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Year 10
AQA

Land and inheritance in Norman England

I can describe the 'tenurial revolution' which followed the Norman conquest.

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New
New
Year 10
AQA

Land and inheritance in Norman England

I can describe the 'tenurial revolution' which followed the Norman conquest.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In Norman England, all land was owned by the king.
  2. In Anglo-Saxon England, people held land in a range of different ways.
  3. Changes in tenure in Norman England also affected the Church.
  4. The king was able to influence inheritance in Norman England.
  5. Large numbers of Anglo-Saxons lost the land which they had previously.

Common misconception

William copied the landholding system for Norman England from Normandy.

Landholding in Normandy was different from landholding in Norman England. William was not the owner of all the land in Normandy.

Keywords

  • Landholding - landholding is how land is owned or rented

  • Tenure - tenure is the conditions under which land is held

  • Inheritance - inheritance is land or other property that is passed on to an heir when someone dies

  • Castelry - castelry is land under the control of a castle and used to support the castle

  • Relief - relief is a payment made by an heir to their overlord to be allowed to inherit a fief

There are often opportunities to look at landholding through the historic environment: for example, the transfer of land to William de Warenne for Castle Acre Priory, or the formation of castelries in Sussex for Pevensey Castle.
Teacher tip

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 the keywords to the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:overlord,someone who granted land in return for service

someone who granted land in return for service

Correct Answer:fief,a parcel of land given by an overlord to a vassal

a parcel of land given by an overlord to a vassal

Correct Answer:homage,to publicly submit and swear an oath of fealty (loyalty) to someone

to publicly submit and swear an oath of fealty (loyalty) to someone

Correct Answer:vassal,someone who provided a service to an overlord in return for land

someone who provided a service to an overlord in return for land

Q2.
Which keyword refers to a hierarchical social system where people receive land to live and work on from those higher than them, and in return have to work and fight for them?
Correct Answer: feudal, Feudal, feudal system, Feudal system, Fdal System
Q3.
Select the missing words from this sentence: Holding land came with obligations such as paying , providing service or service.
fief
Correct answer: homage
Correct answer: knight
overlord
Correct answer: labour
Q4.
Put the different levels of Anglo-Saxon social hierarchy in order, with 1 as the most powerful and 5 as the least powerful.
1 - king
2 - earls
3 - thegns
4 - peasants
5 - enslaved people
Q5.
Put the different levels of Norman social hierarchy in order, with 1 as the most powerful and 4 as the least powerful.
1 - king
2 - tenants-in-chief
3 - knights
4 - peasants
Q6.
Why was the Norman hierarchy system important for maintaining William's authority?
It provided greater freedoms for peasants.
Correct answer: It provided regular sums of money to William.
It provided opportunities for William to show his piety.
Correct answer: It provided William with regular soldiers.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:landholding,how land is owned or rented

how land is owned or rented

Correct Answer:tenure,the conditions under which land is held

the conditions under which land is held

Correct Answer:inheritance,land or other property that is passed on to an heir when someone dies

land or other property that is passed on to an heir when someone dies

Correct Answer:castelry,land under the control of a castle and used to support the castle

land under the control of a castle and used to support the castle

Q2.
Which keyword describes a payment made by an heir to their overlord to be allowed to inherit a fief?
Correct Answer: relief, Relief
Q3.
Who owned all the land in the Norman landholding system?
tenants-in-chief
peasants
Correct answer: William
the Church
Q4.
Which of the following are reasons why historians talk about a ‘tenurial revolution’ in Norman England?
The system was not new and had been used by William in Normandy.
Correct answer: The system was brand new and had not been used by William in Normandy.
The system caused a huge change in how landholding in England worked.
Correct answer: The system caused no change in how landholding in England worked or who gained.
Correct answer: The system caused a huge change in who benefitted from landholding.
Q5.
Which the following were types of tenure in Anglo-Saxon England?
Correct answer: land that could be granted to others for a set period
land specifically for supporting castles (castelries)
Correct answer: land that could be bought and sold
land that was previously owned by the Church
Correct answer: land that could only be passed on by inheritance
Q6.
Who was Harold Godwinson’s earldom of Wessex split between?
Matilda of Flanders
Correct answer: Odo of Bayeux
Harald Hardrada
Correct answer: William FitzOsbern

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