greatbritain

PART 4. Norman Conquest

Exercises

1. Practise the pronunciation of the following words.

Picts [pIkts], the Saxons [`sxksqnz], Somerset [`sAmqsIt], Denmark [`dFnmRk], the Celts [`kelts], the Angles [`xNglz], the Jutes [`GHts], the Picts [`pIkts], the Scots [`skOts], the Vikings [`vaikINz], the Danes [`deinz], Cumberland [`kAmbqlxnd], Anglia [`xNglIq], Kent [kent], Sussex [`sAsIks], Wessex [`wFsIks], Essex [`FsIks], Mercia [`mWSjq], Northumbria [nL`TAmbrIq], Normans [`nLmqnz], Normandy [`nLmqndI].

2. Write verbs of the following nouns:

3. Work in pairs. Ask and answer the following questions to obtain the summary of the text:

1.Where did the Anglo–Saxons come from to England after the withdrawal of Roman troops?

2.How many kingdoms did they carve out? What were they?

3.What was the Anglo-Saxon invasion followed by?

4.For how many years was Britain at war with the Danes?

5.Where did they settle?

Part 4. Norman Conquest

The Norman Conquest (1066). The last successful invasion of England took place when William, Duke of Normandy1 (known as William the Conqueror) defeated the Saxon King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, in 1066.

William governed England by one simple rule: William was generous to those who obeyed him and ruthless to those who did not. He tried, at first, to gain the co-operation of the conquered English. When this failed, English rebellions were brutally punished. The Normans, much more than the Danes, were felt as an alien race:

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UNIT 2. BRIEF SURVEY OF ENGLISH HISTORY

their occupation of the country attracted much more notice and lasted much longer; they became the ruling class; and finally, they represented a higher culture than the natives and had a literature as well as language. Their influence was dominant in all spheres of life: political, social, economic, cultural including language. All land was held in feudal service. Norman barons replaced Saxon nobles. The people became villeins under the feudal system, which bound them to their Norman lords almost like slaves. For taxation purposes, a list was made of all the land, buildings and cattle in England. This was called the Domesday Book2. In the forests, now largely royal territory, the English were forbidden to kill the game birds they had relied on for food. No wonder they found William’s conquest a painful, humiliating experience. The French language became the language of the upper classes and of the Government. French was used in Parliament, in the law-courts, in all official writings. English was looked down upon as a rude and barbarous tongue. It was spoken by serfs and yeomen or by those who were still proud of the fact that were native born. A.D. 1066, the Battle of Hastings is said to be a date even more famous than 55 B.C., the Norman Conquest changed, profoundly and permanently, the character of the English language. For two centuries more after the Norman Conquest England had been under the rule of foreign kings.

Nevertheless beginning from the 11th century all slowly spoke of the formation not of the Anglo-Saxons but the English people. In the 14th century English came into its own again. In 1362 it was ordained that all pleadings in law courts should be in English, and Parliament was first opened with an English speech. By the end of the century the poet Geoffrey Chaucer (1340 - 1400) had fixed English as the literary language of the country by writing «Canterbury Tales» in his own language.

During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries there was a gradual process when most villeins acquired person freedom. Serfdom was never abolished, it withered away. The motives in the decay of villeinage were numerous, the most important one being a change

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PART 4. Norman Conquest

from a natural to a money economy. However, the process of change was gradual.

Vocabulary

a) contribution, decay, experience, invasion, noble, pleading, serf, serfdom, slave, splendour, taxation, trade, vigour, villein, yeoman; alien, evident, generous, gradual, humiliating, military, painful, royal, rude, ruthless, safe, successful, vigorous; brutally, permanently, profoundly;

b) to abolish, to achieve, to acquire, to be proud of, to be in service, to be under the rule of, to bind, to challenge, to come into one’s own, to defeat, to defend, to develop, to fix, to forbid, to govern, to impose, to influence, to join, to obey, to ordain, to punish, to rely on, to represent, to rule over, to stretch, to weaken, to wither.

Notes on the text

1.William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy) – Вильгельм I Завоеватель (Герцог Нормандский (1027–1087)), возглавивший завоевание Британии норманнами. После битвы при Гастингсе

в1066 г. стал английским королем;

2.Domesday Book (Doomsday Book) — ист. «Книга судного дня», кадастровая книга;

Exercises

1. Practise the pronunciation of the following words.

Hastings [`heistiNs], William the Conqueror [`wIlIqm Dq `kONkqrq], Norman [`nLmqn], Geoffrey [`GefrI], Chaucer [`CLsq], Canterbury [`kxntqbqrI].

2. Write nouns of the following verbs:

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UNIT 2. BRIEF SURVEY OF ENGLISH HISTORY

3. Match A and B:

4.Work in pairs. Ask your partner when the following events took place.

1.The Anglo-Saxon settlement in Britain.

2.The Danish invasion of Britain.

3.The Norman conquest of Britain.

