Введение в лингвострановедение. Практикум для студентов-бакалавров направления «Лингвистика»
.pdf17.Unity between Picts, Scots and Britons was achieved because of
a)common culture
b)common language
c)common background
d)all of these variants are right
18.The first Christian mission came to Scotland in
a)400 AD
b)563 AD
c)663 AD
d)843 AD
19.Vikings stimulated the development of
a)political system
b)educational system
c)religion
d)all of these variants are right
20.Scotland was defeated by the English in
a)563 AD
b)663 AD
c)843 AD
d)934 AD
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THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES
In 1066, William, the Duke of Normandy, took advantage of the English succession crisis to invade. With an army of Norman followers and mercenaries, he defeated Harold at the battle of Hastings and rapidly occupied the south of England. William used a network of castles to control the major centres of power, granting extensive lands to his main Norman followers and co-opting or eliminating the former Anglo-Saxon elite. Major revolts followed, which William suppressed before intervening in the north-east of England, establishing Norman control of York and devastating the region. Some Norman lords used England as a launching point for attacks into South and North Wales, spreading up the valleys to create new Marcher territories. By the time of William's death in 1087, England formed the largest part of an Anglo-Norman empire, ruled over by a network of nobles with landholdings across England, Normandy, and Wales. England's growing wealth was critical in allowing the Norman kings to project power across the region, including funding campaigns along the frontiers of Normandy.
Norman rule, however, proved unstable; successions to the throne were contested, leading to violent conflicts between the claimants and their noble supporters. William II inherited
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the throne but faced revolts attempting to replace him with his older brother Robert or his cousin Stephen of Aumale. In 1100, William II died while hunting. Despite Robert's rival claims,
his younger brother Henry I immediately seized power. War broke out, ending in Robert's defeat at Tinchebrai and his
subsequent life imprisonment. Robert's son Clito remained free, however, and formed the focus for fresh revolts until his death
in 1128. Henry's only legitimate son, William, died aboard
the White Ship disaster of 1120, sparking a fresh succession crisis: Henry's nephew, Stephen of Blois, claimed the throne in 1135, but this was disputed by the Empress Matilda, Henry's daughter. Civil war broke out across England and Normandy, resulting in a long period of warfare later termed the Anarchy.
Matilda's son, Henry, finally agreed to a peace settlement at Winchester and succeeded as king in 1154.
Henry II was the first of the Angevin rulers of England,
so-called because he was also the Count of Anjou in Northern
France. Henry had also acquired the huge duchy of
Aquitaine by marriage, and England became a key part of a loose-knit assemblage of lands spread across Western Europe,
later termed the Angevin Empire. Henry reasserted royal
authority and rebuilt the royal finances, intervening to claim power in Ireland and promoting the Anglo-Norman
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colonisation of the country. Henry strengthened England's borders with Wales and Scotland, and used the country's wealth to fund a long-running war with his rivals in France, but arrangements for his succession once again proved problematic. Several revolts broke out, led by Henry's children who were eager to acquire power and lands, sometimes backed by France, Scotland and the Welsh princes. After a final confrontation with Henry, his son Richard I succeeded to the throne in 1189.
Richard spent his reign focused on protecting his possessions in France and fighting in the Third Crusade; his brother, John, inherited England in 1199 but lost Normandy and most of Aquitaine after several years of war with France. John fought successive, increasingly expensive, campaigns in a bid to regain these possessions. John's efforts to raise revenues, combined with his fractious relationships with many of the English barons, led to confrontation in 1215, an attempt to restore peace through the signing of the Magna Carta, and finally the outbreak of the First Barons' War. John died having fought the rebel barons and their French backers to a stalemate, and royal power was re-established by barons loyal to the young Henry III. England's power structures remained unstable and the outbreak of the Second Barons' War in 1264
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resulted in the king's capture by Simon de Montfort. Henry's son, Edward, defeated the rebel factions between 1265 and 1267, restoring his father to power.
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Test 4. Variant 1
1.What territory was the hardest to control?
a)Wales
b)Scotland
c)Ireland
d)England
2.Which is true?
a)William gave his nobles big parts of land
b)William didn’t give land to his nobles
c)William gave his nobles small pieces of land in different parts of Britain
d)Normans bought land from the king
3.What was position of the French king?
a)William was more powerful than the French king
b)The French king was more powerful than William
c)William and the French king were equal in power
d)Many French landlords were more powerful than the French king
4.“freeman” paid for the land …
a)by working on the land
b)by military service
c)by giving a part of crops to the land owner
d)they didn’t pay for the land
5.What was “homage”?
a)A Name of a land
b)A Name of a ceremony
c)A Name of a serf
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d)A name of a tax
6.If the son of a dead noble was too little
a)his relatives looked after his estate until he was old enough
b)he lost the estate
c)the king looked after his estate until he was old enough
d)other noble looked after his estate until he was old enough
7.Domesday Book appeared in
a)1066
b)1070
c)1086
d)1087
8.What information was in Domesday Book
a)How much land was there?
b)Who owned it?
c)How much was it worth?
d)all of these variants are right
9.When did William die?
a)1066
b)1070
c)1086
d)1087
10.Why din Henry become the king?
a)He was fast
b)He was the eldest son of the dead king
c)Witan chose him
d)all of these variants are right
11.What was Henry’s purpose of life?
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a)To develop economy
b)To enlarge territory
c)To keep Normandy under his reign
d)all of these variants are right
12.There was a conflict between Stephen and Matilda. How did they silve the problem?
a)Stephen paid Matilda a big sum of money
b)Matilda became the Queen of England
c)Matilda’s son became the hire of the throne
d)all of these variants are right
13.Henry II was a ruler of
a)England
b)Normandy
c)Aquitaine
d)all of these variants are right
14.Richard I was a very popular king, because
a)he was a good soldier
b)he fought Muslims
c)he was perfect feudal king
d)all of these variants are right
15.King John was mainly unpopular because he was
a)greedy
b)coward
c)hypocritical
d)all of these variants are right
16.Why didn’t the merchants like John?
a)He forbade international trade
b)He restricted the amount of exported goods
c)He raised taxes
d)all of these variants are right
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17.What serious step did the pope take in 1209?
a)Forbade the archbishop
b)Closed all the churches in England
c)Increased the amount of money the British king paid to him
d)all of these variants are right
18.The main aim of “Magna Carta” was
a)to make freeman free
b)to protect Parliament
c)not to let the king go beyond the rights of feudal lord
d)to give the majority of the population freedom
19.“Magna Carta” lost its power in
a)the 15th century
b)the 16th century
c)the 17th century
d)the 18th century
20.What marked the change of feudal system in England?
a)Vassals paid in money not service
b)Vassals were turning into tenants
c)Paid fighters appeared
d)all of these variants are right
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Test 4. Variant 2
1.Which is true about William the Conqueror?
a)He was crowned king of England
b)There were many rebellions during his reign.
c)Many settlements were ruined by him.
d)all of these variants are right
2.What were relations between Saxon and Norman Nobles?
a)Saxon nobles were replaced by Norman nobles
b)They lived peacefully
c)A number of Normans in Britain was small
d)Normans didn’t settle in Britain
3.England had
a)one powerful family
b)two powerful families
c)three powerful families
d)four powerful families
4.In feudal system all the land belongs to
a)the king
b)the nobles
c)the serfs
d)the vassals
5.Who had the worst position in feudal society?
a)vassal
b)freeman
c)serf
d)king
6.After the death of a noble
a)his son got his lands
b)his son had to get a special permission
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