Hello, welcome to history here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton, and I will be your teacher today guiding you through the entirety of the lesson, breaking down any tricky concepts we may encounter along the way.

Right, let's get started.

Over the next few lessons we'll be thinking about our big inquiry question.

How did Anglo-Saxons resist Norman rule? This is the question we will use to investigate the events that followed William's victory at Hastings.

William had faced Anglo-Saxon resistance from 1068 onwards, but in 1075 there was a revolt which was quite different from what William had faced before.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain what the revolt of the earls revealed about Anglo-Saxon resistance to Norman Rule by 1075.

Before we begin, there are a few key words we need to understand.

An earldom was a large area of land ruled by an earl on behalf of the king.

A regent is a person who rules the country for a limited period, because the monarch is absent or too young or too ill.

A garrison is a group of soldiers that are stationed in a castle.

So, today's lesson is split into three parts.

First, we look at the causes of the revolt before moving on to what the actual revolt entailed, and then we look at the aftermath of the revolt, the consequences of the revolt.

Okay, let's begin the lesson with why did earls revolt in 1075? In 1075, three of William's own earls rebelled against him.

The revolt posed a real threats, because Norman and English nobles had united against William.

Once again, the revolt was primarily caused by angry earls who believed they deserved more land and power.

The Earl of East Anglia, Ralph de Gael, was the leader of the revolt.

Ralph's father was from Brittany, France and had been part of a group of Norman advisors that Edward the Confessor had brought to England.

William gave Ralph's father the earldom of East Anglia previously held by Gyrth Godwinson who was killed at the Battle of Hastings.

Have a look at the map on the left.

It shows the large Anglo-Saxon earldom of East Anglia, the light peach colour in the east of England.

Ralph was expecting to inherit this vast earldom from his father.

However, after the 1068 to 1071 uprisings, William changed the distribution of land ownership, breaking up the powerful Anglo-Saxon earldoms into less threatening Norman lordships.

After the death of his father, Ralph inherited a smaller earldom with reduced powers.

It is most probable this is the core reason he decided to revolt.

Ralph found an ally in Roger de Breteuil, Earl of Hereford.

Roger was the son of William Fitz Osbern, who was William's close friend.

As you'll remember, William Fitz Osbern was so trusted that he was made regent and Marcher Earl of Hereford.

As regent, he ruled England when William the Conqueror returned to Normandy.

Have a look at the map on the left.

It shows the Marcher earldom of Hereford, that's the bottom of the pink bit along the Welsh border.

As a Marcher Earl William Fitz Osbern had special powers to keep the Welsh border safe.

So clearly, Roger's father was a powerful and trusted friend of William the Conqueror.

After the death of his father, as it happened to Ralph, Roger did not inherit all his father's lands and powers.

The two earls assumed their rebellion would be supported by the English.

They convinced the last remaining powerful Anglo-Saxon, Waltheoff, Earl of Northumbria, to join them.

Despite being involved in the 1069 rebellion, William had forgiven Waltheoff, arranged for him to marry his niece, and made him Earl of Northumbria.

Waltheoff's father had previously been the Earl of Northumbria.

Have a look at the map.

As you will remember, Northumbria was a large and powerful earldom in the north of England.

However, Waltheoff was annoyed that he was not granted the full lands that his father had once held.

Okay, let's check for understanding.

Why did three of William's own earls rebel against him in 1075? Is it A, they believed an Anglo-Saxon should be king, B, they believed that the church supported their claim, C, they believed they deserved more land and power.

Pause the video, have a think, and come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done, if you knew it was C.

They believed they deserve more land and power.

And that was a common theme of the resistance and rebellions against William's rule.

Okay, let's have another check.

I want you to fill in the missing word.

Pause the video, have a think, come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's check how that sentence should have read.

Roger was the son of William Fitz Osbern who acted as regent when William was away in Normandy.

Which two of the following were the earls who convinced Waltheoff to join their revolt? A, Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester, B, Ralph de Gael, Earl of East Anglia, C, Roger de Breteuil, Earl of Hereford, D, William Fitz Osbern, Earl of Hereford.

Pause the video, choose the two correct answers, and come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done, if you knew was B, Ralph de Gael, and C, Roger de Breteuil.

Okay, let's move on to task A.

