source analysis test

What is a primary source?

A firsthand account or original evidence from the time of an event (e.g., Bayeux Tapestry, letters, weapons, castles, coins).

What is a secondary source?

A work that interprets or integrates information from primary sources (e.g., textbooks, biographies, documentaries, scholarly articles).

Bayeux Tapestry

A primary source from the 11th century.

Key features of Norman warfare

Strong cavalry, archers with longbows, shield walls/infantry, castles, and strategic organisation.

Normans’ greatest advantage in battle

Their cavalry (knights on horseback), giving them speed, power, and flexibility.

Reasons for Normans defeating Anglo-Saxons

Better organisation, strong cavalry, use of feigned retreats, Anglo-Saxon exhaustion after fighting Vikings, and William the Conqueror’s leadership.

Considerations for source reliability

An author may be useful if they knew the subject but may also show bias.

Common tactics in a medieval siege

Surrounding castles, using siege towers/ladders/battering rams, catapults/trebuchets, tunneling, and starving defenders.

What is a catapult?

A siege engine that used torsion or tension to hurl stones or objects at enemy walls.

What is a trebuchet?

A counterweight-powered siege engine that launched heavy stones over long distances, stronger than catapults.

Main difference between a catapult and trebuchet

Catapults used torsion/tension, while trebuchets used a gravity-powered counterweight — making trebuchets more powerful.

Weapons developed in the Middle Ages

Longbow, crossbow, trebuchet, plate armour, swords, and maces.