William the Conqueror (1)

In the second half of the eleventh century England was conquered by a Norman Duke, William by name, one of the most powerful feudal lords of France. Under the pretext of having rightful claims(2) to the English throne, William landed on the southern shores of England in September 1066. The well-armed Norman knights met the Anglo-Saxon troops gathered by Harold, their king, at Hastings(3) on October 14,1066. The battle raged with varying fortune(4) all day, but finally the Anglo-Saxons gave way. King Harold was killed and the Normans won the battle. Some time later, London was forced to open its gates to the conquerors.

William became King of England and was called William the Conqueror. He named himself the "lawful heir" of the English king and promised to grant the old rights and customs to the Anglo-Saxon nobility. But this was, in fact, only a pretext to pacify(5) the local population which

fell under the foreign yoke(6). The real intentions of William the Conqueror became clear when he began confiscating the lands of the English barons and replacing the Saxon nobility by Norman nobles and knights who became the ruling group. The confiscation of lands and their distribution among the Norman nobility completed the establishment of the feudal system

in England. Land grants in reward for(7) military service was a characteristic feature of feudalism. In France and Germany these land grants led to the weakening of royal authority, since8 the great landowners could use their military forces against the king. In England this danger also existed, but in a smaller degree.

William granted large estates to his followers(9), but he was careful to scatter them in manors over the country in a way which made it difficult for the great landowners to concentrate their knights for rebellion(10) against the king. The Norman kings ruled with the help of a governing body(11) called Curia Regis (the King's Court). It made laws, imposed and levied taxes, and tried disputes(l2), but the king was always present and his word was decisive. In just the same way(13) each baron(14) ruled his vassals, each knightly holder of a manor(15) - his villeins. Generally speaking, the native population was treated very cruelly by the conquerors. Even the Anglo-Saxon nobles felt oppressed. It is not suprising, therefore, that many, both of the upper and the lower classes of Anglo-Saxon society, fled and often hid themselves in the forests or elsewhere(16) to escape the oppression of the Normans. Sometimes they started a fight against the foreign oppressors, but were often caught and put to death (executed).

Notes

1 William the Conqueror - Вильгельм Завоеватель (1027 - 1108), герцог Нормандии, впоследствии король Англии

2 under the pretext of having rightful claims to - под предлогом того, что у него законные права на

3 Hastings ['heistiqz] - Гастингс, город-графство на юго-востоке Англии, на берегу Ла-Манша

4 with varying fortune (= with varying degrees of success) - с переменным успехом

5 to pacify -(зд.) успокоить, утихомирить

6 fell under the foreign yoke -попало под гнет чужеземцев

7 land grants in reward for (= as a reward for) - земельные наделы в награду за

8 since -поскольку, так как

Слово since может выступать как предлог времени (с), как наречие (с тех пор) и как союз временного придаточного предложения (с тех пор, как) и придаточного предложения причины (так как, поскольку е. g. I haven't seen him since 1998. We left school in 1990, and I haven't seen him since. I haven't seen him since we left school. Since he was ill I had to do this work.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-26