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Year 10
AQA

White Tower - historical context themes

I can recall and apply key themes from the historical context of Norman England.

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New
New
Year 10
AQA

White Tower - historical context themes

I can recall and apply key themes from the historical context of Norman England.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. There are three key topics making up the historical context of Norman England.
  2. 'Norman conquest and control' covers causes of the conquest, military aspects and establishing and maintaining control.
  3. 'Life under the Normans' covers feudalism and government and economic and social changes and their consequences.
  4. 'The Norman Church and monasticism' covers the Church and monasticism.

Common misconception

The Anglo-Saxon Church was old-fashioned and corrupt.

The Normans were keen to present the Anglo-Saxon Church that way, but Edward the Confessor had kept up with reforms from the rest of Europe.

Keywords

  • Inheritance - receiving property or other items from a parent or other after their death

  • Patronage - the support that an overlord provided to their vassal in return for homage

  • Romanesque - an architectural style inspired by the buildings of ancient Rome

  • Investiture - the ability to choose and appoint bishops and abbots

  • Vernacular - the language spoken by ordinary people in a region or country

This lesson is designed to be used as a way of making links between this year's historic environment and the historical context themes of the AQA course.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

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.
Which word describes the long central part of a church, often with aisles on both sides?
Correct Answer: nave
Q2.
Which word describes a building for Christian worship?
Correct Answer: church
Q3.
Which of the following statements show William I intended to use St John's Chapel as a place of private worship?
Correct answer: Ordinary people who worked in the White Tower did not use the chapel.
There was space in the chapel for larger, public acts of worship.
Correct answer: William planned to have a throne placed at the western end of the chapel.
The apse of the chapel is visible from the exterior of the White Tower.
Q4.
Which of the following are examples of the Romanesque features of St John’s Chapel?
Correct answer: huge columns
pointed arches
Correct answer: series of rounded arches
Correct answer: narrow and high windows
Correct answer: lack of elaborate decoration
Q5.
Why were the windows in the Chapel of St John the Evangelist designed to be narrow and high?
To allow more light into the chapel
To create a sense of openness and space
Correct answer: As a defensive measure
To improve the acoustics
Q6.
Why was St John's Chapel positioned on the southeastern corner of the White Tower?
To provide the best view of the surrounding landscape
To create a larger interior space for royal gatherings
To shield the chapel from potential enemy attacks
Correct answer: To align with the rising sun, symbolising Christ’s resurrection

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the word to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:patronage,support that an overlord provided to their vassal in return for homage

support that an overlord provided to their vassal in return for homage

Correct Answer:investiture,the ability to choose and appoint bishops and abbots

the ability to choose and appoint bishops and abbots

Correct Answer:inheritance,receiving property or other items from a relative after their death

receiving property or other items from a relative after their death

Q2.
Which word describes an architectural style inspired by the buildings of ancient Rome?
Correct Answer: Romanesque
Q3.
Which three topics does 'Norman conquest and control' cover?
Correct answer: causes of the conquest
feudalism and government
Correct answer: military aspects
monasticism
Correct answer: maintaining control
Q4.
Which topics does 'Life under the Normans' cover?
Correct answer: economic and social changes and their consequences
the Church
Correct answer: feudalism and government
military aspects
monasticism
Q5.
Which two of the following are not military aspects of Norman England?
Anglo-Saxon and Norman tactics
Correct answer: the Harrying of the North
Correct answer: the inheritance of William II
cavalry and castles
Q6.
Which of the following relate to the Church of Norman England?
Latin usage and the vernacular
Correct answer: Archbishop Lanfranc and reform of the English Church
Correct answer: the Investiture Controversy
the building of abbeys and monasteries

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