I. Answer the following questions

1. Describe the development of the English state in the 11th-12th centuries. Under what circumstances did the English make their first attempts to conquer Ireland? How successful were they?

2. Evaluate the historical significance of Magna Charta.

3. Trace the origins of the English parliament, paying special attention to its initial functions.

4. Explain the causes, events and results of the peasants' uprising of Wat Tyler.

5. When was Wales conquered by England? How successful were the English in conquering Scotland?

6. Speak of the work of John Wyclif. Who were the Lollards?

The Development of Culture in Feudal England

With the Norman Conquest the Norman-French language became the official language in the country. It was the tongue spoken by the ruling class, the language of the court. Court literature was written in Norman-French. But it was not the language of the people and could not become the means of communication between the various layers of society. The English were now subdued, separated from their rulers by birth and language. Even today we are reminded by synonyms that the Anglo-Saxon peasantry tended the cows, calves, swine and sheep, but that it was the Normans who ate them as beef, veal, pork and mutton. Although the development of English from Anglo-Saxon to Middle English showed a very strong French influence, especially on vocabulary, English did not lose its fundamental linguistic characteristics, either in its grammatical structure or in its basic vocabulary.

During the 13th century the various dialects of Middle English came ever closer to forming a single language, and in the 14th century, although considerable dialect differences still existed, the dialect of London and the South-East Midlands began to be accepted as the standard written language. The acceptance of one standard for the written language was hastened during the 15th century by the introduction of printing and the consequent spreading of printed books from the London area throughout the country. In 1474 William Caxton the printer set up his press at Westminster and printed the first book in English – “The History of Troye”. It was a remarkable event which contributed to the spreading of the English language which could be understood by the largest number of people. Caxton printed nearly 100 books, including “The Canterbury Tales” by Chaucer and a book “Morte d'Arthur” about the chivalry of King Arthur by a Yorkist knight named Sir Thomas Malory.

Norman-French ceased to be used in the daily intercourse of the upper classes, though the knowledge of French was still a mark of gentility and good education. Latin was still the language of learning, the language of the church, of monastic and grammar schools, which were beginning to be founded in the towns for the sons of merchants and the gentry.

Already in the early Middle Ages in England there developed an interest in learning. More schools were established, with theology and philosophy added to the curricula. Classical literature declined in popularity, and a greater interest developed in medicine, astronomy, and other sciences. Law and history also received some attention.

One notable result of this intellectual revival was the rise of universities. They had no campuses or buildings of their own, conducted their work in Latin. In the early stages, English students went to Paris and other centuries of university life, but about 1167 the

University of Oxford was established, with a curriculum similar to that at Paris. Shortly afterwards the university of Cambridge (1209) appeared. In the thirteenth century Roger Bacon (1214 – 94) at Oxford gained fame as a writer. Bacon may be described as the founder of English philosophy. His name is inseparably connected with the beginning of natural sciences in England. He was a man of great learning and as a practical scientist he invented spectacles and indicated the manner in which a telescope might be constructed. Roger Bacon attacked the methods of scholasticism and emphasized the importance of the inductive method of reasoning. He considered man's duty to be critical of the opinions of others, stressing that one should not submit automatically to authority. He attached great importance to mathematics. Bacon's ideas were considered heretical and as a result he spent 14 years in confinement. However, he staunchly defended his views and his outlook of the world contributed to the development of natural sciences and philosophy.

The large increase in the number of private and official documents also contributed to later historical knowledge of the period. Scholars began to use their own language instead of Latin, for writing, and thus tended to fix the form of the literary English.

Grammar schools existed at some of the convents and were supported by fees. They were accessible only to the rich. In 1440 Eton college was founded where the tutorial system of learning prevailed.

Of the works of literature of this period most outstanding were “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer (1342 – 1400) and “Piers Plowman” by William Langland (1330 – 86). “Piers Plowman” is an allegorical poem and its aim is of mainly religious and moral character. However, the author attacks the decadent life of the church and the higher religious hierarchy. The greatest figure of English literature of the 14th century is undoubtedly Chaucer. In his “The Canterbury Tales” he achieves realism, especially in “The Prologue”, which brings almost the whole of the medieval English world before us, drawn sometimes with subtle irony, sometimes with open and robust satire, but always with complete mastery. Besides poetry written within the literary tradition, English literature of the Middle Ages has a great wealth of traditional folk poetry. This ranges from ballads, like “The Robin Hood” cycle, nearly always dealing with some form of revolt against feudal oppression, religious songs and carols, as well as love songs.

From the 12-th century to the 15-th century is the great period of English Gothic architecture, the most striking instances of which are the many fine cathedrals throughout the country. Among them are Wells Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, which is the most perfect example of the first phase of early English architecture, the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge and others. However, the great cathedrals were not only architectural values created by these centuries. Many simple but beautiful village churches, manor-houses, cottages and farm­houses still bear witness to the skill of the medieval craftsmen.

Discuss cultural life in feudal England as to the development of the English language, education, literature, architecture.

The Wars of the Roses, the Development of Absolutism in the XV century

The 15-th century was an age of violent contrasts. This age is marked with two parallel processes going in full swing. While feudal relations and the feudal mode of production were decaying, bourgeois relations were developing rapidly. Thus the decline of the feudal estate created favourable conditions and made it possible for internal wars to rage all over the country. The bourgeoisie, though becoming more numerous and wealthy, were not yet strong enough to form the basis for a powerful monarchy and the local administration was not strong enough to resist the great nobles.

The Wars of the Roses (1455 – 1485) started on the background of England's defeat in the Hundred Years War (1337 – 1453) between England and France. The struggle resulted from the English possession of territory in France, which began with William the Conqueror, and from the French desire to drive out the invaders. One might add the old feudal disputes between English and French kings. Moreover, the English king Edward III claimed the French throne because he was a grandson of the late French king.

The defeat in France had brought back the most warlike nobles, who were greatly dissatisfied with their losses and who could not adjust themselves to the serious changes in the economic life of the country.

In form it was a dynastic struggle between two most powerful feudal families – the House of Lancaster which had the emblem of the red rose and the House of York with the emblem of the white rose. Hence the name of the wars. The various noble families related to these two Houses formed ranks behind them. Towns loyal to Yorkist families closed their gates to all Lancastrians. The court shut out all Yorkists. London was filled by armed followers of both parties.

After terrible struggle and bloodshed which lasted 30 years the war ended in 1485. The battle of Bosworth, fought on August 22, 1485 ended the Wars of the Roses and with them a whole historic epoch in England. Henry of Richmond or Henry Tudor won this battle against Richard III. The latter was killed in battle. “The king is dead. Long live the king!” is a strange English saying. It means that as soon as a king is dead. Another must take his place. Henry Tudor became Henry VII (1485 – 1509). Moreover, Henry was wise enough to marry the heiress of the House of York. Thus Henry VII formed a new monarchy, the Tudor monarchy, which was based upon a new relationship in society.

The Wars of the Roses had considerably weakened economically and politically the old feudal baronial families. Not only did they lose many of their most powerful members, but they also wasted a considerable portion of their property in almost half a century of dynastic wars. The new Tudor monarchy was absolute. It was supported by the new nobility and the emerging bourgeoisie – the merchants, the clothiers, that is those people, who valued security which was necessary for the development of the economy.

Crushing down the old nobility, confiscating the lands of the defeated, Henry began to create a new nobility coming from the upper layers of society and directly dependent upon the Crown.

It was under Henry VII, at the close of the XV century that Britain was emerging as a centralized national state. This process continued well into the XVI century and culminated in the XVII century during the English bourgeois revolution.