What I want you to do here is, working with your partner, discuss the reasons for the revolt of the earls in 1075.

So, pause the video, have a quick discussion, or you can jot down your ideas on a piece of paper, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully, you had some great discussions there or thought of some great points to write down on a piece of paper.

Let's check your answers with what I have here.

So, you could have said that Ralph was expecting to inherit the vast earldom of East Anglia, and this was the reason he chose to revolt.

However, after the 1068/71 uprisings, William downsized it to a smaller Norman lordship.

Ralph was angry with this smaller earldom and reduced powers.

You may have also said that the earls assumed their rebellion would be supported by the English.

They convinced the Anglo-Saxon Waltheoff, Earl of Northumbria, to join them, and he was also annoyed that he was not granted the full lands that his father had once held.

Okay, let's move on to the second part of the lesson.

We understand why the revolt happened in 1075.

Let's now look at the features of the revolt of the earls.

In the spring of 1075, the trio's alliance came together at Ralph's wedding.

Ralph was marrying Roger's sister, Emma.

The wedding festivities included important nobles from across the kingdom, including Waltheoff.

This became an opportunity for the trio to hatch a plot to remove William as king.

And if you have a look at the left, we can see a modern illustration of the Norman earls convincing Waltheoff to rebel.

The three men held lands, which stretched across three corners of the kingdom.

However, they were wrong to assume masses of the English people would support them.

Sometime after the wedding, Waltheoff rethought his decision to back the revolt.

Waltheoff confessed the plot to Lanfranc, the Norman Archbishop of Canterbury.

William was in Normandy at the time, and Lanfranc was acting as regent.

Lanfranc sent messages to Roger reminding him of his father's loyalty to William and suggesting that they should meet to discuss his concerns.

Roger could not be convinced and continued to raise troops and strengthen his castles.

The revolt went ahead, but it ended very quickly.

English and Norman forces cooperated to stop the revolt.

English forces under the command of the Anglo-Saxon Bishop Wulfstan of Worcester and Abbot Athelwig of Evesham stopped Roger's rebels crossing the River Severn.

And you can see I've placed an X on the map where that took place.

Similarly, in East Anglia, Ralph's rebel forces were stopped by coalition of Norman garrisons and English troops.

Again, I place an X on the map where that took place.

The rebels were completely outnumbered and the revolt failed.

Meanwhile, William had remained in Normandy throughout the revolt.

However, when William heard that the Danes were planning to invade in support of the rebels, he returned to England.

And as you can see from the map on the left, a fleet of 200 Danish ships arrived on the east coast.

However, they knew better than to meet William in battle.

Instead, they typically plundered York before returning home to Denmark.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Who confessed the plot to Lanfranc? Was it A, Roger de Breteuil, B, Ralph de Gael, C, Waltheoff? Pause the video, have a think, come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done, if you knew it was Waltheoff who rethought the revolt and confessed to plot to Lanfranc? What is the meaning of the word garrison? Is it A, a group of advisors, B, a large gathering for plotting, C, a fortified place with troops? Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done, if you knew that garrison meant a fortified place with troops, usually a castle.

Why did the revolt fail? Was it A, English and Norman forces cooperated to stop the revolt? B, the church excommunicated the earls, which stopped the revolt.

C, William led an army to defeat them in battle.

Pause the video, have a think, and come right back.

Okay, well done, if you knew the revolt failed, because English and Norman forces cooperated to stop the revolt.

And this might be quite surprising given how much Anglo-Saxon resistance to Norman rule there had been up until this point.

Okay, great, let's move on to task B.

Below are two features of the revolt of the earls in 1075.

What I want you to do is provide additional information to describe the features.

So, the two features I've given you are Ralph's wedding and English and Norman cooperation.

So, all you need to do is provide some additional information, facts, details, which further describe those features.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Now, your answer may include what I have here.

So, compare your answer with mine.

So, the first feature I was looking for some additional information with Ralph's wedding.

Roger, Waltheoff, and other leading nobles attended Ralph's wedding.

This became an opportunity for the trio to hatch a plot to remove William as king.

And the second feature I was looking for, English and Norman cooperation.

In East Anglia, Ralph's rebel forces was stopped by Norman garrisons and English troops cooperating together.

