World War One - The Schlieffen Plan

As all you Year 9 students should know by now, the Schlieffen Plan - designed by General Von Schlieffen in 1905 - formed the basis of German military plans at the start of the First World War. The School History site gives a concise overview of the plan.

The Spartacus Web and the History Learning site have similar information on its site and here is a handy revision quiz to test your understanding.

Here is a video on the reality of the plan when it was put into action at the start of the First World War.

The Black Death

The Black Death killed between a third and a half of the population of Europe in the 14th century. This website provides a host of information on the Black Death including the low-down on the oriental flea that transmitted the deadly disease.

The Eyewitness to History site has a nice summary of the disease, as has this general site on the Middle Ages, while the BBC site has got plenty of in-depth information including a nice section on the impact.

The History Learning web has got good links with other aspects of Medieval life and a handy section on treatments used at the time. You can also find some really good background on Medieval medicine on the same site.

For an entertaining take on Plague cures have a look at the Terry Deary (of Horrible History fame) video below:

The Tudor and Stuart Family trees

As you know in Year 8 we are studying the 16th and 17th centuries. A quick look at the Tudor and Stuart Family trees might help you get a clear idea of who's who during this period.

The Causes of the First World War

If you want to recap or revise the Causes of the First World War go to the BBC Website and follow the Road to War.

For a short film on the spark that set off the war take a look at the following video on the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.

Medieval Farming glossary

Some Medieval Farming terms for your glossary:

Bailiff – The bailiff helped oversee the villeins’ work, the profits and expenses of the manor and farm.

Villein – a peasant who was not free. They worked on the lord’s land and did certain jobs for him in return for the use of some land for himself. A villein was bound to work on a certain manor.

Manor – all the land owned by the lord in a medieval village which included the fields, the common land and the woodland.

The Manor house – the main house owned by the lord of the manor

Demesne (pronounced “domain”) – the best land in the manor for the Lord to farm.

Freeman – Those peasants who paid the lord to farm their land. They did not have to work for the lord every week like the villains, but did have to help out at busy times of the year and pay to use the lord’s oven and his mill.

Reeve – The reeve made sure the villeins worked for the lord, started their work on time and did not cheat the lord out of any money.

The Hayward – The peasant who looked after the cows

The Shepherd – The peasant who looked after the sheep

The swineherd – The peasant who looked after the pigs

Crops – the plants grown by the farmers which commonly included wheat and barley

Harvest – Gathering in the crops from the fields when they are ready. Reaping is the cutting of the grain for harvest, using a scythe or sickle.

Ploughing – This is when the top layers of soil are cut open, and turned over to bring nutrients to the surface and to allow air to enter.

Harrowing – Used to break up the earth even more than ploughing and also used to cover the seeds after sowing.

Sowing – The process of planting the seeds in the fields

Fallow - the land that is left to rest and not farmed for a year so the nutrients can be replaced.

Furrow – long lines made in the fields after ploughing.

Open field system – the system by which the manor was split into three or four big unfenced fields which were in turn divided up into strips farmed by the peasants