第2章　盎格鲁-诺曼底时期

2.1　复习笔记

I. Background Knowledge (1066-1350) (背景知识)

1．The Norman Conquest (诺曼征服)

A. Brief Introduction (简介)

The French-speaking Normans began their conquest of Anglo-Saxon England under William, Duke of Normandy, with the battle of Hastings in 1066.

说法语的诺曼底人在威廉公爵的带领下，在1066年的黑斯廷斯战役中打败了英国人，开始了对英国的统治。

B. Chief Influences (主要影响)

(1) The bringing of Roman civilization to England;

(2) The growth of nationality, i.e. a strong centralized government, instead of the loose union of Saxon tribes;

(3) The birth of new English language and literature due to the integration with French vocabulary.

（1）将罗曼文化带到英格兰；

（2）促进了国家的发展，强大的中央集权政府代替了散乱的撒克逊部落联盟；

（3）和法国语言的融合产生了新的英语语言和文学。

II. Features of the New Literature (新文学特征)

(1) The new literature is a combination of French and Anglo-Saxon elements.

(2) There are three classes of new literature:

①Matter of France (tales about Charlemagne and his peers);

②Matter of Greece and Rome (tales about Alexander and the fall of Troy);

③Matter of Britain (tales about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table).

（1）新文学是法国和盎格鲁-撒克逊因素的结合。

（2）新文学故事的类别包括：

①取材于法国（查理曼大帝和他贵族们的故事）;

②取材于希腊和罗马（亚历山大大帝和特洛伊毁灭的故事）;

③取材于英格兰（亚瑟王和圆桌骑士的故事）。

III. Literary Terms (文学术语)

1．The Romance (传奇文学)

A. The Content of the Romance (传奇定义)

Romance was the most prevailing kind of literature in feudal England. It was a long composition, sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero. The central character of romances was the knight, a man of noble birth skilled in the use of weapons. The code of manners and morals of a knight is known as chivalry.

Typical work is Le Morte D’Arthur, a collection of stories about King Arthur, translated from French by Sir Thomas Malory.

传奇文学是封建英国最为盛行的文学体裁。它一般是长篇作品，主要描述高尚的英雄的生平和冒险。传奇的中心人物是骑士，骑士出身高贵并且善使武器。骑士以其骑士精神著称。

传奇典型代表作是由托马斯·马洛里由法语翻译而来的《亚瑟王之死》，是关于亚瑟王生平故事的选集。

B. The Romance Cycles (传奇分类)

The romances are divided into such groups or cycles as the “matters of Britain”, “matters of France” and “matters of Rome”. The “matters of Britain” are about adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The “matters of France” are of Emperor Charlemagne and his peers. The “matters of Rome” are about Alexander the Great and so forth.

传奇可分为“英国类”，“法国类”和“罗马类”。“英国类”传奇是关于亚瑟王和他的圆桌武士的冒险。“法国类”是关于查理曼大帝和他的贵族们。“罗马类”是关于亚历山大大帝。

C. The Class Nature of the Romance (传奇的阶级本质)

The theme of loyalty to king and lord was repeatedly emphasized in romances, as loyalty was the corner stone of feudal morality. The romances had nothing to do with the common people. They were composed for the noble, of the noble.

对国王和统治者的忠诚是传奇中反复强调的主题，因为忠诚是封建道德的基石。传奇与平民无关，传奇是由贵族而作也是为贵族而写的。

IV. Major Works (中世纪主要作品)

◆Sir Gawain and the Green Knight《高文爵士与绿衣骑士》

A. Content (简要内容)

The story can be divided into three parts: challenge of the Green Knight; Gawain’s quest for the Green Knight in the forest; the meeting of the two in the Green Chapel and the hero’s temptations.

故事可以分成三部分：绿衣骑士的战书；高文在森林里对绿衣骑士的请求；两人在绿色教堂的见面，高文受到各种诱惑。

B. Analysis of the Story (作品分析)

Gawain is concerned with the rights and wrongs of conduct. It is a series of tests on loyalty, courage and chastity. Gawain’s concealment of the green gridle reveals that he values his own life more than his honesty. However, he ultmately confess and repent of his sin honorably; threreafter he voluntarily wears the girdle as a symbol of his sin. Though he survives the quest, Gawain recognizes the problematic nature of chivalry ideals for a person must above all remain conscious of his or her own mortality and weakness. The motif of the Green Knight’s head cutting might originated in ancient vegetation myth in which the beheading would have been a ritual death to ensure a rebirth in the following spring. There is a very clear structure in the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

The poem is told with the purpose of portraying ideal character in action, with a preference for irony, suggestion and implication, and morality in which the humor merges with the morally seriousness.

高文是人们行为是非判断的导向。故事讲述了一系列对忠诚、勇气及纯洁的考验。高文隐瞒自己获得了绿腰带，揭示了比起诚实，他更在乎自己的生命。然而他最终令人尊敬地坦白并悔过，自愿从此带上绿腰带作为罪过的象征。尽管逃过一死，高文认识到骑士精神的理想终究不现实，因为一个人必须要先清楚自己的缺点和必有一死。砍头的主题是源于古老的植物传说，树木要剪枝以确保在下一个春天的重生。《高文爵士与绿衣骑士》的故事结构非常清晰。

这首诗目的在于刻画理想的角色，并且在阐述严肃道德问题时又不乏讽刺、暗指和幽默。

◆Le Morte D’Arthur《亚瑟王之死》

Translated by Sir Thomas Malory from French, the legends of King Arthur are the foundation of Le Morte D’Arthur (first published in 1485). Malory selected the most interesting parts, such as the adventures of the Knights of the Round Table, the quest of the Holy Grail, the death of Arthur, and the dissolution of the fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table. Malory treated the legends in the spirit of medieval knighthood and chivalry, and used simple, idiomatic English prose and told the stories in a vivid manner.

经托马斯·马洛里由法语译成，《亚瑟王之死》（1485年首次出版）是基于亚瑟王的一生的传奇。但是马洛里选择了其中最有趣的部分，例如圆桌武士的冒险，寻找圣杯，亚瑟之死，圆桌武士的志同道合的关系的消亡。马洛里的传奇体现了中世纪的骑士精神，并且是用简单、惯用的英语，讲述了栩栩如生的故事。