Starter quiz
- Which of these do you think best describes a peasant?
- poor, few possessions, grew food to feed themselves and their families ✓
- poor, some possessions, worked in towns as servants
- rich, many possessions, owned land in the countryside
- rich, many possessions, owned many houses in a town or city
-
- Peasants were at the bottom of a social hierarchy known as feudalism or the ______ system.
- 'feudal' ✓
- The Black Death was a...
- pandemic disease ✓
- religious movement
- terrorist organisation
-
- Put these rulers of England in chronological order. They did not all succeed each other: there is usually a big gap between their rules.
- 1⇔William I
- 2⇔Henry II
- 3⇔John
- 4⇔Edward II
- 5⇔Edward III
- What three-letter word means money that individuals pay to the government, which then uses it to fund its spending?
- 'tax' ✓
- Historians often consider different factors in their explanations and interpretations. Which of these would be about the decisions and policies of a government or ruler?
- cultural factors
- economic factors
- social factors
- political factors ✓
-
Exit quiz
- In which year did the Peasants' Revolt take place?
- '1381' ✓
- In which year did the Black Death first reach England?
- '1348' ✓
- How many people do historians think died of the Black Death in the first year it affected England?
- between a quarter and a third of the population
- between a third and and half of the population ✓
- between a half and two-thirds of the population
- between two-thirds and three-quarters of the population
-
- Which of the following were most likely to be targets of the Peasants' Revolt?
- advisors to the king ✓
- peasants who remained loyal to the king
- tax collectors ✓
- well-off farmers
-
- Put these symptoms of the Black Death in the order in which they appeared.
- 1⇔Swellings began to grow in the groin, armpits and neck.
- 2⇔The swellings then grew to the size of an apple.
- 3⇔The infected person began to feel feverish.
- 4⇔The infected person began to vomit blood.
- 5⇔If the swellings did not burst, death inevitably followed.
- Why is Melcombe famous in relation to the Black Death?
- First point of entry of the Black Death into England ✓
- Last place in England to report infections from the Black Death
- Place where the most people died of Black Death as a proportion of population
- Nobody in this settlement died of the Black Death
-
Worksheet
Loading worksheet ...
Presentation
Loading presentation ...
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- The Peasants' Revolt took place in 1381.
- The Peasants' Revolt had many long-term causes.
- Some historians argue that the Black Death was related to the causes of the Peasants' Revolt.
- The Black Death arrived in England in 1348.
- The Black Death killed around half of the English population.
Common misconception
Historical events have one cause.
This will be addressed across the course of the unit, but within this lesson it is worth drawing attention to the competing causes listed in the discussion of the Peasants' Revolt.
Keywords
Peasant - a person in the medieval period who worked the land and had few legal protections
Rebellion - an act of direct resistance against a leader or government
Feudal system - the social system of medieval England, with peasants, lords and the king in a strict hierarchy
Bubo - a swelling of the lymph nodes and a symptom of the plague
+