How can I get above 6 marks in 8 mark exam questions?Watch
1. How convincing is Interpretation A about William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings?
Interpretation A is convincing about the reasons why William won because it says that one of the reasons was because he was 'the better commander'. In the Battle of Hastings, William proved himself to be a good commander through the use of the Norman trick, where Norman soldiers would pretend to flee as an attempt to get the Saxons to leave their shield wall. This worked and as a result the shield wall was broken and many Saxons died. Another way William was a good commander was because he had different types of soldiers, such as ones on horseback and archers. This ensured that he was prepared for any situation. His soldiers were also well trained compared to Harold's.
The interpretation is also convincing because it says that William won partly because of luck. This was true because when William invaded, Harold's army happened to have finished the Battle of Stamford Bridge in the north and were tired from fighting which gave William an advantage. The Norman trick working was also partially due to luck as it was repeated many times over during the course of the battle and there was a chance that it wouldn't work because of this, however it did because the shield wall broke up.
2. Explain what was important about the Norman reform of the English legal system.
William reformed the English legal system after the conquest, although not many things were changed. The things he did change were in order to simplify the legal system and make it more consistent. One of the things he changed was the introduction of the Lord's court, which was introduced to deal with tenants. It supervised property transactions or made announcements of new laws from the King. This was important because the introduction of this court meant that these problems could be dealt with easily. It was also important because it was practical and worked well, as well as proving that the Normans were legitimate rulers who could change the legal system.
William also introduced trial by battle, which was an addition to the previous trials, trial by cold water and trial by hot iron. The accused and the accuser would fight with wooden sticks, or if they were wealthy enough they'd use swords. The Normans believed that God would intervene to help the person in the right. This change in the legal system was important because it reflected the Norman's militaristic culture. It was important because sometimes it led to a confession or surrender, which would reduce the punishment.
3. Explain the significance of Hippocratic and Galenic medicine after c1000 AD
Hippocrates's theory of the four humours, which was later developed by Galen, was influential and was accepted as the truth for 1500 years and had a long term impact. One of the reasons why it was a long term impact was because of the power of the Church, who accepted Galen's theories for many reasons, such as his belief in one God and that God designed the human body. The power of the Church meant that no-one was allowed to disagree with these views. Another reason why they were significant was because only Galenic teachings were taught by universities (which were also controlled by the Church). This meant that doctors were only taught this information, and weren't allowed to learn other theories.
Another long term impact was the lack of writings of other theories. During the time period in which Galenic and Hippocratic teachings were accepted as the truth, only monks were able to write. They produced copies of books, and as they were part of the Church it meant that only books which were about Galenic medicine were copied and given out to the public.
Another more modern long term impact is the use of clinical observation, where doctors examine patients before diagnosing them and providing treatment. This is still in use today, as during the Medieval period doctors checked the pulse of patients and we still do this today.
The decreasing power of the Church in the Renaissance period meant that people such as Vesalius were beginning to challenge Galenic theories. Vesalius disproved Galen's theory on the anatomy of the human body (as Galen only dissected animals) and published this, which at first caused shock and horror but was then later regarded as the truth.
I don’t do your topics, but for a evaluate question, you want to look at both sides of the source and read in between the lines. Is the source bias?
For explain question, make sure you don’t simply throw up knowledge onto the page. Make sure you assess what impact that had on the importance of the thing in question.
For example, on question two, why did William introduce trial by battle? How did this impact the legal system, and why was it important?
Hope this helps and best of luck.