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GCSEHistoryEdexcelExam QuestionsAnglo-Saxon & Norman England, c1060-1088 Resistance to William the Conqueror, 1068-1075

Syllabus Edition

First teaching 2016

Last exams 2025

Resistance to William the Conqueror, 1068-1075 (Edexcel GCSE History): Exam Questions

Exam code: 1HI0

33 mins33 questions
Easy
Medium
Hard
11 mark

What year did Edwin and Morcar revolt against William the Conqueror?

  • 1068

  • 1069

  • 1071

  • 1075

Choose your answer

21 mark

Which event followed Edwin and Morcar's surrender to William in 1068?

  • Edgar the Aethling's rebellion.

  • The Battle of Hastings.

  • The Battle of Stamford Bridge.

  • The Harrying of the North.

Choose your answer

31 mark

Who was removed from their position in Northumbria in 1069, causing discontent?

  • Tostig Godwinson.

  • Robert Cumin.

  • Morcar.

  • Gospatric.

Choose your answer

41 mark

What happened in York on 21st September 1069?

  • The construction of a Norman castle in York destroyed 100 properties.

  • The Normans accidentally set the city on fire in an attempt to move citizens away from the approaching army. 

  • William pardoned all rebels involved in the murder of Robert Cumin.

  • The Danes retreated after 3,000 Danish and English soldiers died in the open battle for York.

Choose your answer

51 mark

What was the Harrying of the North?

  • A rebellion led by Hereward the Wake.

  • A series of military victories against the Northern rebels.

  • A campaign to destroy vast areas of the North.

  • A Danish invasion in support of the Northern rebels.

Choose your answer

61 mark

Which year did the Harrying of the North occur?

  • 1066-1067

  • 1068-1069

  • 1069-1070

  • 1070-1071

Choose your answer

71 mark

How did William respond to the Anglo-Danish alliance in 1069?

  • He fled England to Normandy.

  • He bribed the Danes to leave.

  • He went to war with Denmark.

  • He sought an alliance with Edgar the Aethling.

Choose your answer

81 mark

What role did Hereward the Wake play in the Anglo-Saxon resistance?

  • He led a rebellion in Ely against the Normans.

  • He was an Anglo-Saxon earl who worked with the Normans.

  • He was a trusted Norman earl who built a castle in York to stop the Northern rebellions.

  • He betrayed Morcar in his and Edwin’s uprising in 1068.

Choose your answer

91 mark

How did William’s soldiers finally defeat the rebels at Ely in 1071?

  • They trapped the rebels in a castle.

  • They lured the rebels off the Isle of Ely.

  • They built a mile-long wooden bridge over the marshland to reach the Isle of Ely.

  • They bribed local monks to help to navigate the marshland.

Choose your answer

101 mark

What tactic did Hereward the Wake use to fight the Normans?

  • Naval warfare.

  • Large-scale battles.

  • Guerrilla warfare.

  • Castle sieges.

Choose your answer

111 mark

Which year marked the end of large-scale Anglo-Saxon rebellions?

  • 1068

  • 1069

  • 1071

  • 1075

Choose your answer

121 mark

Which earls revolted in 1075?

  • Edwin and Morcar.

  • Edgar Aethling and Malcolm III.

  • Ralph de Gael, Roger de Breteuil and Waltheof.

  • Bishop Wulfstan of Worcester and the abbot of Evesham.

Choose your answer

131 mark

Which Norman responded to the Revolt of the Earls?

  • William I.

  • Robert Curthose.

  • William Rufus.

  • Archbishop Lanfranc.

Choose your answer

141 mark

Who informed Lanfranc about the planned Revolt of the Earls in 1075?

  • Waltheof.

  • Ralph de Gael.

  • Roger de Breteuil.

  • William I.

Choose your answer

151 mark

What was a weakness of the Earls' revolt plan in 1075?

  • There was a lack of support from Normandy.

  • The earls did not back down when they knew that the Normans had uncovered their plan.

  • The delayed arrival of the French fleet meant that they lacked military support.

  • They relied too much on Anglo-Saxon rebels, who backed down once William arrived back from Normandy.

Choose your answer

161 mark

What was the role of Bishop Wulfstan of Worcester during the Revolt of the Earls?

  • He led the rebellion.

  • He trapped Roger in Herefordshire.

  • He helped the earls to revolt against William.

  • He sent scouts to Hereford and East Anglia to gain information on Ralph and Roger's preparations.

Choose your answer

171 mark

Did the Revolt of the Earls have popular support?

  • Yes. The Revolt of the Earls had support from both the Anglo-Saxon population and the Norman aristocracy.

