1. Introduction to GCSE History
Starter: please fill in the front of your history book. Glue in any handouts your teacher has given you.

2. Your GCSE is made up of three exam papers:
Paper 1: Thematic study (1 hour 15 minutes)
Medicine in Britain, 1250-present and British sector of the Western Front : injuries, treatment and the trenches
Paper 2: Period study and British depth study (1 hour 45 minutes)
The American West,
Anglo-Saxon and Norman England,
Paper 3: Modern depth study (1 hour 20 minutes)
Weimar and Nazi Germany,
Unlike previous years, there is no coursework. Your grade will depend entirely on how you perform in these exams!

3. Where can I go for support?
Our history department have created a website which contains:
PowerPoints for all lessons
Audio lessons
Video lessons detailing how to answer each exam question
Sample answers
Study tasks
Revision notes
Video clips of documentaries etc.
You must access this website on a regular basis, as it will effectively help you attain your target grade. If you miss a lesson, it is up to you to catch up by accessing your missed lesson on this website.

4. 1042

5. The human population was very small
The human population was very small. There were perhaps one million people in England at that time.
Almost all of them lived in tiny villages - many had less than 100 inhabitants. 10% of the population lived in towns. (London only had a population of 18,000!!)
Each village was mainly self sufficient. The people needed only a few things from outside like salt and iron. They grew their own food and made their own clothes.

10. In the early Anglo-Saxon period, England was actually 7 separate Kingdoms.
By the reign of Edward the Confessor, it was one single Kingdom divided into separate Earldoms.
Each earldom was ruled by an Earl who pledged allegiance to the king in return for land and power.
The largest were Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex and East Anglia.

11. Who ruled them?
By 1042, England was ruled by a king called Edward the Confessor.
Grew up in exile in Normandy after the Danish invasion of 1013, so he was very influenced by Norman styles of government.
Returned to England in 1041, and became King of England in 1042.
Much of his reign was peaceful and prosperous – skirmishes with the Scots and Welsh were only occasional.
Trade between England and Europe was good.
Introduced many of his Norman friends to court, which annoyed many Anglo-Saxon Earls.

12. Edward was not a “warrior king”; he relied on his Earls and their Theigns to be a powerful military force.
Earl Godwin of Wessex was the person Edward relied on to protect and help govern England.
He was a respected law-maker, controlling any feuds between families.
He was very religious
All shall swear in the name of the Lord, before whom every holy thing is holy, that they will be faithful to the king… From the day on which this oath shall be rendered, no one shall conceal the breach of it on the part of a brother or family relation, any more than in a stranger.

13. Learning Tasks
All
Create a social ladder that shows the main social statuses in Anglo-Saxon England. For each, describe what their lives were like and the role they had in Anglo-Saxon England.
Tip: King, Earl, Thane, Ceorl/Peasant, Slave
High Target:
‘Earl Godwin’s challenge to Edward is clear evidence that Edward was a weak king’ – how far do you agree with this?
Medium Target
Draw and a complete a table showing – Evidence that Edward was weak, Evidence that he wasn’t weak.
Low Target
Describe what happened during Earl Godwin’s rebellion.

14. King Earl Thegn Peasant Anglo-Saxon Hierarchy
His role was to protect his people from attack and give them laws to maintain safety and security.
Every boy at the age of 12 swore an oath of loyalty to their king.
Made new laws, controlled circulation of pennies, granted land to his followers and could take land away (could raise people to title of thegn), had the power to raise an army.
Would give each earldom to an earl. Relied on support of earls, without them they were powerless.
In return, an Earl would be faithful, pass on tax, implement the king’s laws and raise an army when needed. Could challenge a king
Earl
Most important lords in the kingdom, who controlled a large area of land (earldom) in the name of the king.
They had many powers that a king had such as collecting taxes (they took 1/3 of this and had to ensure their earldom was well defended), overseeing legal matters and raising an army of soldiers for the king.
They had elite bodyguards called housecarls who were highly trained warriors.
In return, a thegn would provide men for the fyrd (army), pass on taxes, fight in the king’s army, and run the courts.
Would divide up their earldom into estates and grant them to thegns.
Thegn
They held large estates of land for their lord (a thegn)
4,000 of them in England by 1060
They lived in a large house with a tower and church.
Would provide food and taxes for thegn. Would serve in the fyrd for 40 days per year.
Peasant
Would give a peasant farm land, as well as protection
Farmed land given to them by a thegn
They took some of their produce to live off and the rest was given to their lord, along with taxes.
Could be evicted from land if they did not carry out work.
Usually tied to land, but some could move from farm to farm (ceorls)