5.Find the information in the text to describe:

1.why the first tribal groups settled in Britain;

2.the character and the social structure of the Celtic tribes;

3.the reason of the Roman conquest of Britain;

4.military and civil life of Roman Britain;

5.traces of Roman occupation of Britain;

6.the location of Anglo – Saxons in Britain;

7.the relations between native people and the Vikings;

8.the reason of the Norman Conquest;

9.the way the English people were treated by the Normans;

10.the status of the English language under the Norman rule.

6.Work in pairs. Ask and answer the following questions to obtain the summary of the text:

1.Who occupied England after the rule of Danish kings over the country had come to an end?

2.By what rule did William the Conqueror govern the country?

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PART 4. Norman Conquest

3.Why were the Normans much more than the Danes felt as an alien race in England?

4.In what spheres of life was the Normans’ influence dominant?

5.Why was William’s conquest considered to be a painful and humiliating experience for the English people?

6.What was called the Domesday Book? How did it influence the life of the people?

7.What was the role of the English language at that time?

8.When did the formation of the English nation begin?

9.By whom and when was English fixed as the literary language of the country?

7. Read the following texts and prepare a short talk about the role the men described played in English history.

1) The man who dared to challenge the Vikings at that time and who succeeded in stemming the Danish advance into the country was Alfred the Great1 (849–899), King of Wessex, a kingdom which covered most of England south-west of London. King Alfred ruled the kingdom in the 9th century. He was from the royal family of Wessex, a family of warriors. He fought the Danish Viking invaders nine times in 871, the year he came to throne. At that time, the Danes occupied one half of England and had their greedy eyes on the other half: the territory of Wessex. To stop them, Alfred built fortresses and formed a new navy. He also organised his army so that one half guarded the kingdom while the other farmed the land. Nevertheless, in 877 a Danish army managed to break in and attack Alfred’s palace at Chippenham. Alfred fled to the Athelney marshes (Somerset). In 878, he burst out of hiding and gave the Danes such a thrashing that their leader Guthrum promised never to invade Wessex again. Alfred proved to be a great ruler. He organised resistance to the Vikings and built a fleet of ships and fortifications on the coasts; under his leadership the small kingdoms were united to fight against the invaders. King Alfred was not only an able warrior but also a dedicated scholar. He founded schools to improve education, restored monasteries to invigorate religious life. Famous scholars

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UNIT 2. BRIEF SURVEY OF ENGLISH HISTORY

came to Alfred’s court to help him to translate from Latin the first books to be written in the English language. He also framed laws. The most important law was «Do not to others what you would not have them do to you». This remarkable combination of a warrior and scholar earned Alfred the title «the Great», a title not bestowed on any other king in England.

2) In 959 Edgar was chosen as king of England. He was a true heir of Alfred the Great. Edgar was only thirteen when he came to throne. He was also the first king since Alfred who did not have to spend time and effort fighting wars. He turned his attention to furthering the education and revival of religious life which Alfred the Great had begun. That work was fruitful. Some of the most beautiful illuminated manuscripts ever produced in England date from Edgar’s time , and so does the building of beautiful abbeys filled with stained-glass windows. This was a «golden age» of learning and strict religious observance, when more scholarly books were translated into English. By 973, Edgar’s prestige was so great that, as tradition has it, he was rowed across the River Dee by six kings. This act of humility on their part showed how wholeheartedly they accepted Edgar as their overlord. The same year, Edgar was crowned in Bath Abbey in a coronation ceremony which, in its essentials, remains the same today. Tragically this «golden age» ended abruptly with Edgar’s death two years later in 975. From then onwards, a shadow fell across the Anglo-Saxon monarchy and deepened as the time went on. After Alfred’s death there was nobody to resist the Danes and they penetrated into the eastern part of the country and settled there. England was swamped year after year by new Danish invaders who left a trail of slaughter, destruction, sorrow and terror behind them.

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UNIT 3

GOVERNMENT OF BRITAIN

Part 1. Sovereign and Constitution

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a parliamentary monarchy. Officially the head of the state is the Sovereign (King or Queen) .

The hereditary principle upon which the monarchy is founded is strictly observed and the Crown is passed on to the Sovereign’s eldest son or daughter if there are no sons. Officially, the Sovereign, be it king or queen, is the head of the executive, legislative and judicial power, the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, the head of the Commonwealth and the head of the Church of England. For many people it is the symbol of the unity of the nation. In practice, the sovereign’s central role in state affairs is mainly displayed through ceremonial functions: opening and closing Parliament and giving honours such as peerages, knighthoods and medals. The power of the sovereign in England is not absolute but constitutional.

Practically speaking, there is no written constitution in the country. The term English Constitution means the leading principles, conventions, laws and statutes which had never been given up, though had undergone modifications, extensions and adaptаtions in agreement with the advance of civilization. These principles are expressed in such documents of major importance as «Magna Charta,»1 Habeas Corpus Act2. «Bill of Rights»3, the laws deciding the succession of the royal family as well as a lot of separate laws and agreements. The Constitution has three branches:

Parliament, which makes laws, the Government, which executes laws, and the law courts, which interpret laws.

