OCR A Level History A Y301/01 The Early Anglo-Saxons c.400–800
Combined Question Paper and Mark Scheme
Oxford Cambridge and RSA
A Level History A
Y301/01 The Early Anglo-Saxons c.400–800
Time allowed: 2 hours 30 minutes
You must have:
• the OCR 12-page Answer Booklet
INSTRUCTIONS
• Use black ink.
• Write your answer to each question in the Answer Booklet. The question numbers must
be clearly shown.
• Fill in the boxes on the front of the Answer Booklet.
• Answer the question in Section A and any two questions in Section B.
INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 80.
• The marks for each question are shown in brackets [ ].
• Quality of extended response will be assessed in questions marked with an asterisk (*).
• This document has 4 pages.
ADVICE
• Read each question carefully before you start your answer.
, 2
Section A
Read the two passages and answer Question 1.
1 Evaluate the interpretations in both of the two passages.
Explain which you think is more convincing as an explanation of the process of
Christianisation during the period from c.400 to 800. [30]
Passage A
What attracted English kings to Christianity in the late sixth and seventh centuries? Conversion
offered advantages to kings beyond the cultural or religious. The presence of strangely dressed
religious professionals, with exotic patterns of behaviour and equipped with books, offered a new
dimension to a royal court and distinction to its king. The Bible presented a style of kingship which
was divinely ordained. It also suggested kings had law-making and tax-raising powers. Support of a
literate clergy enabled kings to claim law-enacting powers and introduce changes in keeping with the
growing authority of kingship. Letters made it possible for a king to communicate at a distance.
The building of monasteries provided a means of establishing a permanent royal presence in disputed
territories. Christianity ensured that identical religious rituals would be replicated at all churches
throughout the kingdom, with prayers said for the king. Conversion restructured religious life around
the royal family.
Within their own kingdoms, churches and monasteries provided opportunities for kings to establish
new institutional focal points of royal authority, around which to remodel local society. By the late
seventh century, royal families were investing in family monasteries. Conversion to Christianity
provided a new institutional framework which offered cohesion to kingdoms. It was Christianity, above
all else, that enabled powerful kings to establish themselves across the seventh century and to create
a structure which stressed their superiority.
Nicholas J. Higham and Martin J. Ryan, The Anglo-Saxon World, published in 2013.
© OCR 2025 Y301/01 Jun25
Combined Question Paper and Mark Scheme
Oxford Cambridge and RSA
A Level History A
Y301/01 The Early Anglo-Saxons c.400–800
Time allowed: 2 hours 30 minutes
You must have:
• the OCR 12-page Answer Booklet
INSTRUCTIONS
• Use black ink.
• Write your answer to each question in the Answer Booklet. The question numbers must
be clearly shown.
• Fill in the boxes on the front of the Answer Booklet.
• Answer the question in Section A and any two questions in Section B.
INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 80.
• The marks for each question are shown in brackets [ ].
• Quality of extended response will be assessed in questions marked with an asterisk (*).
• This document has 4 pages.
ADVICE
• Read each question carefully before you start your answer.
, 2
Section A
Read the two passages and answer Question 1.
1 Evaluate the interpretations in both of the two passages.
Explain which you think is more convincing as an explanation of the process of
Christianisation during the period from c.400 to 800. [30]
Passage A
What attracted English kings to Christianity in the late sixth and seventh centuries? Conversion
offered advantages to kings beyond the cultural or religious. The presence of strangely dressed
religious professionals, with exotic patterns of behaviour and equipped with books, offered a new
dimension to a royal court and distinction to its king. The Bible presented a style of kingship which
was divinely ordained. It also suggested kings had law-making and tax-raising powers. Support of a
literate clergy enabled kings to claim law-enacting powers and introduce changes in keeping with the
growing authority of kingship. Letters made it possible for a king to communicate at a distance.
The building of monasteries provided a means of establishing a permanent royal presence in disputed
territories. Christianity ensured that identical religious rituals would be replicated at all churches
throughout the kingdom, with prayers said for the king. Conversion restructured religious life around
the royal family.
Within their own kingdoms, churches and monasteries provided opportunities for kings to establish
new institutional focal points of royal authority, around which to remodel local society. By the late
seventh century, royal families were investing in family monasteries. Conversion to Christianity
provided a new institutional framework which offered cohesion to kingdoms. It was Christianity, above
all else, that enabled powerful kings to establish themselves across the seventh century and to create
a structure which stressed their superiority.
Nicholas J. Higham and Martin J. Ryan, The Anglo-Saxon World, published in 2013.
© OCR 2025 Y301/01 Jun25
