GCSE History Specification: Norman England and British Health

Scope: An in-depth study of the arrival of the Normans and the establishment of their rule from economic, religious, political, social, and cultural standpoints.
Conquest and Control: * Causes of the conquest related to the death of Edward the Confessor and various claimants. * Key military events: Battle of Stamford Bridge and Battle of Hastings. * Military innovations: Anglo-Saxon and Norman tactics, cavalry, and castles. * Maintaining power: The Harrying of the North and revolts occurring between 1067-1075. * Leadership: Analysis of King William and William II.

Feudalism and Government: Focus on landholding, lordship, patronage, and the Domesday Book.
Legal System: Inclusion of Anglo-Saxon and Norman systems, inheritance, ordeals, and the 'murdrum' fine.
Societal Change: Differences between Anglo-Saxon and Norman aristocracies and economic shifts in towns and villages.
Forest Law: Regulation of land usage and its consequences.

Church Reform: The role of Archbishop Lanfranc in reforming the English Church, building cathedrals, and establishing Church courts.
Church-State Relations: Relations with the Papacy and the Investiture Controversy.
Monasticism: Reforms in abbeys and monasteries, monastic life, and the transition from the vernacular to Latin usage in learning.

Assessment: Comprises 10% of the overall course (approximately 12 hours of study).
Requirements: Study of one specific site (changed annually) to examine its location, function, structure, design, and occupants.
Concepts: Students must apply second order concepts: change, continuity, causation, and consequence to the site.

Core Theme: Long-term development of medicine and public health in Britain, influenced by global developments.
Key Factors: War, superstition and religion, chance, government, communication, science and technology, and the role of individuals.
Core Questions: Focused on progress, the pace of medical development, the impact of progress on society, and the significance of key events.

Part One: Medicine Stands Still: * Medieval approaches: Natural, supernatural, Hippocratic, and Galenic methods. * Contributions: Christianity (hospitals), Islamic medicine and surgery, and the impact of the Black Death.
Part Two: Beginnings of Change: * Renaissance impact: Work of Vesalius, Paré, and William Harvey; opposition to medical change. * Innovations: John Hunter's work, quackery, and Edward Jenner’s development of the vaccination for smallpox.
Part Three: A Revolution in Medicine: * Germ Theory: Impact of Pasteur, Robert Koch, and Paul Ehrlich (magic bullets). * Public Health: Improvements in industrial Britain, cholera epidemics, and the 1848 and 1875 Public Health Acts.
Part Four: Modern Medicine: * 20th-century developments: Pharmaceutical industry, Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, and antibiotic resistance. * Surgery and Technology: Impact of war on plastic surgery, X-rays, blood transfusions, and modern methods like lasers and keyhole surgery. * The Welfare State: Influence of Booth, Rowntree, and the Boer War; the Beveridge Report and the creation of the National Health Service (NHS).