5. The Norman Conquest of England
Another branch of Northmen who were related to the Danes carried on raids on the Northern coasts of France. Those tribes came to be called the Normans, a variation of the word “Northmen”. The Normans settled down on the land conquered from the French king – a territory which is still called Normandy after those Normans.
The Normans lived under the rule of their own duke. By the 11th century the dukes of Normandy had become very powerful. In fact, they were as strong as the French king himself. The dukes of Normandy coined their own money, made their own laws, held their own courts, even against the king himself. As a well-armed and well-trained cavalry, the Norman knights were the best in Europe.
In 1066 William, the Duke of Normandy, began the invasion of Britain. The pretext for the invasion was William’s claim to the English throne, because he was related to the Anglo-Saxon kings. William of Normandy claimed that England belonged to him and his large army. The battle between the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons took place on the 14th of October, 1066 at a little village near the town now called Hastings. The Normans outnumbered the Anglo-Saxon forces and were greatly superior in quality. They were well-armed, and the chance of being killed was not so great, because they all wore armour and there were no fire-arms at that time. So the Normans defeated the Anglo-Saxons.
The Norman duke became King of England William I or, as he was generally known, William the Conqueror. He ruled England for 21 years (1066 - 1087).
The Norman Conquest was a turning point in the history of the country, for it became a strong and united feudal state, in which trade and commerce were developed. In those days the basis of the UK proper was laid with the invasion of Ireland in 1170 and Wales in 1283. Scotland was the last to be joined in 1707. So we may say that the 11th - 12th centuries were the time of the birth of the nation.
Литература
Великобритания. С.И. Иванова. Методическое пособие по английскому языку. КТИ, Ковров, 1993.
О Британии вкратце. В.В.Ощепкова, И.И. Шустилова. Москва, Издательство «Лист», 1997.
В Великобритании принято так. Т.Н.Химунина и др. Москва, 1984.
Как сдать экзамен по английскому языку. Е.А. Волгина, Е.Н. Степанова, Ростов-на-Дону, Издательство «Феникс», 1997.
J.J. Bell. The History of England. Издательство «Питер», Санкт-Петербург, 1995.
A.S. Hornby. The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. СПИИП «Сенгилей», 1992.
Материалы периодической печати на английском языке за 2002-2005 гг.
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Map of Great Britain
