Counties

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 517.

The culture of Early Middle Ages

Establishment of the kingdom of England. Danish raids on the British Isles. Cultural activity of king Alfred the Great. Establishment of the Danelaw. Spread of writing. The assimilation of the Danes and their contribution to British culture. Anglo-Saxon architecture and music. The Danes in Britain in X – XI c.

Questions

1. Why was the unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms into one kingdom in the 9^th c. necessary?

2. Compare Danish raids on Britain with the raids made by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5^th c.

3. What territory of Britain did the Danes manage to conquer?

4. What measures were taken by Alfred's government to raise the level of culture in the country?

5. What is the importance of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle?

6. How did the Danish settlers in England influence the development of the country in the 10^th – 11^th c.?

7. What was the peculiarity of the feudal development of Britain in the Early Middle Ages as compared to the countries on the Continent?

Britain is divided into small administrative regions, many of which are called counties. Three regions, the counties of Essex, Sussex and Kent have the same names and cover the same areas as three of the former Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Other counties are probably based on areas where particular tribes once lived.

Counties were previously called shires. The original shires were the counties of the English Midlands, and the word became part of their name, e.g. Northamptonshire. Administrative and legal affairs were dealt with by shire courts presided over by shireeves, later called sheriffs. The shires were divided into smaller districts called hundreds. The large former county of Yorkshire was until 1974 divided into ridings after the three divisions of the IX c. Viking kingdom of York. Counties were for a long time the basis for local government.