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Year 10
AQA

Norman England - sources and historical context

I can explain the strengths and limitations of key sources for Norman England.

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New
New
Year 10
AQA

Norman England - sources and historical context

I can explain the strengths and limitations of key sources for Norman England.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Different types of sources provide insights into the historical context of Norman England.
  2. Three types of sources are visual sources, text sources and material sources.
  3. Each type of source has strengths and limitations.

Common misconception

There are relatively few sources for Norman England, so historians have less to say about this period than later periods of English history.

Historians have plenty to say about Norman England because they are able to interpret the sources available in many different ways to support many different theories.

Keywords

  • Source - a direct or first-hand piece of evidence from the past

  • Historical context - what is happening at the time of a historical event, possibly shaping it

  • Contemporary - from the same time as something

This lesson is designed to work with all the Norman England Historic Environments, but could easily be adapted to a specific site, for example, in conjunction with the AQA resource pack for that site.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Contains conflict or violence.

Supervision

Adult supervision suggested.

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).

Video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which keyword describes the language spoken by ordinary people in a region or country?
Correct Answer: vernacular, Vernacular
Q2.
Which keyword describes the ability to choose and appoint bishops and abbots?
Correct Answer: investiture, Investiture
Q3.
Which topics does 'Norman conquest and control' not cover?
Correct answer: feudalism and government
causes of the conquest
Correct answer: monasticism
military aspects
monasticism
Q4.
Which topics does 'Life under the Normans' not cover?
feudalism and government
economic and social changes and their consequences
Correct answer: the Church
Correct answer: military aspects
Correct answer: monasticism
Q5.
Which of the following relate to Norman feudalism and government?
Correct answer: landholding and lordship
Forest law
Correct answer: Domesday Book
Battle of Stamford Bridge
Correct answer: land distribution
Q6.
Which of the following relate to causes of the Norman conquest?
revolts, 1067-1075
Battle of Hastings
Correct answer: claimants and claims
Correct answer: Edward the Confessor
William I’s leadership and government

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which keyword describes a direct or first-hand piece of evidence from the past?
Correct Answer: Source, source
Q2.
Which keyword describes what is happening at the time of a historical event, possibly shaping it?
Correct Answer: historical context, Historical context, Historical Context
Q3.
Complete the sentence: Three types of sources most useful for learning about Norman England are , text sources and ...
written sources
Correct answer: visual sources
Correct answer: material sources
painting sources
Q4.
Which of the following are limitations of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as a source about Norman England?
Correct answer: some events are only described briefly, or vaguely
written within a year of the events it describes
provides insights as to how the English felt about Normans
Correct answer: accounts are often biased about Norman actions
Q5.
Who wrote ‘Gesta Guillelmi’?
Harold Godwinson
William of Normandy
Correct answer: William of Poitiers
William II
Q6.
Which of the following are strengths of Norman material sources?
Correct answer: not rewritten or recorded by later writers
have often been remodelled, extended or damaged
Correct answer: buildings provide evidence of technology and engineering skills
surviving buildings for ordinary people are very rare