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 — significance of the 860s
- 3 things to know
- Unit group 3
Overview
Recall questions on the significance of the 860s, the response to raids and the first settlements.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Why do some historians think the damage to the Church has been overstated?
How effective was the English response to the great army?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Why do some historians think the damage to the Church has been overstated?
Model answer
Charters, manuscripts and episcopal succession show many houses continuing through the ninth century, some decline pre-dates the raids, and later reformers had an interest in describing the period as a ruin so that their own work looked like restoration.
- 2
Why is the 860s treated as the decisive turning point?
Model answer
The arrival of the great heathen army in 865 changed the aim from plunder to conquest and settlement, and within twelve years three English kingdoms had fallen and Viking armies were dividing up land to farm.
- 3
What do historians disagree about in the phrase a great heathen army?
Model answer
They disagree over its size, whether it was a single force or a coalition of separate war-bands under several leaders that combined and split as opportunity dictated, and how far its aims were planned from the start rather than developing as it went.
- 4
What can be said about the leadership of the great army?
Model answer
The sources name several leaders acting together rather than one king, which suggests a confederation of chieftains held together by shared profit, and later Scandinavian tradition attached legendary motives to them that historians treat with caution.
- 5
How effective was the English response to the great army?
Model answer
Northumbria, East Anglia and Mercia each failed, largely through internal division and reliance on a single battle or a payment, while Wessex under Alfred survived by combining tribute to buy time with structural military reform.
- 6
Why is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle a problematic source for the response?
Model answer
Its ninth-century sections were compiled at Alfred's court, so they record West Saxon campaigns in detail while treating other kingdoms briefly, and they present Alfred's survival as the natural outcome of his leadership.
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