Chapter 2

The Origins of a Nation (5000BC-1066)

英国的起源（公元前5000年—1066年）

I.Arrival and settlement of the Celts 克尔特人的到来和定居

Celts were practiced famers. The drained much of marshlands and built houses of wood.They wre ironworkers, too. Their languages, the Celts languages, are the basis of the language which is still used by some people in Scotland and Wales. Their religion was Druidism (n.德鲁伊教). 克尔特人是有经验的农民，他们排干沼泽地，用木材建造房屋。他们还打造铁器。苏格兰和威尔士语就是以他们的语言为基础发展而来的。

1 The Celts began to arrive Britain about 700 BC.

约公元前700年，克尔特人来到不列颠岛。

2The Celts came to Britain in three main waves.

克尔特人来到不列颠有三次高潮。

The first wave were the Gaels-came about 600 BC.

第一次高潮是约公元前600年盖尔人的来临。

The second wave were the Brythons-came about 400 BC.

第二次高潮是约公元前400年布列吞人的抵达。

The third wave were the Belgae-came about 150 BC.

第三次是约公元前150年比利其人的到达。

II. Roman Invasion 罗马征服

Between 55 and 54 B.C., Julius Casesar invaded British twice. But it was only nominal conquest for 96 years. The real conquest began in 43 A.D. and lasted for almost 350 years.

公元前55到公元前54年，凯撒大帝两次征服，但只是96年名义上的占领。真正的征服开始于公元43年，并持续了350年。

The Romans never did succeed in subduing all of Britain. One of the greatest achievements of the Roman Empire was its system of roads. The influence of Roman thought survived in Britain only through the Church. Romanization was not successful in other areas like language and culture.

罗马征服并没有真正的征服英吉利，但罗马人带去了先进的技术，尤其是公路系统。罗马人在语言和文化上都没能征服当地人，只有他们的宗教例外。许多罗马教堂拔地而起。

III. The Anglo-Saxons (446-871) 盎格鲁—撒克逊人

1. Basis of Modern English race: the Anglo-Saxons.

盎格鲁—萨克逊时代（奠定了英国的基础）

In the mid-5th century a new wave of invaders, Jutes, Saxons, and Angles came to Britain. They were three Teutonic tribes.

五世纪中叶，朱特人、撒克逊人和盎格鲁人不断入侵不列颠。这是三支日耳曼（条顿）部落。

①The Jutes, who fished and farmed in Jutland, came to Britain first. A Jutish chief became the King of Kent in 449.

②Then the Saxons, users of the short-sword from northern Germany, established their kingdom in Essex, Sussex and Wessex from the end of the 5th century to the beginning of the 6th century.

③In the second half of the 6th century, the Angles, who also came from northern Germany and were to give their name to the English people, settled in East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria. These seven principal kingdoms of Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria have been given the name of Heptarchy.

居住在日德兰半岛（现丹麦南部）上从事打渔农耕的朱特人先抵不列颠。一个朱特人首领于449年当上了国王。后来从德国北部来的使用短剑的撒克逊人在埃撒克斯、苏塞克斯和威塞克斯建立了王国，统治期从五世纪末至六世纪初。

六世纪后半叶，同样来自德国北部的盎格鲁人，在东盎格利亚、麦西亚以及诺森伯利来定居，同时把他们的族名加诸在英国人够上。这七个主要王国（肯特、埃塞克斯、苏塞克斯、威塞克斯、东英吉利亚、麦西亚和诺森伯利亚），合称为七王国。

2．The early Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity.

最早的盎格鲁—撒克逊人改信基督教。

The Anglo-Saxons brought their own Teutonic religion to Britain. Christianity soon disappeared, except among the Celts of Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. In 597, Pope Gregory I sent St. Augustine, the Prior of St. Andrew's Monastery in Rome, to England to convert the heathen (异教的) English to Christianity. In 597 St. Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. He was remarkably successful in converting the king and the nobility, but the conversion of the common people was largely due to the missionary activities of the monks in the north.

盎格鲁—撒克逊人把日耳曼宗教带到了英国。除了康瓦尔、威尔士、苏格兰和爱尔兰中的克尔特人还信奉基督教外，基督教很快就消失了。公元597，教皇格里高一世把罗马圣安德鲁修道院的院长圣奥古斯丁派遣到英格兰，其使命是使异教徒的英国人皈依基督教。公元579年圣奥古丁成为坎特伯雷大主教。在使国王和贵族皈依基督教方面，奥古斯丁特别成功。但是普通人的皈依很大程度上归功于北方修道们的传教活动。

3．The Early Anglo-Saxons make the contributions to the English state.(formation of the English nation)

早期盎格鲁—撒克逊人为英国做出的贡献。

The Anglo-Saxons laid the foundations of the English state. Firstly, they

①divided the country into shires (which the Normans later called counties), with shire courts and shire reeves, or sheriffs, responsible for administering law. Secondly, they devised the narrow-strip, three-field

②farming system which continued to the 18th century. Thirdly, they also

③established the manorial system(庄园制). Finally, they

④created the Witan（council or meeting of the wisemen）to advise the king, the basis of the Privy Council which still exists today.

