Normans · 911-1154

The Normans: from Viking settlers to kings

Viking raiders settle on the Seine, become French-speaking Christians and then conquer England, southern Italy and Sicily. Students follow the Normans across Europe and visit Palermo, where a Norman king ruled Latin, Greek and Arab subjects.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 911 to AD 1100
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Viking raiders settle on the Seine, become French-speaking Christians and then conquer England, southern Italy and Sicily. Students follow the Normans across Europe and visit Palermo, where a Norman king ruled Latin, Greek and Arab subjects.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain how a group of Viking settlers became the Normans of Normandy.
  • Trace on the map the Norman conquests in England, southern Italy and Sicily.
  • Describe the mixed culture of Norman Sicily under Roger II.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 911

A land on the Seine

Open the map in 911 and zoom in on the lower Seine around Rouen. This land was granted to the Viking leader Rollo. Why would a king hand land to raiders?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1071

South to Sicily

Set the year to 1071 and turn on Historical Events (Political Events). Find the Norman Conquest of Sicily at Palermo. How far is Palermo from Normandy?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1100

Norman Europe

Jump to 1100 and zoom out. Find England, Normandy, southern Italy and Sicily. How might Normans in these lands have stayed in touch?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Within about a hundred years the Normans spoke French and were Christian. Why did they adopt the ways of the people they ruled?
  2. Norman knights first came to southern Italy as hired soldiers. How did hired soldiers end up as rulers?
  3. Roger II of Sicily used Arabic, Greek and Latin at his court. Why would a king keep three languages?
  4. Al-Idrisi, a Muslim scholar, made a world map for a Christian king. What does that tell us about Norman Sicily?
  5. What did the Normans in England and the Normans in Sicily have in common?
4

Game round

10 min

Play Rule History as Saladin, who ruled in the same century as the Norman kings of Sicily and also governed people of many faiths. Afterwards, compare: how did each ruler use people of other religions in government?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.