f Commons. Its main role was to offer advice. There were no elections or
parties. And the most important part of Parliament was the House of Lords.
　　大议会是当今英国议会的原型。1265年，西门德孟福尔召开大议会，各县有两名骑士，各镇有两名市民参
加。大议会发展到后来演变成议会，分为上议院和下议院。其作用是咨询而非决定；也没有选举和政党。议会
的最重要的部分是上议院。
　　
　　　　英语国家概况精讲系列（六）
　　
　　IV．The Hundred Years’’’’ War and its consequences.
　　百年战争及其结果
　　The Hundred Years’ War refers to the war between England and France that lasted
intermittently from 1337 to 1453. The causes of the war were partly territorial and
partly economic. The territorial causes were related with the possession by the English
kings of the large duchy in France, while the French kings coveted this large slice. The
economic causes were connected with cloth manufacturing towns in Flanders, which were the
importer of English wool, but they were loyal to the French king politically. Besides,
England’’’’s desire to stop France from giving aid to Scots and a growing sense of
nationalism were the other causes.
　　The English’’’’s being driven out of France is regarded as a blessing for both
countries. If the English had remained in France, the superior size and wealth of France
would have hindered the development of a separate English national identity, while France
was hindered so long as a foreign power occupied so much French territory.
　　百年战争指1337年到1453年英法之间一场断断续续的战争，战争的起因既有领土因素又有经济因素。领土
起因尤其是与英国国王拥有法国的阿基坦大片公爵领地有密切关系，随着法国国王势力日增，他们渴望占领这
片在他们领土内的土地。经济原因则与弗兰德斯有关。弗兰德斯地区生产棉布的城镇是英国羊毛的主要进口
商，但这些城镇在政治上却效忠法国国王。其他原因还有英国试图阻止法国帮助苏格兰人，以及不断觉醒的民
族意识。
　　战争的结果：把英国人赶出法国对两个国家都是幸事：若国车人继续留在法国，那么法国人在领土和财富
上所占的优势必然会阻碍分离的英国民族的发展；而法国民族被外国势力占领了众多的领土，发展更是长期受
阻。
　　
　　V. The Black Death
　　黑死病
　　The Black Death is the modern name given to the deadly epidemic disease spread by rat
fleas across Europe in the 14th century. It swept through England in the summer of 1348.
It reduced England’’’’s population from four million to two million by the end of the
14th century.
　　The economic consequences of the Black Death were far-reaching. As a result of the
plague, much land was left untended and there was a terrible shortage of labour. The
surviving peasants had better bargaining power and were in a position to change their
serfdom into paid labour. Some landlords, unable or unwilling to pay higher wages, tried
to force peasants back into serfdom. In 1351 the government issued a Statute of Labourers
which made it a crime for peasants to ask for more wages or for

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