盎格鲁—撒克逊人构筑了英国的国家基础。首先，他们把国家划分为郡，郡法庭和郡法官、或行政司法长官负责执法。其次，他们设计的窄条三区轮作制延用至18世纪。此外，他们还建立了领地制。最后，他们还创立了咨议会(贤人会议)，向国王提供建议，这就成为了今天尚存的枢密院的前身。

IV．Viking and Danish invasions 北欧海盗和丹麦人的入侵

1．The invaders were the Norwegians and the Danes. They attacked various parts of England from the end of the 8th century. They became a serious problem in the 9th century, especially between 835 and 878. They even managed to capture York, an important center of Christianity in 867. By the middle of 9th century, the Viking and the Danes were posing a threat to the Saxon kingdom of Wessex.

入侵者是挪威人和丹麦人，从8世纪末开始，他们不断袭击英格兰的各个地方。9世纪，尤其是公元835-878年间已成为严重问题。他们甚至占领了约克郡，公元867年时的基督教中心。到9世纪中叶，北欧海盗和丹麦人威胁到撒克逊人的威撒克斯王国的安全。

2．King Alfred (849-899) and his contributions

艾尔弗雷德国王（849-899）和他所做出的贡献

Alfred was a king of Wessex. He defeated the Danes and reached a friendly agreement with them in 879. The Danes gained control of the north and east, while he ruled the rest. He also converted some leading Danes into Christians.

He ①founded a strong fleet and is known as " the father of the British navy".

He ②reorganized the Saxon army, making it more efficient.

He ③translated a Latin book into English.

He also ④established schools and

⑤formulated a legal system. All this earns him the title "Alfred the Great."

阿尔弗雷德是威塞克斯的国王。他打败了丹麦人，并于公元879年与他们达成了友好协议。协议规定丹麦人控制英格兰北部和西部（丹麦法区），而他统治其他地区。他还劝服一些丹麦首领成为基督教徒。

他因为建立了强大舰队，而以“英国海军之父”闻名于世。他改组了“弗立德”（撒克逊军队），使之更为高效。他将一本拉丁语的书翻译成英语。同时他还建立了学校，并且阐明了法律制度。所有这一切使他当之无愧于“阿尔弗雷德大王。”的称号。

V．The Norman Conquest (1066)诺曼征服

1．Reasons for William's invasion of England after Edward's death.

威廉在爱德华死后入侵英国的原因。

It was said that king Edward had promised the English throne to William, but the Witan chose Harold as king. So William led his army to invade England. In October 1066, during the important battle of Hastings, William defeated Harold and killed him. One Christmas Day, William was crowned king of England, thus beginning the Norman Conquest of England.

据说，爱德华国王曾答应把英格兰王位传给诺曼底公爵威廉，但是贤人会议挑选了哈罗德为国王。公元1066年10月，在哈斯丁斯附近的激烈交锋中，威廉打败了哈罗德军队，同时哈罗德也在此战争中战死。在圣诞节加冕，成为英国国王，从此开始了诺曼征服。

2．The Norman Conquest and its consequences

诺曼征服及其产生的影响。

The Norman Conquest of 1066 is perhaps

①the best-known event in English history. William the Conqueror

②confiscated almost all the land and gave it to his Norman followers. He replaced the weak Saxon rule with

③a strong Norman government. So the feudal system was completely established in England.

④Relations with the Continent were opened, and the civilization and commerce were extended.

⑤Norman-French culture, language, manners and architecture were introduced.

⑥The Church was brought into closer connection with Rome, and the church courts were separated from the civil courts.

1066年的诺曼征服也许是英国历史上的最著名事件。征服者威廉几乎没收了所有土地，将其分发给他的诺曼追随者。他用强有力的诺曼政府代替了软弱的萨克逊政府。于是，封建制度在英国完全建立。开放了与欧洲大陆的关系，文明和商业得到发展，引进了诺曼—法兰西文化、语言、行为规范和建筑艺术。教会与罗马的联系更为密切，教会法庭与民事法庭分离。

3．The English is a mixture of nationalities of different origins. The ancestors of many English people were the ancient Angles and Saxons. Some English people are of the Norman-French origin.

英国是一个集不同民族于一体的国家。许多英国人的祖先是古盎格鲁和撒克逊人。而还有一些英国人的是诺曼血统。