美国学生人类历史 第158期:中世纪的城市(2)

 Meanwhile the German chieftain, the Frankish Baron¹, the Northman Duke (or whatever their names and titles) 同时，那些日尔曼酋长、法兰克男爵或诺曼底大公们（或者是别的什么头衔和称号的贵族），

occupied their share of the territory which once had been part of the great Roman Empire 他们心安理得地占据着自己那份原属罗马帝国的土地，

and among the ruins of past glory, they built a world of their own which pleased them mightily² and which they considered quite perfect. 在帝国昔日辉煌的废墟中建立起自己的新世界。这个世界看起来是如此完美，已经完全使他们心满意足了。

They managed the affairs of their castle and the surrounding country to the best of their ability. 他们尽最大的努力来处理好自己的城堡和四野乡村的事务，兢兢业业地工作。

They were as faithful to the commandments of the Church as any weak mortal could hope to be. 他们像任何软弱的"凡人"一样，期望着来世的天堂，对教会的纪律毕恭毕敬。

They were sufficiently³ loyal to their king or emperor to keep on good terms with those distant but always dangerous potentates⁴. 他们对自己的国王或皇帝表现出十足的忠诚，以便和这些距离遥远但向来危险的君主们保持良好的关系。

In short, they tried to do right and to be fair to their neighbours without being exactly unfair to their own interests. 一句话，他们总是尽力把事情做正确、做漂亮，对邻居们公正而又不真正损害自己的利益。

It was not an ideal world in which they found themselves. 当然，他们有时也感觉到，自己身处的并非一个理想的世界。

The greater part of the people were serfs or "villains," farm-hands who were as much a part of the soil upon which they lived as the cows and sheep whose stables they shared. 在这里，大部分人沦为农奴或"长期雇工"。这些人和牛羊同住于牛栏羊圈，自身也和牛羊一样，变成了依附土地的一部分。

Their fate was not particularly happy nor was it particularly unhappy. But what was one to do? 他们的命运谈不上特别幸福，也算不得异常悲惨。除此之外，还能期望他们怎样呢？

The good Lord who ruled the world of the Middle Ages had undoubtedly⁵ ordered everything for the best. 主宰着中世纪生活的伟大上帝，他当然毫无疑问是按着尽善尽美的方式来安排世界的。

If He, in his wisdom, had decided⁶ that there must be both knights⁷ and serfs,  如果凭其不可揣测的智慧，决定这个世界该同时存在骑士和农奴，

it was not the duty of these faithful sons of the church to question the arrangement. 那么作为教会虔诚的儿女，他们是不应该质疑这种安排的。

The serfs therefore did not complain but when they were too hard driven, they would die off like cattle which are not fed and stabled in the right way, 因此，身为农奴的人们也没什么好抱怨。如果被驱使得太厉害，他们会像饲养不当的牲畜一样默默死去。

and then something would be hastily done to better their condition. 之后，主人们不过是手忙脚乱地做点事情，稍微改善一下他们的生活状况。还能怎样呢？

1 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

2 mightily   

ad.强烈地；非常地

参考例句：

• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet. 他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
• This seemed mightily to relieve him. 干完这件事后，他似乎轻松了许多。

3 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

4 potentates   

n.君主，统治者( potentate的名词复数 )；有权势的人

参考例句：

• Among high-fashion potentates, Arnault has taken an early lead on the Internet. 在高级时装大亨中，阿诺尔特在互联网方面同样走在了前面。 来自互联网

5 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

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。