英语国家概况讲座（四）

英语国家概况讲座精要（四）

大学英语专业必读

Summary: This is the second part of Chapter 2 (The Origins of a Nation). It introduced some important events and important people in England from 446 to 1066. These most important events are The Anglos-Saxons’ invasion; The Viking and Danish Invasions and The Norman Conquest.

简叙述：这是第二章“国家的起源”的第二部分。在这一部分里，主要是介绍了英国从公元446年到1066年所发生的重要事件及人物。这些重要事件分别是盎格鲁—撒克逊人的入侵，北欧海盗和丹麦人的入侵及诺曼征服。

The Anglo-Saxons (446-871)

    盎格鲁—撒克逊人（公元446—871年）

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。

The Jutes, who fished and farmed in Jutland, came to Britain first. A Jutish chief became the King of Kent in 449. Then 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. In the second half of the 6th century. In 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.

居住在朱特兰岛（现丹麦南部）上从事打渔农耕的朱特人先抵不列颠。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，同时也他们也把名字给了英国人。这七个主要王国（肯特、埃塞克斯、苏塞克斯、威塞克斯、东盎格利亚、麦西亚和诺森伯利亚），合称为七王国。

盎格鲁—撒克逊时期的英格兰

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 English to Christianity. In 579 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副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部修士们的传教活动。

3．The Early Anglo-Saxons make the contributions to the English state.

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 divided the country into shires, with shire courts and shire reeves, or sheriffs, responsible for administering law. Secondly, they devised the narrow-strip, three-field farming system which continued to the 18th century. Thirdly, they also established the manorial system. Finally, they created 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—撒克逊人为英国国家的形成打下了基础。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，他们设计的窄条三圃田农耕制延用至18世纪。此外，他们还建立了领地制。最后，他们还创立了议会(贤人会议)，向国王提供建议，这就成为了今天仍存在的枢密院的基础。