Study Questions

The following prompts are designed to encourage students to think critically about key turning points and significant long-term developments in English history by developing close readings of relevant sources from the collection. Any of them might be the basis for a short essay assignment focused on a small number of relevant documents.

• The Norman Conquest
  1. William I-™s invasion of England was a watershed moment in the island-™s history: although the Norman kings built upon Anglo-Saxon precedents and institutions, the events of 1066 led to significant changes in English kingship, law, land tenure practices, church organization, and language. Using at least two of the documents listed below, consider what the Conquest meant to the English as well as the Normans, and evaluate the Conquest-™s impact on the English kingdom.

  Reveal Answer

  Some relevant documents: 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27

  Possible issues to consider:

  • • How did Norman and Anglo-Saxon observers explain the defeat of the English?
    • What factors enabled the Norman victory?
    • How did the English resist William I-™s rule, and why were their efforts ultimately unsuccessful?
    • In what respects did the early Norman kings preserve Anglo-Saxon models of kingship, and what new prerogatives did they claim?
    • What factors might have encouraged or discouraged assimilation between the Norman conquerors and their English subjects?

• The Black Death
  The disasters of the fourteenth century-”famine, plague, social unrest, and war-”ended the steady demographic growth of the past two centuries and led survivors to challenge existing hierarchies that had long been viewed as natural. Using at least two of the documents listed below, examine the responses of both elites and non-elites to the challenges and opportunities created by this age of disasters, and consider whether these catastrophes led to lasting changes in England.

  Reveal Answer

  Some relevant documents: 70, 71, 72, 80, 81, 82, 83

  Possible issues to consider:

  • • How did workers challenge the status quo in the aftermath of the plague, and why was the English government so resistant to change?
    • What concerns about social class, labor, and morality do the documents express, and what kinds of hierarchies do the authors support?
    • What tensions and aspirations are revealed in the accounts of the so-called Peasants-™ Revolt?

• Women and Gender in Medieval Europe
  While medieval women and men possessed different legal rights and were subject to different standards of behavior, many documents in the Reader attest to English women-™s active participation in politics, economic life, rural and urban society, and the Church during the period from ca 500 to ca 1500. Using at least two of the documents listed below, evaluate women-™s contributions in one or more of these areas, keeping an eye out for evidence of continuity and/or change in women-™s activities and opportunities over time.

  Reveal Answer

  Some relevant documents: 5, 17, 29, 30, 38, 51, 52, 54, 58, 60, 68, 92, 95

  Possible issues to consider:

  • • Where can you discern the influence of Christian views on gender and related ideas about sexuality and sin?
    • How did social class, marital status, and religious affiliation shape the experiences of individual women?
    • To what extent were queens restricted or empowered by medieval ideals of femininity?

• Defining Royal Power
  Two major themes of medieval English history are the growth of royal power and resistance to that power. Royal decrees, laws, and chronicles in the Reader record both English kings-™ attempts to concentrate authority in their own hands and efforts by aristocrats, churchmen, and ordinary people to limit royal authority. Using at least two of the documents listed below, explore either how the exercise of royal authority developed over time, or how checks on kingly power were justified. Alternatively, evaluate what was at stake in a particular challenge to the crown: for instance, in Becket-™s defiance of Henry II; the rebellion against King John; the Second Barons-™ War; or the deposition of Edward II or Richard II.

  Reveal Answer

  Some relevant documents: 3, 9, 15, 18, 28, 34, 35, 45, 49, 50, 56, 69, 76, 87, 96, 98, 101

  Possible issues to consider:

  • • Judging from royal law codes, which rights did English kings gain (or cede) over time?
    • Did various groups (e.g., barons, church leaders, burghers, peasants) share a common attitude toward royal power?
    • What role did religion play in justifying or condemning resistance to kings?
    • What role did Parliament play in limiting the crown-™s authority from the thirteenth century on?

• Warfare and Conquest
  The experience of war and conquest powerfully defined medieval England: assailed by Anglo-Saxon, Viking, and Norman invaders in the early Middle Ages, in later centuries the English fought to expand their power into Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and France, and such conflicts played an important role in defining the English state and its people as English. Using at least two of the documents listed below, either evaluate the impact of foreign invasion on England or consider how the English crown-™s foreign wars helped create a distinct English identity.

  Reveal Answer

  Some relevant documents: 1, 8, 10, 14, 19, 22, 31, 32, 44, 46, 49, 65, 78, 79, 88, 90, 99

  Possible issues to consider:

  • • How did English chroniclers characterize foreign opponents, as opposed to their own countrymen?
    • How did military technology, tactics, and the composition of armies change over time?
    • What martial values did medieval chroniclers celebrate, and why?

WEB LINKS

General Interest

Medieval, 1066-1485, at the National Archives
http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/sessions-and-resources/?time-period=medieval
A compilation of activities related to many areas of medieval English life, focused on important items in the Archives-™ collections, including Domesday Book, royal seals, tally sticks from the Exchequer, and more.

The Middle Ages, at the British Library
https://www.bl.uk/the-middle-ages
An exploration of English social history, using the Library-™s renowned collection of medieval manuscripts.

Story of England, at English Heritage
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/
A collection of short essays focused on key monuments, moments, and themes related to English history, with a focus on material culture.

More Specialized Sites

The Gatehouse
http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/home.html
Guide to castles and related sites built between 1000 and 1600 in England, Wales, the Channel Isles, and Isle of Man.

Magna Carta, British Library
https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta
Dedicated to the history and legacy of the Great Charter.

Medieval London, 410-1558, Museum of London
https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london/permanent-galleries/medieval-london
A history of the medieval city through a collection of everyday objects, from Roman brooches to late medieval shoes.

The Online Froissart
https://www.hrionline.ac.uk/onlinefroissart/index.jsp
Facsimiles, original texts, and translations of Froissart-™s Chronicles by scholars at the University of Sheffield and University of Liverpool.

The Soldier in Later Medieval England, University of Southampton
http://www.medievalsoldier.org
A database of soldiers who fought for the English crown between 1369 and 1453, with essays and a collection of materials on the Battle of Agincourt.

The Staffordshire Hoard, Birmingham Museums
http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk
Dedicated to the largest Anglo-Saxon gold hoard yet found, with many high-quality images.

The Viking Age Compendium
http://www.vikingage.org
A clearing-house of articles and images dedicated to the material culture of Viking Age Britain.

Timelines

• Timeline for Medieval England, 500-1500
  • Print
  • Download