- •What great monuments of prehistory still exist in the British Isles?
- •What are the mysteries of Stonehenge?
- •When did the Celts arrive in Britain? What Celtic tribes do you know? Where did they settle?
- •What were the Celts like? How did they organize their family life? What gods did they worship? Who were the Druids? What functions were performed by them?
- •What Celtic languages are still spoken in the British Isles? What is the most flourishing Celtic language today? What are its peculiarities?
- •What historical events are these dates associated with? 55 bc, 54 bc, 43 ad, 410 When and why did the Romans leave Britain?
- •What event in the history of Britain is associated with the Iceni people and their queen? How did the Romans try to defend themselves against the Celtic tribes?
- •What is the most spectacular memorial of the Roman presence in Britain?
- •What did the Romans introduce in the life of the ancient islanders? What languages were spoken in Roman Britain?
- •What Germanic tribes invaded Britain from the Continent in the 5th century?
- •What do you know about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table? What was Merlin famous for?
- •When was Britain converted into Christianity? Why does the tradition of visiting Canterbury Cathedral continue to this day? How did the new faith influence the life of the Anglo-Saxons?
- •Which of the Anglo-Saxon kings deserved the title of ‘Great’? What were his great accomplishments?
- •What languages were spoken in Anglo-Saxon Britain? What is the great mythological poem written in the West Saxon dialect of Old English? What is it about?
- •When did the Scandinavian invasion begin? Who were the Vikings?
- •How did the Viking rule in Britain affect the life of the islanders?
- •Who was the Anglo-Saxon king before the Norman Conquest? What were the reasons for the Norman invasion?
- •Why were the English forces defeated in the Battle of Hastings? Why is it said that the Battle of Hastings changed the course of English history?
- •What marks the place of the Battle of Hastings?
- •What do you know about William the Conqueror?
- •What did the Normans do to make themselves safe in the new lands?
- •What are some famous castles in Britain? What do you know about them?
- •What is ‘Domesday Book’? What was it written for?
- •What languages were spoken in Norman Britain?
- •What were the most important political, economic and cultural changes after the Norman Conquest?
- •Who was the first Plantagenet King? Why was Thomas Becket murdered? How did the Christian world react to Becket’s martyrdom?
- •What role did Geoffrey Chaucer play for the development of the English language? What languages were books written in before Chaucer in England?
- •What do you know about the Magna Carta?
- •How did King Edward I manage to impose English rule on Wales? What is Caernarfon Castle famous for?
- •What were the reasons for the War of the Roses? Who gave the war its name?
- •Characterise Henry VIII as a man and as a king
- •Why did the English people dislike Queen Mary I?
- •What is the Renaissance? When did it begin in Britain? What spheres of life did the Renaissance influence?
- •Why was the reign of Queen Elizabeth I called ‘the Golden Age’? What were the prominent writers, poets, painters, philosophers and scientists of that period?
- •Why did Elizabeth support many English seamen that caused trouble to Spanish ships? Who were the most famous seamen of the time?
- •What were the reasons and the results of the sea battle between the Armada and the English fleet?
- •What were the reasons for the conflict of the Stuarts with the Parliament?
- •How did the Civil War develop and end? What was King Charles I accused and found guilty of? What was his execution like?
- •What social groups supported Oliver Cromwell? What new kind of army did he create? How did o. Cromwell govern the country?
- •Why did Scotland agree to the union with England in 1707? What was the new official name of the united state?
- •What military heroes glorified Great Britain in the Napoleonic Wars?
- •Why was colonizing foreign lands important? What colonies did Britain have in North America, in the West Indies and India?
- •What did the British government and the American colonies quarrel over? When did the American War of Independence begin? What was the result of the war?
- •What new ideas did the War of Independence bring? What were the revolutionary changes in art in the 18th century?
- •What is the Industrial Revolution? Why did it begin in Britain? What branches of industry were progressing in the 18th century?
- •What new social classes appeared in the 18th century? What caused social unrest in the country? What do you know about Chartism?
- •What disasters did Ireland suffer in 1845, 1846 and 1847? What country did many Irish emigrate to?
- •What were the greatest cultural achievements of the Victorian Age?
- •What moral values are called ‘Victorian’?
- •When did the Windsor family come to power? What important events of the 20th and 21st century did they witness?
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When was Britain converted into Christianity? Why does the tradition of visiting Canterbury Cathedral continue to this day? How did the new faith influence the life of the Anglo-Saxons?
Christianity - religion that is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the belief that he was the Son of God. Christianity firstly appeared in Britain in the second century, but hadn’t gained religious supremacy on the island yet. It was in 597 that it was permanently brought to the country. The Roman Pope sent about 40 monks to Britain. A monk whose name was Augustine landed in Kent and it was the first Anglo-Saxon’s kingdom to be converted. Not far from it, in Canterbury, was built the first church and now the head of the church in England is the Archbishop of Canterbury. King Aethelbert and his court were the first to accept Christianity, but other people were attached to the old gods, so it took about a century to convert the country to the new faith.
Canterbury Cathedral has a tradition of visitor welcome that reaches back to the days of medieval pilgrimages. In 1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral and ever since, the Cathedral has attracted thousands of pilgrims.
The spread of Christianity contributed a lot to the raise of the cultural level and development of the literacy. Many new churches and monasteries were built. They become centers of knowledge and learning, where the first schools and libraries were set up. All written literature was in Latin, so Latin was again heard in Britain.
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Which of the Anglo-Saxon kings deserved the title of ‘Great’? What were his great accomplishments?
In 871 Vikings invaded Wessex again and were defeated by Egbert’s (802 — 839) grandson King Alfred who became known in English History as Alfred ‘The Great’(871-899). He resisted the Danes and united the various English kingdoms under one rule. A promoter of learning as well as a skillful military leader and administrator, Alfred is the only English king to be labeled (удостоенныйзвания) "the Great."
Young king Alfred strengthened Wessex by:
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Building a fleet;
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Creating a more effective system of military recruitment;
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Constructing a system of fortified towns called ‘Burgs [bɜːɡz] ’ or ‘Boroughs’ [bɜːrəs];
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Issued laws limiting the practice of blood feuds( blood feud [fjuːd] – кровнаяместь, вражда);
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Promoted learning and literature, inviting scholars from neighboring nations and Europe to his court;
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He learned Latin and translated some important works into English himself ( e.g. The Great's Pastoral [ˈpɑːstərəl] Care, by Pope Gregory; Consolation of Philosophy by philosopher Boethius [boʊˈiːθiəs]);
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Made up a code of English law and started the Anglo-Saxon chronicle (Англосаксонские хроники).
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In peace time Alfred rebuilt churches and monasteries and set up schools
After the kingdoms of Northumbria, East Anglia and Mercia had fallen to the Vikings, Wessex under Alfred was the only surviving Anglo-Saxon province. Alfred nearly succumbed to the Vikings as well, but kept his nerve and won a decisive victory at the Battle of Edington in 879.
In the Treaty [ˈtriːti] of Edington (886)the Vikings promised to leave Wessex and a part of Mercia. Vikings settled in the north-east of England – Danelaw. So the country was divided by The Great Roman Road into 2 parts – Danelaw (Northandria, East Anglia and a part of Mercia) and Wessex.Further Viking threats were kept at bay by a reorganization of military service and by a regular system of fortresses. At the same time, Alfred promoted himself as the defender of all Christian Anglo-Saxons against the pagan Viking threat and began the liberation [lɪbəˈreɪʃ(ə)n – освобождение] of neighboring areas from Viking control. He thus paved the way for the future unity of England, so that by the mid-tenth century the England was ruled as one country for the first time.