HISTORY

UNIT 1
THE FOUNDATION STONES
Britain’s prehistory. The Celts. The Romans

1) Mention some features of the Palaeolithic man

Some of the features of the Paleolithic man are that they arrived in the BI in 250,000BC, at the
end of the last age of the ice, just when the ice cap melted. They were nomadic small groups of
hunters, fishers and gatherers. It is believed that they must have followed herds or deer to get
food and clothing.

2) What were “hill forts” (Prehistory)?

The hill forts were structures made during the Neolithic Age, specially during the iron Age that came
to replace the typical henges as the center of local power.

3) What were the barrows?

The barrows were the constructions made of earth or stone in which the people were buried in
public spaces with no identification in order to please their gods of the soil. They were also
typically known as burial mound or Long Barrows.

4) What were beakers?

The Beakers were a new group of people that arrived in the BI from Europe after 2,400 BC. They
became leaders of the British society.

5) Where did the Celts come from? When did they start invading Britain?
The Celts came from Central Europe and Southern Russia. They started invading Britain around
700 BC. Celt invasion is considered the first important invasion in the BI.

6) Mention an important difference between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age man.
An important difference between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age man lies on the material that the
people used to make their tools. In the first Age the people used bronze to make their tools
while in the second Age the people made iron weapons.

7) Where did the Celts come from?

The Celts came from Central Europe and Southern Russia.

8) What were the henges?

The henges were great structures made during the Bronze Age, which represented political,
economic and political centers of the British society.

9) When did the Celts start to arrive in Britain? Where did they come from?
The Celts started to arrive in Britain around 700 BC. They came from Central Europe and Southern
Russia.

10) What was the main difference between the Roman Church and the Celtic Church?
Which church did England finally adopt?
The main difference between the Roman and the Celtic Church was that the first one was
interested in authority and organization whereas the second one was interested in the heart of
ordinary people. The church that England finally adopted was the Roman church.

11) What was the legacy of the Roman in the British Isles?
The legacy of the Romans in the British Isles were the culture, the language since they introduced
the reading and writing. They also left some architecture (Hadrian`s Wall), some ruins, such as
the Roman Baths, and a system of roads (which facilitated commerce). They left some names
of the places, ending in –ster, such as Chester, Caster as well.

12) Why did the Romans Leave England?

The Romans left the British Isles due to the fact that the Roman empire needed to regroup forces
in Rome again since they were distributed all around the world and there was no way to hold all
what they have conquered up to now.

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13) Mention two aspects of the legacy of the Romans in the British Isles.
One important aspect of the legacy of the Romans in the British Isles has to do with their
contribution to the architecture with some places as the Hadrian`s Wall or the Roman Baths, or
the system of roads. Another aspect has to do with the ending -ster of some places, such as
Chester and Caster.

14) Which invaders brought the skill of writing to the Isles?

The invaders that brought the skill of writing to the Isles were The Romans, who arrived in 43 DC.

UNIT 2
THE ANGLO-SAXONS
The invaders. Government and society. Christianization of Anglo-Saxon Britain. The
Vikings. King Alfred.
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15) Which Germanic tribes invaded the British Isles between the 5 and the 10 centuries?
The tribes that invaded the British Isles were the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes.

16) Mention two aspects of the legacy.

The Anglo-saxons left their language, and their social organization and political institutions.

17) What was the contribution of the Anglo-Saxons to the English language? (Mention two
main aspects)
The Anglo-Saxons’ most important contributions to the english language are the structure of the
language and some vocabulary.

18) To what racial group do the Anglo-Saxons belong?

They were Germanic.

19) Mention two political institutions of the Anglo-Saxons. Develop briefly.

Kingdoms: They were organized in shires, where there were shire-moots (court of justice)
that included the Ealdorman (the shire officer), the sheriff (or shire-reeve, the king’s officer), a
Bishop (church officer) and representative men of the shire.
The Witan: It was a council of picked men: Ealdormen, Bishop and “Thegns”(the king’s
bodyguards). They were all from the nobility, there were no commons to represent the people.

