Starter quiz
- Why was William the Conqueror keen to have influence over the English Church?
- to enforce the marriage of priests
- to improve the Church's financial stability
- to promote the use of the Norman French language
- to spread Norman control in England ✓
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- Why did William claim the English Church needed reform?
- The English Church was in moral decline. ✓
- The English had failed to convert more people to Christianity.
- The English had spent too much money on repairing church buildings.
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- Which term describes the act of holding more than one position within the Church?
- 'pluralism' ✓
- Fill in the missing language: Lanfranc ordered that all royal documents, originally written in English by the clergy, should instead be written in ______.
- 'Latin' ✓
- Why did William replace most Anglo-Saxon bishops with Normans?
- to improve the architectural style of churches
- to increase the Church's wealth
- to remove a threat to his rule ✓
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- Which of these were reforms of the English Church made by Lanfranc?
- Bishops were transferred to cities. ✓
- Priests were allowed to get married.
- programme of church-building ✓
- the use of Old English in documents
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Exit quiz
- What does the word elite refer to?
- the fact of something continuing for a long period of time
- the people who provided a service to an overlord in return for land
- the richest, most powerful, best-educated or best-trained group in a society ✓
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- Complete this sentence: The Normans introduced stricter landholding rules and many Anglo-Saxon landholders often had their landholdings ...
- 'forfeited' ✓
- Which of these do historians see as a positive change in society resulting from the Norman conquest?
- the expansion of Norman castles
- the reduction in the number of enslaved people ✓
- the rise in agricultural production
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- An example of negative change in Norman England’s economy was:
- The links between agriculture and towns became stronger.
- The links between the castles and garrisons became weaker.
- The links between the towns and countryside became weaker. ✓
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- How did the role of the sheriff change in Norman England?
- Norman sheriffs had a greater role in local government. ✓
- Norman sheriffs had a smaller role in the collection of taxes.
- Norman sheriffs had a lesser role in local government.
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- How many of William’s top-ranking lords held 25% of the land in England?
- 10 ✓
- 20
- 30
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- The most significant change in Norman England was the change in the ruling elite.
- A positive change was a reduction in the number of enslaved people.
- While some areas were damaged by Norman actions, generally the economy recovered under the Normans.
- Anglo-Saxon government systems were sophisticated and the Normans kept much more than they changed.
- One area of law that changed significantly was Forest law.
Common misconception
That the Normans destroyed all Anglo-Saxon government.
Anglo-Saxon government systems were sophisticated, perhaps more developed than Normandy’s. The Normans retained and built on the existing Anglo-Saxon governmental institutions.
Keywords
Elite - elite refers to the richest, most powerful, best-educated, or best-trained group in a society
Continuity - continuity is the fact of something continuing for a long period of time without being changed or stopped
Government - government is the group of people who officially control/rule a country
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