History
Context
To get you ready for Year 12 you will be getting familiar with some of the content from Paper 1:
The two year course that you will be studying is made up three papers.
So the course content is:
Paper 1, Option 1A: The crusades, c1095–1204
This option comprises a study in breadth of the early crusading movement from the late eleventh to the early thirteenth century. It has continued relevance as, even today, the crusades exercise a powerful influence in many countries of the Near East, and their legacy continues to shape relations with Europe and the world. The focus of study is on developments and changes over a broad timescale and so the content is presented as themes spanning a significant period: 1095–1192. This option also contains a study in depth of historical interpretations on a broad question that is contextualised by, and runs on from, the themes: reasons for the failure of the Fourth Crusade
Paper 2, Option 2A.1: Anglo-Saxon England and the Anglo-Norman Kingdom, c1053–1106
This option comprises a study in depth of England and Normandy from the death of Earl Godwin in 1053, through the reigns of William I and William II to the re-establishment of the AngloNorman Kingdom by Henry I in 1107. These were dramatic years of change for England and would shape the course of its history for generations. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of the nature and extent of change in government, society and the church, and of the English people’s resistance to changes.
Paper 3, Option 37.2: Germany, 1871–1990: united, divided and reunited
This option comprises two parts: the Aspects in breadth focus on long-term changes and contextualise the Aspects in depth, which focus in detail on key episodes. Together, the breadth and depth topics explore the ways in which Germany evolved as a new state in Europe undergoing dramatic changes of fortune, set within broader long-term social and economic developments (after 1945, these focus on West Germany). A dynamic empire ended in a brutal war and defeat; out of the ashes of imperial Germany, first a democratic republic and then an extraordinary dictatorship came into being, followed once again by democracy and finally a new unity in 1990.
Coursework
The purpose of this coursework is to enable students to develop skills in the analysis and evaluation of interpretations of history in a chosen question, problem or issue as part of an independently researched assignment. The focus is on understanding the nature and purpose of the work of the historian. Students will be required to form a critical view based on relevant reading on the question, problem or issue. They will also be specifically required to analyse, explain and evaluate the interpretations of three historians. The coursework will be assessed using a centre-set assignment.
Suggested reading/research
KEY Questions:
Where and when were The Crusades?
Theme 1: Reasons for the crusades, 1095–1192
In studying Theme 1, students need to understand the different motives which persuaded medieval rulers, nobles and ordinary people to undertake crusades in the Near East. They need to understand the changing reasons for each of the first three crusades and the links between religious and political motives. They should understand the changing concept of knighthood, and the principles which informed the nature of chivalry. They should understand why successive popes called for crusades, and their ambition of establishing papal primacy over secular rulers.
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Don't forget that Guille - Alles library is doing free home book delivery during lock down so be brave, have a search of their catalogue and get some relevant books in (all part of the journey to becoming a brilliant history student!). They can order books you are after that are not in their catalogue too!
https://guernseypress.com/news/2020/04/29/bored-at-home-library-will-deliver-for-free/
Suggested tasks
Look at the key themes below and try to research these areas in prep for September.
Task 1: Try and create a mind map/poster based on each of the topics below.
Religious motives: the concept of ‘just war’; the impact of the papal reform movement on ideas of penance and remission of sins; guarantees of plenary indulgence; the aim of freeing Jerusalem; papal support for the crusades; the influence of preachers, including Bernard of Clairvaux. ● Political motives: threats to the Byzantine Empire; Alexius I Comnenus’s appeal to Urban II; the political ambitions of the papacy; Urban’s political problems in Germany and France; violence and growing disorder in Europe; the Second and Third Crusades and the defence of the crusader states. ● The knights and the crusades: the nature of knighthood in the late eleventh century; the development of the concept of chivalry; protecting Christianity and pilgrims; settlement in the crusader states and the acquisition of wealth.
2 key books to read over the summer:
Michael Riley and Jamie Byrom, The Crusades (Enquiring History) (Hodder, 2013) Textbook Written for A-level students. Includes many very useful sources.
Jonathan Phillips, The Crusades 1095–1204 (Routledge, 2014) Textbook For students. This updated version of the textbook in the Seminar Studies series includes the Fourth Crusade.
If you get a chance, try to read one of these below. Riley-Smith is the leading historian for Crusades.
Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Crusades: A History (Bloomsbury, 2014)
Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades (Oxford University Press, 2001)
Jonathan Riley-Smith, The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading (Continuum, 2009)
