source analysis test

Q: What is a primary source?
A: A firsthand account or original evidence from the time of an event (e.g., Bayeux Tapestry, letters, weapons, castles, coins).

Q: What is a secondary source?
A: A work that interprets or integrates information from primary sources (e.g., textbooks, biographies, documentaries, scholarly articles).

Q: What is the Bayeux Tapestry an example of?
A: A primary source from the 11th century.

Q: What were the key features of Norman warfare?
A: Strong cavalry, archers with longbows, shield walls/infantry, castles, and strategic organisation.

Q: What was the Normans’ greatest advantage in battle?
A: Their cavalry (knights on horseback), giving them speed, power, and flexibility.

Q: Why did the Normans defeat the Anglo-Saxons?
A: Better organisation, strong cavalry, use of feigned retreats, Anglo-Saxon exhaustion after fighting Vikings, and William the Conqueror’s leadership.

Q: What should you consider about the reliability of a source?
A: An author may be useful if they knew the subject but may also show bias.

Q: What were common tactics in a medieval siege?
A: Surrounding castles, using siege towers/ladders/battering rams, catapults/trebuchets, tunneling, and starving defenders.

Q: What is a catapult?
A: A siege engine that used torsion or tension to hurl stones or objects at enemy walls.

Q: What is a trebuchet?
A: A counterweight-powered siege engine that launched heavy stones over long distances, stronger than catapults.

Q: What is the main difference between a catapult and trebuchet?
A: Catapults used torsion/tension, while trebuchets used a gravity-powered counterweight — making trebuchets more powerful.

Q: What weapons were developed in the Middle Ages?
A: Longbow, crossbow, trebuchet, plate armour, swords, and maces.