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Edward the Confessor was the last but one of the Anglo-Saxon kings.He ruled over England for 24years and died on Jan.5，1066.On his death-bed he chose Harold of Wessex，his wife’s brother，to be king in his place.Harold had no blood relationship with the king，but he was then the most powerful man in England.So the council approved of Edward’s choice，and Harold was crowned next day.

The Battle of Hastings

The council knew well that others would claim the crown.Duke William of Normandy would claim it because Edward once made a secret promise to have William succeed his position；the Kings of Denmark and Norway would claim it because of their family ties with Canute.If Harold had had the full support of his lords，he could probably have saved his kingdom；but many were jealous of his position and some clearly favored his foreign rivals.When the attack came，England was found disunited.When Norway’s king landed and seized York，Harold rushed north and destroyed him and his army.Three days later Duke William landed on the Sussex coast，and Harold rushed south again.Without waiting to collect support from doubtful lords，he met the Norman army near Hastings¹⁰.His tired men fought bravely but they had no cavalry or archers to match the horsemen and bowmen whom William had brought from Normandy.When night came King Harold was killed apparently by a chance shot from a bowman；and soon afterwards the English broke and fled.And on Christmas Day 1066 William the Norman was crowned in the recently built Westminster Abbey.A new line of Norman kings began to rule England and William became William the Conqueror.

As soon as William had been crowned，he began to organize the government of England on the system that had been so successful in Normandy.It was called the feudal system that was based on the ownership of land.Wtlliam took the land away from its English owners and redistributed it in the form of large estates to his Norman lords，including his bishops and abbey leaders.These gifts，coming from the hand of the king，placed the lords of the land in his direct control.Then，in turn，the estates were divided among tenants.And the tenants were similarly bound in service to their lords.In this way the King was able to centralize English society in his own person.

In order to secure his own authority，William made the administration of justice directly dependent on the crown.He had the sheriffs，the King’s representatives in the counties，rule over the county courts.He replaced the English bishops with the Normans and set up the Church courts to try cases according to the laws of Rome.He built up the Norman castles all over the country to watch over the English.By all these means he achieved a position of extraordinary strength.But the contests for authority between the king and barons or the king and church never stopped.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of William’s reign was the compiling of the Domesday Book.In 1086he sent out his officials to make a detailed record of all the wealth of England.Their work，the Domesday Book，provides a complete description of the country.It records all land and property，every mill and cottage，every cow and pig.It also records the rights and duties of every landowner and every court.It is valuable to later history because no other country did such a thorough compilation of facts about the Middle Ages.

The Norman Conquest was in effect a French conquest and the imposition upon England of a ruling French aristocracy.In consequence，Norman-French of the conquerors replaced English as an authoritative language in England.English became a lower-class language.It was not until 14th century that English again became the language of the richer and cultural class.So Middle English（1150-1450）was strongly modified by an extensive infusion of French vocabulary.

The Norman Conquest was one of the most decisive events in English history，which caused a fundamental change in the way of life of the English people.It tied England’s civilization closely to that of continental Europe；this factor determined the whole course of future English history and development.

1.Stonehenge：a circular group of upright stones on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.It is believed to have had some religious or astronomical purpose.The name of Stonehenge is said to mean“stone hanger”，referring to the horizontal stones“hanging”or lying across two upright stones.

2.Home Counties：the counties near London，especially Essex，Kent and Surrey，and also including the former county of Middlesex.Now Middlesex is mostly in Greater London.

3.Julius Caesar（？101-44BC）：Roman statesman，general and historian.As a member of the First Triumvirate，he conducted campaigns which expanded Rome’s domain.He did much to found a new regime；he established order，restored a firm economic situation，regulated taxation，reformed the calendar，codified law，and set up the first public library and newspaper.He was assassinated by his opponents in 44BC.

4.Claudius：（Roman Emperor）（AD 41-54）and historian.His army invaded Britain in AD 43.

5.Caledonians：the Roman name for the native Scotsmen；Caledonia for Scotland.

6.Picts：an ancient warlike people who centered in North and East of Scotland at the time of Roman occupation of Britain.The Romans called them Picts，from the Latin pictor，“painter”，because they tattooed and painted their bodies.

7.Hadrian’s Wall：a wall built by order of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century to mark the northern frontier of Roman Britain.It runs about 120km.from the river Tyne in the east to the Solway Firth in the west.Long sections of the wall remain today and are apopular tourist attraction.

8.Danelaw：the code of Dane law.The term can also refer to the part of England that was ruled by Dane law.It was the price England had to pay for a century of peace with the Danes.

9.Edward the Elder：the eldest son of Alfred the Great.

10.Hastings：the site of the famous battle of Hastings in 1066，where William the Conqueror defeated the Anglo-Saxon King Harold，and began the Norman Conquest of Britain.Now it is a popular seaside resort in East Sussex，where a well-known annual international chess contest is held.

Ⅰ.Choose the correct answer.

1.The earliest known settlers on the British Isles were________.

A.Celts 　　　B.Iberians

C.Gaels 　　　D.Anglo-Saxons

2.The real Roman conquest of Britain began in________.

A.55 BC　　　B.54 BC　　　C.AD 43　　　D.AD 96

3.Which part of Britain was radically transformed by the Romans？

A.Scotland.　　　B.Wales.　　　C.England.　　　D.London.

4.Christianity was first brought to England by________.

A.Romans　　　B.Anglo-Saxons

C.Celts 　　　D.Danes

5.Which of the following tribes first came to Britain？

A.Anglos.　　　B.Saxons.

C.Jutes.　　　 D.Teutons.

6.King Ethelred was called Ethelred the Unreadybecause________.

A.he was always unready for fighting

B.he lacked military preparedness

C.he failed to make preparedness

D.he failed to follow good advice

7.The greatest achievement of William the Conqueror was________.

A.the establishment of the legal system

B.the introduction of the feudalism

C.the spreading of Norman-French

D.the compiling of the Domesday Book

8.The Domesday Bookincluded all the following points except________.

A.all land and property of then England

B.the rights of landowners

C.the duty of every court

D.the power of the king

Ⅱ.Fill in the blanks.

1.Soon after 700 BC the Celts from________of northwest Europe came to settle on the British Isles.The first wave of Celtic invaders was the________，whose language is still spoken in Scotland.From about 500BC another groupof the Celts called ________came and drove the Gaels to the________and west.From the ________came the English name for Britain.A third wave，Belgae from________，arrived about 100BC and occupied the greater part of what are now known as the________.

2.The Roman occupation of Britain lasted nearly ________years，and it was the Romans who brought ________to England.

3.Around the turn of the ________centurythe ________invaded England.When the Danes were threatening to take possession of all England，King Alfred began to fight against them.He built boats，thus earning the name of“________”.Later Alfred made a treatywith the________，allowing them to control the ________and ________parts of England which later became known as the________.

4.Edward the Confessor was the ________but one of the ________kings.He died in________.In the same year Duke William invaded England.And on________Day of________，Duke William was crowned in the recentlybuilt________.A new line of ________kings began to rule England and William became________.

5.The Norman Conquest was in effect a ________conquest and the imposition upon England of a ruling French aristocracy.In consequence，________of the conquerors replaced English as an authoritative language in England.English became a________language.It was not until ________century that English again became the language of the richer and cultural class.So________English（1150-1450）was strongly modified by an extensive infusion of________vocabulary.