  • Yes. The Revolt of the Earls had support from the Anglo-Saxon population.

  • Yes. The Revolt of the Earls had support from the Norman aristocracy.

  • No. The Revolt of the Earls did not have support from the Anglo-Saxon population or the Norman aristocracy.

Choose your answer

11 mark

What was a cause of the revolt of Edwin and Morcar?

  • The loss of land to Normans.

  • Low taxes imposed by William.

  • The building of burhs.

  • William's broken marriage promise to Morcar.

Choose your answer

21 mark

What was the consequence of the Harrying of the North for the region?

  • An increased population.

  • A lasting decline in the region's wealth.

  • William’s loss of control of the North.

  • A rebellion from the North, supported by the Danes.

Choose your answer

31 mark

What was a key cause for Hereward the Wake’s rebellion?

  • William had replaced the Archbishop of Canterbury.

  • A Norman lord claimed his family’s land.

  • He wanted Edgar the Aethling to be King of England.

  • Fear of a Viking invasion.

Choose your answer

41 mark

What was a consequence of Hereward the Wake’s rebellion?

  • The capture and death of Hereward.

  • The capture of Edwin.

  • An increase in large-scale Anglo-Saxon rebellions.

  • An end to large-scale Anglo-Saxon rebellion.

Choose your answer

51 mark

What caused the rebellion in the North?

  • The discovery of Edgar’s brother’s head on a spike outside of his family’s property.

  • The reduction of the earldom of Mercia.

  • Robert Cumin allowed his troops to attack people and property in Durham.

  • Revenge for the death of Robert Cumin.

Choose your answer

61 mark

What caused the 1075 Revolt of the Earls?

  • The belief that William was too weak to rule both England and Normandy.

  • A reduction in the size of earldoms.

  • Religious disputes.

  • The threat of foreign invasion.

Choose your answer

71 mark

What consequence did Ralph de Gael face after the failed revolt?

  • He was executed.

  • He was imprisoned for life.

  • He fled to Brittany.

  • He was pardoned by William.

Choose your answer

81 mark

What consequence did Roger de Breteuil face after the failed revolt?

  • He was exiled.

  • He was executed.

  • He was pardoned.

  • He was imprisoned for life.

Choose your answer

91 mark

What consequence did Waltheof face after the failed revolt?

  • He was given a new title for his loyalty.

  • He was executed.

  • He was pardoned.

  • He was imprisoned for life.

Choose your answer

11 mark

Why did William go back on his promise to Edwin about marriage to his daughter?

  • William feared losing control of Normandy.

  • William did not want to increase Edwin's power.

  • William had promised his daughter to King Sweyn.

  • Edwin refused to join William’s army.

Choose your answer

21 mark

Why did the rebellion of the North pose a serious threat to William?

  • The Danish army joined forces with the rebels.

  • It was supported by the Scottish.

  • The rebellion got very close to London.

  • William had no army to suppress it.

Choose your answer

31 mark

Why did Morcar join Hereward the Wake in 1071?

  •  He wanted to surrender to William.

  • He sought revenge on the Danish.

  • Hereward promised him land in return for his support.

  • He had escaped William's court.

Choose your answer

41 mark

How did William respond to guerrilla warfare in the Rebellion of Ely?

  • William did not cope well with the guerrilla warfare tactics of the rebels. He was too slow to react.

  • William personally oversaw every unruly area in England.

  • William ordered the building of castles as a symbol of Norman power.

  • William’s forces searched for rebel burhs to stop the rebellions.

Choose your answer

51 mark

How important was Edwin and Morcar’s revolt for Anglo-Saxon resistance?

  • Edwin and Morcar’s rebellion was not important. The failure of the rebellion stopped all Anglo-Saxon rebellions.

  • Edwin and Morcar’s rebellion had some importance. Edgar the Aethling escaped to Wales, keeping the possibility of an Anglo-Saxon King of England.

  • Edwin and Morcar’s rebellion was important. The North of England became a centre for rebellion against Norman control.

  • Edwin and Morcar’s rebellion was very important. It succeeded when William surrendered in 1068.

Choose your answer

61 mark

Why did the Danish fleet fail to assist the earls in 1075?

  • The Danes were defeated by William.

  • The Danes arrived late and avoided direct confrontation with William.

  • The Danes supported William instead.

  • The Danish fleet was destroyed by a storm.

Choose your answer

71 mark

Which key similarity exists between the Revolt of the Earls in 1075 and Anglo-Saxon rebellions?

  • A desire to restore Anglo-Saxon kings.

  • Religious grievances.

  • A desire for the restoration of land and power.

  • Support for a Viking King of England.

Choose your answer