George Coppard, machine gunner at the Battle of the Somme.

In the course of the battle, 51 Victoria Crosses were won by British soldiers. 31 were won by NCO’s and 20 by officers. Of these 51 medals, 17 were awarded posthumously – 10 to NCO’s and 7 to officers.

Article 5

Feudalism

Feudalism is the name given to the system of government William I introduced to England after he defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. Feudalism became a way of life in Medieval England and remained so for many centuries.

William I is better known as William the Conqueror. He had defeated the English army lead by Harold but he had to gain control of all of England before he could be truly called king of England. He was a foreigner who had forced his way to London. He was not popular with the people of England and he had to use force to maintain his control on England.

William could not rule every part of the country himself – this was physically impossible. Not only was travel difficult and slow in the eleventh century, he was also still Duke of Normandy and he had to return to Normandy to maintain his control of this land in France. Therefore, he had to leave the country for weeks at a time. He needed a way of controlling England so that the people remained loyal.

William spent much of his time in London. He built his own castle – the Tower of London – so that it dominated the city. It was also his home while in London. He did not trust the builders of London – or English stone – so he used Norman craftsmen to do the skilled work while the English acted as labourers and he brought in from Caen (in France) the stone needed for what we now call the White Tower. He also built the first castle at Windsor. The motte is still visible. Castles represented a visible threat to the people of England. Soldiers were kept in them and they could be used against the English should they cause trouble.

historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 5 Mar 2015. 12 Jan 2018.

Feudalism is the name given to the system of government William I introduced to England after he defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. Feudalism became a way of life in Medieval England and remained so for many centuries.

William I is better known as William the Conqueror. He had defeated the English army lead by Harold but he had to gain control of all of England before he could be truly called king of England. He was a foreigner who had forced his way to London. He was not popular with the people of England and he had to use force to maintain his control on England.

William could not rule every part of the country himself – this was physically impossible. Not only was travel difficult and slow in the eleventh century, he was also still Duke of Normandy and he had to return to Normandy to maintain his control of this land in France. Therefore, he had to leave the country for weeks at a time. He needed a way of controlling England so that the people remained loyal.

William spent much of his time in London. He built his own castle – the Tower of London – so that it dominated the city. It was also his home while in London. He did not trust the builders of London – or English stone – so he used Norman craftsmen to do the skilled work while the English acted as labourers and he brought in from Caen (in France) the stone needed for what we now call the White Tower. He also built the first castle at Windsor. The motte is still visible. Castles represented a visible threat to the people of England. Soldiers were kept in them and they could be used against the English should they cause trouble.

However, he needed a way of actually governing the country. This was the Feudal System.

William divided up England into very large plots of land – similar to our counties today. These were ‘given’ to those noblemen who had fought bravely for him in battle. William argued that those noblemen who were willing to die in battle for him, would also be loyal to him. The land was not simply given to these nobles. They had to swear an oath of loyalty to William, they had to collect taxes in their area for him and they had to provide the king with soldiers if they were told to do so. In the eleventh century, a sworn oath on the Bible was a very important thing and one which few men would dare to break as it would condemn them to Hell. The men who got these parcels of land would have been barons, earls and dukes Within their own area, they were the most important person there. In the terms of the Feudal System, these men, the barons etc., were known as tenants-in-chief.

Even these pieces of land were large and difficult to govern.

The barons etc. had to further divide up their land and these were ‘given’ to trusted Norman knights who had also fought well in battle. Each knight was given a segment of land to govern. He had to swear an oath to the baron, duke or earl, collect taxes when told to do so and provide soldiers from his land when they were needed.

It was argued, that because they had sworn an oath to their baron, they had really sworn an oath to the king. These lords worked to maintain law and order. The people in their land – or manors – were treated harshly and there was always the constant threat of Norman soldiers being used against the English people where ever they lived. The lords had to do their job well as unsuccessful ones could be removed from their position. Their job was simple – keep the English people in their place……under the control of the Normans. Under the Feudal System, these men, the knights, were called sub-tenants.

Note that both groups were officially tenants – a word we associate with land that does not belong to you. Both all but rented out their land in that they had to provide money or services to the real owner of all land – William the Conqueror.

At the bottom of the ladder were the conquered English who had to do what they were told or pay the price for their disobedience.

There is no doubt that William’s rule was harsh. But he was a man who had conquered the country. He was not in England through the popular choice of the people and he had to ensure that he had full control over them at all times. He ensured that there were obvious signs of his power – the country saw the building of many Norman castles. He also knew what was owed to him because he ordered a survey of the whole country – the Domesday Book.

Article 6

Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor was king of England from 1042 to 1066. Edward’s death was to transform Medieval England and led to the reign of the Norman William the Conqueror with all that his rule meant to Medieval England – castles, the Domesday Book and feudalism.

