The Normans

History exercises p. 17 Millennium 1

VOCABULARY BUILDING Politics and society

1. Match these words from the text to their meaning. There is an example at the beginning.temporal reign Parliament subjects taxation hierarchically state feudal clergy policy

subjects people under the rule or control of a king or queen

1. state a country considered in terms of political organization

2. feudal related to the system of feudalism

3. hierarchically putting people of various levels or ranks according to their importance

4. temporal related to the power of the Church in practical affairs

5. policy a course of action for dealing with a particular matter

6. reign the period of time during which a king or a queen rules

7. taxation the system by which a government raises money8. clergy Church members who are allowed to perform religious services9. parliament a group of elected people who meet to make a country’s laws

VOCABULARY BUILDING Politics and society

STUDY QUESTIONS1. Who were the Normans and where did they come from?• Although of Viking stock, the Normans came from Normandy, a region on the

northern coast of France where they had settled about a century and a half before.

2. When did they invade and conquer Britain?• They invaded and conquered Britain in 1066 when William of Normandy defeated

the Anglo-Saxons at the battle of Hastings3. What social organization did they introduce into England?• They introduced the feudal system into England: i.e. society was organized along

a social ladder with the monarch at the top of it and the peasants at the bottom. The king possessed all the land and he divided it among the barons, who in turn gave it to the knights; the peasants worked the land. Barons and knights were bound to follow the king to war in return for the land they had received from him.

4. What were the relations between the Crown and the Church under the reign of the Norman king Henry II?

• Henry II gave vent to a clash between the Crown and the Church of England . Thomas Beckett, the Archbishop of Canterbury , opposed the king’s policy and was for this reason sent into exile in France and later killed after his return to England.

STUDY QUESTIONS5. Why is Richard I celebrated as a legendary figure?• Richard I, known as the Lion-Heart, is considered a glorious example of courage

and personal charm. He joined the Third Crusade and was killed while defending his French possessions against the French king Philip II.

6. What was the Magna Charta?• It was a code of laws within an aristocratic social system which is seen as the

base of all future rights of the English.7. What was the Model parliament?.• The Parliament of 1295, under Edward I. It was the beginning of the future

modern Parliament.

Magna Carta

• an important document in British history which King John of England signed in 1215 at RUNNYMEDE in the south of England. By doing this he agreed that limits could be set on royal powers. Later, especially in the 17th century, the document was seen as a statement of basic CIVIL RIGHTS . Four copies of the original document still exist.