20) What is the importance of the Anglo-Saxon invasion in relation to the English language?
The Anglo-Saxons’ most important contributions to the english language are the structure of the
language and some vocabulary like irregular verbs and nouns.

21) Mention some place names of Anglo-Saxon origin.

Essex: east saxons
Sussex: south saxons
East Anglia: east angles

22) Mention an Anglo-Saxon institution that survived all through the Middle Ages.
One of these institutions was the King's Council, called the Witan.

23) What were the folk moots and shire moots?

Folk-moots: A general assembly of the people of a town.
Shire-moots: a court of justice of men picked by the king

24) Did the Celts belong to the same racial group as Anglo-Saxons?
No, they didn’t. Anglo-Saxons were Germanic while Celts were mainly from Central Europe and
southern Russia.

25) What were the Witan?

The Witan was a council of picked men: Ealdorman, Bishop and the king’s bodyguards. They
were all from the nobility, there were no commons to represent the people. By the tenth century
the Witan was a formal body, issuing laws and charters.

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26) Mention two aspects of the progress brought about by the Christian Church in Britain.
- The church offered an example of union and peace.
- It encouraged art.

27) Mention two political aspects of the legacy of the Christianization of Britain.
- The church gave a better sense of what was lawful and right; because the Saxons’ system of
justice was based on the ideas of private vengeance or of fines paid in compensation for the
sins done.
- The economy improved because the local trade increase (the villages and towns were around
the monasteries). Trade with the continent was encouraged too.

28) What racial group do the Anglo-Saxons belong and where did they come from?
They were germanic and they were mainly from Norway and Denmark.

29) What suffix is the common one for place names of Viking origin?
A common suffix for places of Viking origin is -by (Thormanby, Haxby, Selby, etc.)

30) Mention two aspects of the greatness of Alfred the Great’s reign.
 He was a scholar who taught.
 He translated many books from latin.
 He improved his army and built a fleet.

UNIT 3
THE GROWTH OF THE NATION
The Norman Conquest. The Feudal System. William I’s settlement of England. William
Rufus. Henry I and his measures to re-establish a strong monarchy. Henry II and his
political measures. The quarrel between Church and State. Henry II and Becket. John
and Magna Carta. Consequences of Magna Carta.

31) When did the Norman Conquest start?

It started in 1066 when William the Conqueror who was the Duke of Normandy,
invaded England

32) Why did William decide to invade England?

Edward the Confessor, who was an Anglo-Saxon king but had Norman blood, promised his
successor would be Norman. However, when he died, the Witan elected king the Anglo-Saxon
Harold; so William, who was Norman, invaded England to claim the throne and killed Harold.

33) What three measures did William the Conqueror take in order to keep the central
government strong in England?
 Giving the barons land spread all over England so that the could not rebel
 Creating the the Domesday book which was a kind of log of all the land in England
 The summons of the free tenants to swear obedience to the king

34) What was the Oath of Salisbury and what was its aim?
It is the third measure that William took, the Oath of Salisbury refers to the event when he
summoned his tenants-in-chief to Salisbury, where he made them swore allegiance to him and
to be faithful against all other men.

35) What was an influence of the language of the Normans on the English language?
The influence the Normans left in the English was the structure of language and the irregular
verbs and nouns.

36) What is Feudalism?

It was a political system like a pyramidal-system in which the nobility held lands from the Crown
in exchange for military service, and vassals were tenants of the nobles, while the peasants
were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him respect, labour, and a share of the
production, in exchange for military protection.

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37) What was the difference between William I’s feudalism in England and continental
feudalism?
The difference between William I’s feudalism in England and continental feudalism was that
William’s was not a proper feudalism since his power was almost absolute and was not
subdivided. He ruled and owned the land as he pleased.

