Starter quiz
- Complete the sentence: Almost everyone in Norman England ______ for a living.
- 'farmed' ✓
- Complete the sentence: ______ are farm animals that are reared for food or used for farming work.
- 'Livestock' ✓
- Which of the following statements are accurate about peasant children in Norman England?
- in autumn watched over the animals to stop them from wandering off ✓
- generally did the same work as their parents ✓
- had no education ✓
- went to school until 11 years old
- started working in the fields when they were 17 years old
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- Which group had up to 100 acres?
- freemen ✓
- villeins
- bordars and cottars
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- What did pottage consist of?
- fish, seasoning and potatoes
- mashed vegetables and oats with seasoning ✓
- meat, herbs and cheese
- bread with bacon and herbs
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- In what ways did the diet of the elites change in Norman England?
- They started to eat rye bread as it was quicker to make.
- They had a wider variety of meat, fish and wine. ✓
- They started to eat pottage as they liked the taste.
- They had access to spices from the Middle East. ✓
- They ate more venison (deer they hunted). ✓
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Exit quiz
- Which word describes the person who is king or queen after the previous monarch?
- 'successor' ✓
- Which word describes someone who uses land owned by someone else in return for rent or services?
- 'tenant' ✓
- Complete the sentence with the correct fraction: One ______ of England was covered by Forest law during Henry I's reign.
- fifth
- quarter
- third ✓
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- How much did did the crown receive in Forest law fines in 1130?
- £100
- £400
- £1000
- £1400 ✓
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- Why did Forest law create tension between the Norman kings and the nobility?
- They were no longer able to gather essential resources.
- The rights of ‘free warren’ usually went to Church tenants not nobility. ✓
- William II promised to restore free hunting but never did. ✓
- They believed that excessive hunting was sinful.
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- Why did Forest law create tension between the Norman kings and the Church?
- They were no longer able to gather essential resources.
- They believed that excessive hunting was sinful. ✓
- Their income was reduced as they lost land to Forest law. ✓
- They were severely punished for breaking it.
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Worksheet
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Presentation
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Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Forest law was a new set of laws introduced to England by the Normans.
- William and his successors increased the area classed as forest until a third of England was covered by Forest law.
- Punishments for breaking Forest law could be much more severe than punishments in common law.
- Forest law made life much harder for peasants because they were now banned from using resources they depended on.
- Forest law was resented by ordinary people but also by Norman tenants of the king, since it affected their lands too.
Common misconception
That forest in Norman England always meant land covered by trees.
Forest in Norman England meant an area that was reserved for hunting and so could include open land, village land, even towns, as well as woodland.
Keywords
Successor - the person who is king or queen after the previous monarch
Tenant - someone who uses land owned by someone else in return for rent or services
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