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Video summary of the French Revolution - animation.

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A link to information all about the Battle of Hastings.

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The Battle of Hastings is one of the most famous and important battles in English history.

This year, we are celebrating 950 years since it happened, back in the Middle Ages, on 14th October 1066.

It was fought between William of Normandy and his army from France (called the Normans), and King Harold II and his English army. The English were known as the Anglo-Saxons back then. William won and Harold lost - legend has it he died from an arrow in the eye!

As a way of remembering this incredibly important battle, the Royal Mint - which makes our money - is making five million special 50p coins.

It is fitting as the Royal Mint has been making money for over 1,000 years, so soldiers at the time of the Battle of Hastings would have used money made by them.

Newsround takes a look at what exactly happened and why it was so important to England's history.

What happened?

Like many battles in history, it was fought because one person wanted to be king of another place. In this case, William of Normandy in France wanted to be King of England.

He believed he should have been made king when King Edward "the Confessor" died. Edward was was his distant cousin and William said he'd promised him the job.

However, a man called Harold Godwinson was crowned King of England in January 1066. William was furious.

At the end of September 1066, he sailed over to England from France with around 700 ships and a very large army.

When King Harold II learned about this, he marched with his army straight down to Sussex to meet the invaders. The march meant they were exhausted when they arrived.

On Saturday 14th October 1066, they met at a place called Senlac Hill near Hastings to fight each other. The battle lasted all day and thousands of men were killed and injured.

The army from France were much better-trained than the English, and had better weapons and horses. The English army were tired from the journey and also because they had recently had a battle with a Norwegian army, whose leader wanted Harold's crown too.

Eventually, King Harold II was killed. It is thought he was struck in the eye with an arrow, although historians are still arguing over whether this is actually true.

The Normans had conquered England. William became known as William the Conqueror - and he soon became King of England.

Why is it important?

The Battle of Hastings was extremely important for the history of England as it completely changed who was in charge.

The Anglo-Saxons had ruled the land for over 600 years since the Roman times. Now, the Normans had taken over, which meant big changes.

They took over the land, so people who worked in the fields now had new bosses. The language also changed, mixing Anglo-Saxon English with Norman French. That mixture would eventually become the English we know today.

The new rulers also gave England better links to France and the rest of Europe, and you could see their influence in buildings like churches and castles.

The Battle of Hastings also gave us one of the most famous tapestries in the world.

Not long after the battle took place, the story of what happened was recorded in what is a bit like an amazing stitched comic strip, called the Bayeux Tapestry.

It is around 70 metres long and almost as old as the Battle of Hastings itself. That means it's a piece of fabric that is almost 950 years old!

The tapestry tells the story of a moment in time which changed the history of England changed forever.

Test your knowledge of the Battle of Hastings with our quiz.

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What happened at the Battle of Hastings?

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The Battle of Hastings is one of the most famous and important battles in English history. This year, we are celebrating 950 years since it happened, back in the Middle Ages, on 14th October 1066. It was fought between William of Normandy and his army from France (called the Normans), and King Harold II and his English army.

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Background knowledge on the Vikings but some useful photos of Viking artefacts.

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Piece of jewellery depicting a valkyrie. Found at Tissø.

In the early Viking period the Nordic gods were worshipped in Scandinavia. Christianity was being adopted in Europe and therefore the Vikings in the north stood out as different. The Christians of Europe called the Vikings heathens. This term was used indiscriminately for those with differing beliefs. However, the Vikings were very satisfied with their own gods. Over a considerable period of time, the Nordic gods had shown their superiority with the numerous successful plundering raids against Christians around Europe.

Valkyrie on horseback with spear and helmet. Painting: Peter Nicolai Arbo.

Written sources

Our knowledge about the Vikings' early beliefs - the pre-Christian religion - is a patchwork quilt of information from many places, periods and people, who were often from a completely different background.

The most important sources about the old Nordic religion are the poems of the Elder Edda (Poetic Edda) and the Younger Edda (Prose Edda) - a book containing retellings of the Nordic myths written by Snorri Sturluson. Both were written by Christian historical writers at the start of the medieval period. These writers must have learnt the stories about the Vikings from others. Therefore the sources do not always inform us about how the Vikings saw the Nordic gods, but more how Christians perceived them.

There are only a few sources of information from the Viking period itself. These consist of descriptions written by Arabic travellers, Christian accounts from Western Europe, skaldic poetry and rune stones. Early legal texts also contain information about the pre-Christian religion and its practices.

Apart from these sources, some archaeological objects have also been found, which tell us about the Vikings' early beliefs and the pantheon of Norse gods. Thor's hammers are a good example of this. Thor was the god of thunder and he protected Midgard - the world of humans - using his hammer Mjöllnir. Jewellery has also been found representing valkyries. The valkyries were female dieties, who Odin sent to the battlefield to choose the warriors that were to die and bring them to Valhalla. Here the valkyries waited upon these fallen warriors.

Bracteate depicting Odin and his eight-legged horse Sleipnir.

Copied religion?

There is evidence that the Nordic gods were worshipped as early as the Iron Age, at least 300 years before the beginning of the Viking period. Certain gold bracteates feature depictions of the Nordic gods. These include the war god Týr with his hand in the mouth of the wolf Fenrir, as well as the noble god Baldr, who was killed by an arrow.

