English History

Have a look at the kids' video project on the history of England. Covering all the major people and events from the Norman conquest to the Spanish Armada.

The Wars of The Roses

The Wars of the Roses took place in England between the years 1455 and 1487. In those times England was not a united country but divided between rival members of the Plantagenet family, whose rule were based in the cities of York and Lancaster. It was called the Wars of the Roses as the two factions took different coloured roses as their respective symbols. The house of Lancaster had a red rose while the house of York had a white one. 

Richard III

Richard III was the final king of the Plantagenet dynasty. He came from the city of York and was known as Richard of Gloucester before becoming king. 

The final battle of the War of the Roses took place between Richard and his rival Henry Tudor at Bosworth field in the year 1485. 

The battle was won by Henry which marked the end of the Wars of the Roses and the rule of the Plantagenet kings. According to Shakespeare Richard was heard lamenting “.... my kingdom for a horse!!!” before dying at the end of the battle.

After Richard’s death he was demonized by the new dynasty and it is very difficult to tell fact from fiction. Richard’s body disappeared and it’s location passed into the realm of myth. We can see this propaganda quite clearly in the work of William Shakespeare who wrote many plays about the period of the Wars of the Roses.

Check out the opening soliloquay from Laurence Olivier's rendition of Shakespeare's Richard III. It opens with the famous "Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer this son of York..."

Shakespeare also tells us the fate of Richard’s nephews, the princes who were his rivals for the crown. The two princes disappeared in mysterious circumstances and it was believed that they were imprisoned in the Tower of London and eventually executed.

How much of this is true? It’s common for a new king to say that his predecessor did terrible things, in order to legitimize his rule. However Richard’s body has recently been discovered in the city of Leicester near to where the battle of Bosworth took place. He had been buried in the church of Blackfriars, which was later destroyed by Henry VIII, but the foundations remained. The location where Richard’s body was found is now a car park in the city centre! 

Interestingly enough, the back bone of his skeleton shows clear signs of the medical condition known as scoliosis which would have accounted for his supposed deformity. 

The End of the Wars of the Roses

Henry was crowned king and he became known as Henry VII. After the War of the Roses the victorious  Tudor family used a red and white rose as a symbol of peace. 

Tudor England

The new dynasty ruled England for many years and included famous kings and queens such as:

Henry VIII

Ruled from 1509 until 1547. He had a grant total of six wives during his life time, the first of which being the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon. He is the king responsible for the Church of England, changing the national religion to Protestantism.

Here's the trailer for the first series of The Tudors with a very different Henry VIII!

Elizabeth I

Ruled from 1558 until 1603. She was Henry VIII’s daughter and ruled during the golden age of England, known as the Elizabethan period, which produced many great artists, musicians and dramatists such as Shakespere. She was queen at the time of the attempted invasion force of the Spanish Armada sent by king Phillip II in the year 1588. 

It’s a great irony that her father married so many times as he wanted to have a son to follow him as king, yet it was his daughter who was responsible for the English golden age!

Let's end with a bit of comedy. This is Elizabeth I as she appeared in the popular BBC series Black Adder. It's the age of discovery and Black Adder has just got back from a voyage to the new world, but he seems to have gotten lost! Where have they really been?

St. George's Day

It's saint George's day yet again so we're going to put on our clogs (wooden shoes) and have a go at the traditional Morris dance! George is the patron saint of England, despite never actually having visited the place. 

April the 23rd is also international book day due to the fact that both Shakespere and Cervantes died on this date (however not on the same day as Spain and England were using different calendars) Let's see what you know about world literature... Answers will be posted by the end of the week.

Saint George’s day Literature quiz.

Ancient Literature.

The story of the famous Trojan horse appears in which epic poem?

The Iliad, Homer

The works & Days, Hesiod

The Aeneid, Virgil

Which of the following was not a writer?

Aristotle

Socrates

Plato

Which text was written to guide the human soul through the afterlife?

