m&e conquered + conquerors

Question 1

viking attacks

Answer 1

first raid 793 in lindisfarne
in 865 take northumbria and make jorvik their capital
longships allow them to travel upriver

Question 2

significance of king alfred

Answer 2

in 878 wins decisive victory to prevent guthrum + danes from taking wessex
makes a peace treaty - converts guthrum to christianity and creates danelaw to maintain peace
builds strong fortresses called burghs that reduce further attacks
created a navy for defense against viking longships
makes wessex dominant kingdom (by 927 his grandson athelstan unites england and defeats danes)
says all young men should be able to read
translated many books to English
rewrote laws

Question 3

what did aethelred do after 980 to stop viking attacks

Answer 3

married emma of normandy to stop normans sheltering vikings (did not work)
paid danegeld (did not work)
13 November 1002 st brices day massacre

Question 4

what were the consequences of st brices day massacre

Answer 4

sister of viking king (sweyn forkbeard) was killed and he then attacks England, leading to a ten war war that eventually results in aethelred fleeing

Question 5

significance of cnut

Answer 5

viewed england as his main domain as opposed to a Danish colony - england prospers due to trade links across north sea empire
allowed some English nobles left to rule their own lands - values good loyal local leadership
cnuts reign one of peace and freedom - sends most of his Danish troops home (after paying them off with danegeld)
he introduced fair laws and was generally viewed as a wise king
religious man who established good relationships with English church leaders and the pope - visited Rome in 1027 which improved England’s prestige in Europe and he negotiated reduced payments for English travellers to Rome and the creation of new archbishops

Question 6

significance of Norman conquest on england

Answer 6

took land from English and gave it to Norman barons - established important jobs in government and church for normans
barons built castles to protect them and control was enforced violently in localities
harrying of the north following 1069 rebellion - up to 100,000 English died (either slaughtered or from starvation after Williams men destroyed crops, killed livestock and salted the land
they spoke French and introduced French customs - not until 1399 another English king with English as first language
French replaced English as main language used in power - new words eg parliament, army (related to power and authority, showing extent of norman control in england)
nobility now anglo-norman lords - Anglo saxons displaced from power
built hundreds of new churhched and cathedrals

Question 7

angevin control in ireland

Answer 7

one of the Irish kings asks Henry for help in his war with another Irish king and when English troops go over, many seize land in Ireland and recognised henry as their ruler (1171)

Question 8

contributing factors to the fall of the angevim empire

Answer 8

1173 henry subjected to ‘Great Revolt’ - his sons helped by king of France rebel against him. Very time and money consuming and causes Henry to lose control of the far reaches of his empire
Henry’s son Richard (1189-1199) spent long periods of time on Crusades in the holy land - his absence weakens angevin empire further and he couldn’t prevent French kind from seizing large areas of his French land

Question 9

why was john so bad

Answer 9

powerful angevin lords and french king want his nephew Arthur to be king instead - John must defend his lands. Arthur then suspiciously dies, making john unpopular and encouraging more people to rebel against him
1204 john’s army defeated at brittany -over the next few years loses many battles earning the nickname ‘softsword’ - by 1214 only gascony still in english control
heavily taxed english subjects in order to raise armies against france but kept losing
english barons take action against him and force him to sign magna carta in 1214

Question 10

causes of hundred years’ war

Answer 10

1327 english king edward III believes he has the right to claim the french throne due to dynastic links from his mother
edward was 24 years old and wanted glory on the battlefield
england still controls gascony, a wine producing region - england makes lots of tax money and edward was worried the french might try to take over
england sold a lot of wool abroad, particularly in flanders. the french were threatening to take over this region and edward was worried about the damage that would create to the wool trade and the tax he would receive
england was at war with scotland and the french had promised to help the scots

Question 11

events of the hundred years’ war

Answer 11

(EDWARD III)
1346 - british victory at crecy mainly attributable to the use if the longbow. allows edward to capture calais - a strategic port they maintain control over for over 200 years. edward begins to fly st george’s cross as a royal banner
1356 - british victory at poitiers, again due to use of longbow. disastrous for french as their king and noblemen are captures, significantly weakening the government in france
(HENRY V)
1415 - english victory at agincourt despite being weakened and outnumbered - again longbow
henry imposes a treaty on france that recognised him as heir to french throne
henry only second english king since norman conquest to speak english as a first language
(HENRY V DIES)
joan of arc inspires french forces to fight back - they use artillery which is able to overcome the british longbow. by 1453 english only control calais

Question 12

significance of the hundred years’ war

Answer 12

some areas of france (eg normandy) devastated by fighting - both armies steal crops, animals, riche
many casualties, particularly for french - many english deaths due to dysentry not fighting
high cost of horses, weapons, food, armour means very high and frequent taxes for britain and france
britain loses wealthy areas in france (eg normandy, aquitaine) so loses a huge amount of money
military strategy fundamentally changed - focus on knights on horseback shifts to archers and artillery. also increased use of gunpowder, cannons, handguns - castles no longer useful so begin to disappear
france ends it history of being many separate territories because many of the ruling nobles are killed leaving the king as one central leader - growth of nationalist sentiment and unity, making them a stronger potential threat for england
during war england stops using french as language of government
st george’s cross first associated with england
victory at agincourt significant to english identity - immortalised in shakespeare’s play Henry V - small, weak, exhausted english army from all sections society defeat the french army (4x larger) through a combination of luck, skill, and inspirational leadership