Listen and watch.
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Read and listen to Chapter 5 from the London book.
CHAPTER 5 – By the river
River Thames, the the longest river in England and the second longest in the UK; it rises in Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire and flows into the North Sea; it is 346 km long; it has been an important route for trade and transport since Prehistoric times Globe Theatre, the the first one was built at the time of Queen Elizabeth I to show Shakespeare’s plays; the newest opened in 1997 to show the Elizabethan theatre at an interactive lesson and exhibition William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) the greatest English poet and playwright; he was born in Stratford-upon—von; from 1585-1592 he worked as an actor and playwright in London and he owned a company called the King’s Men; he wrote tragedies and comedies, the most famous works: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer night’s Dream; Hamlet Tate Modern, the an art gallery to show the 20th and 21st century art in its 88 exhibition rooms Millennium (Foot)Bridge, the it is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians only over the River Thames that connects the Globe with St Paul’s, designed for the Millennium, opened in 2000 and reopened after reconstruction in 2002 London Eye, the a giant Ferris wheel of 135 m high by Westminster Bridge; it can carry 800 passengers in a thirty-minute ride Canary Wharf it is a complex of office buildings by the River Thames towards Greenwich Docklands, the a dockland is a port / harbour area where cargo ships (vessels) can stay and leave their goods; in London it was once the biggest port area; today it is re-developed and offices and apartment buildings are built here Thames Barrier, the a flood defence mechanism and machinery to prevent London from tidal floods opened in 1984; -
London in the Middle Ages was a lot smaller than the city is today. The houses were made of wood and they were built very close to each other. Streets were covered in mud, or at some places stones called cobbles. Shops in the street had signs on them to show what they sold, because people couldn’t read.
Merchants and craftsmen joined to form powerful groups called Guilds to keep the good quality of their products.
– A boy of the age 11-12 could go to a guild where a guildsman began his education which lasted for 2 years. The boy was called an apprentice.– Then the boy became a journeyman and went to other towns to learn from other guildsmen. He also received wages (earned money).
– Then he made his masterpiece (at the age of 16) and if he could save enough money, he could start his own business.
In towns, only its guilds could sell things. The streets were usually named after the craftsmen who owned a shop in that street (e.g.: Baker Street, Bread Street etc.).
Each guild had its own symbol called a coat-of-arms to show its product.
Look at the signs and the jobs. Then match the jobs with the job descriptions.
MATCH.
jester an old word for someone whose job was to manage an inn, a house with a pub downstairs and a hotel upstairs innkeeper someone whose job is to blow liquid glass into shapes in order to make containers and other objects artist someone in the past whose job was to entertain an important person by saying and doing funny things herbalist someone who delivers messages to people, often as their job glassblower someone whose job is to make bread, cakes etc. hunter someone who grows, sells, or prepares herbs for use in medicine or who treats ill people with herbal medicines baker a professional performer in music, dance, or the theatre messenger someone who chases and kills wild animals -
AFTER ROMAN LONDON UNTIL THE GREAT FIRE
Angles, Saxons, Jutes people who came to Britain from Germany, Holland and Denmark October 14th, 1066 the Battle of Hastings won by William the Conqueror of Normandy William the Conqueror of Normandy (King William I; The Norman; 1066-1087) defeated Danish King Harold at the battle of Hastings in 1066 Vikings, the violent and warrior people from Scandinavia (northern Europe, todays Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark) who sailed along the coast and burnt down a lot of towns King Canute (or Cnut; House of Denmark; 1016-1035) he made peace in London by uniting Danish and Norwegian Vikings Edward the Confessor (H. of Wessex; 1042-1066) a kind, warm-hearted person who he began the construction of Westminster Abbey; he promised the throne to his cousin William of Normandy Danelaw (Danelagh) historical name, that part of England in the 9th-11th century where the laws of Denmark and the Danish King ruled (from the Scottish border down to London) Harold (H. of Wessex; from 6 Jan to 14 Oct 1066) son of Godvin, Earl of Wessex; after the death of Edward the Confessor the Witan chose him to become the king Witan, the an Anglo-Saxon council made up of noblemen, lords, knights and bishops that gave advice to the English king in everyday matters port, a a town / city with an area of water where ships stop (= harbour / port), including the buildings around it settler, a someone who goes to live in a place where not many people live, and starts to make it into a community invader, an people, army etc that uses force (sometimes violence) to enter another country; e.g.: the Anglo-Saxons were invaders explorer, an someone who travels to a place that other people don’t know much about in order to find out what is there Mercia a kingdom in the Anglo-Saxon times Medieval (also Norman) London the history of London from 1066 (William I) to 1485 (Henry VII,
a Tudor)Northumbria a kingdom in north-east England and south-east Scotland in the 7th-10th centuries guild, a a powerful group made up by craftsmen and tradesmen apprentice, an a 11-12-year-old boy who began his education at a guild journeyman, a a 13-14-yearl old boy who after being an apprentice went to other guilds around the country to get more knowledge and skills coat-of-arms, a a symbol of e.g. a country; a noble family; a guild etc. -
Watch this information-video about how the Vikings invaded England.
And watch this video again to learn about how the size of the territories of Danelaw and England changed.
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Anglo-Saxon London
The Romans left London (and Britain as well) at the beginning of the 5th century. For a while, Londinium lay in ruins, the people of the blooming town left the place.
However, the city grew up again when people from Holland, Germany and Denmark came. They were Angles, Saxons and Jutes, and the period is called the Anglo-Saxon period. London was a useful and busy port for them.In the 9th and 10th century, Vikings from Denmark (the Danish Vikings) sailed up the River Thames and attacked London. They burnt down many of the houses, and introduced Danelaw from the north of England down to London.
