Starter quiz
- Athelstan was made King of Mercia and Wessex in ...
- 925 CE ✓
- 930 CE
- 939 CE
-
- When Athelstan captured the last Viking stronghold of York, he minted coins with what written on them?
- 'King of the English' ✓
- Why do some historians call Athelstan the first king of England?
- 'He united all the kingdoms.' ✓
- Order these events chronologically
- 1⇔Athelstan captured the Viking stronghold of York.
- 2⇔Athelstan defeated King Constantine and the Danes at the battle of Brunanburh.
- 3⇔The Welsh kings submitted to Athelstan's overlordship.
- 4⇔Athelstan united all of the kingdoms and became King of England.
- How did Athelstan create 'England'?
- He conquered any remaining Viking strongholds. ✓
- Kingdoms submitted to his overlordship. ✓
- He offered kingdoms money.
- He created law codes. ✓
-
- Law codes ______ money which made Athelstan's people happy and wealthy.
- 'controlled' ✓
Exit quiz
- Ethelred was the __________ Anglo-Saxon king following Athelstan.
- second
- tenth
- sixth ✓
-
- Match these keywords to their definition.
- reign⇔to rule as monarch, the King or Queen ✓
- tribute⇔payment made, often by one ruler to another ✓
- contest⇔fight for a position of power ✓
- What does Ethelred the 'Unready' translate to?
- ''badly-prepared'' ✓
- Who invaded in 1013 and became the first Viking king of England?
- 'Sweyn Forkbeard' ✓
- Order these kings chronologically:
- 1⇔King Ethelred
- 2⇔King Canute
- 3⇔King Harthacnut
- King Harthacnut was the ______ Dane to rule England.
- 'last' ✓
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Athelstan’s reign did not see the end of the Vikings in England, with continued raids and uprisings in Northumbria.
- In 1013, Sweyn Forkbeard captured the whole of England before dying.
- This left his son Canute to successfully contest the throne of England with an Anglo-Saxon, Edmund Ironside.
- Canute became King of England, Norway and Denmark, creating a huge North Sea empire which English trade benefited from.
- His son Harthacnut succeeded him in 1035 and ruled for seven years until an Anglo-Saxon, Edward, took the throne.
Common misconception
Pupils may think Ethelred's reign was completely unsuccessful.
Although Ethelred made some poor decisions during his reign, evidence from his charters and coins suggest that Ethelred’s government was more effective than was once believed.
Keywords
Reign - to reign means to rule as a monarch and be the King or Queen
Tribute - tribute was payment made often by one ruler to another
Contest - to contest something, you fight for a position of power
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