5. W

hat ro

le did

the ch

urch

, and

ho

ly days,

play in

village life?

4. W

hat o

ther jo

bs m

ight a m

edieval

peasan

t carry ou

t?

3. W

hat w

ere con

diti

on

s like insid

e a peasan

t’s hu

t?

2. W

hat jo

bs d

id p

easants carry o

ut in

sp

ring an

d su

mm

er?

1. W

hat d

id p

easants h

ave to give th

e Lord

o

f the M

ano

r in retu

rn fo

r land

? Th

e m

ed

ieval village

Wo

rksheet A

SOURCE B: Scenes of rural life in a medieval village from the

Luttrell Psalter, via the British Library. This Christian

songbook was written for Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, the lord of

the manor at Irnham, a village near Grantham in

Lincolnshire. Sir Geoffrey commissioned the Psalter around

1330.

Worksheet B

SOURCE C: Aerial photograph of Beaumaris Castle in Anglesey, northern Wales. Its construction was ordered by the English king Edward I following England's conquest of Wales in 1283.

Aerial photograph of Kenilworth Castle in the West Midlands. It was originally built during the 1120s, by Geoffrey de Clinton, one of Henry I’s barons.

Worksheet C

Worksheet D

SOURCE D: Illustration from the ‘Crusader Bible’, created for King Louis IX of

France around the 1240s. It depicts Joshua’s victory at Ai, a story from the Old

Testament, but the weapons and armour are contemporary to 13th century

Europe.

Worksheet E

SOURCE E: A 1407 illustration of monsters in hell from a ’Book of Hours’, via the British Library. It shows in graphic detail what happened to people who sinned on earth and were sent to Hell.

Worksheet F

SOURCE F: Manuscript illustration of the stocks, via the National Archives. It is very unlikely that a monk or a nun was ever put in them, and certainly not together. More likely, the artist was having fun at their expense.

Essay Title: Was medieval English society ruled through violence?

Introduction: How important was violence to life in medieval England? How important is violence to life in England today?

What will your argument be for this essay?

Paragraph 1. Were the lives of medieval peasants ruled through violence?

Paragraph 2. Were the lives of medieval knights ruled through violence?

Paragraph 3. What role did religion play in ruling medieval society?

Conclusion: Overall, do you believe medieval English society was ruled through violence? Yes, no, or somewhere in the

middle?

Worksheet G

Worksheet G (reverse)

This essay will be marked out of A* to U, according to the expected outcomes for your year group (not according to GCSE expectations).

Three features of your essay will be taken into consideration for your essay:

1. Spelling, punctuation, grammar and presentation.

2. Accuracy of content

3. Quality of argument

1. Spelling, punctuation, grammar and presentation. Your essay should :

have accurate spelling, in particular for key people, places and words.

be punctuated correctly, in particular the use of capital letters, full sentences, full stops, commas, and quotation marks.

have accurate grammar, in particular the use of the correct tense and verbs which agree with subjects.

be written in a formal, academic language (no slang or conversational language)

be written neatly, legibly and clearly.

clearly be divided into separate paragraphs, with a line left between each paragraph.

2. Accuracy of content. Your essay should :

Use accurate dates for important events.

Include the names of important figures.

Include key words and concepts that we have studied with the topic.

Show a clear understanding of the chronology (timeline) of the period.

3. Quality of argument. Your essay should:

give your own opinion throughout: do you believe that medieval English society was ruled by violence? Your essay does not have to be a ‘balanced argument’

start with an introduction which captures the reader’s attention; briefly explains who what medieval life was like; and tells the reader what your argument will be about the importance of violence.

have three main paragraphs (not including introduction and conclusion). Each paragraph should look at the question from a different perspective: medieval peasants, medieval knights, and medieval religion.

include content from all the topics that we have studied, in particular the feudal system; life as a medieval peasant; life as a medieval knight; medieval castles and medieval religion.

include evidence from the historical sources that we have read this term. These are scenes of rural life in a medieval village from Luttrell Psalter; Aerial photographs of Beaumaris Castle in Wales and Kenilworth Castle in the West Midlands; illustration from the ‘Crusader Bible’, created for King Louis IX of France; and A 1407 illustration from a ’Book of Hours’ entitled ‘Monsters in Hell’.

end with a conclusion, which states – overall – whether you believe medieval English society was ruled through violence. Yes, no, or somewhere in the middle?

Success criteria