纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 061刘易斯棋子（9）

 

And sometimes, it is literally¹ the killer² instinct. In 1279 an English court record tells us that when David de Bristoll was playing chess against Juliana le Cordwaner, they quarrelled so violently that he struck her in the thigh³ with a sword, and she died immediately. An early example of chess rage!

There's one piece I haven't looked at yet, but it's perhaps it's the most fascinating figure of all the Lewis Chessmen, and it's one that gives us a crucial insight into the society that made it. It's the bishop⁴, who in medieval Europe was one of the great powers of the state, controlling not only spiritual life, but commanding land and men. The bishops⁵ of the Lewis Chessmen are the oldest ones still in existence, and they're powerful reminders⁶ that across Europe, the Church was a key participant in the great military campaigns - and this was a Europe hungry for a fight! We all know about the Crusades to the Holy Land and the role that the Church played in them, but at the same time there was also a northern crusade -led by the Teutonic knights⁷ - that conquered and Christianised eastern Europe. And in the south, Castile and central Spain were being reclaimed⁹ for Christendom from their Islamic rulers.

It's from that Spain, newly Christian⁸ but with Muslim and Jewish citizens, that the next programme's object comes. It's the versatile¹⁰, multi-functional, smart phone of its time ... it's an astrolabe.

有时候，这种直觉会演变成现实。一份一二七九年的英国法庭记录表明，一个名叫戴维·德布里斯托尔的人在与一个叫朱丽安娜·勒科德威勒的人下棋时发生激烈的争执，他拔出剑刺向她的大腿，造成后者当场死亡。

?还有一点我尚未提到，但那也许是刘易斯棋子最重要的所在，能揭示它们所诞生其中的社会的关键情况。在中世纪欧洲，主教曾是最有权势的群体之一，不但控制民众的精神生活，也直接掌握土地和人民。特隆赫姆主教曾是刘易斯岛的当权者，而刘易斯棋子中的主教是现存最早的主教棋子，它强势地提醒着人们，在整个欧洲，教会都是国家战争机器的关键组成部分。十字军远征圣地的历史以及教会在其中起到的作用如今尽人皆知，但当时还有一支由条顿骑士率领的北方十字军征服了东欧的部分地区，迫使当地民众信仰基督教；而在南方，卡斯提尔和西班牙中部的伊斯兰势力溃败，民众重新信仰基督教，这其中主教功不可没。

下一节中的物品正是来自当时新近改信了基督教，但仍有穆斯林和犹太人居住的西班牙。它便是当年的多功能智能手机—一星盘。

 

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

3 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

4 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

5 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

6 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

7 knights   

骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 reclaimed   

adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。