1.The great social feature of the period was the extinction of Villenage or Slavery.From the earliest Saxon times this evil had prevailed in England.The Norman Conquest had changed the masters without freeing the slaves.But about the time of Henry the Second the good work began.During three centuries it went on slowly，yet surely-so slowly，indeed，that it was scarcely remarked by the writers of the time.
2.Among the clergy there were soon found many who had sympathy for the enslaved race；and it became a custom，when a slave-holder was dying，to persuade him，by all the authority of the Church，to set free his slaves.The War of the Roses，by breaking the power of the ruling race，aided this great movement；and the opening of the Tudor Period saw Villenage abolished in England for ever.
3.The office of King had become strictly hereditary.The King possessed the chief power，and was in name lord of the whole soil.But three great principles，existing from the earliest times，limited his power：-（1.）He could make no law without the consent of Parliament.（2.）He could lay on the people no tax without the same consent.（3.）He must govern by the laws；and if he broke them，his advisers were responsible.
4.Instead of the Norman castles already described，the nobles now began to build large manorhouses of wood，decorated with carving and painting.Their rooms were hung with tapestry.In towns，the upper stories jutted out over thelower，so that in narrow streets the fronts of opposite houses were only a few feet apart.This style may still be noticed in old towns like Chester.The people had not yet learned the value of light and fresh air to both mind and body.
5.The higher classes took four meals in the day.They rose about five；took breakfast at seven；dined at ten；supped at four；and at nine had the “livery”-a slight repast of cakes and spiced wine-served in their bed-chambers.The workingclasses dined at noon.
6.Dramatic performances now took a regular shape.They were acted at first in the churches，chiefly by the clergy，and were called Miracle Plays，or Mysteries.Although intended to teach the lower classes the history of the Bible，they seem to have been very profane.
7.About the time of Henry the Sixth，Moral Plays came into fashion.These were a great improvement on the Mysteries：the actors were laymen，and Scriptural characters were not assumed.They have been called Allegories，since the performers personated Mercy，Justice，Truth，and such qualities.Then followed，in the Tudor Period，the introduction of actual characters from history and social life.
8.In all modern histor y no event has had wider or more lasting consequences than the invention of Printing.A complete change took place in bookmaking.The black-letter manuscript gave place to the printed volume.The latter，however，had as yet no title-page，no capital letters，and no points except the colon and the period.The words were spelled without attention to anything but their sounds.Hence every writer had his own style of spelling，and very often there were two or three different forms of the same word in a single page.
中文阅读
1.这一历史时期主要的社会变迁是农奴制度或奴隶制度的彻底终结。从最早期的撒克逊时代开始，这一非正义的制度就在英格兰生根发芽了。诺曼征服之后，领主发生了变化，但奴隶们并未获得自由。直到亨利二世时期，这一良性变革终于开始发生。但在这之后的三个世纪里，这一进展都很缓慢，甚至可以说极其缓慢，以致连这一时代的史家们对此往往着墨甚少。
2.渐渐有不少神职人员开始对奴隶阶层产生同情，于是在奴隶主临终之际，会有牧师前往劝说，教堂对其授权让他释放所有的奴隶，这后来慢慢变成了一种风俗习惯。玫瑰战争让统治阶层的结构与力量平衡被打破，在一定程度上也推动了这一变革的进程。到了都铎王朝的前期，奴隶制就在英格兰彻底终结了。
3.从这一时期开始，王位的继承严格按照世袭机制进行。国王掌握主要的国政大权，在名义上也是全国领土的领主。但是为了限制其权力，对国王约法三章：
（1）没有议会授权参与，国王不能擅自立法；（2）同样，没有议会同意，国王不能对国民征税；（3）国王必须依法治国，如果他违反法律，谏议大臣有权直接指责进行劝诫。
4.诺曼时期的城堡我们之前已经有过描述，到如今也产生了变化，贵族们开始修建更大的庄园，并喜欢以雕刻和绘画艺术品进行装饰，屋里的墙壁上大多挂着壁毯。房屋的上层往往比底层更伸出来一部分，所以在一些狭窄的街道上，两边沿街的房子有时会相互靠得很近。这样的建筑风格我们今天在一些古镇比如切斯特还依旧可以看到。这时的人们似乎还没有认识到阳光和新鲜空气对人的身体和心灵多么重要。
5.当时上流社会每天用餐四次。他们一般5点起床，7点吃早餐，10点吃午餐，下午4点吃晚餐，晚上9点还要在卧室里吃一顿“甜点”--主要是蛋糕香料酒。劳工阶层则一般在正午12点吃午饭。
6.戏剧演出在此时已经有了固定形式。最初在教堂里进行演出，牧师们充当演员，这类演出也被称为“圣迹剧目”或者叫“神迹”。尽管这样做的目的是为了教化底层民众，但是他们的观感体验却更偏向世俗，而不是庄严崇高的宗教情怀。
7.到了亨利六世时期，伦理剧开始受到大众欢迎。圣迹剧目也有了很大的改善：更多群众演员参演，圣经题材的内容也大幅减少。这样的剧目被称为“寓言”，因为演员常常直接扮演仁慈、正义、真相等等的化身。然后在接下来的都铎王朝，关于历史和社会生活的题材也慢慢走进了戏剧。
8.在整个近现代历史中，再也没有任何事件能像印刷术的发明那样，对人类生活产生如此重大而深远的影响。出版业产生了革命性的变化，黑色笔墨手稿变成了印刷而成的书卷。当时印刷的书籍上还没有扉页，不用大写字母，标点符号也只有冒号与句号。单词的拼写并不统一，只注重发音，这样就导致不同的作者往往都有自己的拼写方式，甚至有时同一个单词在书的同一页竟会出现两三种不同的拼写方式。
THE HOUSE OF TUDOR
都铎王朝
85
HENRY VII
亨利七世
1485to 1509A.D.-24years（公元1485~1509年，在位24年）best blood，noblest men.
cast，throw.
firmly seated，secure；safe.
guilt，falsehood.
New World，America.
pretenders，men who claimed the throne，
but who were not the persons they said they were.
proper，true.
sterling，standard money.
stocks，frame-work for confining the legs.
1.With Henry the Seventh the Tudor line begins.His first care was to cast into the Tower the young Earl of Warwick，a boy of fifteen，of the House of York，and the proper heir to the throne.He was kept prisoner fifteen years，and was then beheaded.
2.Henry married Elizabeth of York，daughter of Edward the Fourth.The White and Red Roses being thus united，those wars that for thirty years had been robbing England of her best blood came to an end；and men began to follow the arts of peace.
3.The beginning of the reign，however，was disturbed by pretenders.Lambert Simnel，a baker‘s son，pretended to be the young Earl of Warwick，who was at that very time a prisoner in the Tower.
4.In Ireland he found great favour，and was crowned King under the title of Edward the Sixth；and though young Warwick was brought out of his cell，and openly shown，yet Simnel entered England with an army，and marchedainto Nottinghamshire.He was defeated at Stoke，serving boy in the King’s kitchen！
taken prisoner，and made a
a Stoke.-In Nottinghamshire；4miles south-west of Newark.