Who are these people and what

do they have in common?

Rewind 1000 years!
Edward the Confessor
• He became king of
England in 1042.

• Much of his reign

was peaceful and
prosperous.
 Meet Edward the Confessor

Our glorious King Edward once carried a crippled beggar to the

altar of Westminster Abbey. The beggar bled on him, however was
healed when Edward reached the altar. Our King, because of his
holiness, healed the beggar! Praise be to King Edward!

1) Why was the beggar healed?

2) What can we infer about medieval kings from reading this passage?
What other qualities do think
medieval kings required?
 The situation in 1066
At the start of 1066, King Edward the
Confessor was a sick old man. He had
been King for many years but it was
clear he would not live long.
Who would be the next
king?
Normally, it is the
King’s son…………………
However……….Edward had no son!
There was no clear heir!
Harold Godwineson
King Harold
Hardraada
William, Duke of
Normandy
 5 January 1066
The King has died without
an heir.

1) Why is this such 2) What might happen

a problem? next?
Indeed FOUR contenders believed
they had a rightful claim to the
throne!
What possible criteria would be
necessary for you to be considered
even eligible?
Possible criteria for selecting an heir:

• Be from the ‘bloodline’ of the previous King

• Be chosen by the previous King
• Be powerful enough to be a good King

Think of 4 questions you might ask a potential

candidate …
QUESTION: WHO SHOULD HAVE BECOME KING IN 1066?
The Four contenders to the Throne were wwwwww, xxxxxxxxxx ,
yyyyyyyyyy, and zzzzzzzz
Each of them had a good reason to want to become King. In my opinion,
though, wwwwwww had the strongest claim, for the reasons I will now explain.
Each of the other 3 contenders had their strengths, but they also had
significant weaknesses too. For example, the best point about
xxxxxxxxxxxwas……………………… However, compared to
wwwwwwwwwwww, he was not such a strong candidate because………….
Looking at yyyyyyyyyyy, he also had significant plus points such
as…………………………………… Compared to wwwwwwwwww, however, I
believe his greatest weakness was ……… …………
The final contender to the throne was zzzzzzzzzHis main strength
was………………
However, if we compare him with wwwwwwwww, it is clear that wwwwwwww
was a much stronger candidate because……………………………..
Overall, the most important reason why wwwwwwwwwwww. should have
become king was because……………….
 Plenary
True/ false
1) Edward the confessor died in 1065 False

2) There were three claims to the throne False

3) William was from Normandy True

4) Harold Godwinson was from Norway False

5) Harold Hardrada had support from people in the North False

6) William was related to Edward True

7)Harold Godwinson made a promise to William about the crown

True