So, you can see quite a simple task there.

Just a few details to further describe those features.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to the third part of the lesson.

Consequences of the revolt of the earls.

So, once the revolt had been dealt with, William could now deal with the rebels.

In keeping with Norman tradition, William did not execute the rebels.

Many were banished or had their eyes gouged out instead.

And if you have a look at the map, you can see that Ralph had already fled back to his homeland of Brittany and had his lands in England confiscated.

And Roger was imprisoned for life and also had his lands confiscated.

Waltheoff who had shown loyalty to William in alerting Lanfranc to the revolt was initially imprisoned.

However, Waltheoff was not treated the same as his Norman conspirators.

The judges spent months considering what his punishment should be.

In May 1076, he was led to the top of St.

Giles' Hill and beheaded.

If you have a look at the left, it's an illustration showing the death of Waltheoff at St.

Giles' Hill near Winchester.

The 1075 revolt of the earls was significant in many ways.

It had initially seemed to pose quite a challenge to William as it had involved men he considered to be his allies.

However, the revolt also showed that the Anglo-Saxon appetite for resistance had declined.

There was a united effort between the Normans and the English to stop the rebels.

Another reason the revolt was important was because it showed that whilst William was away in Normandy, the rebellion did not gain wider support and William could rely on Anglo-Norman leadership to keep England secure.

Although this revolt had also featured Danish support, the Danes had not contributed to the revolt and posed no danger to William's control of England.

And the revolt of the earls in 1075 also represented the last resistance to William's rule in England.

And finally, the revolt proved to be significant, because it showed that the Norman conquest of England was complete almost 10 years after the Battle of Hastings.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What was different about Waltheoff's punishment compared to other rebels.

A, he was in prison for life, B, he was banished, C, he was executed.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done, if you knew it was C, he was executed.

Which seems quite harsh given that Waltheoff's co-conspirators were not treated in the same way.

What did the revolt of the earls reveal about Norman rule in England by 1075? A, that Anglo-Saxons remained hostile to Norman rule, B, that Anglo-Saxon resistance to Norman rule had declined, C, that Norman rule was solely dependent on Norman earls.

Pause the video, have a think, and come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done, if you knew it was that Anglo-Saxon resistance to Norman rule had declined.

Okay, let's move into the final task, Task C.

What I want you to do here is explain what the revolt of the earls reveals about Anglo-Saxon resistance to Norman rule by 1075? Include the following in your answer, and you can see I've given you three points to include.

Earls Ralph and Roger, Earl Waltheoff, and cooperated.

So, use all your knowledge from today's lesson to write a paragraph explaining what the 1075 revolt reveals about anger Saxon resistance to Norman rule.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back.

So, there's many ways you could have written this paragraph, but check your answer with what I have here.

And you can see I've highlighted in blue those points I wanted you to include in the paragraph.

So, the revolt of the earls in 1075 revealed that the Anglo-Saxon appetite for resistance had declined.

The Anglo-Saxon uprisings between 1068 to 1071 had convinced the Norman earls, Ralph and Roger, that a revolt would be supported by the English.

However, Earl Waltheoff, who had previously rebelled in 1069, decided to confess the plot to Lanfranc rather than challenge William's control.

English nobles and troops cooperated with Normans to stop the revolt.

The 1075 revolt of the earls revealed that even with William's absence, most Anglo-Saxons were no longer willing to resist Norman rule.

The Norman conquest of England was complete.

Okay, great, let's summarise today's lesson, the revolt of the earls in 1075.

William angered three of his own earls when he downsized their earldoms and reduced their powers.

Norman earls, Ralph and Roger, along with the Anglo-Saxon Earl Waltheoff hatched the plot to remove William as king.

The rebel forces were stopped by a coalition of Norman and English troops.

The failed revolt revealed that even with William's absence, most Anglo-Saxons were no longer willing to resist Norman rule.

The Norman conquest of England was complete.

Well done on a brilliant lesson.

I hope you've learned a lot about what would become the last resistance to William's rule in England.

I think you'll agree that this period of history gives us a fascinating insight of how a country responds to foreign occupation with countless acts of defiance and rebellions.

And it taking William and the Normans, almost a decade long effort to subdue a hostile Anglo-Saxon population.

Hopefully, I'll see you next time.