IHI Sample Tests

Midterm 2010 (administered online because some students had forcefully occupied the premises)

Page 1. Write a chronological narrative of the invasions and conquests that the land we now call England experienced from 55BC to AD1066 (300 words = 30 lines) 25 p.

Page 2. List down and describe those sources that allow scholars and students to understand the history of England from AD400 to AD800 (200 words = 20 lines) 25 p.

Page 3. Explain what Gillingham refers to/means when he calls the first section of his chapter “1066 and All That.” (200 words = 20 lines) 25 p.

Page 4. Explain the following quote by relating it to your background knowledge about Herny II’s reign. Begin by paraphrasing the words in bold print: “Thirty-five years of strong rule by a king who kept a close watch on every aspect of government, who heard pleas himself and was prepared to spend sleepless nights evolving the exact formula of a judicial writ meant that by the end of his reign Henry II had collected around him a group of able men trained in the administration of a centralized government” (Stenton 1991:43).” (250 words = 25 lines) 25 p.

Make-up 2010 (also administered online)

Page 1. Explain the following excerpt: “The spirit of the age is typified by the great villas of fourth century Britain. Socially and economically, the Late Empire in the West marked by a polarization of wealth and to some extent power” (Salway:41). (150 words = 15 lines) 25 p.

Page 2. Write a coherent narrative following the concise chronology below that sums up the Norse invasions to England (250 words = 25 lines) 25 p.

1.      Viking raids: from late 8^th c to early 10^th c

2.      Danish invasions and subsequent conquest: early 11^th c

3.      Norman Conquest: 1066-1098 (Rufus died 1100)

Page 3. Discuss the role of castles as instruments of conquest and lordship in the light of Chapters 2 and 3 in The Struggle for Mastery by David Carpenter. (200 words = 20 lines) 25 p.

Page 4. Write a chronological narrative of Henry II’s reign that explains the following quote: “To [Henry II] what really mattered was family politics and he died believing that he had failed. But for over thirty years he had succeeded” (Gillingham:146). (250 words = 25 lines) 25 p.