第2章　盎格鲁—诺曼底时期 (1066～1350)

2.1　复习笔记

I. Background Knowledge (背景知识)

1The Norman Conquest (诺曼征服)

(1) Brief Introduction (简介)

In 1066, the French-speaking Normans came under Duke William and defeated the English at Hastings. The Norman Conquest marks the establishment of feudalism in England. The chief feature of the feudal society was distinct division into class, mainly two classes: landlords and peasants.

在1066年，说法语的诺曼底人在威廉公爵(uke William)带领下入侵，并在赫斯汀打败了英国人。诺曼征服标志着封建制度在英国的建立。封建国家的主要特征是明显的等级划分，主要是地主和农民两个阶级。

(2) Influence (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 new language and literature, which were proclaimed in Chaucer.

① 古罗马文明被带入了英格兰；

② 国体增强了，强大的中央集权政府代替了散乱的撒克逊部落联盟；

③ 产生了新的语言和文学。杰弗里·乔叟的作品说明了这一点。

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

1The new literature was remarkably varied, but of small intrinsic worth; and very little is now read.

新文学虽然说是色彩纷呈，可作品内在价值不高，我们现在读得也极少。

2Three classes of new literature:

① Matter of France;

② Matter of Greece and Rome;

③ Matter of Britain tales.

新文学故事的类别：

① 取材于法国的。

② 取材于希腊和罗马的。

③ 取材于英格兰的。

III. Literary Terms (文学术语)

1The Romance（传奇文学）

(1) 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 representative 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。传奇的中心人物是武士，武士出身高贵并且善使武器。武士以其侠气著称。

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

(2) 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。

(3) 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.

对国王和主上的忠诚是传奇中反复强调的主题。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 Writers and Works（中世纪主要作品作家）

1◆ir Gawain and the Green Knight（高文爵士与《绿衣骑士》）

(1) 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 chaple.

故事可以分成三部分：绿衣骑士的战书；高尔文在森林里对绿衣骑士的请求；两人在绿色教堂的见面。

(2) 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 faith, courage, purity and human weakness for self-preservation. The story presents a profoundly Christian view of man’s personality and his destiny. By praising self-protection before honor, and deceit before his trust in the love of God, Gawain has sinned and fallen and become an image of Adam. Human excellence is married by original sin and courtly values alone are no protection. Though Gawain can hope to be excused, the girdle itself remains a perpetual remainder of his 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 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 humorously grotesque merges with the morally seriousness.

高尔文是人们行为是非判断的导向。故事讲述了一系列的对信念、勇气及纯洁的考验，以及人自我保护能力的考验。故事充分显示了基督徒对人性格及命运的看法。在获得荣誉前赞扬自我保护，在对上帝充分信任前欺骗，高尔文犯了原罪并展现出亚当的形象。人性与原罪与联结在一起，并且尊严本身是没有什么能保护的。尽管高尔文希望为自己找到借口，但是腰带却成了他弱点的永久象征。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。高尔文与绿衣骑士在故事中的结构线索非常清晰。

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幽默诙谐。

2Malory（马洛里）

◆e Morte D’Arthur《亚瑟王之死》

Translated by Malory from French, the legends of King Arthur are the foundation of Le Morte D’Arthur. 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.

经马洛里由法语译成，《亚瑟王之死》是基于亚瑟王的一生传奇。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。马洛里用中世纪的骑士精神和侠气处理了传奇，并且是用简单，惯用的英语，讲述了栩栩如生的故事。