units 1 - 12: main concepts

Question 1

“barrows” (unit 1)

Answer 1

burial mounds made of each or stone, and they were airy woodlands that could easily be cleared for farming, and as a result were the most easily habitable part of the countryside.

Question 2

“henges” (unit 1)

Answer 2

neolithic earthwork - centre of religious, political and economic power.

Question 3

hill-forts (unit 1)

Answer 3

replaced henges as the centre of local power, and most of these were found in the southeast, suggesting that the land successfully supported more people here than elsewhere.

the hill-fort remained the centre for local groups, and the inside of these hill-forts were filled with houses, and they became the simple economic capitals and smaller “towns” of the different tribal areas into which britain was now divided. the empty hill-forts remained local economic centers long after the romans case to britain, and long after they went.

within living memory certain annual fairs were associated with hill-forts.

Question 4

druids (unit 1)

Answer 4

priests of a warrior class who ruled the celtic tribes and seem to have been particularly important members.

these druids could not read or write, but they memorized all the religious teachings, the tribal laws, history, medicine and other knowledge necessary in celtic society.

the druids from different tribes all over britain probably met once a year and they had no temples, but they met in sacred groves of trees, on certain hills, by rivers or by river sources.

Question 5

boadicea (unit 1)

Answer 5

a woman who had become queen of her tribe when her husband had died. in ad 61 she led her tribe against the romans, and nearly drove them from britain, and she also destroyed london, the roman capital, before she was defeated and killed.

Question 6

hadrian’s wall (unit 1)

Answer 6

at the time, it was simply intended to keep out raiders from the north, but it also marked the border between the two later countries: england and scotland.

Question 7

coloniae (unit 1)

Answer 7

towns peopled by roman settlers.

Question 8

municipia (unit 1)

Answer 8

large cities in which the whole population was given roman citizenship.

Question 9

civitas (unit 1)

Answer 9

included the old celtic tribal capitals, through which the romans administered the celtic population in the countryside.

Question 10

london (unit 1)

Answer 10

london was possibly the most important trading centre of northern europe, because southeast britain produced so much corn for export.

Question 11

villas (unit 1)

Answer 11

large farms whose growth was the biggest change during the roman occupation.

these belonged to the richer britons who were, like the townspeople, more roman than celt in their manners.

the villas were usually close to towns so that the crops could be sold easily.

Question 12

bede (unit 2)

Answer 12

english monk who wrote his story of events in his “ecclesiastical history of the english people”, and tells us that the invaders of britain came from three powerful germanic tribes: the saxons, angles and jutes.

Question 13

saxons (unit 2)

Answer 13

the saxons settled between the jutes and the angles in a band of land from the thames estuary westwards. they created institutions which made the english state strong for the next 500 years. one of these institutions was the king’s council, called the witan.

Question 14

angles (unit 2)

Answer 14

the angles settled in the east, and also in the north midlands.

Question 15

jutes (unit 2)

Answer 15

the jutes settled mainly in kent and along the south coast.

Question 16

the witan (unit 2)

Answer 16

the witan is an institution created by the saxons: the king’s council. the witan grew out of informal groups of senior warriors and churchmen to whom kings like offa had turned for advice or support on difficult matters. by the tenth century, the witan was a formal body, issuing laws and charters.

it was not all democratic, and the king could decide to ignore the witan’s advice. for the witan’s authority was based on its right to choose kings, and to agree the sue of the king’s laws. without its support the king’s own authority was in danger. the witan established a system which remained an important part of the king’s method of government.

Question 17

“shires” (unit 2)

Answer 17

shires, or counties, was the way the saxons based their division of the land into new administrative areas. these shires remained almost exactly the same for a thousand years.

Question 18

shire reeve (unit 2)

Answer 18

over each shire was appointed a shire reeve, the king’s local administrator. in time his name became shortened to “sheriff”.

Question 19

manor (unit 2)

Answer 19

large house that could be found in each district. this was a simple building where local villagers came to pay taxes, where justice was administered, and where men met together to join the anglo-saxon army, the “fyrd”. the lord of the manor had to organize all this, and make sure village land was properly shared.

Question 20

“fyrd” (unit 2)

Answer 20

the “fyrd” was the anglo-saxon army.

Question 21

aldermen (unit 2)

Answer 21

the lords, or aldermen, were simply local officials at first, but by the beginning of the eleventh century they were warlords, and were often called “earl”. aldermen are elected officers in lica government, and earls are high ranking nobles.

this was the beginning of a class system, made up of kings, lords, soldiers and workers on the land.

Question 22

the men of learning (unit 2)

Answer 22

the men of learning were another important class developed during the saxon period, and these came from the christian church.

Question 23

augustine (unit 2)

Answer 23

monk sent by pope gregory the great in 1597 to re-establish christianity in england. augustine became the first archbishop of canterbury in 601, and several families in england accepted christianity, but augustine and his group of monks made little progress with the ordinary people. this was partly because augustine was interested in establishing christian authority, and that meant bringing rulers to the new faith.

Question 24

christian celtic church (unit 2)

Answer 24

the christian celtic church was most interested in the hearts of ordinary people.

Question 25

christian roman church (unit 2)

Answer 25

the christian roman church was interested in a authority and organization.

Question 26

synod of whitby (unit 2)

Answer 26

it was a meeting which occurred in 663 in which the king of northumbria decided to support the roman church.

Question 27

minsters (unit 2)

Answer 27

minsters, or monasteries, were places of learning and education, and where the church increased the power of the english state. these monasteries trained the men who could read and write, so that they had the necessary skills for the growth of of royal and church authority.

Question 28

king alfred (unit 2)

Answer 28

alfred was the king who made most use of the church, and he also was the great king who ruled wessex from 871-899. he used the literate men of the church to help establish a system of law, to educate the people an to write down important matters.

Question 29

vikings (unit 2)

Answer 29

vikings were new raiders who were tempted by britain’s wealth towards the end of the eighth century, and who came from norway and denmark. like the anglo-saxons they only raided at first. they burnt churches and monasteries along the east, north and west coasts of britain and ireland.

Question 30

danelaw (unit 2)

Answer 30

it was the land where he law of the danes ruled.

Question 31

burghs (unit 2)

Answer 31

burghs were walled settlements built by king alfred to keep the danes out.

Question 32

king ethelred (unit 2)

Answer 32

ethelred was a saxon king who decided to pay the vikings to stay away, and to find the money he set a tax on all his people, called danegeld or “danish money”.

Question 33

danegeld (unit 2)

Answer 33

danegeld, or “danish money”, was a tax set by king ethelred on all his people to pay the vikings to stay away. it was the beginning of a regular tax system of the people which would provide the money for armies. the effects on this tax were most heavily felt by the ordinary villagers, because they to provide enough money for their village landlord to pay danegeld.

Question 34

cnut (unit 2)

Answer 34

cnut was the leader of the danish vikings who controlled much of england and became king for the simple reason that the royal council, the witan, and everyone else, feared disorder. he died in 1035.

Question 35

the normans (unit 2)

Answer 35

the normans were people from the north, who were children and grandchildren of vikings who had captured, and settled in northern france. they had soon become french in their language and christian in their religion, but they were still well known for their fighting skills.

Question 36

battle of hastings (unit 2)

Answer 36

battle fought in 1066 in hastings, between english and norman forces for the throne of england. the normans won because their soldiers were better armed, better organized, and were mounted on horses. and that’s the reason why duke william of normandy was crowned king of england on christmas day, 1066.

Question 37

highland lane (unit 3)

Answer 37

division between highland and lowland.