Vocabulary

a) advance, affair, agreement, armed forces, constitution, constitutional, convention, crown, executive, extention, government, hereditary, judicial, honour, legislative, law, law court, monarchy,

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UNIT 3. GOVERNMENT OF BRITAIN

parliament, parliamentary, power, separate, sovereign, state, statute, succession, unity;

b) to decide, to display, to execute, to express, to give up, to interpret, to mean, to observe a principle, to undergo.

Notes on the text

1.Magna Charta (лат.) – Великая Хартия Вольностей;

2.Habeas Corpus Act (лат.) – Закон (акт) о неприкосновенности личности;

3.Bill of Rights – Закон о правах.

Exercises

1. Practise the pronunciation of the following, words.

Parliament [`pRlqment], monarchy [`mOnqkI], sovereign

`sOvrIn], hereditary [hI`rFdItqrI], executive [Ig`zFkjutIv], legislative [`leGIslqtIv], judicial [GH`dISl], commonwealth [`kOmqnwFlT], affair [q`fFq], peerage [`pIqrIG], knighthood [`naIthud], law [lL], Magna Charta [`mxgnq`kRtq], Habeas Corpus Act

[`heIbIqs`kLpqs`xkt], separate [`sFprIt], execute [`FksIkjHt], court [`kLt].

2.Say whether the following is true or false.

1.The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a federal republic.

2.Officially the head of the state in Great Britain is Prime Minister.

3.The power of the Sovereign in the country is not absolute but constitutional.

4.There is no written constitution in Great Britain.

5.The constitution has two branches: Parliament and the Government.

6.The head of the Commonwealth is Prime Minister.

3.Answer the following questions to obtain the summary of the text.

1.What kind of state is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?

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PART 1. Sovereign and Constitution

2.Who is officially the head of the state in Great Britain?

3.What principle is the British monarchy founded upon?

4.Who is the Crown passed on after the death of the Sovereign?

5.What are the functions of the Sovereign in Great Britain?

6.Is the direct power of the British Sovereign great in reality?

7.Who is the symbol of the unity of the nation in Great Britain?

8.Is there a written Constitution in the country?

9.What does the term «English Constitution» mean?

10.Have the main principles of the «English Constitution» undergone any changes in the course of time?

11.What important documents are these principles expressed in?

12.What are the three branches of the Constitution?

4.Give a brief description of:

1.The British parliamentary monarchy and the role played by the Sovereign in the life of the nation.

2.English Constitution.

5.Read the following text and answer the questions.

1)When was Wales united with England?

2)When was Scotland united with England?

3)When was Ireland conquered by England?

4)Why was Ireland partitioned into two parts?

5)What does the Union Jack symbolize?

Political division

The British Isles are divided into two independent states: the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland (the Irish Republic).

In former times Great Britain was politically divided into three parts: the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Principality of Wales.

Wales was united with England in the first half of the 16th century. Scotland and England were united into one kingdom under one

parliament in 1707.

Ireland was conquered by England in 1171, they were united under one kingdom and one parliament in 1801.

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UNIT 3. GOVERNMENT OF BRITAIN

In 1922 Ireland was partitioned into two parts: 1)the Irish Free State, now the Irish Republic, containing 26 Catholic counties of Ireland; 2)Northern Ireland, containing 6 Protestant counties of Ulster, which remained part of the United Kingdom.

The union of England, Scotland and Ireland is symbolised by the British national flag, called the Union Jack (i.e. the Union Flag). It is made up from the flag of the Kingdom of England – white with a red cross, St. George’s Cross, the flag of the Kingdom of Scotland — blue with a diagonal cross, St. Andrew’s Cross, and the flag of the kingdom of Ireland – white with a red diagonal cross, St. Patrick’s Cross.

6. Read the following proverbs and sayings and find their Russian equivalents.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

In the country of the blind one-eyed man is a king. Honours change minds.

A nod from a lord is a breakfast for a fool.

Part 2. Legislative power

Parliament is the supreme legislative power and consists of three separate elements: the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Over the centuries the balance between the three parts of Parliament has changed, so that the King’s (or the Queen’s) role is now only formal, and the House of Commons has gained supremacy over in the House of Lords.

The House of Commons is the lower house of the parliament. It consists of 650 elected members called members of the parliament, MPs for short. For electoral purposes the country is divided into 650 geographical areas called constituencies. Each MP represents one of these constituencies in the House of Commons. Every British citizen over 18 has the right to vote, except prisoners, lords and mentally ill. Any number of candidates can stand for election in each constituency. The winner is the candidate who gets more votes than any other single candidate. Leaders of the Government and Opposition sit on the left from benches of the Commons, with their

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