第2章　诺曼时期(1066～1350)

2.1　复习笔记

I. Historical background（历史背景）

The Norman conquest England in 1066 accelerated the development of feudalism in England. William claimed himself William I, King of England, and regarded himself as the sole owner of the land of all England. He himself kept large tracts of land for his own use and allocated land to his relatives and his followers who had won merit in the conquest. Those people who received land from the king were made “barons” and in return they had to provide the king with knights if there should be a war. The chief class conflict of the time was that between the serfs and the peasants on the one hand, and their feudal lords, including the king, the barons, and the church on the other hand.

1066年，诺曼人战胜英格兰人，加快了英国的封建化进程。威廉任命自己为威廉一世，英国国王，自己是英国唯一的统治者。他将大量的土地归为自己所有，将土地分给自己的亲人和在战争中立下功劳的将士们。这些获封的将士被称为男爵，作为回报，在战争发生时，他们要向过往提供骑士。那时主要的阶级斗争产生于农奴、农民一方和领主之间，包括国王、男爵和教会。

II. Middle English（中古英语）

For three centuries after the Norman conquest, two languages were used side by side in England. Latin and French were the languages of the upper classes, spoken at courts and used in churches and schools. However, the common people clung to the Anglo-Saxon which had undergone remarkable changes. The inflectional system of old English was weakened and a large number of French words had been absorbed. In the 14th century thousands of words and expressions were borrowed from French and Latin and Greek, and many inflectional forms of the words were dropped and formal grammar simplified.

时隔诺曼底对英格兰的征服已有300年之久，英国使用着两种语言。拉丁语和法语是上层阶级的语言，会在法庭和学校使用。另一种是普通大众所保留的盎格鲁撒克逊语言，但它发生了巨大的变化。整个英语的词形体系被弱化，并且它吸收了很多法语词汇。到14世纪，已经有数千单词和词组是从法语、拉丁语、德语，很多单词的词形都已不再使用，正规的语法也简化了。

III. Religious literature（宗教文学）

It is true that by far the largest proportion of surviving Middle English literature is religious. The church had a virtual monopoly of literature during much of the Middle Ages. The average person who had learned to read and write had his training in the church because people received education with the hope to become a cleric.

中世纪文学作品流传下来最多的无疑是宗教文学。在中世纪，宗教对文学采取虚拟垄断的手法。普通人在教堂中学会阅读和写字，因为他们受教育就是为了有朝一日可以成为一名神职人员。

Until the end of the 14th century Christian teaching was primarily concerned with the issue of personal salvation, putting emphasis on the moral and spiritual responsibilities of the individual rather than on his ethical and social responsibilities. Looking to the world to come was regarded as the only answer to men’s troubles. Reformation of this world was neither possible nor desirable. Life in this world was only a waiting period before entering something better or worse. Most of the books, rather the manuscripts, dealt with conventional themes: homiletic paraphrases of the Gospels。

直到14世纪末，基督教教义还是与个人的拯救联系在一起，重视个人的道德和精神责任，而不是伦理和社会责任。期盼来世，并将此作为解答现世困境的唯一答案。社会的改革是不可能也是没有必要的。现世就是一个等待的过程，等待进入一个更美好或者更黑暗的世界。大多数书籍，而非小册子，处理的是普遍的问题和说教性的福音释义。

IV. Romance and the influence of French literature（骑士传奇和法国文学的影响）

The three centuries after the Norman Conquest saw the large scale introduction of French culture and literature, and through French literature the introduction of Italian literature. Romance is characteristic of the early feudal age, as it reflects the spirit of chivalry, i. e., the quality and ideal of knightly conduct. The content of romance is usually about love, chivalry, and religion. It generally concerns knights and involves a large amount of fighting as well as a number of miscellaneous adventures; it is often supernatural, and it often includes romantic love.

诺曼人征服英格兰300年之后，大量的法国文化和文学作品进入英国，进而意大利文学作品也被引入英国。传奇文学是早期封建社会的一大特征，它反映了骑士精神，骑士品质和理想的骑士行为。传奇文学的内容通常关乎爱情、骑士精神和宗教。它关乎骑士，战斗和各种各样的冒险，它通常是超自然的，也往往包括浪漫的爱情。

In subject matters, romance naturally falls under three categories:

在题材上，诺曼文学通常分为以下三类：

(1) The matter of France: a number of romances deal with the exploits of Charlemagne the Great and Roland, a French national hero in the 8th century. The most well-known piece is Chanson de Roland.

法国的诺曼文学：很大一部分讲述查理曼大帝和罗兰德的功勋，罗兰8世纪法国的一位民族英雄，最为著名的是《罗兰之歌》。

(2) The matter of Rome: Some romances deal with Alexander the Great and the siege of Troy.

罗马的诺曼文学：一些浪漫主义作品描绘了亚历山大大帝和围攻特洛伊的故事。

(3) The matter of Britain: The Arthurian legend was brought to France by the Celts and the English people later took the material from the French tales. There are many cycles of Arthurian romances, among which are tales about Sir Gawain, Launcelot, Merlin, the quest for the Holy Grail, and the death of King Arthur.

英国的诺曼文学：亚瑟王传奇由凯尔特人带入法国，英国后来从法国传说中吸取材料。关于亚瑟王的浪漫传奇有很多种说法，其中有关于加温、兰斯洛特、默林、寻找圣杯和亚瑟王之死的故事。