England, Ireland,
Scotland and Wales
* Year 8 History Homework Booklet *
1. Why is our flag so complicated?
The Union Flag is very complicated.
It is complicated because it is really 3 flags put together.
Each of the 3 flags is the flag of a saint (a religious person) who lived a
long time ago. Each country has a special saint called a patron saint.
Find out which saint is the patron saint of which country and write
their names in the gaps.
Find out what colour each of the flags should be and colour them in.
St. Patrick, St. George, St. Andrew
St. ____________ – Patron Saint of England
I was probably a Roman soldier from Palestine. People say I killed a
dragon! I became England’s patron saint during the reign of Edward III
– he liked soldiers.
St. ____________– Patron Saint of Scotland
I was one of the followers of Jesus. It is said that in the 10th century
(900s) some of my bones magically appeared in Scotland. My flag is a
saltire or diagonal cross.
St. ____________ – Patron Saint of Ireland
I was Roman-British priest – it was my job to persuade people to be
Christians. Legend has it that I got rid of all the snakes in Ireland.
Cut out the diagram on the back page and follow the instructions to create your own
Union Flag.
2. When did this kingdom become united?
Athelstan 924-929
I was a Saxon king. I
was the first person
to be the king of all
of England in 924.
Edward I 1272-1307
I was a medieval King
of England and I took
over Wales.
James I 1603-1613
(James IV of Scotland)
I was King of Scotland
and I became King of
England and Prince of
Wales as well.
William III 1689-1702
II was King of
England, King of
Scotland and Prince of
Wales. I said that I
was King of Ireland.
HINT:
Parts of the British Isles that were controlled by all of
these Kings would have all types of shading on it and
look like this…
Shade the map above using
different strokes to show who
ruled what.
Athelstan’s land
Edward I’s land
Parts of the British Isles that were only controlled by
William III will look like this…
James I’s land
William III’s land
3. How did Mel Gibson make William Wallace look like a very
Scottish hero?
1297 1305AD
William Wallace was a Scottish knight.
He led a rebellion against Edward I, the King of England.
He won a big battle called at a place called Stirling Bridge.
However, he was caught by King Edward and was hanged, drawn and quartered.
In 1999, an Australian filmmaker called Mel Gibson made a film about him called Braveheart.
It made Wallace look like a Scottish hero. How did he do it?
See if you can link the way Gibson shows us Wallace to how this makes him look, not
just like a hero, but a Scottish hero.
B.He’s
holding a
weapon
A. There are
lots of people
behind him
C. He is
wearing blue
war paint
F. He is
walking with
his head up.
E
D. He is in
the middle of
the picture
This suggests that it takes many Englishmen to control him.
This suggests that he is a good soldier.
This makes him look like a Scot as Scottish sports teams wear blue.
Although the English are going to kill him, he looks proud and unafraid.
This makes him look like a good leader.
This suggests that he is important.
E. There are
lots of
English
soldiers
4. Why did the Welsh revolt against English rule?
1400 1415 AD
Look at this castle. It is Carreg Cennan in South
Wales. In July 1403, it was attacked by Welsh
soldiers.
They were fighting because they did not want to be
ruled byt the English.
The Welsh were led by Owain Glyndŵr (pronounced
Glen-dow-er).
In 1399 Glyndŵr said that he was Prince of Wales.
Glyndŵr supported by a powerful English soldier, the
Earl of Northumberland, French soldiers and lots of
people in Wales.
See if you can work out why each person or group is rebelling?
Owain
Glyndŵr
French
soldiers
Percy, Earl of
Northumberland
The Welsh
people
We are fighting against the English who
are in charge of our towns. They are
making laws that take away our money and
our rights.
I am fighting because I think that I
should be the Prince of Wales. I am
Welsh and he is not!
I am fighting because I think that I
should be King of England – not King Henry
IV.
I have got more royal blood than him!
We are fighting because we have been
fighting the English for many, many years.
We will give help to anyone that wants to
fight the English!
Eventually, the Welsh were beaten by English forces who came from Ireland. Wales was still
ruled by the English.