| Angles: |
Warriors from Denmark who settled in England in about AD450. They gave their name to England - the land of Angles. |
| Battle: |
The name of the Sussex village where the battle of Hastings was fought in 1066. |
| Bayeux Tapestry: |
A long strip of needlework which was probably stitched by English needlewomen after the Norman Conquest. |
| Burh: |
The Saxon name for a fortified town. This is why many English towns are called burgh or borough today, such as Bamburgh, Middlesbrough, Peterborough and Scarborough. |
| Cavalry: |
Soldiers who fight on horseback. |
| Celts: |
Prehistoric people who originally came from Europe. |
| Cistercians: |
A group of monks who built a Monastery at Citeaux France. Their way of life, or rule, was followed by many others. |
| Comet: |
A type of star travelling round the sun which can be seen from Earth at regular intervals. |
| Conscripts: |
Soldiers who are forced to join an army, wheather they want to or not. |
| Council: |
A group of leading nobles, bishops and nabbots who advised the Norman Kings. |
| Crossbow: |
A metal bow which used a spring to fire a metal bolt. |
| Domesday Book: |
William's record of England in 1086. The old English word dome means 'Judgement'. |
| Exile: |
Having to stay away from one's country. |
| Fyrd: |
Saxon peasant soldiers who had to serve in the army for a period of up to two months. |
| Hauberk: |
A coat of armor made from wire rings. |
| Hostages: |
People kept as prisoners to make sure that the enemy carries out a promise. |
| House-Carl: |
A highly trained Saxon soldier who acted as a bodyguard. |
| Javelin: |
A spear thrown by soldiers; used by Norman cavalry. |
| Jutes: |
People from Jutland in Denmark on horseback. |
| Lance: |
A type of spear used by a knight on horseback. |
| Latin: |
The language of the Romans which was used in Church and in legal documents in the middle ages. |
| Mace: |
A type of club often carried by a knight on horseback. |
| Men-At-Arms: |
Foot soldiers. |
| Motte: |
A small hill made by digging around ditch and throwing the earth into the middle. Used by the Normans as a strongpoint on which to build a wooden castle. |
| Normandy: |
A region of France immediately opposite the coast of south-eastern England. |
| Norseman: |
Another name for a Viking. |
| Peasants: |
People who work on the land. They held their land from the thegn who in turn held land from a noble, the Church or the King. |
| Pike: |
A long wooden pole, with a sharp metal point at one end. Pikes were used as weapons by the Normans. |
| Quarrel: |
A metal bolt fired from a crossbow. |
| Romanesque: |
A sytle of architecture used by the Normans. So named because of the round arches which were built like those of the Romans. |
| Romans: |
People from central Italy who gradually conquered and ruled land around the Mediterranean Sea as well as Britain. |
| Saxons: |
People living in England in 1066 who came originally from Saxony in Germany. |
| Senlac Hill: |
The low ridge occupied by the Saxon soldiers at the Battle of Hastings. |
| Thegn: |
A Saxon noble. |
| Vikings: |
The name given to the warlike people of Scandinavia about a thousand years ago. |
| Wessex: |
The most powerful earldom. |
| Witan: |
A council of nobles and church leaders who advised the Saxon kings and chose their successors. The word means 'Wise Men'. |