Edward the Confessor was born in about 1003. Edward’s father was Ethelred the Unready and his mother was Emma of Normandy. Edward spent the first part of his life in Normandy. He grew up with deep religious views and gained the nickname “Confessor”. However, away from his family and in a strange land, it is said that Edward’s childhood was not a happy one.
In 1040, Edward was re-called to England by his half-brother Hardicanute who had succeeded Ethelred in the same year. Hardicanute died after a drinking party in 1042 and Edward became king of England.

According to those who compiled the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the first thing Edward did, despite his religious views, was to deprive his mother of all of her estates and reduce her to relative poverty. It is said that Edward blamed her for his miserable and lonely childhood.

Edward married in 1045. His wife, Edith, was the daughter of Godwin of Wessex, the most important nobleman in England. They had no children as Edward had taken a vow of celibacy.

In 1051, a number of Normans were killed in a brawl in Dover, Kent. Edward still had influential friends in Normandy and he wanted the people of Dover punished for this. Edward ordered Earl Godwin to do this. Godwin refused and raised an army against the king instead. Two other senior noblemen, the earls of Mercia and Northumbria, remained loyal to Edward, and outnumbered, Godwin agreed to leave England and live with his family in Flanders

Between 1051 and 1052, Edward increased the number of Normans who advised him at court. This angered the Witan – a body of English advisors made up of the most important noblemen in England – and in 1052, Earl Godwin returned to England with an army. This army was commanded by his two sons, Harold and Tostig. Edward was unable to raise an army to fight Godwin as no nobleman was willing to support the king. Edward was forced to send back to Normandy his Norman advisors and he had to return to Godwin all his estates and accept him back into the kingdom. Despite being king of England, Edward had no choice but to do this.

In 1053 Godwin died. His title was taken by Harold who became known as Harold of Wessex. He was the most powerful nobleman in England.

Between 1052 and 1066, Edward contented himself with putting all of his energy into the building of Westminster Abbey in London. The Witan maintained its political and advisory power. Having ‘tasted’ its power once in 1052, Edward had no desire to challenge it again. Harold of Wessex commanded the king’s army when it was required and gained a reputation as a skilled leader.

In January 1066, Edward died. He did not have any children and the fight for who should succeed him led to the Norman invasion of October 1066 and the Battle of Hastings.

Harold of Wessex

Harold of Wessex, as king of England, led the English army into battle against William the Conqueror in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings. Harold was killed in this battle which was fought to establish who should be king after the death of Edward the Confessor.

Harold was born in about 1022. His father, Godwin of Wessex, was the most powerful nobleman in England. Harold became Earl of East Anglia in 1046. He also got a share of his brother Swegen’s lands when Swegen was sent into exile in 1046. When Godwin was exiled in 1051, Harold went to Ireland where he stayed with the Dermont, King of Leinster. In 1052, when his father returned to England, Harold did the same. Godwin regained all that he has lost when he had been sent into exile. In 1053, Godwin died and Harold succeeded his father as Earl of Wessex. From this time on Harold was a loyal supporter of Edward the Confessor.

In 1063, Harold led an English army into Wales – an area that had never been overly respectful of English power. Reports from the time indicate that his army killed every adult Welsh male they came across. His campaign of terror left parts of Wales depopulated.

When he was not away campaigning, Harold found time to get married. He married Eadgyth Swanneck and they had five children. He also wanted to create a place of learning which is why he funded the creation of a large church in Waltham which had a chancellor, a dean and twelve canons. The chancellor, Adelard of Liege, was famed for his lectures.

In 1064, Harold was shipwrecked on the coast of Ponthieu. William of Normandy
ordered the Duke of Ponthieu, Guy, to hand over Harold. Harold went to Rouen with William and accompanied William into battle. It was after one such battle against Conan of Brittany, that Harold is said to have promised William that he would support William’s claim to the throne of England on the death of Edward. With this ‘promise’, William allowed Harold to return to England. When Harold returned to England, he claimed that the ‘promise’ had been forced out of him. If he had not made it, he would have spent the rest of his life as a captive in Normandy. Therefore, Harold concluded, any such ‘promise’ had no legal backing.

Edward died on January 5th 1066. On January 6th, the Witan met to decide who should succeed Edward as he left no heir to the throne of England. The Witan consisted of 60 of England’s most powerful nobles and they decided that Harold should be the new king of England. There is a popular belief that Harold somehow seized the English throne. In fact, it was offered to him by the Witan. The Witan had discussed the merits of other candidates: William of Normandy, Harold Hardrada of Norway and Edgar Etheling. Out of the four, Harold was chosen.

After his coronation, Harold did expect some form of reaction from William. Harold placed a large number of troops along the south coast to the Isle of Wight. By September, Harold decided that the threat had been reduced and he allowed his part-time troops (the fyrds) to disperse. Many were needed for harvesting.

