Text 10. The city of london: its past and present

London has been an important centre for finance for many years and the City is the financial centre of London. It contains the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange and hundreds of insurance, banking and finance companies. This goes back to the 12th century when Lombards — moneylenders from Lombardy — settled in London.

A Lombard meant a native of Lombardy in Italy, whose ancestors were the Germanic people who conquered Italy in the 6th century. This term was applied in the Middle Ages to bankers, moneylenders, and pawnbrokers, many of whom were from Lombardy or elsewhere in north Italy. Italian bankers played an im­portant part in financing the English Crown in the 13th and 14th centuries. In re­turn for their loans, such firms as the Riccardi of Lucca and the Frescobaldi of Florence received substantial gifts and a variety of business privileges.

Italian bankers received gifts because the charging of interest on a loan of money was forbidden by medieval cannon law and punishable in the ecclesiastical courts. Interest on loans, such as those made by Italian bankers to the Crown in the late-13th and 14th centuries, was thus paid in other forms until legally per­mitted in the 16th century.

Dislike for these advantages, their power, and their association with unpopu­lar government policies at the beginning of the 14th century culminated in the expulsion of the Frescobaldi by the Lords Ordainers — the committee of 21 lords that Edward II was forced to appoint in 1311. The strain of heavy royal borrowing brought the collapse of the Riccardi in 1294 and of the Bardi and Peruzzi of Florence in the mid-14th century.

Many Italian bankers occupied premises in what became Lombard Street, in London.

The City covers one square mile in the centre of modern London. This is the area of the original city of Londinium founded by the Romans around AD 50. It re­mained the same for a thousand years until the Normans came from France in 1066. William the Conqueror gave the Saxons in the City a special Charter, and the City is still independent from the rest of London. It has its own council called the Corpora­tion of the City of London, its own Lord Mayor and its own police force.

Until very recently, the area was the home of the «City gent» with a black bowler hat and a tightly rolled umbrella; the bowler is rarely seen today. In con­trast to the entertainment district in the West End of London, the City is almost deserted at night. Although hundreds of thousands of people work in its offices by day, only about eight thousand actually live within the square mile.

The City is very rich and has a lot of influence. The term «the City» is often used to refer to the financial world in Britain in general. But to many observers the City seems increasingly independent of the British domestic economy: in fact, the City is central to international finance. When London was an imperial capi­tal, the City was its financial heart, but in the age of telecommunications, the City could be situated anywhere.

Notes and Commentary

the Bank of England — Банк Англии; государственный центральной эмиссионный банк; основан в 1694 году; национализирован в 1946 году

the Stock Exchange — Лондонская фондовая биржа

a Lombard — ломбардиец; уроженец или житель области Ломбардия в Италии

the Germanic people — зд. германские племена

the Middle Ages — средние века

the (English) Crown — зд. королевская власть

the Lords Ordainers — Лорды-«реформаторы»; составители свода законов, ограничивающих власть короля (в целях установления баронами контроля над правительством)

Edward II — Эдвард II (1284-1327), король Англии (1307-1327)

the Romans — римляне (римское завоевание Британии: середина I в. — начало V в. н.э.)

around AD (Anno Domini) 50 — лат. приблизительно в 50-м году нашей эры

the Normans — норманны (норманнское завоевание Британии под предводительством Вильгельма Завоевателя, William the Conqueror, началось после разгрома англо-саксов под Гастингсом в 1066 году)

a Charter — королевский указ

the Corporation of the City of London — Совет («парламент») Сити Лондона

Lord Mayor of the City of London — лорд-мэр Сити Лондона

the West End of London — Вест-Энд Лондона; район театров, музеев, аттракционов, увеселительных заведений

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Answer the questions.

1. When did the City become the financial centre of London?

2. When was it legally permitted to charge interest on a loan of money?

3. Why did the Lords Ordainers expel some of the well-known Lombards?

4. In the 11th century, William the Conqueror granted a special Charter to the City of London, didn't he? What are the consequences of that grant?

5. What was the image of the City until very recently?

Exercise 2. Match the English words with their Russian equivalents.

1. stock exchange A. кредитор; ростовщик

2. finance (n) B. канон (закон) церкви

3. moneylender (n) C. банкир

4. banker (n) D. юридически; легально

5. pawnbroker (n) E. финансы

6. loan (n) F. фондовая биржа

7. legally (adv) G. экономика страны

8. borrowing (n) H. ростовщик

9. domestic economy I. заем

10. cannon law J. заем

Exercise 3. Find the Russian equivalents of the following.

The strain of heavy royal borrowing; to charge interest on a loan of money; to be central to international finance; medieval cannon law; to refer to the financial world; to conquer a country; the home of the «City gent»; to receive a variety of business privileges.

Exercise 4. Find the English equivalents of the following.

Столица империи; поселиться (обосноваться) в Лондоне; быть пустынными ночью; получать богатые подарки; играть важную роль; финансовый центр; процент с займа; быть наказуемым в церковных судах.

Exercise 5. Translate in written paragraphs 2 and 3 of the text beginning with the words « A Lombard meant...» and ending with the words «...in the 16th century». When translating, please keep in mind the norms of the Russian language.

Exercise 6. Fill in the correct word or phrase from the list below. Use the words or phrases only once.

Police; moneylenders; insurance; the City; bowler; Bank; premises.

1. The …of England

2. Force …

3) a black … hat

4) … from Lombardy

5) … of London

6) to occupy …

7. An… company

Exercise 7. Fill in the correct preposition.

1) to be deserted … night

2) dislike …something

3. to be independent … the British domestic economy

4. to go back …the 12^th century

5. to live … the square mile

6. in return … something

7. to refer … the financial world

Exercise 8. Say whether these sentences are true or false and explain why.

Rewrite false statements to make them true.

1. The charging of interest on a loan of money was allowed in the 12th century.

2. The City is only dependent on the British domestic economy.

3. The importance of the City as a financial centre goes back to the time when Lombards settled in London.

4. The territory of the City occupies half of modern London.

5. There are few residential houses in the City.

Exercise 9. Choose all the words that are appropriate in answering the questions.

1. Is the City the financial centre of London?

2. Who and what were Lombards?

Pawnbrokers, the Bank of England, north Italy, the Middle Ages, Lombards, moneylenders, finance, business privileges, banks, insurance and finance companies, the Stock Exchange, the English Crown, substantial gifts, a native of Lombardy.

Exercise 10. Look through the text again and write down ways to describe the situation con­cerning the expulsion of some of the Lombards from Britain.

Exercise 11. From the text, select those facts and ideas concerning the role of the City of London in Britain and all over the world (in written form).

Exercise 12.

A. Say what the text is about. Comment on the content of the text (orally).

B. Present the general idea of the text in five-six sentences in written form.