38) Mention the social classes within the feudal system.

The social classes within the feudal system were: on the one hand, the nobles and barons
(tenants-in-chief) who were granted lands by the king; and, on the other hand, the lower class
were the peasants who had to work those lands for food and shelter.

39) Mention a measure taken by Henry II in order to diminish the power of the feudal
barons. Explain briefly
As Henry II wanted to weaken the baronial power and strengthen the power of the crown, he
stopped the barons from trading with their own coin and destroyed some barons castles.

40) What was the political purpose of the Domesday Survey?

The Domesday Survey specified all the land of England, who held it and what was worthy in
money dues so that he could know exactly was was due to him.

41) What was “the waste” within the manorial system?

Manorial waste refers to manorial land under English land-law which was neither let to tenants
nor did it form part of Demesne lands due to the fact that it was almost deserted, so it was
under no rule.

42) How was the land divided within the manor?

The manorial estate was divided into two groups, the lord’s domain and the peasant’s holdings
and the land of the manor was divided into arable, meadow and waste.

43) What were William I’s main achievements as king of England?

The main achievements of William the Conqueror as king of England were the union of the
Kingdom under his own sway and the implementation of feudalism to England along with a civil
code of laws that largely supplanted the earlier Anglo-Saxon system.

44) Mention two of Henry’s reforms in the judicial field.

He diminished the power of the feudal lords and curtail the manorial courts where the lord
presided. He also encouraged the Shire and Hundred courts which justice was administered not
by one man but by a body of free-tenants.
45) What did Henry I do in the field of justice?
He create a set of laws to strengthen the Royal power against the barons.

46) Why did Henry I’s reform come to practically nothing after his death? Explain briefly.
Henry I’s reform come to practically nothing after his death because he had no heir to the throne
since his son had died in a shipwreck.

47) Mention an aspect of Stephen’s reign that justifies the phrase “Stephen and the
Nineteen Long Winters”
The fact that the barons rebelled against him and made themselves stronger in their castles
weakening his kingdom and the fact that the poor were reduced to misery are evidence to the
phrase “Stephen and the Nineteen Long Winters” in which men said that Christ and his saints
were asleep because it was one of the worst periods of England.

48) How did Stephen lose the support of the Church?

He lose the support of the Church because he demanded that the Bishops of Salisbury and
Lincoln should hand over their castles to him. When they refused, he cast them into prison and
this was certain to set the Church against him.

49) In what sense was Henry II’s administration success?

Henry II’s administration succeeded because he triumphed over the barons by imposing them a
tax called “scutage” which weakened their power (Feudalism).

50) Mention two grievances people had against the Church which had been somewhat
solved before the Henry II-Becket conflict.
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51) What problems between the Church and the English State had already been solved
before Henry II’s quarrel with Becket?
The king Henry I had agreed that only the Church could create bishops. But in return the Church
agreed that bishops would pay homage to the king for the lands owned by their bishoprics.

52) What was “scutage”? (Henry II)

The scutage was a tax in which every feudal lord had to pay according to the number of knights
they had. In this was the king got a better army and the barons became weaker.

53) What did Henry II especially object about the power of the Church over the State?
He objected that churchmen taxes had to be paid to the king and not to the pope.

54) What was the main issue of the Henry II-Becket controversy? Explain briefly
As archbishop, Becket had to seal the Constitution but he refused to do so and without sealing it
remained invalid.

55) What finally happened to Thomas Becket?

He was murdered beside his own altar steps by the knights in 1170 and three years later he was
canonized.

56) What is Magna Carta?

Magna Carta , the great charter was an important symbol of political Freedom.
It regulated / granted the people (nobility) a number of liberties.

57) How do the origins of Parliament relate to Magna Carta?

The origins of Parliament were closely related to Magna Carta because it was a governing
assembly created to watch over the charter, it was the guardian of Magna Carta that would
control the each clause was made in practice.

58) What was the original purpose of Carta Magna?