In 1014, Anglo-Saxons and the Norwegian Vikings attacked the Danes in London. The Danish Vikings were on London Bridge and were throwing spears at the attackers, Norwegians and Anglo-Saxons. They used roofs to keep the spears away. They also tied ropes to London Bridge and pulled it into the water (this led to the song: London Bridge is Falling Down).
The Viking attacks ended when Canute (or Cnut) became king in 1016 and united the attackers and invaders in peace. London started growing very fast.In 1042 came Edward the Confessor (House of Wessex) and ordered to build Westminster Abbey. After his death he was made into a saint and buried in his abbey (it no longer stands, the one you can see today was built under Henry III (in the 13th century).
Edward the Confessor’s father was Anglo-Saxon Ethelred and his mother was Emma, the daughter of a Norman king, Richard I.
Not long before his death, Edward promised the English crown to his Norman cousin, William. However, he changed his mind and named a powerful lord, Harold Godwin the Earl of Wessex to be his successor because Harold fought successfully against the rebellious Welsh and Northumbrians (from northeast ENG and southeast SCO).William the Conqueror of Normandy from France successfully invaded England in 1066. For more than 400 years, it was the medieval period in England.
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invaders of three tribes (Angles, Saxos, Jutes) came over to Britain from Europe and settled there;
- founded (established) 5 kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, East Anglia and Kent;
- fierce people who also fought each other sometimes, later joined to fight the Vikings.
HOME and FARMING:
They built:
– wooden houses with straw roof;
– huge fences around the villages to keep wild animals away;They grew:
wheat, barley, oats, carrots, parnsnips, apples…
They kept:
pigs, sheep, cattle for their meat and everyday use (used animal fat in lamps, cow fat as glue, deer antlers as knife handlers etc.)
Anglo-Saxon London
Londinium was in ruins after the Romans left.
BUT: the River Thames was there for trade, London became busy port;
London became a very Catholic city (the first St Paul’s in 604).
Watch how the kingdoms and territories that were established by the Anglo-Saxons:
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Watch this infograph-video about the Anglo-Saxons.
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Watch this History Channel bit about the history of Halloween.
Halloween is an annual celebration. It is a mixture of Celtic, Roman and Catholic celebrations. In the 5th Century Celtic Ireland summer ended on 31 October. People celebrated the Celtic New Year and Samhain (sow-en), God of the Sun.
The Celts believed that the souls of the dead come back to Earth that day and take the living with them. So on October 31 they built bonfires and each family got an ember from the remains of the fire – they took it home to light their houses and start a fire at home. They also dressed up in ghoulish costumes to frighten the ghosts away.
A few centuries later Romans adopted some Celtic traditions but they also honoured Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees.
When the potato crop failed in Ireland in the 1840s, Irish immigrated to America and brought the customs of Halloween with them.
A popular symbol of Halloween is the Jack-o-lantern. The custom comes from Irish folklore. According to the legend, a man named Jack was a notorious drunkard and trickster. One day he tricked Satan into climbing a tree. When Satan was at the top, Jack carved a cross into the trunk of the tree so Satan couldn’t climb down. Jack was not allowed to enter Heaven as he was a drunkard. Satan didn’t let him to enter the Hell because of the trick. Satan gave him a single ember that Jack put into a turnip and he was walking the streets of cities with his special ‘candle.’
The custom remained, but the turnip was turned into a pumpkin and the ember into a candle. Some people still believe that Jack is on the streets so they put Jack-o-lanterns into their windows to frighten both the ghosts and Jack away.
annual: sg happening once every year
ember: burning / lighting remains of a fire
to honour,-ed,-ed: to celebrate; to salute with a bow in square dancing
a goddess: a female god
notorious: sy who does sg bad very often
a drunkard: likes going to the pub and is drunken quite often
to carve,-ed,-ed: to cut sg (e.g.: a symbol or words) into wood using a knife
a trunk: the main body (stem) of the tree -
THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON
Plague, the and epidemic that killed lots of people around Europe from the 14th to the 17th century Pudding Lane the Great Fire of London started here in a bakery London Bridge 1 Old (Medieval) London Bridge was opened in 1209. It took 33 years to build. There were high houses o the bridge, and a drawbridge in the centre to let tall ships pass through.
2 New London Bridge was opened in 1831, it was the busiest bridge in London in the 19th century.
3 Modern London Bridge: it wa opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973. It connects the City and Southwark in central London.King Charles II (Stewart, 1660-1685) He became king in 1660, after Britain was a republic for 11 years (1649-60; led by Oliver Cromwell and Richard Cromwell). In Charles II’s reign occurred the Plague, the Fire of London and the Dutch Wars. On his death-bed he turned into a Roman Catholic from Anglican Protestant. Thomas Farynor (/ Farriner) King Charles II’s baker, the Great Fire of London started in his bakery. Samuel Pepys A diary writer whose diary was important to get details about the Great Fire of London. It was said that he buried his best quality cheese and wine before he escaped from the fire. Duke of York, the A title of nobility (like the Prince of Wales, Duke of Conwall etc.). It is usually given to the second-born son of the current British monarch. Present Duke of York is *HRH Prince Andrew. (*HRH: His Royal Highness)
St Paul’s Cathedral the most important cathedral in London, a new St Paul’s was built after the Great Fire of London Christopher Wren, Sir An architect in the 17th century, he designed and rebuilt 52 churches after the Great Fire of London, including his masterpiece, St Paul’s Cathedral. He died at the age of 91. Monument, the built in the City near Pudding Lane, it is 62 m high (202 feet), the exact distance from its base and the bakery where the fire started
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