Every card in Medieval Britain 1066–1509, Year 11: the feudal system and Norman government (Norman England option)
The whole deck, in order — so you can read it through before your child ever sees it.
- A parcel of land given by an overlord to a vassal in return for service and loyalty
A fief
HintThe word is a cousin of 'fee'.
WhyA vassal swore loyalty to his lord and owed service, often military; in return the lord protected him. Holding land on these terms was less secure than under the Anglo-Saxon kings: a man who failed in his duties could lose it.
- In Norman England, who was regarded as the ultimate owner of all the land?
The king
HintEven the greatest barons held their land on conditions.
WhyWilliam kept some land for himself and granted the rest to his followers, who held it from him in return for service. Landholding in Normandy was different: William was not the owner of all the land there.
- A vassal publicly swore loyalty to his lord in a ceremony called ____.
homage
HintHe knelt and placed his hands between his lord's.
WhyHomage was followed by an oath of fealty. These promises were made before God as well as before the king, so breaking them damaged a man's reputation and his soul.
- In return for their land, what did William's tenants-in-chief have to provide for the king?
Knights (military service)
HintThink of the army William needed to keep order.
WhyTenants-in-chief were the large landholders, such as barons, bishops and abbots, who held directly from the king. They gave out land in turn to knights who served them.
- What did William demand of all important landholders at Salisbury in 1086?
That they swear loyalty directly to him
HintIt happened in the same year as the Domesday survey.
WhyThe Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that all the landholders of any account came to him there, became his men and swore to be faithful to him against all other men. Swearing to be faithful against all other men put loyalty to the king above loyalty to a man's own lord.
- In Norman England, what was the murdrum fine?
A heavy fine on the local hundred when a murdered Norman was found and the killer was not produced
HintIt was meant to protect the foreign newcomers from secret killings.
WhyThe idea was older, from Danish law, but the Normans revived it. Later it covered victims of any background, and it lasted until Edward III's reign.
- Which royal officer, the 'shire reeve', was responsible for royal justice and revenue in each shire, and was kept on by the Normans?
The sheriff
HintThe job already existed under the Anglo-Saxon kings.
WhyHundred and shire courts stayed, but Normans took over as sheriffs; after 1075 Englishmen were only occasionally appointed to the post.
- What did people in medieval England believe the result of a trial by ordeal showed?
God's judgement on whether the accused was innocent or guilty
HintIt was not simply a punishment.
WhyOrdeals by fire and by water were used. The Normans kept the English ordeals and added one new form, trial by battle, where the two sides fought.
- Which local court, one level below the shire court, dealt with minor crimes and local disputes? (two words)
Hundred court
HintIt served a division of the shire.
WhyThe shire court dealt with more serious crimes and land disputes. Both courts survived the Conquest.
- Why did William keep so much of the Anglo-Saxon system of government?
It already worked, and it helped him look like Edward the Confessor's lawful heir
HintThink how few Normans there were in a large kingdom.
WhyThe Normans were greatly outnumbered. William wanted most English people to believe he would rule as Edward had, so he relied heavily on English administration and law, adding Norman control at the top.
1★ GCSE-HIST-MED-0053
2★ GCSE-HIST-MED-0054
3★ GCSE-HIST-MED-0055
4★ GCSE-HIST-MED-0056
5★ GCSE-HIST-MED-0057
6★ GCSE-HIST-MED-0058
7★ GCSE-HIST-MED-0059
8★ GCSE-HIST-MED-0060
9★ GCSE-HIST-MED-0061
10★ GCSE-HIST-MED-0062
Keep what you learn
Here, nothing is saved. In your child’s own sky every card is scheduled — it comes back just before they’d forget it — and the professor who wrote it is one tap away.