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Year 10
AQA

Durham before the Norman Conquest

I can explain the strategic importance of Northumbria and Durham and the significance of the uprising against Tostig in 1065.

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Year 10
AQA

Durham before the Norman Conquest

I can explain the strategic importance of Northumbria and Durham and the significance of the uprising against Tostig in 1065.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Northumbria was important because it guarded the frontiers against Scottish and Danish (Viking) invaders.
  2. Northumbria was part of the Danelaw and had different laws and customs from southern England.
  3. Durham was important because it was a main town in Northumbria which could help deal with Scottish and Danish raids.
  4. Earl Tostig and Aethelwine, the bishop of Durham, were seen as southern outsiders and abused their powers.
  5. The 1065 uprising in Northumbria resulted in Tostig being exiled but Aethelwine remained the bishop of Durham.

Keywords

  • Danelaw - an area of England which had been invaded and settled by Danes leading to different laws and customs from southern England.

  • Earl - a leading member of both Anglo-Saxon and Norman aristocracy, ruling an earldom on behalf of the king.

  • Uprising - an act of opposition, sometimes using violence, by many people in one area of a country against those who are in power

Common misconception

Northumbria was an Anglo-Saxon earldom that was fully integrated into the kingdom of England.

Northumbria had a shifting northern border with Scotland and was part of the Danelaw and had different laws and customs from southern England.

Create a map outlining the causes and events of the uprising. Have students place markers for key locations like Northumbria, Durham, Scotland, Scandinavia, discussing the strategic importance of each.
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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
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Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Put the following events in chronological order.
1 - Cuthbert became Prior of Lindisfarne.
2 - Cuthbert became Bishop of Hexham.
3 - Cuthbert became Bishop of York.
4 - Cuthbert became Bishop of Lindisfarne.
Q2.
Which word describes the remains of a holy person?
Correct Answer: relics, relic
Q3.
What discovery confirmed people's view that Cuthbert was a saint?
That he had helped people to become Christians.
Correct answer: That his body hadn't decayed after 11 years in its coffin.
That he had written many books about religion.
That his body had been rescued from Viking attacks.
Q4.
What was significant about the Danish raid on Lindisfarne monastery in 793?
It was the only time Vikings attacked a monastery.
It was one of the least successful Viking attacks on Britain.
Correct answer: It was one of the earliest Viking attacks on Britain.
Q5.
Whose relics were placed in Durham Cathedral by around 1020?
Athelstan
Correct answer: Bede
Correct answer: Cuthbert
Edward the Elder
Q6.
Who did the waliwerfolc believe was their protector?
William de Warenne
the Vikings
the Venerable Bede
Correct answer: St Cuthbert

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the term for the area of England which had been invaded and settled by the Danes?
Correct Answer: Danelaw, the Danelaw
Q2.
Why was Northumbria an important earldom?
It protected England from invasion from Wales.
It earned a lot of money from pilgrimage to Rome.
Correct answer: It provided protection from Scottish invasions.
Q3.
Why did many people resent Tostig being given control of Northumbria?
Correct answer: He was seen an as outsider.
He was too friendly with Danes.
He had been rude about Edward the Confessor's mother.
Q4.
What was the final event that triggered the uprising against Tostig?
Tostig appointed Aethelwine as Bishop of Durham.
Correct answer: Tostig's sister, Queen Edith, ordered a lord to be assassinated.
Tostig did nothing when the Scots raided Northumbria.
Q5.
Who sent Harold Godwinson to negotiate with the rebels?
Edmund Ironside
Correct answer: Edward the Confessor
Harold II
William the Conqueror
Q6.
Put the following events in chronological order.
1 - Tostig Godwinson was given the earldom of Northumbria.
2 - Aethelwine became Bishop of Durham.
3 - The Scots raided Northumbria but Tostig did not retaliate.
4 - The uprising against Tostig began.

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