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Year 7

Norman reforms to the English Church

I can explain how the Normans changed the English Church and how historians can use buildings as material evidence.

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New
New
Year 7

Norman reforms to the English Church

I can explain how the Normans changed the English Church and how historians can use buildings as material evidence.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The Pope wanted the Anglo-Saxon Church to be reformed.
  2. The Norman government replaced the leadership of the Anglo-Saxon Church.
  3. Lanfranc became Archbishop of Canterbury and conducted a programme of reform.
  4. Historians sometimes use material remains as sources.
  5. Winchester Cathedral represents an important source for the study of the Anglo-Norman Church.

Common misconception

Students might think that 'the Church' is a physical building in which people pray.

Explain that 'the Church' refers to the wider organisation of the Christian faith, including all buildings and people which belong to it.

Keywords

  • Church - the organisation of the Christian religion

  • Cathedral - the principal church of a diocese and the seat of a bishop

  • Monk - a person who has withdrawn from normal life to dedicate their life to God

  • Monastery - a place where monks live

  • Priest - a person who works for the Church and helps people with religious matters in the local community

If possible, you may wish to show examples of local churches or cathedrals from before and after the Norman Conquest to illustrate the physical changes to these buildings.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match these people with the correct descriptions.
Correct Answer:William of Normandy,Norman conqueror, crowned king of England in December 1066

Norman conqueror, crowned king of England in December 1066

Correct Answer:William of Poitiers,Norman chronicler, who wrote about William's conquest

Norman chronicler, who wrote about William's conquest

Correct Answer:Bishop Odo,Norman bishop, half-brother of William

Norman bishop, half-brother of William

Correct Answer:Matilda of Flanders,William's wife, she governed Normandy when William was away

William's wife, she governed Normandy when William was away

Q2.
Match these words connected to religion with the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:church,place of worship for Christians

place of worship for Christians

Correct Answer:priest,works with the community and performs rituals in church

works with the community and performs rituals in church

Correct Answer:cathedral,the most important church in its area (called a diocese)

the most important church in its area (called a diocese)

Correct Answer:bishop,religious leader in charge of a diocese

religious leader in charge of a diocese

Correct Answer:diocese,an area under the control of a bishop

an area under the control of a bishop

Correct Answer:Pope,the bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church

the bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church

Q3.
Normandy was a duchy in the north of which modern-day European country?
Correct Answer: France
Q4.
Which one of these is not a way in which the Gesta Guillelmi seeks to justify or strengthen William’s claim to the throne?
It states that Edward promised William the throne.
It states that Harold promised to support William’s claim.
It states that Harold was a treacherous liar who broke his promises.
Correct answer: It states that William often had to fight wars against other Norman lords.
Q5.
Which of the following best explains why historians think carefully about the claims reported in the Gesta Guillelmi?
It was written by someone who knew William of Normandy very well
William of Poitiers was a priest, not a trained historian.
Correct answer: It was written to set out reasons why William’s claim was the strongest.
It was written soon after the events of the succession crisis.
Q6.
Monks in Norman England followed strict rules. Which one of these were Norman monks not allowed to do?
Correct answer: Get married
Study religious texts
Worship together with other monks
Do jobs to support their monastery

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the words with the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:cathedral,the principal church of a diocese and seat of a bishop

the principal church of a diocese and seat of a bishop

Correct Answer:priest,works for the Church to help people in the local community

works for the Church to help people in the local community

Correct Answer:monk,a man who withdraws from normal life to focus on God

a man who withdraws from normal life to focus on God

Correct Answer:monastery,a place where monks live

a place where monks live

Correct Answer:Church,the organisation of the Christian religion

the organisation of the Christian religion

Q2.
In 1070 William the Conqueror appointed a new Archbishop of Canterbury. What was the Archbishop’s name?
Correct Answer: Lanfranc, Archbishop Lanfranc, lanfranc
Q3.
The Normans and the Pope disapproved of the way the Anglo-Saxon Church operated. Which of these common Anglo-Saxon practices were Normans critical of?
Honouring sacred objects called relics, including the body parts of dead saints.
Correct answer: Priests getting married instead of staying celibate.
Ordinary people going on pilgrimages – making religious journeys to holy sites.
Correct answer: Buying and selling positions in the Church to make money.
Q4.
Which of these were things that Lanfranc carried out in his reform of the English Church?
Correct answer: Replaced almost all the Anglo-Saxon abbots with Normans.
Correct answer: Replaced almost all the bishops appointed by Edward the Confessor with Normans.
Ordered all Church services to be in English so everyone could understand them.
Correct answer: Introduced new rules for how priests, bishops and monks should live their lives.
Q5.
The Normans replaced Anglo-Saxon churches and cathedrals with buildings in a style known as .
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: Romanesque, romanesque
Q6.
Which of these ways of increasing Norman control over England were connected to Lanfranc's Church reforms?
Imposing loyalty through paying homage.
Correct answer: Stopping rule-breaking, e.g. breaking rule of celibacy.
Correct answer: A large programme of rebuilding in the Norman Romanesque style.
Property was passed to the eldest son (primogeniture).
Carrying out a survey of all landholding in King Edward's time and in the 1080s.
Q5 "Winchester Cathedral, Interior, Hampshire" by JackPeasePhotography is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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