16. How did the Viking rule in Britain affect the life of the islanders?

As the Vikings were skilled at assimilating into the local population, the Viking culture has had a lasting impact on the art, technology, society, and trade of every population they encountered, including Britain.

During the Viking period, the economy of northern Europe was transformed from a prestige goods exchange system into a mercantile (ˈməːk(ə)ntʌɪl–торговый, торгашеский) market economy. While initial Viking conquests of England consisted of raids on the south for metal wealth that was reworked into decorative objects of status, the Vikings eventually began to develop market towns. This led to the creation of international markets and trading across the "known world" of the time.

1) They built new towns with such endings as ‘by’, ‘toft’, ‘trob’ (e.g. Derby, Rugby, Whitby, Selby, Grimsby) and some of them were trade centers.

–by meant farm or homestead (village). These places mark the earliest Viking settlements. Derby - A village where deer are found

2) They taught the Anglo-Saxons navigation and shipbuilding. That developed trade and the coinage( ˈkɔɪnɪdʒ - чеканка монет)was improved; By the 9th century, silver had become the basis for the Viking economy. The link between issuing coins and Christian kingship is very clear in the coinage of Viking rulers in the British Isles. Almost all the coins that carry the name of a ruler were issued in the name of kings, rather than jarls (or earls). Some of the St Peter pennies carry the hammer of the pagan god Thor alongside the name of St Peter.

3) New tools and weapons come into use. Import: Silver, silk, spices, weapons, wine, glassware, quern stones (for grinding grain), fine textiles, pottery, slaves, both precious and non-precious weapons.

Exports (вывоз): Honey, tin (олово), wheat [wiːt – пшеница), wool, various types of fur and hides (шкуры), feathers, falcons[ˈfɔːlkənz – соколы), whalebone (‘weɪlbəʊn – китовыйус), walrus ivory [ˈwɔːlrəsˈʌɪv(ə)ri – бивни моржа) , and amber (ˈambə - янтарь).

Weapons: swords, axes, spears and shields, spear, knife (as well, as borrowed word ‘knife’ from knifr), Kite [kaɪt] shields (каплевидныйщит) - It was a reverse teardrop shape. The tapering (конусообразный) point extended down to rounded point, this type of shield was often used later.

Slaves and furs were the most important trade items. The Vikings bought and sold slaves throughout their trade network. Viking slaves were known as thralls. (θrɔːl– раб)

Most of the trade during the Viking Age took place at the local level primarily involving agriculture products such as vegetables, grains (‘ɡreɪnz – зерно), and cereals. Domestic animals were also traded among local peoples. These items were brought into town by farmers and traded for basic necessities, such as tools and clothes, and luxury items, such as glassware (ɡlɑːswɛː- посудаизстекла) and jewelry

17. Who was the Anglo-Saxon king before the Norman Conquest? What were the reasons for the Norman invasion?

Edward 3 Confessor (1042-1066) was the last king of House of Wessex. He had gone to Normandy in 1013, when his father and mother had fled from England and stayed in exile for many years. When he took the throne he surrounded himself with his Norman favorites and was unduly influenced by them. That caused outrage from the Godwins, the most formidable earls, though Harold is said to be named by the king as his successor. Edward was deeply religious man and a patient and peaceable ruler. Edward's greatest achievement was the construction of a new cathedral, where all English monarchs from William the Conqueror would be crowned. It was determined that the minster should not be built in London, and so a place was found to the west of the city (hence "Westminster").

He died childless in 1066 without instruction who should succeed him. The Witan elected Harold Godwinson as he was the largest landowner and a skillful warrior and claimed that he had been promised the crown by Edward. Yet William Duke of Normandy (part of France) claimed to the English succession as well for several reasons: he was Edward’s illegitimate cousin, he had been promised the crown 15 years later and after all he was hungry for power and new land to conquer. He and Harold gathered large armies and on the 14th of October 1066 they met on the Senlac Hill near Hastings. The Anglo-Saxons were defeated. William advanced to the island and after he encircled London the Witan acknowledged him as the King of England.