OCR A-Level History A H505
Y101: Alfred and the Making of England 871–1016Unit group 1
Y102: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107Unit group 1
Y103: England 1199–1272Unit group 1
Y104: England 1377–1455Unit group 1
Y105: England 1445–1509: Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VIIUnit group 1
Y106: England 1485–1558: The Early TudorsUnit group 1
Y107: England 1547–1603: The Later TudorsUnit group 1
Y108: The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603–1660Unit group 1
Y109: The Making of Georgian Britain 1678–c.1760Unit group 1
Y110: From Pitt to Peel 1783–1853Unit group 1
Y111: Liberals, Conservatives and the Rise of Labour 1846–1918Unit group 1
Y112: Britain 1900–1951Unit group 1
Y113: Britain 1930–1997Unit group 1
Y201: The Rise of Islam c.550–750Unit group 2
Y202: Charlemagne 768–814Unit group 2
Y203: The Crusades and the Crusader States 1095–1192Unit group 2
Y204: Genghis Khan and the Explosion From the Steppes c.1167–1405Unit group 2
Y205: Exploration, Encounters and Empire 1445–1570Unit group 2
Y206: Spain 1469–1556Unit group 2
Y207: The German Reformation and the Rule of Charles v 1500–1559Unit group 2
Y208: Philip II 1556–1598Unit group 2
Y209: African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: Four Case StudiesUnit group 2
Y210: Russia 1645–1741Unit group 2
Y211: The Rise and Decline of the Mughal Empire in India 1526–1739Unit group 2
Y212: The American Revolution 1740–1796Unit group 2
Y213: The French Revolution and the Rule of Napoleon 1774–1815Unit group 2
Y214: France 1814–1870Unit group 2
Y215: Italy and Unification 1789–1896Unit group 2
Y216: The USA in the 19th Century: Westward Expansion and Civil War 1803–c.1890Unit group 2
Y217: Japan 1853–1937Unit group 2
Y218: International Relations 1890–1941Unit group 2
Y219: Russia 1894–1941Unit group 2
Y220: Italy 1896–1943Unit group 2
Y221: Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919–1963Unit group 2
Y222: The Cold War in Asia 1945–1993Unit group 2
Y223: The Cold War in Europe 1941–1995Unit group 2
Y224: Apartheid and Reconciliation: South African Politics 1948–1999Unit group 2
Y301: The Early Anglo-Saxons c.400–800Unit group 3
Y302: The Viking Age c.790–1066Unit group 3
Y303: English Government and the Church 1066–1216Unit group 3
Y304: The Church and Medieval Heresy c.1100–1437Unit group 3
Y305: The Renaissance c.1400–c.1600Unit group 3
Y306: Rebellion and Disorder Under the Tudors 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y307: Tudor Foreign Policy 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y308: The Catholic Reformation 1492–1610Unit group 3
Y309: The Ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire 1453–1606Unit group 3
Y310: The Development of the Nation State: France 1498–1610Unit group 3
Y311: The Origins and Growth of the British Empire 1558–1783Unit group 3
Y312: Popular Culture and the Witchcraze of the 16th and 17th CenturiesUnit group 3
Y313: The Ascendancy of France 1610–1715Unit group 3
Y314: The Challenge of German Nationalism 1789–1919Unit group 3
Y315: The Changing Nature of Warfare 1792–1945Unit group 3
Y316: Britain and Ireland 1791–1921Unit group 3
Y317: China and Its Rulers 1839–1989Unit group 3
Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964Unit group 3
Y319: Civil Rights in the USA 1865–1992Unit group 3
Y320: From Colonialism to Independence: The British Empire 1857–1965Unit group 3
Y321: The Middle East 1908–2011: Ottomans to Arab SpringUnit group 3
Y302: The Viking Age c.790–1066
Depth study: Raids on England in the late eighth and ninth centuries — motives, success and impact of the raids
- 3 things to know
- Unit group 3
Overview
Recall questions on the debate over the early raids, Sawyer and Brooks, army size, the timing of the raids, England’s political condition, Alcuin on Lindisfarne, and the impact on English politics, government, economy and Church.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
What was the economic impact of the raids?
Give three explanations historians have offered for the timing of the raids.
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is the central historiographical debate about the early raids on England?
Model answer
Whether the Viking attacks were a catastrophic and unprecedented assault, as the clerical sources present them, or a smaller-scale extension of existing North Sea contact whose destructiveness was exaggerated by the churchmen who recorded it.
- 2
Summarise Peter Sawyer's reinterpretation of the raids.
Model answer
He argued that the fleets and armies were far smaller than the sources claim, perhaps only hundreds of men rather than thousands, that Viking violence was no worse than that of Christian rulers, and that the horror in the record reflects the fact that churches were both the victims and the writers.
- 3
How have historians such as Nicholas Brooks answered that argument?
Model answer
They pointed to the great army's sustained ability to defeat three kingdoms in succession, to over-winter and to force repeated tribute, arguing that such achievements require large, well-organised and formidable forces.
- 4
What archaeological evidence has shifted the debate on army size?
Model answer
Excavation of the winter camp at Repton and metal-detected finds from the huge camp at Torksey have revealed occupation over many hectares with large populations, trading and craft activity, which supports the larger estimates rather than the minimalist ones.
- 5
Give three explanations historians have offered for the timing of the raids.
Model answer
The development of the sailed longship made distant raiding practical, hunger for silver drew Scandinavians towards western wealth as eastern supplies fluctuated, and consolidation of royal power at home displaced ambitious men who needed plunder and followers.
- 6
How does the political condition of England help explain the raids' success?
Model answer
The English kingdoms were divided and frequently at war with one another, coastal monasteries were undefended, no standing forces or fortified refuges existed, and each kingdom preferred to buy off an attacker rather than combine against it.
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