新编《英美概况》名词解释

1 《英美概况》名词解释

1. backbone of England : It refers to the Pennines in England. The Pennines extend from north to south, from

upland to Derbyshire.

2. the act of 1801: In the year of 1801, the parliament passed the act to agree that Ireland joined the kingdom.

From then on, Britain got the name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Britain includes

England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

3. the Bank of England: It is the center of the British financial system. It was founded in 1694 and nationalized

in 1946.

4. Invisible Trade: It refers to a kind of unseen and unobvious trade. It includes the profits, dividend and capital

investment.

5. Black country: It refers to the industrial area in the west midland and Birmingham is the center. The area is

very rich but is heavily polluted.

6. Hadrian’s Wall: In 122AD, the Romans built a wall in order to defend Picts and Scots. The wall is very long,

from Solway to Tyne; we call it Hadrian’s Wall.

7. Julius Caesar：The king of Rome. In 55-54BC, he led his army invaded Britain twice.

8. King Alfred: He is the king of Wessex in Britain. In the 8th century, he led the British people defeated the

Danes and Vikings, and he was considered the first national hero. He wrote Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. (盎格鲁-撒克逊编年史)

9. William the Conqueror: One the Christmas Day of 1066, French man William defeated the British King

Harold at Hastings. In Westminster Abbey, he was crowned the King of Britain, so the Norman Conquest

began. He established a strong monarchy in England, and unified the country. In 1086, he and his officials

made a book about the survey of Britain, which is called Doomsday Book.

10. Battle of Hastings: One the Christmas Day of 1066, at Hastings, French man William defeated the British

King Harold, and Harold was killed. The battle was called Battle of Hastings. The battle of Hastings paved a

way for the Norman Conquest.

11. Henry II: In the year of 1154, Henry II built the Plantagenet and when he was a king, he made the

monarchy stronger than before. He made a set of reformation and in the year of 1181, he issued the Assize of

Arms. He died in 1189.

12. the Assize of Arms: In the year of 1181, Henry II issued the Assize of Arms. According to the law, every

freeman in England should be provided with arms, and they can only use the arms when they are called to fight

for the King.

13.the Great Charter: It is also called Magna Carter. In the year of 1215, King John signed the Great Charter.

According to the charter, the king can’t freely change the law, the king can’t freely tax, and if the king violates

the Charter, the vassals may rebel by the civil war. It is a feudal charter, but it gave the people trade freedom

and self government.

14. all estates parliament ：The parliament in 1265 is called all estates parliament, and it is considered the

beginning of Parliament.

15. model parliament :. In 1295, in order to collect more money on the war again Wales, King Edward

opened the “all estates parliament”. The parliament included more than 400 members and was considered the

most successful parliament. In the history, it is called model parliament.

16. Heptarchy : From 7th century to 9th century, England was divided into 7 small kingdoms, they fought each

other. Later, the King Wessex, Egbert, united England and he was considered the first King. And this is called

Heptarchy. 2 17. Black Death: It is a kind of plague in 14th century and so many people died from it. The Hundred Year’s

War stopped for some time because of the Black Death.

18 the Lollards: It refers to John Wycliffe and his followers. They made some ideological(思想上的)

preparation for the labour movement and peasant uprising.

19. enclosure movement：In 15th century, the industry of woolen cloth was the source of wealth and export. So

more wool was needed, and more sheep were needed. So some landlords began to enclose some “common

lands” into pasture, and then some nobles and business men do so. As a result, farmers lost land and went to

the cities to be the cheap workers. This is called enclosure movement.

20. Francis Drake: He was one of the most famous navigators in England. He set a sail around the world in

1577.

21. the East India Company: It is one of the most famous trade companies in England. It was founded in the

year of 1600 and was a tool of exploiting(剥削) Indian people.

22. Henry VII : He became the King in the year of 1485. He did a lot of things to make his crown stronger, for

example: he confined Edward in the London Tower, he increased the income of government, he encouraged the

education, but he didn’t deal with the Church problem.