Inspiration for the Nordic gods is believed to have come from the Mediterranean area as there are many similarities with the Roman gods.

The gods are with us on many days of the week!

Did you know that the Nordic gods are with us on many days of the week? Their names have been incorporated as follows: Tuesday means Týr's day, Wednesday Odin's day, Thursday Thor's day and Friday either the wife of Odin Frigg's day or the goddess of love Freyja's day.

The idea of giving the days of the week the names of gods was borrowed from the Romans, who called the days after the then known planets named after gods, together with the sun and the moon. Even if the Vikings became Christian, they never completely let go of the Norse gods. The days of the week that are named after gods are a good illustration of this.

On the stone from Hørdum Church in Jutland Thor can be seen on a fishing trip to catch the Midgard serpent. There are numerous depictions of this popular myth.

The Viking picture of the universe

The home of the gods
Ásgard floated in the air and was a large fortified castle with a high wall around it. In Ásgard were various halls and abodes, where the gods lived.

Giants
At the edge of the cosmos lived the giants - the enemies of the gods and humans. The giants were related to the Nordic gods, but were nevertheless their bitter enemies. They battled against each other time after time. Thor in particular often went out to hunt giants. The Vikings equated giants with evil and chaos. At the end of the world - Ragnarök - the giants, gods and humans would meet in a final deadly battle.

Other beings
At Yggdrasil's roots lived the norns. These were female spirits for both gods and humans. They spun the inevitable threads of fate and were arbiters of life. The most dangerous beings were the wolf Fenrir and the Midgard serpent - a great sea snake, which stretched around the whole world.

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Before Christianity the Nordic gods were worshipped in Denmark. This was the first Viking religion. Some days of the week are named after Viking gods.

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Early English manuscripts. Background knowledge but also useful images.

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What was it like to live in Viking Britain? Link to animated film.

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What was life like in Viking Britain?

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How was Viking society organised?

The Vikings were not all bloodthirsty raiders. Some came to fight, but others came to Britain to live peacefully.

Viking | Who were they? | What did they do?
King | The most powerful person in all the land | Ruled the people and everyone looked up to him
Jarls (nobles) | Rich landowners or traders | They employed men to work for them
Karls | Everyday people like farmers and craft workers | They weren't as rich or important as jarls but they weren't poor either
Thralls (enslaved people) | Bottom of the hierarchy | They did the hardest, dirtiest jobs and if they tried to run away they could be killed. However, if thralls could earn enough money they could buy their freedom

Who was Eric Bloodaxe?

Eric Bloodaxe was the King of the Viking city of Jorvik. This is one of his silver coins. It has ‘Eric Rex’ written on it, which means ‘King Eric’ in Latin.

Norwegian Eric ‘Bloodaxe’ led his own kingdom in York in the 950s.

31 coins minted at York bear Eric’s name but he was betrayed and killed in AD954.

What jobs did Vikings do?

Many Vikings worked as farmers. Everything had to be done by hand on a Viking farm, so life was tough.

Farmers grew oats, barley and wheat. They ground the grain to make flour, porridge and ale. They planted vegetables, and kept animals like cows, sheep, pigs and chickens.

Vikings were skilled at shaping things from wood. These wooden bowls and cups were 'turned' (cut to shape) on a machine called a lathe.

Other jobs were:

Craft workers who made plates, cups, belts and shoes.

Jewellers who made rings and brooches from precious metals.

Blacksmiths who hammered red-hot iron into tools, knives and swords.

Potters who baked clay pots in a wood fire oven.

People sold these goods at markets. Here a family could buy anything from amber beads and apples, to walrus tusks and wolf-skins. Vikings also sailed the seas to buy silver, silk, spices and furs.

Where did Vikings live?

With just one room for all the family to share with their animals, a longhouse would have been a crowded and smelly place to live.

This was built from wood or stone and had a thatched or turf roof on top.

There was no bathroom inside, but the Vikings kept clean by washing in a wooden bucket or beside a stream.

Instead of toilets, people used a cesspit, which was a hole outside dug for toilet waste.

What did the Vikings believe?

The Norse people worshipped many gods and loved to tell stories of magic and monsters around the fire.

The Vikings loved to tell myths and legends about their gods.

Watch: Viking beliefs

Find out more about what the Vikings believed

The gods were very important to the Vikings. They loved to talk about them, worship them and argue about them which was their favourite!

The Chief god was Odin. He created Midgard, the home of the humans, and Asgard, the home of the gods.

Thor was the god of thunder, who fought with a mighty hammer so powerful it could crush mountains.

He rode a chariot pulled by two goats, which he often ate and then brought back to life!

The Norse people loved Thor, because he was the god who protected them and their world.

His goats might not have been so keen on him though!

Loki was a trickster and he loved making trouble.

He also had the rather cool power of being a shape-shifter.

Eventually Loki went too far with his pranks and the gods punished him severely!

There were other gods too like Frigg, the wife of Odin, and Mani the god of the moon.

There were also gods for things like peace, winter and even old age!

The Vikings believed that they might wonder the world as ghosts if they weren’t given the right type of funeral.

And important Vikings, such as chiefs, wanted to be just as powerful in the afterlife, so they were often cremated on a burning ship along with their favourite treasures, weapons, pets and even servants.

If Vikings died bravely in battle they might be selected by Odin to go to great feasting halls such as Valhalla.

