Starter quiz
- The Anglo-Saxon earls Edwin and Morcar had not fought at the Battle of Hastings and William had allowed them to keep their...
- 'earldoms' ✓
- William appointed Robert Cumin as Earl of...
- 'Northumbria' ✓
- During the uprising in January 1069, rebels attacked...
- Ely
- Peterborough
- York ✓
- Lincoln
- Durham ✓
-
- Hereward the Wake organised his rebellion against the Normans from...
- 'Ely' ✓
- Who supported Roger de Breteuil and Ralph de Fael's rebellion in 1075?
- Bishop Odo ✓
- Ewin
- Morcar
- Edgar the Atheling
-
- Starting with the earliest, put the following uprisings in chronological order.
- 1⇔Edwin and Morcar's rebellion
- 2⇔The northern rebellion focused on Durham and York
- 3⇔Hereward the Wake's uprising in Ely
- 4⇔The Revolt of the Anglo-Norman earls
Exit quiz
- In England, the period 1068-71 was...
- one of constant peace.
- characterised by repeated uprisings against William I. ✓
- only rarely punctuated by rebellion.
-
- Which of these individuals supported the northern rebellion of 1069?
- Edgar the Aethling ✓
- The Danish king, Swein Estrithson ✓
- Edwin
- the Scottish king ✓
- Morcar
-
- William's response to the rebellion of 1069 has been called the '______ of the North'.
- 'Harrying' ✓
- During the winter of 1069-70, the region north of the Humber (from York to ______) had its life support stripped away.
- 'Durham' ✓
- The Harrying of the North caused a devastating famine; more than __________ people perished of starvation.
- 100 000 ✓
- 200 000
- 300 000
- 400 000
-
- After the Harrying of the North, the value of land in Yorkshire decreased by over...
- 35%
- 45%
- 55%
- 65% ✓
-
Worksheet
Presentation
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- William’s control of the North was threatened by rebellions.
- William aimed to destroy the spirit of rebellion and ensure that no future rebellion could support itself in the North.
- Norman soldiers systematically killed rebels and destroyed food across Yorkshire – later known as ‘Harrying the North’.
- The resulting famine caused as many as 100 000 people to vanish from the records.
- There were no further uprisings in the North, but William was criticised for excessive brutality.
Common misconception
In the medieval period it was expected that rulers would be ruthless in killing anyone who opposed them.
Rulers were expected to be just and merciful in the medieval period, and Willian faced criticism across Europe for his brutality in crushing opposition in the North of England.
Keywords
Systematically - when something is done systematically it is done in a way that is done according to an agreed set of methods or organised plan
Scorched-earth - a scorched-earth policy is the act of an army destroying everything in an area such as food, buildings, or equipment that could be useful to an enemy
Famine - a famine is a situation in which there is not enough food for a great number of people, causing illness and death, or a particular period when this happens
Refugee - a refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster