)

land that was previously owned by the Church

land that could only be passed on by inheritance

Which the following were types of tenure in Anglo-Saxon England?

Who was Harold Godwinson’s earldom of Wessex split between?

someone who granted land in return for service

a parcel of land given by an overlord to a vassal

to publicly submit and swear an oath of fealty (loyalty) to someone 

someone who provided a service to an overlord in return for land

Match the keywords to the correct definitions. 

Which keyword refers to a hierarchical social system where people receive land to live and work on from those higher than them, and in return have to work and fight for them? 

Select the missing words from this sentence: Holding land came with obligations such as paying {{}}, providing {{}} service or {{}} service.

Put the different levels of Anglo-Saxon social hierarchy in order, with 1 as the most powerful and 5 as the least powerful.

Put the different levels of Norman social hierarchy in order, with 1 as the most powerful and 4 as the least powerful.

It provided greater freedoms for peasants.

It provided regular sums of money to William.

It provided opportunities for William to show his piety.

It provided William with regular soldiers.

Why was the Norman hierarchy system important for maintaining William's authority?

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Land and inheritance in Norman England

Lesson outcome

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.