Flying warrior maidens called Valkyries would escort them from Midgard to the afterlife.

There they would fight, drink and eat all day and night with the gods – and Thor’s goats, of course.

Did the Vikings have laws?

Vikings had their own laws and government.

People gathered at a meeting called a ‘Thing’. Here they would settle problems and make decisions.

People could vote on what should happen. For example, the Thing might decide who owned a piece of land or how to punish a criminal.

All this was overseen by a judge known as a law-speaker.

Viking laws were not written down, so laws were passed from person to person by word of mouth.

People who broke the law became outlaws. They had to live in the wilderness and anyone was allowed to hunt them down and kill them.

Vikings could also settle arguments with a fight known as a Holmgang. Whoever won the duel was seen as chosen by the gods.

The 'Thing' was an early version of today's parliament where people met to discuss new laws and settle disputes.

Activities

Activity 1: Viking families

Click on each of the Viking family members below to find out more about their life.

Activity 2: Viking homes

Click on the labels to find out more about what was inside a longhouse.

Activity 3: Quiz – Viking life

There's more to learn...

What was life like in Viking Britain?

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What was Viking Britain like? Learn about family life, settlements and Viking beliefs in this BBC Bitesize year 5/6 history guide.

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Link to video animations about all aspects of the Vikings.

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KS2 History Vikings learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers.

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Background knoweldge for teachers on the Venerable Bede

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St Bede - also known as the Venerable Bede - is widely regarded as the greatest of all the Anglo-Saxon scholars. He wrote around 40 books mainly dealing with theology and history.

Bede was probably born in Monkton, Durham. Nothing is known of his family background. At the age of seven he was entrusted to the care of Benedict Biscop, who is 674 AD had founded the monastery of St Peter at Wearmouth. In 682 AD, Bede moved the monastery at Jarrow, where he spent the rest of his life. By the age of 19 he had become a deacon and was promoted to priest at 30.

His scholarship covered a huge range of subjects, including commentaries on the bible, observations of nature, music and poetry. His most famous work, which is a key source for the understanding of early British history and the arrival of Christianity, is 'Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum' or 'The Ecclesiastical History of the English People' which was completed in 731 AD. It is the first work of history in which the AD system of dating is used.

Bede died in his cell at the monastery in May 735 AD.

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St Bede - also known as the Venerable Bede - is widely regarded as the greatest of all the Anglo-Saxon scholars. He wrote around 40 books mainly dealing with theology and history. Bede was probably born in Monkton, Durham. Nothing is known of his family background.

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Scots and Picts background knowledge for teachers.

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History and background to Scotsand Picts

Who were the Picts?

The origin of the Picts is clouded by the many fables and legends about them. There are numerous theories as to who the Picts were and where they came from. Experts even disagree over what they ate and drank and what language they spoke.

The Picts were an ancient and artistic people who defied the might of Rome which conquered the rest of Britain. They were a sophisticated , hardworking, clever people, skilled in farming and fishing.

How do we know about the Picts?

The Picts left few written records. Our main sources of information are Roman and Greek writings , as well as designs and symbols left on great Pictish stones. We also know that their story tellers passed stories down through the ages by word of mouth.

The Picts remain possibly the biggest mystery of European history. Who were these fierce and independent people who lived north of Hadrian's Wall and even as far as the Shetlands? Where did they come from? What language did they speak? What did they call themselves and more fundamentally what became of them?

Picts are first recorded in history in the third century AD. Eumenius, a Roman writer, describes the "pictus" as fierce and skilled in battle. It is not clear whether "pictus" (the Latin for 'painted') was intended, or if this is a Latin form of some indigenous name.

Picts and Romans

Although the Romans reached Scotland and often defeated them in battle, they never conquered the Picts or Pictland. The Roman Empire's expeditions north resulted in few gains.

It was Hadrian who decided that these northern lands were not worth sacrificing any more legions for. So he pulled back the Empire to the Tyne and the Solway where the famous wall which bears his name was built, stretching 70 miles from coast to coast.

Perhaps because of frequent attacks against the wall, Antoninus Pius advanced the Empire's northern frontier to the thin neck between the Forth and Clyde where the Antonine wall was built. A shorter wall, only 30 miles long but with some 20 forts, it may even have separated some Pictish tribes on either side. The Picts ceaselessly attacked the wall, and the Romans lost and regained it twice before finally retreating to Hadrian's wall by the end of the 2nd century AD. By studying the Roman accounts of these Pictish Wars, it appears that most Pictish lands were north of the Antonine Wall.

Pictish Life

The Roman name "Picti" means 'painted ones' and the Romans believed the Picts were little more than naked savages. However, it is now thought that this is an exaggeration.
Given Scotland's climate, it is unlikely that the Picts spent a lot of their time undressed.
It is believed that they wore clothes coloured with natural dyes and used leather for footwear and jackets.

The Picts were also thought to be excellent farmers, growing crops and keeping animals for food and clothing. Certainly, horses were important to the Picts as they are depicted on many of their carved stones.

The Race of Picts

Scotland's sculptured stones, created by the Picts of ancient Alba tell the stories of a race of people who defied Rome and survived the invading Vikings, thus preserving a separate culture and race in Scotland. It is in these sometimes mighty, sometimes delicate stones that the history of ancient Scotland is now recorded.

The Picts were often attacked by the Britons and eventually all the Pictish tribes agreed to support one High King who would rule all of Pictland. The Picts, unusually, were a matrilineal society, i.e. bloodlines passed through the mother. Pictish kings were not succeeded by their sons, but by brothers, nephews or cousins as traced by the female line in a complicated series of intermarriages between 7 royal houses. It is this rare form of succession which in 845 AD gave the crown of Alba and the title Rex Pictorum - King of the Picts - to the son of a Pictish princess by the name of Kenneth, Son of Alpin.

The Picts survived as a distinct people until early in the 10th century. However, there is no record of them dying out or moving elsewhere. It is most likely that the Picts simply became the largest population within the developing multi-ethnic nation of Scotti, Picts, Britons and Angles which we now call "Scotland".

Who were the Scotti?

The Pict and the Scotti cultures developed independently on either side of the Grampian mountains, which accounts for the significant differences between the two (although both were originally pagan societies, believing in magic and sacrifice). The Scotti have until recently been thought to come from Ireland and settled in the lands around Dunadd in Argyllshire. New evidence makes us question this idea, but as the coast of Northern Ireland is so close to Scotland's west coast there must have been frequent travelling between the two islands.

The designs and symbols on stones in Pictland are very different from the Scotti stones, as are the jewellery designs. They also spoke different languages.

The Scotti had a King, who decided who received land and who protected the Kingdom of Dal Riada from invaders. The King was helped by loyal nobles, who would help to protect the Kingdom, by providing men and ships. In return for such loyalty, the King would give special pieces of jewellery to the nobles. These showed that the wearer was important and had found favour with the King. New Kings were crowned in Dunadd, the capital of the Scotti kingdom and would return there in times of danger.

St. Columba & the Scotti

The Scotti way of life changed forever with the arrival of Columba and a group of monks who brought Christianity to Dal Riada . Columba had been banished from Ireland in 563 AD possibly for leading battles against rich Irish monasteries. With 12 supporters he sailed to Iona. It is thought that he crowned a fellow Irishman, Aidan, King of Dal Riada. In return Aidan gifted Iona to Columba. He established a monastery there from where his brand of Christianity quickly spread across the mainland. The monks had also brought with them books, and the skills of reading and writing. It was on Iona that the Book of Kells was produced, a masterpiece of Dark Age European art.

It is thought that the King of Dal Riada accepted Christianity in order to strengthen his power. For the Scotti warrior Kings, Columba was seen as a useful asset. The monastery taught their heirs, and Columba was an advisor to the King and ambassador to Pictland and Ireland. Columba's blessing was treasured by Kings – which was seen as a powerful symbol of their authority. In return for Columba's support, the Scotti gave land to the monastery as well as protection.

Columba died in 597 AD, but the monastery's influence continued. Pilgrimages to Iona became more frequent; Kings wanted to be buried near Columba; and a network of Celtic crosses and processional routes developed around his shrine.

Picts and Northumbrians

The Picts and the Scotti often fought. However, the Picts also had another enemy – King Edwin's Northumbrians. King Edwin took control of all the land as far north as the River Forth and renamed the 'fort on the slope' (Din Eidyn) "Edwin's-burgh". He then moved further into Pictland and took control of southern Pictland. A new Pictish High King was found, with the tribal king Brudei as the new war leader. This war ended at the battle of Dunnichen where the Picts were able to trap Edwin's army, ridding Pictland of the Northumbrians.

Picts and Christianity

The Picts then faced a choice over which brand of Christianity to follow. The Church of Rome had been established during the Northumbrian occupation, but the Scotti followed the Columbans and believed that the Picts should do the same. The Columban church had tried hard to bring the Pictish and Scotti peoples closer together. Nevertheless, King Nechtan ordered that the Columban church be expelled from Pictland altogether. It is thought he did this for 3 reasons :

1. He thought that the Scotti might gain power over Pictland if the Columban church continued to grow;

2. He wanted to avoid another war with Northumbia; and

3. He wanted to be part of the Church that most countries in Europe were following.

After Nechtan's order, relations between the Picts and the Scotti dissolved entirely. 12 years of conflict followed and the Picts gained control of Dunadd, the Scotti capital.

The Picts might have kept control of the whole of Pictland and Dal Riada were it not for the arrival of a common enemy – the Vikings.

The Viking Threat

The Viking invasions of Scotland heralded a new type of warfare. The Vikings adapted their boats to allow a large number of warriors to be carried on the lengthy sea journeys made possible by Norse navigational and rigging skills. The Viking invasion was first recorded in 793 AD - the destruction of the monastery on Lindsfarne. Raids on Iona began a year later and Orkney and Shetland; the Hebrides and some areas of the mainland in turn became Norse colonies. The presence of many Norse place names bears witness to the settlement of these invaders.

The Danes, continued the North Sea crossings, and also battled with the Picts in 839 AD and defeated them. Under pressure too from Viking attacks, the Scotti fled into Pictland. The Picts in turn were too busy trying to solve their own Viking problems, to stop this influx of refugees. One King was needed to unite the Picts and Scotii and fight against their common enemy.

Kenneth MacAlpin

Kenneth MacAlpin was born around 800AD in Dal Riada during the Pictish occupation. His father, Alpin, had been beheaded fighting for a Pictish king and historical sources suggest that his mother may have been a Pictish princess.

Due to the ferocious Viking raids, the Pictish Kingship was almost completely destroyed. Wrad, a Pictish warlord, eventually became King of the Picts at the same time as Kenneth became King of Dalriada.

When Wrad died in 842 AD the throne was contested. Wrad's sons thought themselves the rightful heirs, while Kenneth, through royal Pictish descent on his mother's side, claimed the Crown for himself. Kenneth's claims were backed by his many Scotti and Pictish followers and he triumphed in Pictland. His first big challenge as King was a Viking invasion fleet, 140 ships strong which threatened Dal Riada . The Scotti were forced to flee to Kenneth's new Pictish kingdom. Kenneth rewarded his Scotti followers with land taken from Wrad's supporters.

Kenneth MacAlpin was able to face the Viking threat, and used it to bring the Pictish and Scotti people together. He married some of his older offspring to powerful Viking families. He allowed the Vikings to retain Dal Riada and joined them in fighting the Britons. He re-established the Columban church near Scone but also permitted the Picts to maintain worship following the Church of Rome at St Andrews. MacAlpin successfully united the people and was the first King of a united Scotland.

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BBC Online - Scotland - See You See Me - Scots and Picts

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History and background to Scotsand Picts Who were the Picts? The origin of the Picts is clouded by the many fables and legends about them. There are numerous theories as to who the Picts were and where they came from. Experts even disagree over what they ate and drank and what language they spoke.

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Link to an Anglo Saxon map

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Year 2 Spring - Kings, Queens and Leaders

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Year 2 Spring - Kings, Queens and Leaders

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Portrait analysis link for teachers - detailed picture of Elizabeth I.

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By Melanie Jones, published 20th June 2010

Portraits of Elizabeth I

The Elizabeth I Rainbow Portrait

This portrait was clearly commissioned by either Elizabeth herself or an advisor. The majesty and symbolism in this portrait is designed to dazzle, inspire and intimidate various audiences.

This is also a 'secondary' image. There is no way that an artist painted a posing Elizabeth clutching a rainbow. More seriously, this portrait was painted in or around 1600 and Elizabeth would only live for three more years, putting her in her late sixties. Yet the queen's face is ageless, beautiful and perfect. This painter was either working from a basic model of the queen's face or looking at an older portrait to project only her beauty and majesty, like a Tudor version of magazines air-brushing pictures of celebrities!

To put this portrait into the context of the time, the Queen's forces had successfully defeated King Phillip II's Armada 12 years earlier, an astounding victory for the English. Meanwhile, Elizabeth has declared her power to agree or disagree to anything Parliament does, and the Irish Rebellion is soonto be quashed. Elizabeth has remained married only to her people and the Church of England grows stronger. This is the golden age of Elizabethan England, the "good times" so far removed from the broken country she inherited four decades before.

This 'rainbow portrait' of Elizabeth is riddled with symbols:

One not so subtle is the eyes and ear embroidered into her dress, probably a symbol that she sees and hears all. Who could doubt that with all the rebellions, plots and conspiracies she had survived?

Elizabeth is being shown as wise, as her sleeve possesses the most cunning creature, the snake.

She is also dripping with jewels and fine fabric, depicting her majesty, splendour and wealth.

The beautiful crown on her head is a symbol of the monarchy. Her portraits have long since passed the time when they needed to show she was the rightful queen; Elizabeth is the monarch.

She is also wearing pearls, a symbol of virginity.

In her hand she holds a rainbow, a symbol of peace; she possesses peace.

Another common symbol of monarchy (and indeed life) is the symbol of the sun. Without the sun, there can be no rainbow, and since Elizabeth holds the rainbow, what else can be concluded except that she is the sun (the Latin inscription implies as much) Elizabeth is the sun, and the crown.

Overall, the purpose of this portrait is clear: to show the power and majesty of Elizabeth.

The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I

This portrait of Elizabeth I is commonly known as the Armada Portrait. Elizabeth I sits richly dressed, as a battle commences behind her. The painter has clearly cast Elizabeth in an extremely attractive light, alluding to victory, majesty, conquest and purity in the painting. This portrait is an excellent example of Elizabeth using her portrait as propaganda. The context is the pivotal, glorious pinnacle of the latter half of Elizabeth's reign.

The naval battle behind her depicts Phillip II's Spanish Armada.

Elizabeth's smiling, beautiful face is angled toward the window acknowledging England's sunny, glorious victory as she is a bringer of peace.

Her hand rests on the globe, a symbol of imperialism and conquest. Specifically her hand rests on the Americas, appropriate as only a few years before areas of Virginia have been settled by Englishmen.

Mary Queen of Scots had been recently executed as well as many conspiracies and rebellions being stopped. The crown is placed behind her as a symbol of the throne and power, in Elizabeth's possession and unchallenged in the portrait.

Her rich dress speaks of her wealth and the gown is embroidered with small suns and pearls which are symbols of peace or plenty and purity, respectively.

The ermine fan again speaks of her wealth and her chastity as well as her elegance as the monarch of the day.

Overall, this is a portrait of the Virgin Queen, married to her people, bringer of peace, master of the land and sea and defender of England as she reigns in a golden age for her kingdom.

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Year 2 Spring Kings, Queen's and Leaders

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Year 2 Spring Kings, Queen's and Leaders

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Background infromation for teachers about the reformation.

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A secure Protestant identity

Despairing at the Queen's obstinacy and at the apparent indifference of broad sections of the population to the call to a godlier lifestyle, evangelicals took refuge in brotherhoods and congregations that became increasingly detached from the mainstream church. The frustration of reform measures in the Parliaments of 1571 and 1572 led some into formal separation. In the latter years of Elizabeth's reign Puritanism gave way to sectarian non-conformity, and eventually into outright confrontation with the established church.

But the numbers involved in such open dissidence were small, the vast majority of the godly preferring to remain in communion and to seek consolation in voluntary associations which provided an appropriate context for the puritan lifestyle. And in the main, their choice was justified, for whatever their disappointment at Elizabeth's lack of godly zeal, England's general allegiance to the Protestant cause was not in doubt. Even from the beginning of the reign there were evident proofs of this in an ambitious foreign policy which led swiftly to confrontation with the leading Catholic powers. By the last quarter of the century England was destined to play a pivotal role in the survival of Calvinist powers on the Continent, as they faced the most profound threat to their survival from a resurgent Catholicism.

By the time Elizabeth's long reign came to an end in 1603, English people had come to esteem their Church. The trials of the last three decades had in a very real sense secured England's Protestant identity. Through a generation of conflict in which the enemy had been foreign, Catholic and dangerous, English people had come to identify their Church and Protestantism, as a cornerstone of their identity.

This was not manifested, necessarily, in any very profound grasp of the theological tenets of faith. While English readers seem to have been avid consumers of catechisms and other cheap volumes of religious instruction, their clergy, as elsewhere in Europe, continued to lament how shallow was their grasp of doctrine. Yet the identification could be more subtle and oblique, but still very real. The Catholic festival year, for instance, had been gradually superseded by a calendar of new, largely unofficial and profoundly Protestant patriotic festivals: the defeat of the Armada, Crownation day, the date of Elizabeth's accession. In 1605 they would be joined by 5 November, the date of the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot, proof, if proof were needed that Catholicism was still considered perfidious, deadly and deeply un-English. The celebration of Guy Fawkes' day with bonfires and fireworks is a reminder of how fresh these Reformation controversies remained in the consciousness of the people for many centuries.

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Despairing at the Queen's obstinacy and at the apparent indifference of broad sections of the population to the call to a godlier lifestyle, evangelicals took refuge in brotherhoods and congregations that became increasingly detached from the mainstream church. The frustration of reform measures in the Parliaments of 1571 and 1572 led some into formal separation.

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Royal family website with lots of monarchs - this page goes directly to background information about Henry VIII

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www.royal.uk needs to review the security of your connection before proceeding.

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Lots of links accessed from this website about the Tudors to listen to.

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Barney Harwood presents a brief guide to the action packed reign of Elizabeth I. Among the themes that Barney explores are: Lady Jane Grey and the succession following the death of Edward VI; religious tolerance (or lack of it!) during the reign of Mary I; crime and punishment; Mary Queen of Scots; Philip II of Spain and The Armada.

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Barney Harwood presents a brief guide to the action packed reign of Elizabeth I. Among the themes that Barney explores are: Lady Jane Grey and the succession following the death of Edward VI; religious tolerance (or lack of it!) during the reign of Mary I; crime and punishment; Mary Queen of Scots; Philip II of Spain and The Armada.

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Horrible Histories link about Henry VIII's wives.

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Horrible Histories  Tudors  Wives of Henry VIII Divorced Beheaded Died

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A website about the royal family and monarchs of the past (including Charles I). Link also to the Platinum Jubilee events.

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Year 1 Spring - Kings, Queens and Leaders

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Year 1 Spring - Kings, Queens and Leaders

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An animation about King John and the Magna Carta from the British Library. Further background information about the Magna Carta also available through this link on other pages.

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What is Magna Carta? | The British Library

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Why is this old piece of parchment considered to be such a powerful symbol of our rights and freedoms? Narrated by Monty Python's Terry Jones, this animation takes you back to medieval times, when England under the reign of Bad King John.

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Year 1 Spring - Kings, Queens and Leaders

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Year 1 Spring - Kings, Queens and Leaders

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PPT with images of the coronation and the opening of parliament.

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Year 1 Spring - Kings, Queens and Leaders

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Year 1 Spring - Kings, Queens and Leaders

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A video link and information about what happens at the state opening of Parliament.

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Year 1 Spring - Kings, Queens and Leaders

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Year 1 Spring - Kings, Queens and Leaders

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The Queen talks about wearing the Crown.

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Top 10 Things That Will Happen When Queen Elizabeth Dies - Part 2

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Year 1 Spring - Kings Queens and Leaders

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Year 1 Spring - Kings Queens and Leaders

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Original footage of the Queen's coronation with narrated sound.

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On this day in 1953: Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

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EYFS Knowledge and Understanding of the World.

This is a link to Tim Peake's website.

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Tim Peake CMG

Tim Peake is a former Apache pilot, flight instructor, test pilot and current European Space Agency astronaut. A veteran of 18 years military service, Tim has flown over 3,000 hours on operations worldwide.

In December 2015, Tim became the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station and conduct a spacewalk during his six month mission. He also ran the London marathon from space.

Tim's mission engaged more than two million students in outreach activities. He is an ambassador for STEM Education, The Prince's Trust and the Scout Association. He is a best-selling author, with proceeds from his books donated to The Prince's Trust.

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Tim Peake is a former Apache pilot, flight instructor, test pilot and current European Space Agency astronaut. A veteran of 18 years military service, Tim has flown over 3,000 hours on operations worldwide. In December 2015, Tim became the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station and conduct a spacewalk during his six month mission.

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A link to the British Museum with some great images and an overview of the ship at Sutton Hoo. Check out the links also in the Art Padlet to look in more detail at the artefacts.

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Room 41

Explore the impressive Anglo-Saxon artefacts in our Sutton Hoo and Europe gallery.

The interment of a ship at Sutton Hoo represents the most impressive medieval grave to be discovered in Europe.

Inside the burial mound was the imprint of a decayed ship and a central chamber filled with treasures. But who was buried there and what did it reveal about this period in history?

Discovery of the burial ground

Amateur archaeologist Basil Brown famously made the discovery of a lifetime back in 1939, when he brushed away the Suffolk soil and revealed the richest intact early medieval grave in Europe. More than a grave, it was a spectacular funerary monument on an epic scale: a 27m (88.6ft) long ship with a burial chamber full of dazzling riches.

As Basil and a team of archaeologists dug deeper, they unearthed fine feasting vessels, deluxe hanging bowls, silverware from distant Byzantium, luxurious textiles, gold dress accessories set with Sri Lankan garnets and the iconic helmet with human mask.

The archaeologists and landowner Edith Pretty were dumbfounded. This was clearly the grave of an important person - someone meant to be remembered. But who was it? And what can the Sutton Hoo excavation tell us about Anglo-Saxon society?

This was clearly the grave of an important person - someone meant to be remembered. But who was it? And what can the Sutton Hoo excavation tell us about Anglo-Saxon society?

A king's grave?

A king's grave?

Sue Brunning, Curator of Early Medieval European Collections, says the burial was the final resting place of someone who had died in the early seventh century, during the Anglo-Saxon period - a time before 'England' existed.

She highlights the effort and manpower that would have been necessary to position and bury the ship - it would have involved dragging the ship uphill from the River Deben, digging a large trench, cutting trees to craft the chamber, dressing it with finery and raising the mound.

Ship burials were rare in Anglo-Saxon England - probably reserved for the most important people in society - so it's likely that there was a huge funeral ceremony. She continues:

'It's this effort, coupled with the quality and the quantity of the grave goods from all over the known world at that time, that has made people think that an Anglo-Saxon king may have been buried here.

'We can't name that king for certain, but a popular candidate is Raedwald, who ruled the kingdom of East Anglia around this time in the early seventh century. He may have held power over neighbouring kingdoms too, which may have earned him a good send off.'

The missing body

Unfortunately, we'll never know the true identity of the grave's inhabitant. When it was unearthed in 1939, any bodily remains were claimed by the acidic local soil to leave only a human-shaped gap among the treasures within.

This led to early speculation over whether the Sutton Hoo ship burial was actually a cenotaph - an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person whose remains are elsewhere. However, more recent analysis detected phosphate in the soil - an indicator that a human body once lay at rest there.

Ultimately, Brunning doesn't think the identity is so important: 'Modern science may have solved the mystery about whether someone was buried here at all. But the 1939 excavation carried out by Basil Brown and the other archaeologists was done so well that its results went on to transform our understanding of this time in history, and the lives and beliefs of the people who lived then. That's a more valuable outcome, in my view.'

Despite the lack of human remains, it's still been possible to glean personal information about the inhabitant.

Piecing together evidence

Piecing together evidence

Brunning's study of the Sutton Hoo sword has led her to believe that the owner was left-handed, with patterns of wear indicating it was worn on the right side and carried in the left hand. She continues:

'Mourners laid the sword on the dead person's right-hand side, suggesting that's where the owner would have worn it in life. They effectively chose to enshrine that left-handedness in a very visual way at the funeral.'

Brunning extrapolates that being left-handed could have provided an advantage in battle as most combatants might be anticipating a right-handed attack.

'I felt a little jolt when I put this theory together. It shows that while these objects might sit quietly in a display case, they're not actually quiet objects. They're loud with information about the people in the past.

'These wear patterns on the sword were made by this person's actual hand. So while their identity is still a mystery to us, we can almost reach though time and touch them.'

Inside the chamber

The other grave goods also tell us a lot about the person buried there.

The mourners at Sutton Hoo chose and arranged the grave goods around the burial chamber in a meaningful way to transmit messages about the dead person's identity and status in society - as a mighty leader, wealthy, generous, connected with the wider world and the glorious Roman past.

British Museum curators have teamed up with illustrator Craig Williams to recreate how the burial chamber may have looked.

You can see here that the chamber was housed within the heart of the ship, at its lowest point.

The burial chamber was laden with military equipment, textiles, and treasure of the very highest quality. Metal items survived the acidic soil better than organic items like fabric and wood, but some more delicate things were preserved (including a tiny ladybird).

Breathtaking artistry

Breathtaking artistry

The iconic Sutton Hoo helmet was wrapped in cloth and laid near the left side of the dead person's head. It's a piece of truly breathtaking artistry, functional and beautiful, with a vaulted cap and deep cheek-pieces.

The helmet is covered in complicated imagery, including fighting and dancing warriors, and fierce creatures. The face mask together forms a dragon whose wings make the eyebrows and tail the moustache. Garnets line the eyebrows, but only one is backed with gold foil reflectors - perhaps a reference to the one-eyed god, Woden.

Weapons found around the body are equally impressive: a sword with a gold and garnet cloisonné pommel, a sword harness with extremely intricate garnet cellwork and the huge gold belt buckle, also exquisitely engineered.

As an ensemble, they would have made the wearer appear majestic, and are the work of a master goldsmith with skills that modern jewellers struggle to recreate.

Long-distance connections

Drinking vessels and folded textiles were placed on the lower legs, and near the feet was a pile of clothing and metal objects, including leather shoes, a silver bowl and a unique coat of mail armour.

On top of this lay a huge silver platter with stamps showing that it was made in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire (today's Istanbul). The platter was already a century old when buried at Sutton Hoo, and reflects East Anglia's long-distance connections.

Silver and gold

Silver and gold

A nested set of ten silver bowls was placed to the right of the body. Their shape and decoration show that they came from the Byzantine Empire in the Eastern Mediterranean, during the sixth century.

Below these were two silver spoons, also probably Byzantine, their handles inscribed in Greek. One inscription is messier than the other, and may have been added later by someone who wasn't familiar with Greek.

There was also a large decorated purse containing 37 gold coins, three blank coins and two small ingots, which caused a reaction among archaeologists. Each coin came from a different mint in Francia, across the English Channel, and they provide key evidence for the date of the burial, in the early seventh century.

At war and at home

An enormous wooden shield was placed by the chamber's west wall (the head end of the burial). This was very ornate, decorated with a ring of animal heads around the rim and images of a bird-of-prey and dragon. A whetstone (sharpening stone) was also placed along this wall. It was a long, smooth bar carved with human faces at either end and topped with the model of a stag.

Domestic objects lay at the east end of the chamber, including wooden tubs and buckets, two small cauldrons and one very large one with an intricate iron chain that suspended it over a fire.

A light on the 'Dark Ages'

A light on the 'Dark Ages'

The Sutton Hoo grave is remarkable for the majesty of its contents and its monumental scale. But it also rewrote our understanding of a time that we had previously misunderstood. Post-Roman Britain was considered to have entered the 'Dark Ages', where civilisation in all aspects of life declined. Sutton Hoo proved otherwise.

'This single burial in a pretty corner of Suffolk embodied a society of remarkable artistic achievement, complex belief systems and far-reaching international connections, not to mention immense personal power and wealth,' says Brunning.

'The imagery of soaring timber halls, gleaming treasures, powerful kings and spectacular funerals in the Old English poem Beowulf could no longer be read as legends - they were reality, at least for the privileged few in early Anglo-Saxon society.'

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The Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo

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Explore the impressive Anglo-Saxon artefacts in our Sutton Hoo and Europe gallery. The interment of a ship at Sutton Hoo represents the most impressive medieval grave to be discovered in Europe. Inside the burial mound was the imprint of a decayed ship and a central chamber filled with treasures.

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Enjoy listening to some drama that covers the story of Sutton Hoo.

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The Sutton Hoo Treasure Ship. 1: The Ship

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Primary Drama KS2. The Sutton Hoo Treasure Ship. Take part in drama activities exploring the Anglo-Saxon find at Sutton Hoo. Episode 1: The Ship. BBC School Radio. BBC Teach.

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Have a look at the English Heritage site about Stonehenge.

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A walk around the Stone Circle is the centrepiece of any visit to the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site.

With a history spanning 4,500 years Stonehenge has many different meanings to people today. It is a wonder of the world, a spiritual place and a source of inspiration.

The Stone Circle is a masterpiece of engineering, and building it would have taken huge effort from hundreds of well-organised people using only simple tools and technologies. Visit Stonehenge to find out more about this iconic symbol of Britain.

Book your visit

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Discover what to expect with a visitor to Stonehenge and the iconic stone circle.

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Revisit your learning of the Stone Age KS2 module and remind yourself about settlements and how they've changed.

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Teaching ideas

Use the resources with your pupils to help them find out more about Stone Age houses. Two of them also have quiz elements to help your pupils test their knowledge. Having worked through the resources you could ask pupils to:

Try and think of 'seasonal' foods we eat today - for Mesolithic people they could only eat what was in season and had to move their camp at different times of year to where the food was. You could look at any packaging on the fruit and vegetables in your fridge and see which came from Britain to find out what's in season right now!

Imagine you are either Gordon Childe or one of the 4 female archaeologists excavating the Skara Brae site for the Ministry of Works after the 1926 storm. You must write a letter to the officials back at the Ministry of Works in London explaining your most exciting discoveries and making the case for why they should keep funding your excavations.

Find modern equivalents of some of the household artefacts found at Skara Brae, such as: 'beads for jewellery; pots to hold some sort of paint; ivory needles to sew animal skins together; air-tight storage boxes to keep meat and food fresh; cupboards to keep the boxes in; and stone seats to sit on'. You could either take photos or make sketches of any modern 'artefacts' within your classroom or as part of a homework project.

There are also other co-created pupil prehistory resources available as the following Teaching Activities:

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What were houses like in the Stone Age? | Historic England

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Use the resources with your pupils to help them find out more about Stone Age houses. Two of them also have quiz elements to help your pupils test their knowledge.