Henry II, his wife Eleanor and their children Richard and John were the most astonishing of all the family firms to have run the enterprise of Britain.
亨利二世与妻子埃莉诺 儿子理查和约翰 在所有统治英国的王族中 若论惊世骇俗 无出其右
They did so with a furious energy that either entranced or appalled their subjects.
臣民对他们那种疯狂的劲头 态度截然相反 崇敬有之 畏惧亦有之
Like many family firms,they had a capacity for both creation and self-destruction.
与很多王族相同的是 他们既能建功立业 也能自我毁灭
What their intelligence built, their passions destroyed.
卓绝的成就 终究毁于狂热的激情
They were called the Angevins,name after the french-speaking province of Anjou.
人们称其为安茹王朝 此名取自法语区的安茹
At the height of their power,they were masters of all that counted in christendom.
在其权力巅峰时期 他们统治了所有基督教国家
Their England was the linchpin of an empire that stretched from the Scottish borders to the Pyrenees.
庞大的帝国以英格兰为根基 从苏格兰边境延伸到庇里牛斯山
Much bigger than France itself.
比法国本土面积大很多
Not since the Romans, and never again,has England been quite so European.
自罗马时代后 英格兰再也没有 与欧洲大陆有过如此亲密接触
The dynasty had its roots in the civil war that was being fought between two cousins, Stephen and Matilda,
安茹王朝在内战中站稳了脚跟 战斗双方的斯蒂芬和玛蒂尔达是表亲
the grandchildren of William the Conqueror.
同为征服者威廉的孙辈
Stephen seized the crown, but that wasn't the end of it,for if Matilda couldn't beat him with an army,
斯蒂芬夺取了王位 但这不是最终结果 尽管玛蒂尔达无法用武力击败他
she could beat him with a wedding,a wedding that would found a dynasty and reduce Stephen's ambitions to dust.
但她可以用一场婚礼战而胜之 这场婚礼建立了一个王朝 令斯蒂芬的野心灰飞烟灭