FROM VIKINGS TO NORMANS
These descendants of Viking settlers in northern France adopted Christianity and French culture before becoming some of medieval Europe’s most aggressive conquerors.
Who were the Normans?
This Duke of Normandy defeated Harold Godwinson in 1066 and became king of England.
Who was William the Conqueror?
This English king was forced by rebellious barons to accept Magna Carta in 1215.
Who was King John?
At this disastrous 1071 battle, Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantines and captured Emperor Romanos IV.
What was the Battle of Manzikert?
This Muslim ruler defeated the Crusaders at Hattin and recaptured Jerusalem in 1187.
Who was Saladin?
This Viking leader received territory in northern France in 911 CE, helping establish the region that became Normandy.
Who was Rollo?
Just weeks before Hastings, Harold Godwinson defeated and killed Harald Hardrada at this battle in northern England.
What was the Battle of Stamford Bridge?
Magna Carta literally means this in Latin.
What is the “Great Charter”?
This Byzantine emperor appealed to western Europe for military assistance after Turkish expansion into Anatolia.
Who was Alexios I Komnenos?
This English king fought Saladin during the Third Crusade, conquered Cyprus and captured Acre, but never succeeded in retaking Jerusalem.
Who was Richard I—or Richard the Lionheart?
The death of this English king without an heir in January 1066 triggered the succession crisis that led to the Norman invasion.
Who was Edward the Confessor?
At this decisive battle in 1066, William of Normandy defeated Harold Godwinson and opened the way for the Norman conquest of England.
What was the Battle of Hastings?
King John lost Normandy and much of England’s continental territory to this powerful French king.
Who was Philip II of France?
This pope called for the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont in 1095.
Who was Pope Urban II?
Originally created to protect Christian pilgrims traveling through the Holy Land, this military order became one of the most famous groups of warrior-monks in medieval Europe.
Who were the Knights Templar?
Before conquering England, Norman adventurers seized territory in this Mediterranean island, creating a kingdom where Latin, Greek, Arab, and Norman cultures mixed.
What is Sicily?
This nearly seventy-meter embroidered work tells the story of the Norman Conquest through ships, armies, omens, feasting, and battle scenes.
What is the Bayeux Tapestry?
King John met the rebellious barons at this meadow beside the River Thames in June 1215 to accept Magna Carta.
What is Runnymede?
This poorly organized first wave of crusaders attacked Jewish communities in Europe before being almost completely destroyed by Turkish forces in Anatolia.
What was the People’s Crusade?
Instead of attacking Muslim-held Jerusalem, this crusade was diverted by debt and politics and ended by sacking Christian Constantinople in 1204.
What was the Fourth Crusade?
This Norman adventurer helped conquer southern Italy from Byzantine, Lombard, and Muslim powers before the Norman conquest of England.
Who was Robert Guiscard?
Completed in 1086, this enormous survey recorded England’s land, wealth, villages, livestock, and obligations so William could more effectively tax and control his kingdom.
What was the Domesday Book?
One of Magna Carta’s most enduring principles declared that free men could not be imprisoned, punished, or stripped of property without this kind of judgment.
What is lawful judgment—or due process of law?
After Jerusalem was captured in 1099, this crusader leader refused to call himself king and instead adopted the title “Defender of the Holy Sepulchre.”
Who was Godfrey of Bouillon?
At this enormous battle in 1410, a combined Polish-Lithuanian army decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights and broke their expansion in the Baltic.
What was the Battle of Grunwald?