The Normand conquest, the Battle of Hastings

Around 1000 AD, some of the Vikings who had been raiding France got permission from the French king to settle down and live in France instead. They were supposed to help protect France against other Vikings. As part of the deal, these Vikings also converted from their German gods to Catholicism.

These settlers were called the Normans (which is short for North-Men, because they came from the North). The part of France where they lived is called Normandy, the land of the North-Men, even today.

In 1066, one of these Normand men, William, decided to attack England and try to conquer it from the Anglo-Saxons. Williams's mother had not been married to his father when he was born, but William still inherited his father's property and his title of Duke of Normandy. People called him William the Bastard. He wanted to do something big and adventurous, and when the King of England died without leaving a son, William thought he saw a chance to take over England.

So they sailed across the English Channel in a lot of small boats, and when they got there they did beat the Anglo-Saxons in the battle of Hastings. The Anglo-Saxon king, Harold, was shot in the eye with an arrow and died.

William (now people called him William the Conqueror) became the new king of England. He was crowned in Westminster Abbey. He built the Tower of London to live in, to keep himself and his family safe. William and all his friends spoke French, but the English people spoke Saxon. So for a long time there were two languages spoken in England.

(http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/history/highmiddle/normans.htm)

Now, answer these questions (Remember to use the Interesting and Useful links):

• What is the Bayeux Tapestry?
• Why did the Battle of Hastings happen? Explain the most important events about it.
• Look for more information about the Tower of London and write a description of it.

Who should be king?

Who should be king? (Battle of Hastings)

The Normand Conquest, the begining

On the 5th of January 1066, Edward the Confessor the king of England died. He had no children, which meant he had no direct heir to the throne, but three men thought they should all be the new king of England, and all had good reasons too! They were:

• Harold Godwinson was the Earl of Wessex at the time, and this made him the most powerful nobleman in England and the only Englishman claiming the throne, except for a relative called Edgar who was only eight and was not seriously considered for the throne for obvious reasons.

• Harald Hadraada’s main claim was that Cnut’s son promised his father the throne and that he was a descendant of King Cnut, a former king of England. He also felt that he might get some support from Viking families in the North of England.

• William was Edward’s cousin and was promised the throne by him, and he had helped Edward in the past. William was Duke of Normandy.

  



1) Why did England need a new king?  
2) Why was there no direct heir to the throne?   
3) Who were the three men who had claimed to the English throne?  
4) What roles did the three men have in their countries? 
5) What is a ‘claimant’? 


http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year7links/conquest_worksheets.shtml

Anglo-Saxons

The Anglo-Saxons arrived to Britain befor the 4th century, but they settled there int he 5th century. Seven were the kingdoms formed:

• Three founded by the Saxons: Essex, Sussex and Wessex in the south-east coast.
• Three founded by de Anglos: Marcia, Oriental Anglia and Northumbria in the center and north just until Adriano's wall. 
• One founded by the Jutes: Kent in the south-west.

In pairs click this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/anglo_saxons/ to learn more about Anglo-Saxons.

You have to:

• Answer the quiz Who were the Anglo-Saxons?
• Describe how an Anglo-Saxon village was (Video)
• Explain briefly their clothes and their jobs in Anglo-Saxons life.
• Who was Alfred the Great? Answer the quiz Alfred the Great.
• What happened to them and the Víkings?
• Let's Dig it up: The Anglo-Saxons!!

Gaul: from Visigoths to Franks

Visigoth king Euric (466-480) dominated an important part of the Gaul, setting its capital in Toulouse and he started to take the control of the Iberian Peninsula. When he was dead, his heir, Alaric II, lost all his father achievements: he wasn't a good strateg and the Franks started their expansion.
The Franks, a small group who was living in the north of the Gaul. Clovis, a Merovingian king, was the one who expanded his kingdom. It took more than twenty years of wars and batlles to eliminate his opponents in Gaul: the Soissons, the Alemans and the Visigoths.
In the middle of the 7th century, the nobility was worried for the power that the king had, so they decided to stop him. The Mayor of the Palace was the name that the man who assumed the govern functions. Two of the most important families who took that place were the Pippinids and the Carolingian.

• Look for more information about the Mayor of the Palace and write a breif text about it. Pay attention to the two main families. (minimum 15 lines)

The early Germanic kingdoms

Germanic were all those countries which lived between Rin and Danubi. Further than that point it was the unknown and confused Slavic land.
Germanics were the main character in the disintegration of the Roman Empire. Especially important was the event in 476 when Odoacer, a Germanic military chief, defeated the last Roman emperor, Romul Augustus.
All the Occidental part of the Roman Empire was divided into small Germanic kingdoms, despite there wasn't many population. So, the Germanic power wasn't caused for the number of soldiers and citizens they were, but it was the suitable substitute for the political and military structure of the empire defeated. Also the Germanics converted to Christianity.
Anyway, those kingdoms supported themselves in basic barbarian elements. One of the most important  was the ban, power that each king had to administrate, make laws and orders, for example. So, the Germanic kings had a huge power. However, that power wasn't enough.