New
New
Year 10
AQA
The Danish conquest
I can explain how the Vikings led by Cnut conquered England in 1016, bringing England into the North Sea Empire.
New
New
Year 10
AQA
The Danish conquest
I can explain how the Vikings led by Cnut conquered England in 1016, bringing England into the North Sea Empire.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- The Anglo-Saxon defeat against the Vikings in the 991 Battle of Maldon led to the Danegeld.
- Aethelred provoked the Danish Vikings by ordering the massacre of all Danes during the St Brice’s Day Massacre in 1002.
- In 1016 King Cnut invaded and conquered England and became king.
- Under King Cnut, England became part of the North Sea Empire which included Denmark and Norway.
- After the early violence of invasion, Cnut's reign saw a period of peace in England.
Keywords
Viking - a member of the Scandinavian seafaring people who raided Britain from the late 8th century
Danegeld - the name of the Anglo-Saxon tax used to defend England against Viking invasions
Empire - a group of countries or territories ruled from the centre by another country or person
Common misconception
Vikings come from Norway.
Whilst Vikings did come from Norway, some of the most problematic Vikings from an English perspective came from Denmark. Vikings also came from Sweden.
Encourage students to create a page for each of the factors that they can then populate with examples from each of the lessons they study. This will provide them with a wealth of examples that they can then use to revise for their factors question.
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).Lesson video
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Starter quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
Which word describes a surprise attack?
Q2.
Which of the following were pull factors for the Vikings?
Scandinavia was experiencing overpopulation.
Scandinavia lacked opportunities for sons to inherit land.
Q3.
Complete the sentence with the correct number: In the 8th century, what we now think of as ‘England’ was primarily made up of __________ different Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
five
ten
Q4.
Put the following events in chronological order.
Q5.
Complete the sentence with the correct year: By __________ CE, less than a century after first contact, the Vikings had conquered the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia.
876
878
Q6.
How did the establishment of the Danelaw affect England?
Viking raids increased.
All Vikings remained pagan.
Exit quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
Which word describes the name of the Anglo-Saxon tax used to defend England against Viking invasions?
Q2.
Which word describes a group of countries or territories ruled from the centre by another country or person?
Q3.
Complete the sentence: Aethelred provoked the Danish Vikings by ordering the massacre of all Danes during the St __________ Day Massacre in 1002.
Valentine's
Swithin's
George's
Q4.
Who conquered England in 1016?
King Sweyn Forkbeard
William the Conqueror
King Aethelred the Unready
Q5.
What reasons did the people of England have to be happy with the reign of King Cnut the Great?
He ordered the massacre of all Anglo-Saxon Christians.
He named an Anglo-Saxon as his heir.
Q6.
Which battle led to the establishment of the Danegeld?
Battle of Assandun
Battle of Brice
Additional material
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