Ah, yes, I was exactly the same - I picked the Medeival module because it was the furthest removed from what I'd done at A-level, plus it got the compulsory aspect out of the way, and it really was being plunged into the deep end. So you're doing Brit II (1042-1330)? I did that
What other modules are you looking at doing?
Unfortunately, history gets seen by many as a doss subject. And in a way, that's true - it's possible to not go to lectures, write all your essays the night before, and scrape through with a 2:2 or even a very low 2:1. However, that said, if you want to have an enjoyable time at Oxford then do
NOT do that!!! In a way it's harder than the sciences, where you
have to go to
every lecture and
mustwork most hours of the day, because the amount of work you do is up to you. You need to have responsibility. It's your choice whether you have a few days off at the start of the week, then panic and rush out something at the end, or if you get your essay done first and then can relax for 24 hours before your tute. I choose the latter, it's a much nicer experience - even if it does require getting into the library at 9 for 6 days a week, having the last day without any stress whatsoever is the sweetest feeling imaginable!!! Plus of course, your grades are better at the end
To answer your question in a more specific, less rant-ish way: you don't need to go to every lecture. If it's on something you're plainly not going to write anything about ever (and it's not being given by your tutor - they notice if you're missing...) then it's fairly safe to skip it. If it's more important than that but you have, say, a hospital appointment, you can get someone else doing that module to grab the notes for you and it won't make too much of a difference.
BUT you'd be surprised what you need to have notes on come revision time, and lectures can give you some quality background information/examples that you'll find yourself using again and again. It's better to go to as many as possible and have a comfortable amount of notes for revision, just in case the topics you were planning to do don't go as planned, then be forced to write an essay on something you know nothing about because you skipped the lecture. We only have 5 a week and they're usually at 12 noon anyway, so it's not like you have to get up early for them! So basically, try to go to them, but don't panic if you miss it.
Sorry, as you've probably guessed, people treating history like an 'easy' degree or saying that it's not as hard as the others annoy me, a lot.
You try writing an essay on Malthusian demographic theory applied to the 16th century and
then tell me I'm a slacker, dammit!