Paper 2 Section B/A: Norman England, c1066–c1100

June 2020

Q1: How convincing is Interpretation A about towns in Norman England?

Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretation A.

Answer:

For example, the interpretation is convincing because between 1066 and 1100, 21 new towns were built around England and it describes how well the townsfolk were treated by the Normans. They became wealthy they paid services and taxes to the lord and they could buy and sell property. Lincoln for example had 970 burgesses. Burgesses might be craftspeople such as goldsmiths or merchants and each of them formed guilds which had a lot of power. The King might grant them a franchise to hold a market or fair. more than one aspect of the interpretation. For example, the interpretation is convincing because it describes how the economy was boosted after the Norman conquest. Under the Normans towns grew around cathedrals which they built for example at Durham, Ely, and Winchester. They also built castles for their defence in towns like York and Lincoln and destroyed houses to build them. However, these castles boosted the town which grew around them and became a centre for trade which grew. There were obvious links with Normandy and towns in Europe where there was a trade in wool to Flanders and wine from Gascony to Bristol. For example, it is true that the Normans built castles and towns grew near them. The castles protected the Norman nobles and became centres for trade. The Normans destroyed houses to make way for castles but also built new houses. By 1086 they had built over 300 in Bury St Edmunds. For example, it is true that agriculture was the most important thing it produced food for the people and things for them to trade such as wool. This meant the towns on the coast, like Southampton, grew as centres of international trade. Answers may show understanding/support for interpretation, but the case is For example, the Normans traded salt and wool. Towns were where they had markets and fairs.

Q2: Explain what was important about the feudal system under the Normans.

Answer:

the consequences of the stated development (the feudal system) in the For example, the feudal system became more formally defined under the Normans, for example knights had to promise to do 40 days of military service. The King and his nobles gained rights to tax tenants when they died or widows remarried, this increased the powers of patronage. The feudal system developed because although there were fewer slaves there were also fewer free men under the Norman system. For example, the Normans developed the feudal system because William increased the number of earls compared to Anglo-Saxons times. He made sure that the land they held or separated in different places which meant they could not rebel against him as easily as their supporters were scattered. William made sure that the Norman nobles who had supported him in the Conquest were rewarded with land in England. The feudal system existed before the Norman conquest but it evolved under the Normans. It was based upon the land and in return for the land William’s subjects gave him loyalty and services. For the King it provided him with an army. Each bit of land carried with it a number of knights that had to be provided for the King in times of war. Unlike the Saxons they had to take an oath to their Lord to provide military service. William had his own household knights and these were similar to the housecarls of Saxon times. For the rest of the army the Normans continued to use the fyrd like the Saxons. For example, the feudal system was a way of sharing out the land and everyone knew what they had to do for it. The King gave out land to his barons who fought for him and the barons gave it to their knights who then shared it with the peasants in return for food, shelter and protection. It held the society For example, the feudal system meant that everybody knew their place below the King, William the Conqueror.

Q3: Write an account of the ways in which the Normans changed monastic life in England.

Answer:

reasoning supported by a range of accurate and detailed factual knowledge and understanding. For example, an explanation of different impacts/ consequences of change in the broader historical context. For example, the Normans made monasteries improve their standards so that they caught up with the standards in Europe. Lanfranc led these reforms. Archbishop Lanfranc became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070 he tried to reform the church and monastic life. He wanted to stop pluralism, simony, and nepotism. He made a monk’s life much stricter and pious with regular services and he did not allow the monks to have wives. Although some monks objected to the changes such as in Durham or Glastonbury, they were enforced. For example, under the Normans monastic life became stricter they reinforced the rule of Saint Benedict which demanded poverty, chastity, and obedience. William de Warenne persuaded the Cluniacs to set up a Priory near his Castle at Lewes between 1078 and 1082. simple understanding of consequence(s) with supported with factual For example, Normans introduced many Cluniac monks to England. By the end of the eleventh century there were 36 Cluniac monasteries in England. For example, William brought monks from Normandy to run abbeys in England. should demonstrate their ability to construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning which is coherent, relevant, substantiated and logically structured.

Q4: ‘Leadership was the main reason for success in battle during the Norman period.’

How far does a study of the Battle of Hastings support this statement? Explain your answer. You should refer to the Battle of Hastings and your contextual knowledge. and AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements. If you have any queries please contact the Copyright Team.

Answer:

To support their answer students could include aspects of the site such as: location, function, structure, design, people connected with the site, how the site reflects culture, values and fashions of the time and how the site links to important events and/or developments of the specified period. understanding of the site. For example, perhaps the battle was lost long before Hastings. Harold assumed he could wear William’s troops down through attrition over a long day’s fighting. He had seen William’s defensive strategies in Normandy. Perhaps he assumed William would be cautious again but there were other examples of William seizing an opportunity. Perhaps for this reason Harold was prepared to risk his troops, tired after Stamford Bridge. He expected to wear William down but the loss of his half-brothers prevented him taking advantage of opportunities to counter-attack and in the end William was lucky to be able to exploit an opportunity and the advantage his archers gave him. Answers may suggest that one factor has greater merit. and understanding of the site. For example, innovative tactics were important in the battle. Harold and the Anglo-Saxons had chosen a good location for the battle and the fact that it lasted so long proved this. Whereas Harold could afford a stalemate, William needed a victory so he was forced to use the feigned retreat as a repeated tactic to weaken the shield wall he faced. He had used this before and had highly trained professional knights to carry it out. It was not accidental. For example, the reason battles were won or lost was often due to communication. Harold fought on foot whereas William fought on horseback and could see more of the battle. He supposedly had three horses killed under him so he realised the importance of being on horseback. Harold was not able to take advantage of the first retreat of the Normans because he could not communicate with Gyrth and Leofwine who were killed early on and might have led the Saxons to take advantage of the Norman retreat. Harold saw from the top of the hill but, once the fighting started, less of the whole picture of the battle whereas William could see more, rally his troops and move around the battlefield more easily, showing himself to be alive when he needed to. causation by simple reasoning supported with factual knowledge and understanding of the site. For example, the battle of Hastings shows that technology was important as well as leadership because the Normans had knights on horseback and archers but Harold did not. However, he did choose a good place to fight. For example, William was a great leader who got his men to pretend to retreat and then killed Harold’s men when they chased them.