However, Harold then had to cope with an attack by his brother Tostig and the king of Norway, Harold Hadrada. Tostig had invaded in the north of England and Harold had to move his army north with due speed. They fought at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on September 24th 1066. Harold won; Tostig and Hadrada were killed.

William and his forces landed at Pevensey Bay. Harold was still in the north of England. Marching south, Harold rejected the thoughts of his brother Gyrth, who wanted to lead the English in battle as Gyrth felt that Harold, as king of England, was putting himself at risk.

Harold was killed at the Battle of Hastings on October 15th. The Bayeaux Tapestry shows him getting an arrow in the eye. In truth, we will never know how Harold died but it is highly unlikely that a king of England would have been on foot armed with a spear – as the tapestry shows.

After the battle finished, Harold’s mother, Gytha, asked William to return Harold’s body to her for a proper burial. She offered William Harold’s weight in gold. William refused. He was convinced that Harold had broken a sacred oath and that, even in death, he should pay for that. Harold’s body, so it is said, was buried on the beach at Pevensey Bay, on the shores he had tried to defend. By doing this, William ensured that Harold was not buried in a Christian manner. Some believe that his body was finally buried at the church he had established at Waltham.

Article 1

Тема работы

Примеры:

1. Изучается изотопический эффект в кристаллах.

The isotopic effect in crystals is studied.

2. Исследовались (исследованы, были исследованы) свойства радиоактивных элементов.

The radioactive properties of elements were studied.

Примеры:

1. Мы рассмотрели ряд стандартных программ.

Был рассмотрен ряд стандартных программ.

We have considered a series of standard programs.

2. В статье рассматриваются некоторые физиологические эффекты.

The paper studies some physiological effects.

Article 2

Примеры:

1. Исследуется случай тонких кристаллов. The case of the thin crystals is analyzed.

2. Изучена ультраструктура различных морфологических стадий Т. г.

The fine structure of the various morphological stages of Trypanosoma raiae has been studied.

3. Была рассчитана (рассчитана) деформация решетки и формула использована для вычисления параметров.

The deformation of the lattice was estimated and the formula was used to calculate the parameters.

Примеры:

1. Изучается новая проблема. Anewproblemisstudied.

2. Была исследована причина взрыва. The cause of the explosion has been investigated.

3. Изучалисьдревниерукописи. Old manuscripts were examined.

4. Было обследовано более 100 больных. Over 100 patients were examined.

5. Исследовали несколько соединений. Several substances were analyzed.

6. Рассматривается фотоэлектрическое излучение.

Photoelectric emission is considered.

Article 3

Примеры:

1. Описываются мембраны аппарата Гольджи.

The membranes of Golgi apparatus are described.

2. Обсуждаются конструкция и рабочие характеристики прибора.

The design and operating conditions of the device are discussed.

3.Описан приводной механизм. (Из статьи ясно, что описано не только его устройство, но и его применение, достоинства и пр.)

The rotation mechanism is discussed.

4. Изложеныосновныепринципы. The main principles were discussed.

5. Рассмотренывременныехарактеристикифотодетекторов.

Temporal characteristics of photodetectors have been discussed.

6. Описаны преимущества этого метода. (В статье о преимуществах говорится кратко, они только очерчены.)

The advantages of the method are outlined.

7. Рассмотрен вопрос о природе изменений холодоустойчивости растений. (Приэтомпринятывовниманиевсепараметры.)

The nature of changes in plant cold-resistance has been considered.

Article 4

Характеристика работы

1. Книга представляет собой критический обзор…

The book constitutes а critical review of…

2. Особенноподчеркиваетсяэкологическийпринцип.

Ecological principles are especially emphasized.

3. Работа анализирует и обобщает сведения по…

The work treats and summarizes the knowledge on…

4. Информация подается как часть единого целого.

The information is given as part of synthetic whole.

Article 5

Структура работы

Примеры:

1. Книга состоит из четырех частей. The book comprises four parts.

2. В последнем разделе книги обсуждается…

The final section of the book discusses…

3. Монография охватывает большой материал по…

The monograph covers a large information on…

4. За введением следуют (идут) главы, посвященные…

Introduction is followed by the chapters devoted to…

Article 6

Достоинства работы

1. Благодаря оригинальному материалу и богатому содержанию этих глав, они читаются с большим интересом.

The chepters provide interesting reading due to the original approach and rich contents.

2. (В этой главе) должное внимание обращено на электронно-микроскопические данные.

The due regards are given to results obtained with electron microscopy.

3. Основная ценность этой работы (заключается) в очень глубоком анализе экспериментального материала.

The main achievement of the work lies in a very profound treatment of the experimental material.

4. Удачнопредставленыморфологическиеданные.

The presentation of morphological evidence is usually successful.

5. Книга охватывает весьма обширный материал.

The coverage of the book is extremely wide.