Good Learning Co.
SavannahYear 8
← History
HistoryThe Norman Conquest, 1066–108738 min★★ difficulty

Lesson 1: A kingdom without an heir

Edward the Confessor's death opened a contested succession shaped by kinship, promises, election and force.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Historical enquiry: Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims
  • Britain 1066-1901: Understand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Understand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government

Key learning points

  • • Four claims
  • • Criteria for judgement

This lesson at a glance

  • 38 minutes
  • 23 parts to scroll through
  • 3 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

impactnormanconquestsocietyestablishment

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 23 · Discover4%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 23

Lesson 1: A kingdom without an heir illustrationArchive-led lesson

Historical enquiry

Lesson 1: A kingdom without an heir

Edward the Confessor's death opened a contested succession shaped by kinship, promises, election and force.

In a nutshell

Understand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government

2

What you already know

Part 2 of 23

Before we start

What you already know

You should already know that England was a kingdom before 1066, that kings needed the support of powerful landholders, and that a claim to the throne could rest on family, promises or force.

3

Key words

Part 3 of 23

Key words

Words you'll need today

Succession
Who legally takes the throne when a ruler dies.
Witan
The council of leading English nobles and churchmen who advised the king and approved his successor.
Claimant
Someone who says they have the right to the throne.
Hearsay
A report of what someone else said, which cannot be checked directly.
4

Reset break

Part 4 of 23

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 6 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
5

Your lesson plan

Part 5 of 23

Lesson brief

Who had the strongest claim in 1066?

By the end, you will be able to

  • • Place events accurately in the conquest chronology
  • • Explain causes and consequences rather than list them
  • • Use the named evidence with attention to provenance

Resources

  • • Bayeux Tapestry (c.1070s)
  • • Lesson notes and marked knowledge check
4 minRecall the chronology and frame the enquiry
15 minRead the textbook explanation and build the argument
11 minInterrogate the archive evidence in context
8 minAnswer the checks and write a supported conclusion
6

Learning cycle

Part 6 of 23

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Who wanted the throne?

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

7

Explore the idea

Part 7 of 23

Learn

Four claims

Harold Godwinson was chosen by the witan; William of Normandy claimed Edward and Harold had promised him the crown; Harald Hardrada invoked an older agreement; Edgar Ætheling had royal blood but was young.

8

Reset break

Part 8 of 23

Pause

That's sitting 2 of 6 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
9

Quick check

Part 9 of 23

Quick check

Who chose Harold Godwinson?

Give me a hint
10

Quick check

Part 10 of 23

Quick check

Why are later claims difficult?

Give me a hint
11

Learning cycle

Part 11 of 23

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Judging the claims

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

12

Reset break

Part 12 of 23

Pause

That's sitting 3 of 6 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
13

Explore the idea

Part 13 of 23

Learn

Criteria for judgement

Separate what each claimant said from the evidence that survives, much of it written after victory.

14

Quick check

Part 14 of 23

Quick check

Best judgement method?

Give me a hint
15

Investigate evidence

Part 15 of 23

Evidence 1 of 1

object

Bayeux Tapestry

Unknown embroiderers, probably Canterbury, c.1070s

The embroidered narrative shows Harold's oath, the crossing, Hastings and Harold's defeat from a Norman-centred viewpoint.

Made soon after the conquest, this is both narrative and political artefact. Its pictures require interpretation; captions are in Latin.

Think like a historian

Whose story does the embroidery centre, and where might it simplify events?

Source: Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux, UNESCO Memory of the World

View the archive record ↗
16

Reset break

Part 16 of 23

Pause

That's sitting 4 of 6 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
17

Common mix-ups

Part 17 of 23

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

  • People often think the crown always passed to the eldest son. In 1066 English kingship still depended on choice by the witan as well as blood.
  • People often treat a claimant's own story as fact. Most surviving accounts were written after the conquest by people who needed William to look right.
18

Challenge round

Part 18 of 23

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

19

Challenge round

Part 19 of 23

Game · Recall cards

Why did families send children to work?

Card 1 of 4

20

Reset break

Part 20 of 23

Pause

That's sitting 5 of 6 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
21

Exit quiz

Part 21 of 23

Exit quiz

Show what you've learned

6 questions, marked together at the end. Nothing is timed.

  1. 1. Who was chosen as king by the witan in January 1066?

  2. 2. What did William of Normandy base his claim on?

  3. 3. Harald Hardrada's claim rested on…

  4. 4. Why is much of the evidence for 1066 difficult?

  5. 5. The best way to judge the claims is to…

  6. 6. The witan mattered because…

22

Mastery quiz

Part 22 of 23

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Lesson 1: A kingdom without an heir

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Why did families send children to work?

  2. 2. How should historians treat Sadler Committee testimony?

  3. 3. Which question best tests a source's usefulness?

  4. 4. What did miasma theory claim caused disease?

23

Lesson round-up

Part 23 of 23

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Part 1 of 23 · Watch & discover

How this is going

  • Not looked at yet

    Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims

  • Not looked at yet

    Understand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government

Good Learning Co. — personalised UK curriculum learning, built around what each learner loves.