The End of the Viking Age

A Webquest for 7th Grade World History Designed by Kathryn ColbyKtymouse@comcast.net

Image courtesy of honeycut07, Flickr.com

Based on a template from

The Webquest Page

https://ramct.colostate.edu/webct/urw/lc5116011.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct

The Death of a King

In early 1066, Edward, king of England, died. While Edward left no son, witnesses claim he promised his throne to his brother-in-law harold, Earl of Wessex, on his deathbed. Harold was a powerful Earl, and the head of a family that controlled the southern half of england.

However, Edward spent a lot of time in Normandy and favored the Norman culture. Witnesses claim he promised his throne to his cousin William the Bastard, who was duke of Normandy when Edward died. The Pope has said that William should be the next

King of England.

Image courtesy of http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/

Tostig, Earl of Northumbria, claims that as Edward’s cousin he has a right to the throne. Tostig is supported by Malcolm, King of Scotland. The Scots have raided England through northumbria often, but Harold put them down in 1059 and 1063.

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Morcar of Mercia also claims the throne. He is the earl Harold installed in place of tostig, and has the welsh favor him because his wife is the daughter of the prince of Wales. Morcar is also related to the king of Norway, and has allies in Jutland who will fight for him. Morcar is known to be a ruthless enemy.

Your task:

You are a member of the witan, the elite council who must choose a new king under the law of Saxon England. Choose carefully – a weak or unpopular king could leave England vulnerable to invasion!

In teams of three, you will

• Assess the qualities of one claimant to the English throne. You will be assigned your candidate.

• Use the websites listed on ask.com/uk to help you find information you need. Pay particular attention to sites labeled “bbc.com/uk” and “royalgov.com/uk”

• You should also look at the wealth your candidate can call on to support him and to protect england. Property, alliances, titles and numbers of fighting men are important here.

• Create a persuasive powerpoint presentation in favor of your candidate. Address his strong points, and criticize what you see as weaknesses of your opponents

The wealth a king could call upon was as important as the number of allies that would support him. A strong king could keep his country safe.

Create a table showing the assets your candidate controls. Use Excel to put this information in a graph. Be sure to label all parts of the graph.

Image courtesy of lukedulaicFlickr.net

Image courtesy of chatirygirl Flickr.net

Many historians believe that the battle of hastings marked the end of the viking age. In an essay of 500 words, explain this statement.

Be sure to consider the changes in common law and social structure, not just the end of the longships.

What happened to the English after the battle? Were their lives better or more difficult when the normans came?

How about the lives of the normans who now lived in england? Did the end of the Battle of hastings improve their lives?

A B C D

Research Complete research focused on reliable sites and books.

Research focused on reliable websites. Concentration on only one candidate

Research focused on one candidate. Some websites may be unreliable

Few facts evident. Sites listed are unreliable or nonexistant

Graph Well labeled, clear, easy to read. Factual research evident.

Factual research evident. Graph may be difficult to read.

Labels unclear. Research not evident.

Graph nonexistent or unreadable.

Powerpoint Persuasive, easy to read. Research evident. Interesting and compelling.

Research evident. More attention to editing needed.

Too much information or too little given. Project loses interest quickly

Little evidence of research. General facts only shown here

Essay Clear, easy to read. Research well sighted. Few errors in spelling or grammar.

Well thought out, easy to read. Research from reliable sources sighted.

More attention needed on reliable sources

Spelling and grammar errors predominate.

Conclusion Historical empathy shown. Good understand of causes and effects evident.

Causes and effects listed. Understanding of consequences of event shown.

Conclusions not firm. More thought and empathy needed.

Conclusion not obvious.

Image courtesy of Lutrus, Flickr.net

For extra credit:

Do you believe william the bastard was a rightful king of england after the battle of hastings? Back up your opinion with facts from the websites you researched. Remember, in the middle ages there was such a thing as the “right of the sword”.

Teacher’s PageAt the end of this lesson, students should

• Be able to explain the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England

• List the economic, political, social and legal ramifications of the Norman conquest

• Explain the difficulties posed by the death of Edward the Confessor

• Explain how the outcomes of the end of Danelaw in England affect our modern life, with particular emphasis on the American Constitution and the Geneva Convention.

The End of the Viking Age

If you’re interested in the Middle Ages, check out these:

Feudal law and justice

http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/middle-ages-justice-law.htm

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

http://www.webmesh.co.uk/a-s-homepage.htm

The Vikings

http://home.freeuk.net/elloughton13/vcontent.htm

Life in a Medieval Town

http://www.trytel.com/~tristan/towns/towns.html