Exchange your written works with your groupmates. Find any mistakes and correct them.

3. Render the text [9] into English:

Лондон в средние века был не очень веселым местом. Достаточно вспомнить жуткие леденящие душу ужасы, такие как публичные казни через повешение, обезглавливание, сожжение на костре, четвертование и публичные наказания, вроде битья кнутом, выкалывания глаз и оскопления. Закованных в цепи узников заточали в темных подземельях без всякой надежды на освобождение. На улицах города можно было увидеть трупы преступников, вздернутых на виселице, исклеванные птицами.

К тому же современный человек страдал бы от неудобств в быту. Застекленными окнами могли похвастать только дома богачей. Даже в большом доме человеку негде было побыть одному. В богатых домах было несколько комнат, но они не предназначались для личного пользования, ни в одной нельзя было уединиться. В жилище же бедняка была одна или две комнаты, где в тесноте ютились семья с детьми, куры, свиньи, гуси, кошки, мыши.

А как шокировали бы нас манеры людей 14 века! Ели они руками, лишь изредка прибегая к помощи ножа или ложки. Руки перед едой мыли, но без мыла и холодной водой. Теплой водой и мылом пользовались только в особых случаях. Согласно рекомендациям средневековых учебников хороших манер, человеку следовало сморкаться в свою одежду: в изнанку юбки или обшлаг рукава. Когда Ричард II ввел при дворе носовой платок, его враги расценили это как новое доказательство его изнеженности.

После вечернего звона церковных колоколов человека на улицах Лондона подстерегали опасности. Людей убивали по пустячному поводу, а то и без повода, закалывали кинжалами, топтали копытами коней, избивали и грабили.

Впрочем, люди не выходили на улицу по вечерам без крайней нужды. Это к том уже запрещалось законом. Люди ложились спать после захода солнца и вставали с петухами. Петухи пели во всех концах Лондона.

 

WATCHING AND LISTENING

Do you know the difference between the Norsemen, for example, the Danes, and the Normans? If you do, here is a more difficult question: what’s the difference between the Danes and the Vikings?

2. Watch the video [10] and answer the following questions:

1) When did the Vikings come to northern France?

2)  How did the Normans get their name?

3)  Who is Rollo, and what is he famous for?

4)  Were the Normans pagans or Christians?

5)  What was there in their national identity that helped them to survive in a foreign land?

6)  Bayeux Tapestry is considered one of the greatest medieval artefacts. How big is it?

7)  What great historical event is depicted in Bayeux Tapestry?

8)  How was king Harold killed?

9)  What did the Normans bring to England?

10)  Why was the Kingdom of Sicily so prosperous and culturally versatile?

3. Insert the missing words in the sentences:

1) 1. There was a short ______ with massive consequences.

2)  Our story begins over 200 years earlier, when the Vikings began to settle on the shores of ______ France.

3)  The Normans proved adaptable to their newly ______ life.

4)  But though they adapted, they maintained the warrior tradition and conquering ______ of their Viking forebears.

5)  Soon after ______ in England, William and his knights met Harold’s army near the town of Hastings.

6)  William consolidated his gains with a huge castle-building campaign and a ______ of English society.

7)  (The Domesday Book) recorded the population and ______ of every piece of land in England.

8)  Though the divide between lords and peasants can still be felt in ______ pairs as cow and beef.

9)  By the end of the 12th century, the Normans had ______ expanded into Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

10)  They became highly ______ mercenaries.

Does the name of the book “Decameron” by Boccaccio sound familiar to you? In Chaucer’s time the book was famous, and it’s no doubt that Chaucer read it. How do you think the Italian book affected “The Canterbury Tales”?

5. Listen to the audio [11] and answer the questions:

1) Where was Chaucer born, and how many siblings did he have?

2)  Did he serve as a page in the household of a duchess?

3)  What war did Chaucer take part in?

4)  What countries did he visit in his life?

5)  Who was his first poem devoted to?

6)  Why did Chaucer’s place in society change?

7)  Was Chaucer rich in his late years?

8)  How many children did he have?

9)  Where was the poet buried?

10)  Who did Chaucer’s work influence most?

6. Insert the missing words in the sentences:

1) By the age of _______ Chaucer was a member of King Edward III’s army in France.

2)  The king himself _______ to Chaucer’s ransom.

3)  At the age of 25, Chaucer had moved from a household servant, a _______, to that of a trusted diplomat.

4)  He also became competent in _______ and Italian.

5)  With his career prospering, and his first important poem “The Book of the Duchess”, becoming popular, Chaucer continued to _______ himself with persons in high places.

6)  When Richard II ascended to the throne, Chaucer was _______ Clerk of the King’s Work.

7)  He became responsible for _______ at Westminster.

8)  He _______, or was removed, it is not clear.

9)  Chaucer’s original plan for “The Canterbury Tales” called for _______ tales each from over _______ pilgrims making the journey.

10)  Chaucer avoided targeting any specific audience or social class of readers, focusing _______ on the characters of the story.

 

SPEAKING

1. Make a presentation on one of the given topics:

· Significant events of Middle Ages of Great Britain

· Great authors of Middle Ages of Great Britain