第一部分　中古时期

第1章　盎格鲁-撒克逊时期

1.1　复习笔记

I. Background Knowledge--The Making of England (449-1066) (背景知识—英格兰的形成)

1．The English Conquest (盎格鲁-撒克逊征服)

A. Brief Introduction (简介)

After the Romans retreated, Britain was invaded by three Teutonic tribes from Northern Europe: the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. Before the conquest, they still lived in the tribal society.

By the 7th century, an unitied kingdom called England, or, the land of Angles was established.

罗马人撤离不列颠后，来自北欧的三支日耳曼部落盎格鲁人，撒克逊人和朱特人入侵不列颠。征服之前，他们仍旧过着部落生活。

到7世纪，一个统一的王国——英格兰成立了，也被称作盎格鲁人之国。

B. Influence (影响)

(1) The three tribes had developed into a whole people called English. And the three dialects had grown into a single language called Anglo-Saxon, or Old English.

(2) The Britons experienced a transition from tribal society to feudalism because of the English Conquest.

(3) The Anglo-Saxons were heathen people, believing in old mythology of Northern Europe. Later, the Anglo-Saxons were Christianized in the 7th century.

（1）这三支部落发展成一个统一的民族称为英国人。三种方言逐渐成为一种单一的语言，称为盎格鲁-撒克逊语言，即古英语。

（2）不列颠人经历了从原始部落社会向封建社会过渡的时期。

（3）盎格鲁-撒克逊人是无神论民族，相信古老的北欧神话，但后来在7世纪被基督教化了。

Ⅱ. Literary Features of Early English Literature (早期英国文学的特征)

(1) The settlement of Anglo-Saxons in England marked the beginning of English literature. The literature of this period consists of two divisions--pagan and Christian.

(2) The former is the oral sagas brought by the Anglo-Saxons, which was sung by the minstrels to the chiefs and warriors in praising of the old heroes’ deeds in the feasting hall. The Old English regularly used alliterations and rhymes, at the same time, metaphors and understatements were also put into the poetry. Beowulf is the most widely spread early poem.

(3) The latter is the wrtiting developed under the teaching of the literary monks. The coming of Christainity brought the wealth of a new language--the Latin, which exerted a great effect on early English prose and poetry.

（1）盎格鲁-撒克逊人定居英国标志着英国文学的诞生。这一时期的文学可分为异教和基督教文学。

（2）异教文学指盎格鲁-撒克逊人带来的口头传说，由游吟诗人在宴会大厅里为那些首领和勇士歌唱古时的英雄事迹。古英语中有规律地运用了头韵和韵律，同时也用到了暗喻和含蓄陈述的手法。流传最广的早期英语诗歌是《贝奥武甫》。

（3）基督教文学是由精通文学的僧侣发展起来的。基督教带来了珍贵的拉丁语，对早期散文和诗歌有极大影响。

Ⅲ.Literary Terms (文学术语)

1．Anglo-Saxon Poetry (盎格鲁-撒克逊诗歌)

Poems or, songs by the Anglo-Saxon minstrels who sang of the heroic deeds of old time to the chiefs and warriors in the feasting hall. The typical work of Anglo-Saxon is Beowulf.

是由盎格鲁-撒克逊游吟诗人吟唱的古代英雄事迹的诗歌或者歌曲。这些诗歌或者歌曲主要是在宴会厅唱给首领或者武士们听的。代表诗作是《贝奥武甫》。

2．Alliteration (头韵)

It means the repetition of the initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or stressed syllables.

就是相邻的两个或者多个单词或重音节中，开头辅音的重复。

3．Epic (or Heroic Poetry) (史诗)

It is an oral narrative poem, majestic both in theme and style. Epics deal with legendary or historical events of national or universal significance, involving actions of broad sweep and grandeur. Epic poems not merely include stories of legendary or historical heroes; they summarize and express the nature or ideals of an entire nation at a significant or crucial period of its history.

古代民间文学的一种体裁，通常指以传说或重大历史事件为题材的口头叙事诗。史诗主要歌颂每个民族在其形成和发展过程中战胜所经历的各种艰难险阻、克服自然灾害、抵御外侮的斗争及其英雄事绩。

Ⅳ.Major Work (英国早期主要作品)

◆Beowulf《贝奥武甫》

English literature began with the Anglo-Saxon settlement. Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon poem and the national epic of the English people.

The whole epic consists of 3182 lines and is divided into two parts with an interpolation between the two. The whole song is essentially pagan in spirit and matter, while the interpolation is obviously made by a Christain copier.

英国文学始于盎格鲁-撒克逊人的定居。《贝奥武甫》是一首盎格鲁-撒克逊诗歌，同时也是一首英格兰人民的民族史诗。

全诗有3182行，分为两部分，中间有段插入部分。整首诗在精神和物质上都是异教的，但显然中间的插入部分是一个基督徒誊写员后加的。

A. The Story of Beowulf《贝奥武甫》主要情节

Beowulf tells the deeds of Teutonic hero Beowulf who fighted against monsters Grendel and his mother, won the battle and protected the King of the Danes. During his reign over his homeland, he slew a firedrake to protect his people, but mortally wounded and died. Even after his death, beowulf’s mound became a beacon for the seafarers who sailed along the coast.

该诗讲述了贝奥武甫这位日耳曼英雄的英勇事迹。他与怪物格伦德尔和它的母亲战斗，取得了胜利，并保护了丹麦国王。他回家成为国王后，为了保护人民，杀死了火龙，却因伤势过重而死。死后，他的墓塚变成了灯塔，为航行于此的船员指明方向。

B. Artistic Features of Beowulf《贝奥武甫》的文学特征

(1) The most noticeable artistic feature of Beowulf is the use of alliteration.

(2) There are also a lot of metaphors (the most common metaphor used in old poetry is kenning, for instance, “sea” as “whale-path”) and understatements in the poem.

（1）本诗最突出的特点是押头韵。

（2）诗中运用了很多暗喻（隐喻语在古英语诗歌中最常见，如把海洋说成鲸道）以及含蓄陈述的修辞手法。