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GCSE History · key term
A solemn promise. An oath sworn over holy relics carried particular religious importance.
Used by Edexcel and OCR
Paper 2
A solemn promise. Swearing on holy relics gave an oath religious importance as well as political significance.
Revise: Succession CrisisAccording to Norman accounts, Harold subsequently swore an oath on holy relics promising to support William as England’s future king.
A solemn promise made before God. Under Henry VIII, oaths were used to require acceptance of changes to the succession and royal authority.
When explaining the embassy’s significance, connect the alleged oath to William’s later accusation that Harold had broken his promise.
Do not treat every refusal of an oath as automatically punishable by death. Distinguish the penalties for refusing the succession oath from treason proceedings for denying the king’s titles.
Describe Edward’s promises and Harold’s oath as disputed claims, not undisputed facts.
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Paper 1, Paper 3
Revise: Succession crisisThese claims allowed William to present Harold’s coronation as both taking a throne promised to someone else and breaking a sacred oath. Harold disputed the oath’s validity, arguing that he had been under pressure while in Normandy. The competing accounts therefore offered different explanations of who was the rightful king.
A solemn promise intended to bind the person making it.
A solemn promise. Crusader leaders had made commitments to Emperor Alexius concerning the return of former Byzantine territory.