The original purpose of Magna Carta was to promise all freemen protection from his officers, and
the right to a fair and legal trial. It was also the first document to put into writing the principle that
the king and his government was not above the law.

59) What were the main terms of Magna Carta?

 No scutage or aid, without the consent of the “common council of the realm”
 Assembly made up by archbishops, bishops, earls, greater and lesser barons
 Mo free man can be imprisoned without a previous trial.

60) Who signed Magna Carta and who made him sign it?
The nobles who wrote Magna Carta forced King John to sign it.

61) What were the main terms of Magna Carta?

 No scutage or aid, without the consent of the “common council of the realm”
 Assembly made up by archbishops, bishops, earls, greater and lesser barons
 Mo free man can be imprisoned without a previous trial.

62) When was it signed?

In 1215 in Runnymede John was forced to sign it.

UNIT 4
THE FOUNDATIONS OF BRITISH INSTITUTIONS
Henry III: Parliament and the Charter. Simon de Montfort. Edward I: the Model
Parliament. Early Great Britain and its failure: Wales and Scotland.

63) What is the importance of Simon de Montfort in the development of the constitutional
History of England?
Simon de Montfort was a French-English nobleman, notable as leading leader of the baronial
opposition to the government of King Henry III of England. After the rebellion of 1263 and 1264,
De Montfort became the ruler of England and convened the first directly elected parliament of
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 medieval Europe. That is why a de Montfort is considered one of the fathers of modern
parliamentary democracy.

64) In what way did Edward I contribute to the development of Parliament?

He brought together the first real Parliament and he developed it to be truly representative of all
classes (clergy, nobility and commons). Before him several kings made arrangements for
taxation but he was the first to create a “representative institution” which provided the money he
needed.

65) What was the Model Parliament?

The model Parliament was the one created by Edward I. It served as a model for all subsequent
parliaments. All classes were represented (Clergy, nobility and commons)

66) How did Wales lose its independence from England?

England invaded Wales during the Reign of Edward I (There were revolts in Wales
so Edward I decided to attack them. After conquering Wales, Edward established a
treaty (1284) in which he declared the annexation of the Wales to the English Crown.
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67) Describe the relationship between England and Scotland up the 13 century
Edward wanted the power over Scotland and for that reason, he placed king Balliol on the
Scottish throne and made him swear to be obedient, but the Scottish didn’t want it so a quarrel
broke out. Later on, Edward invaded Scotland but the Scottish hero, “William Wallace” led the
resistance against him. Once William Wallace was captured, he was taken to England where he
was amputated in four pieces which caused England and Scotland were divided as never.

68) What was the importance of William Wallace for the history of Scotland?
He was the father of scottish patriotism/ nationalism. He was a rebel who fought for the Scottish
Independence when Scotland was attained to England under the reign of Edward I.

69) Mention two reasons why John lost the support of his people.
He lost the support of his people because he made many mistakes like loosing the possessions
England had in France and he irritated the barons and the people with an oppressive
government

70) Refer to the origins of the House of Commons.

Under the reign of Henry III, Simon de Montfort summoned a parliament in 1205.
To this parliament , he invited 2 citizens from the towns, two knights from each shire, two
merchants,two nobles, and members from the church. Simon de Montfort was the founder of
the House of Commons where 2 classes were represented there: 1) the gentry, landholders of
the noble birth who were prosperous enough to buy and rent lands and 2) the middle class
which was represented by merchants and citizens.

71) Refer to the origins of the House of the Lords

The House of lords originated with the first summoning of Parliament in the 13th. It was formed
by the greater nobles and bishops.

72) Who created the House of Commons? When?

Simon de Montfort was the founder of the House of Commons Idem 70

73) Who sat in the House of Commons?

2 classes were represented there: 1) the gentry, landholders of the noble birth who were
prosperous enough to buy and rent lands and 2) the middle class which was represented by
merchants and citizens.