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

The Egpytian Book of the Dead 

The Dead Sea Scrolls

Which Gospel starts "In the beginning was the word..."

Matthew

Luke 

John

Which is the earliest version of the Flood?

Dekelion 

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Genesis

The Upanishads are the sacred literature of

Tibet

India

Arabia

English Literature.

"Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven" are the famous words from which poet?

John Milton
William Shakespeare
Geoffrey Chaucer

What is the premise of George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman?

Hell is where the good people go
Heaven is impossible to attain
There is an open door between Heaven and Hell

Which of the Bronte sisters wrote Jane Eyre?

Charlotte 

Emily

Anne

Which book was written by D.H Lawrence?

Bleak House

Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Sense and Sensibility

In which of Shakespeare’s works do we find the famous speech, “All the world is a stage”?

As You Like It

Othello

Hamlet

What do we learn from Oscar Wilde's novel “The Portrait of Dorian Gray”?

That power corrupts

That death comes to us all

That works of art cannot moralize

French Literature.

Who said that “Hell is other people”?

Emile Zola

Charles Baudelaire

Jean Paul Sartre

The protagonist in Albert Camus’ novel L’etranger is condemned to death because...

He has commited murder

He doesn’t follow the conventions of society

He doesn’t believe in god

Russian Literature.

Which of the following was written by IvanTurgenev?

War & Peace

Fathers & Sons

Crime & Punishment

Which novel by Dostoyevsky contains the famous dictum “If god doesn’t exist then everything is permitted”?

The Brothers Karamazov

Notes from underground

Crime & Punishment

Italian Literature.

What does Machiavelli proclaim in “The Prince”?

That professional soldiers are the most loyal

That a leader should lie if necessary

That Kings are better leaders than Popes

Which Renaissance painter also wrote the lives of his fellow artists?

Giorgio Vasari

Michelangelo Buonarotti

Benvenuto Cellini

German Literature.

Which German composer influenced the early writings of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche?

Richard Strauss

Ludwig Van Beethoven 

Richard Wagner

Who wrote a ficticious account of the life of the Buddha?

Thomas Mann

Herman Hesse

Gunter Grass

In Franz Kafka’s short story The Metamorphosis, what creature does Gregoryfind himself transformed into?

A beetle

A fly

We don’t know

In Wolfgang Von Goethe’s Faust, to whom does Doctor Faust sell his soul?

Mephisto

Satan

Lucifer

Spanish Literature.

In Jorge Luis Borges short story, what is special about the book of sand?

It contains everything ever written

It is infinite

It represents the readers dreams

There are many different versions of architypical character Don Juan. Whose version has a happy ending?

Tirso de Molina’s

Jose Zorilla’s

Lord Byron’s

Who wrote La Vida del Buscon/ Paul the Swindler?

Francisco de Quevedo

Luis de Gongora

Lope de Vega

What is the oldest known literary work in the Spanish language?

El Conde Lucanor

El Libro de Buen Amor

Poema del Mio Cid

Catalan Literature

Who is the survivor of the sea battle at the beginning of L'Atlantida?

Hernando Cortes
Christopher Columbus
Miguel Cervantes

What was Ramon Llull's position towards Islam?

Destroy the infidel
Peaceful co-existance
Understand your enemy

Easter!

Wishing everyone a very happy easter, after a long term of hard studying! See you all next term... in the meantime have a go at this easter quiz!

1. Ecumenical
a. Pertaining to religious inspiration.
b. Of worldwide scope; universal.
c. Belief in the immaculate conception.
d. Relating to the Pope's honorary bodyguard .

2. Presbyterian
a. Relating to government by church elders.
b. A Scotsman who joins the Anglican church.
c. A manse or lodging for a priest.
d. A 'no-frills' Roman Catholic church.

3. Ecclesiastical
a. A priest.
b. A religious philosophy expounded by George Eccles.
c. Relating to the organization or government of the church.
d. Relating to church rituals.

