美国学生人类历史 第130期:查理曼大帝(2)

 His descendants, the Merovingians, had continued to take little bits of imperial territory  他的子孙建立起墨罗温王朝，并一点一滴地蚕食罗马帝国的领土。

until the year 486 when king Clovis (the old French word for"Louis") felt himself strong enough to beat the Romans in the open. 到公元486年，国王克洛维斯（古法语中的"路易"）自觉已经积累了足够的实力，可以公开向罗马人叫阵了。

But his descendants were weak men who left the affairs of state to their Prime minister, the "Major Domus" or Master of the Palace. 不过他的子孙都是些懦弱无能之辈，把国事全部委托给首相，即所谓的"宫廷管家"。

Pepin the Short, the son of the famous Charles Martel, who succeeded his father as Master of the Palace, hardly knew how to handle the situation. 矮子丕平是著名的查理·马泰尔之子，他继任父亲作宫相后，对面临的情势觉得一筹莫展。

His royal master was a devout¹ theologian, without any interest in politics. 他的国王是位全心全意侍奉上帝的神学家，对政治漠不关心。

Pepin asked the Pope for advice. 丕平于是向教皇大人征求建议，

The Pope who was a practical person answered that the "power in the state belonged to him who was actually possessed² of it." 非常务实的教皇回答说，"国家的权力应该归于实际控制它的人。"

Pepin took the hint.  丕平马上领会了教皇的言下之意，

He persuaded Childeric, the last of the Merovingians to become a monk³ and then made himself king with the approval of the other Germanic chieftains. 于是劝说墨罗温王朝的最后一位国君蔡尔特里克出家去当僧侣。在征得其他日尔曼部落酋长的同意之后，丕平自立为法兰克国王。

But this did not satisfy the shrewd Pepin. 不过，仅仅当国王还不能使精明的丕平觉得满意，

He wanted to be something more than a barbarian⁴ chieftain. 他还梦想着得到比日尔曼部落酋长更高的荣耀。

He staged an elaborate ceremony at which Boniface, the great missionary⁵ of the European northwest, anointed him and made him a "King by the grace of God." 他精心策划了一个加冕仪式，邀请西北欧的最伟大的传教士博尼费斯为他涂抹膏油，封他为"上帝恩许的国王"。

It was easy to slip those words, "Del gratia," into the coronation service. It took almost fifteen hundred years to get them out again. 于是，"上帝恩许"这个字眼轻易地溜进了加冕仪式之中，过了几乎1500年才把它清除出去。

1 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

2 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

3 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

4 barbarian   

n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的

参考例句：

• There is a barbarian tribe living in this forest.有一个原始部落居住在这个林区。
• The walled city was attacked by barbarian hordes.那座有城墙的城市遭到野蛮部落的袭击。

5 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。