Late Medieval Period (1066 AD – 1492 AD)
中世纪晚期（公元 1066 年 – 公元 1492 年）
At the end of the Early Medieval period, control of England was restored back to an English king, Edward the Confessor. On his death, King Harold II was crowned king of England. However, a distant French relative of Edward called William, Duke of Normandy declared that he was the rightful heir. William invaded England and killed King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. From that point onwards, William has been referred to as William the Conqueror.
在中世纪早期的末期，英格兰的控制权重新回到英国国王忏悔者爱德华手中。在他去世后哈罗德二世被加冕为英格兰国王。然而，爱德华的一位法国远亲诺曼底公爵威廉宣称他才是合法继承人。威廉入侵英格兰，在黑斯廷斯战役中杀死了哈罗德二世国王。从那时起，威廉就被称为征服者威廉。
England was thus controlled by a French elite and they brought with them a new language, customs and architecture. Despite friction between the local people and their French rulers, the two cultures merged.
因此，英格兰由法国精英控制，他们带来了新的语言、习俗和建筑。尽管当地人与法国统治者之间存在摩擦，但两种文化还是融合在一起。
Although the English kings from this point were of French descent, there were multiple wars between France and England. England was also in conflict with Scotland, and after several significant battles, Scotland was recognised as a separate country by England and other major European countries.
尽管此时的英国国王是法国血统，但法国和英格兰之间发生了多场战争。英格兰也与苏格兰发生冲突，经过几场重大战役，苏格兰被英格兰和其他主要欧洲国家承认为一个独立的国家。
During this period the Magna Carta was produced. This document declared that the monarchy was not above the law, extolled the fundamental rights of the English people and became the foundation of English Common Law. Subsequently, this document has strongly influenced many country’s constitution, including the American’s Bill of Rights..
在此期间，《大宪章》 制定了。这份文件宣布君主制不能凌驾于法律之上，强调了英国人民的基本权利，并成为英国普通法的基础。随后，该文件对许多国家的宪法产生了重大影响，包括美国的《权利法案》。
Another significate event during the Late Medieval period was a plague which in England was called the ‘Black Death’. It started in the Middle East and swept through Europe before reaching England in 1348. It is estimated that this plague killed one third of the population of Europe. The loss of life as a consequence caused huge social change in England.
中世纪晚期的另一个重要事件是一场瘟疫，在英国被称为“黑死病”。它始于中东，席卷欧洲，然后于 1348 年到达英格兰。据估计，这场瘟疫杀死了欧洲三分之一的人口死亡。由此造成的生命损失在英格兰导致了巨大的社会变革。