4. Episcopal
a. Of or relating to a bishop.
b. Dealing with the last part of the sermon.
c. Related to church security.
d. A chalice or decanter for wine that has been blessed.

5. Pentecost
a. A small dish used during communion.
b. The seventh Sunday after Easter.
c. The last five books of the bible.
d. A stipend paid to choir members.

6. Evangelical
a. Having wings like an angel.
b. Describing gospel music.
c. Of churches which believe in the sole authority of the Bible.
d. Relating to "an eye for an eye".

7. Eucharist
a. A two-wheeled gilded chariot.
b. Bread as the symbolic body of Christ.
c. A card game played by the Pharisees.
d. The act of giving thanks; thanksgiving.

8. Easter
a. The name of an egg-bearing rabbit.
b. An April wind blowing from west to east.
c. An ancient Greek term meaning "resurrection".
d. A goddess of light or spring.

9. Canon
a. A robe worn by a priest.
b. A country mentioned in the Bible.
c. The books of the Bible.
d. A ceremonial staff.

10. Epiphany
a. A Christian prophet.
b. A story illustrating a moral or religious lesson.
c. A Christian feast celebrated on January 6th.
d. A native or inhabitant of ancient Ephesus .

10 Slang phrases

Here's some more British slang for you. See if you can make your own sentences with them. The best way to remember new vocabulary is to use it in context.

to take the mickey out of someone / something - to make fun of someone / something

to go on a pub crawl - to go repeatedly from one drinking establishment to another

to go pear shaped - to go badly wrong

grub - working class food

to whinge about something - to complain about something

a fluke - by chance

to be a piece of cake - to be very easy

to put a sock in it - to shut up / be quiet

a snog - a long and passionate kiss

to waffle on about something - to talk about something of no importance

See if you can complete the following sentences with the correct slang:

1. The boss at work has no idea what he's doing. The company has gone completely _________!

2. I'm sick of always having to hear your problems! Why don't you ____________!

3. On their first date nothing happened, but the second time they had a __________ outside the restaurant!

4. Kids can be so cruel, they're always ____________ out of students who are different.

5. Did you pass the exam? 

    Yeah. It was a _____________.

6. My favourite sort of _________ is fish and chips.

7. He never stops _____________ on about philosophy!

8. He won his first game of poker, but it was a complete _____________.

9. The students were very drunk because they'd been on a long _____________ all night!

10. Stop ___________ like a baby! Other people have problems too you know!

Answers:

1. pear shaped 2. put a sock in it 3. snog 4. taking the mickey 5. piece of cake 6. grub 7. waffling 8. fluke 9. pub crawl 10. whinging

The Environment

It's clil (content and language integrated learning) week at the school, and this term's subject is the environment. Have a look at a video project produced by some of the kids!

Idus Martiae

"Beware the Ides of March!"


These are the words spoken by a soothsayer warning Julius Caesar of his immenent death on the 15th of March, in William Shakespere's famous play.

Extract taken from Julius Caesar Act 1, Scene 2:


Soothsayer

Caesar!

CAESAR

Ha! who calls?

CASCA

Bid every noise be still: peace yet again!

CAESAR

Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music,
Cry 'Caesar!' Speak; Caesar is turn'd to hear.

Soothsayer

Beware the ides of March.

CAESAR

What man is that?

BRUTUS

A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.

CAESAR

Set him before me; let me see his face.

CASSIUS

Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Caesar.

CAESAR

What say'st thou to me now? speak once again.

Soothsayer

Beware the ides of March.

CAESAR

He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass.

Sennet. Exeunt all except BRUTUS and CASSIUS

Of course nobody believes soothsayers! So obviously Caesar went on to meet his fate. It is said that Caesar was murdered at Pompey's theatre, located in a small archeaological site in the middle of present day down town Rome. I took some pictures of (what I thought at the time) were some quite uninspiring looking ruins... not suspecting until later the true significance of the sight!