Year 7 Recap Summer Project Information Motte and

• After 1066, the new Norman barons built 'motte and bailey' castles. They forced the local Saxons to heap up a mound of earth (the motte). Then a wooden called a '' was built on top. When attacked, if necessary, the defenders could retreat there. • Sometimes there was a courtyard called a 'bailey' at the bottom of the mound. It was surrounded by a wall of wooden stakes. • In the bailey were the stables and barns, the bakehouse, the blacksmith's and the day-to-day living quarters. • Because the walls were made of wood, they were easily to set on fire and destroy. Stone Keep

• After 1100, the barons began to build huge stone . The walls were up to seven metres thick. Notice the steps up to the main entrance, which made it more difficult to break down the door. • The wall at the bottom of the keep angled outwards (called a 'batter') so that stones dropped from the would bounce outwards onto the attackers. • They were expensive to build and to maintain and so only the wealthiest lords could afford to build very secure stone castles. • Stone castles were built on a square or rectangular plan, which meant you could mine under a corner and make the castle walls crumble easily. Concentric Castle

Edward I's castles in Wales were the best of all. They were 'concentric castles', with a central courtyard surrounded by more than one wall. The inner walls were higher than the outer walls, so defenders could fire down on attackers even if the outer wall had fallen. The gateway was the most heavily-defended, by a building called a ''. The are round; round towers are better than square ones because any stones fired at them tend to deflect. The size of these Castles meant they were hugely expensive and had to be built on very specific pieces of flat land. Palace

Palaces were more advanced than Concentric Castles and Stone Keep's in that they differed in their purpose. They were generally built during peace times to show the grandeur, strength and wealth of the Monarchs. As such from a defensive perspective, they were vulnerable with glass windows and just one wall. From a comfort and lifestyle perspective, they had grand hosting lounges and dining halls. There were many bedrooms and bathrooms. The symbolism again showed off the owners wealth and influence. Medieval Village Medieval Town Medieval Life information

• Life – People in the middle ages were very hard working. They had jobs from farmers, to market traders to carpenters and soldiers. Peasants rarely got days off, worked long hours and received very little pay. Only on Holy Days such as sundays and Christmas Day did they receive time off. • Religion - The people of the middle ages were very religious. Catholicism was the predominant religion, and people believed they should live their life in accordance with Gods rules, so as to eventually go to heaven. As a result, whenever anything occurred that was troublesome or dangerous, they often believed God was punishing them for wrongdoings. Medieval Life Information

• Public Health – Sanitation, the providing of structures which take away waste and bring in clean water, was poor during the middle ages. Many people relied on the river as their primary source of sanitation, for both washing, taking away waste and as drinking water. The dirt around the villages and the animals living closely with the people allowed disease to spread easily.

• Disease – Due to the poor sanitation and the close proximity of people and animals living in squalor, diseases such as the Black Death, which swept across and England in 1348, destroyed around a third of the entire population of England, estimating just under 2 million people. The buboes that grew on the body were a clear sign of somebody who was suffering with the disease. It spread from rats carrying fleas with the disease, that came to Europe on merchant boats. The people, due to their superstitious and religious beliefs, thought that God had caused it, therefore efforts to stop it were largely limited to natural remedies and prayer. Due to the high death rate, peasants were more in demand after the black death as less were around to work for Lords. Therefore they received slightly more freedom and pay. King John Major events

• 1202 – Lost Land to the French and King Philip • 1209-1213 – Excommunicated (banned) from the Church for trying to force his choice for Archbishop through. • 1214 - Battle of Bouvine – John was badly defeated and lost even more land and had to pay a large sum of money. • 1215 (June) – John is forced to sign the Magna Carta by his Barons who rebelled against him. The treaty limited John's power. • August 1215, King John had the pope issue a document declaring it null and void. War broke out between King John and the Barons (who had support from King Philip). • October 1216 – John died from dysentery and the war was over, his son King Henry III took the throne.