Первый билет. Легенды о короле Артуре.

If King Arthur had been a "real" king, he would have lived around the 5th or 6th centuries, he was probably a warrior chief who protected his people from the Saxon invaders for a time. It seems that there was a war leader, whose name we do not know, who defeated the Saxons, checking their advance temporarily King Arthur was said to be the son of Uther Pendragon and Ygraine of Cornwall. Irrespective of whether King Arthur was real or mythical, it cannot be denied that King Arthur has been a major influence on literature, from the early Middle Ages to the present day. And although, it is more as a Middle Ages knight that he is presented in literature. From Malory to Tennyson to T. H. White. Historia Brittonum (written c.830AD) says “Arthur fought against them [the Saxon invaders] in those days, together with the kings of the Britons, but he was the leader in battles [dux bellorum].” The rest of the text lists a number of his supposed battles of which the Battle of Badon is the only one that we know from other historical sources (Gildas’s De Excidio Britanniae of c.540AD, which mentions the battle but not Arthur). Arthurian stories starts with Geoffrey of Monmouth who records Arthur's birth, childhood, ascension to the throne, military conquests, and death. He places King Arthur as living from the late fifth century to 542, when the king was mortally wounded in his last battle. This story became the basis of the Arthurian legend, and was built on by Chrétien de Troyes and Sir Thomas Malory. (Или текст, который я давала на уроке, была дана ксерокопия из книжки)

Второй билет. Исторический контекст легенд о короле Артуре

Towards the end of the 4th century Europe was invaded by barbaric tribes. The Romans had to leave Britain because they were needed to defend their own country. The Britons were left to themselves, but they had very little peace.

Very soon sea-robbers came sailing in ships from the continent. These invaders were Germanic tribes called Angles, Saxons and Jutes. They were wild and fearless

people, and the Britons could never drive them away. The Britons fought many battles, but at last they were forced to retreat to the west of Britain. Those who stayed became the slaves of the Anglo-Saxons.

For a long time the tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes fought with one another for supreme power. Britain split up into seven kingdoms: Kent, Sussex , Essex, Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia, and Northurnbria.

The Anglo-Saxons lived in small villages. Round each village there was a ditch and an earthen wall with a wooden fence on top. The earthen wall and the fence served to defend the village against robbers and wild beasts.

The Anglo-Saxons were tall, strong men, with blue eyes and long blond hair. They were dressed in tunics and cloaks which they fastened with a brooch above the right shoulder. On their feet they wore rough leather shoes. Their usual weapons were a spear and a shield. Some rich men had iron swords