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Norman England, c1066–c1100

The historic environment of Norman England

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 2 section B

Overview

How to write about a Norman site's location, function, structure, people and design, including why castles stood where they did, the motte-and-bailey plan, the Norman great church, round arches and heavy pillars, and what such buildings show about Norman power over the English.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What purposes could a Norman site serve, what design features mark it, and which kinds of site are studied?

Key term

What does the design of a site tell you about the relationship between Normans and the English?

Key term

What should you be able to say about the location of the site you have studied?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What should you be able to say about the location of the site you have studied?

    Model answer

    Where it stands, what the land and water around it are like, and why that particular spot was chosen for it.

  2. 2

    Why did the Normans place their castles where they did?

    Model answer

    They chose river crossings, roads, coasts, high ground and existing towns so that a garrison could control movement and overawe the population.

  3. 3

    What should you be able to say about the function of the site you have studied?

    Model answer

    What it was built to do, whether that purpose changed over time, and whether it also served as a home, a stronghold, a place of worship or a centre of government.

  4. 4

    What purposes could a single Norman site serve at once?

    Model answer

    Defence against attack, a base for controlling the surrounding district, a lord's residence, and a visible statement of Norman power.

  5. 5

    What should you be able to say about the structure of the site you have studied?

    Model answer

    Its materials, its layout, how it was defended or supported, and how far the building standing today has been altered since.

  6. 6

    Describe the structure of a motte-and-bailey castle.

    Model answer

    A tower stood on a raised mound of earth, joined to an enclosed yard below, with the whole ringed by a ditch and a wooden palisade.

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