New
New
Year 10
AQA

Work and diet in Norman England

I can describe work and diets in Norman England and judge the degree to which these changed.

New
New
Year 10
AQA

Work and diet in Norman England

I can describe work and diets in Norman England and judge the degree to which these changed.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Almost everyone in Norman England farmed for a living.
  2. Different categories of peasants did different amounts of work for the lord of the manor.
  3. There was a big difference between the diets of the rich and the diets of the poor.
  4. There was little change to the work that people did after the Norman conquest.
  5. The diets of the rich became more varied after the Norman conquest.

Common misconception

Poor people in medieval England survived by eating potatoes.

Potatoes were unknown in Europe until the 16th century.

Keywords

  • Livestock - farm animals such as sheep, goats, oxen and pigs that are reared for food or used for farming work

Students could study scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry or Luttrell Psalter showing people working and people eating and make guesses at the work that is being done and the food that is being eaten.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

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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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word describes an architectural style based on features of ancient Roman buildings?
Correct Answer: Romanesque
Q2.
Which word describes the design and construction of buildings?
Correct Answer: architecture
Q3.
What was the name of the pattern that the Normans frequently used on arches and doors?
florals
Correct answer: chevron
honeycomb
gingham
Q4.
What do William FitzOsbern’s castle at Chepstow, Exeter Castle and the White Tower in London have in common?
They were some of the first Norman castles to be built in brick.
Correct answer: They were some of the first Norman castles to be built in stone.
They were some of the first Norman castles to be built in wood.
Q5.
How many houses were destroyed at Lincoln to make way for the castles the Normans wanted to build?
98
160
500
Q6.
Which order of monks was promoted by Norman reforms and monastery-building in England after the conquest?
the Norbertines
the Carthusians
Correct answer: the Benedictines

6 Questions

Q1.
Which word describes farm animals that are reared for food or used for farming work?
Correct Answer: livestock
Q2.
When did peasants have days off?
Correct answer: saints’ days or holy days
their birthday
Correct answer: Christmas and Easter
Correct answer: after the harvest was completed
whenever they felt like it
Q3.
Put the following groups in order according to who had the biggest amount of land.
1 - freemen
2 - villeins
3 - bordars and cottars
Q4.
Which of the following jobs in Norman England were in what today we would call industry?
farmer
butcher
Correct answer: miner
Correct answer: salt worker
weaver
Q5.
Complete the sentence: There was a big between the diets of the rich and the diets of the poor in Norman England.
Correct Answer: difference, contrast, variation, distinction
Q6.
Why did the use of enslaved people reduce in Norman England?
William I had been enslaved once himself and did not like the practice.
Correct answer: The Normans disapproved of slavery for religious reasons.
The Normans disapproved of slavery for economic reasons.
William I was married to an enslaved person and did not like the practice.

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