纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 061刘易斯棋子（5）

 

The main pieces, on the other hand, are full of personality. Elite¹ guards, knights³ on horseback, commanding kings and meditative⁴ queens. Pride of place goes of course to the ultimate source of legitimate⁵ power - the king. Capture him, and all fighting stops. All the Lewis kings sit on ornate thrones, a sword across their knees. Guarding the kings are two kinds of specialist warriors⁷. One is immediately familiar to us - he is the knight², fast-moving, versatile⁸ and mounted on horseback. From the very beginnings of chess in India, the mounted warrior⁶ is a constant - he's in every age and in every country and he's pretty well unchanged today. But these familiar knights are flanked by something much more sinister⁹. At the edges of the board, where we now have castles, are the ultimate shock troops of the Scandinavian world. They stand menacingly, some of them working themselves into a frenzy¹⁰ of bloodlust by chewing the tops of their shields.

I've got one in my hands now, and they are pretty terrifying - these are the fighters called "berserkers". It's an Icelandic word for a soldier wearing a shirt made of bear skin and the word "berserk" even today is synonymous with wild, destructive violence. More than any other piece on this board, the berserkers take us to the terrifying world of Norse warfare¹¹.

The Lewis Chessmen were discovered in what is now modern Scotland, and recently some politicians have advanced the case that some or all of the Chessmen should be returned back to the Isle¹² of Lewis. That's a comparatively modern controversy¹³ though.

而主要的棋子则都个性鲜明，包括精锐的卫兵、马背上的骑士、发号施令的国王以及沉思中的王后。最重要的当数政权中的最高统治者，国王一俘虏了国王就赢得了战争。刘易斯棋子中的每个国王都坐在华丽的宝座上，膝盖上横放一把宝剑。两种特殊的武士守卫着国王，其一我们很熟悉—一骑士，跨在马上，行动迅捷，多才多艺。国际象棋自打在印度初现后，骑士便一直存在，任何国家、任何朝代都没有舍弃它，它的角色至今变动也不大。但站在它们旁边的是邪恶百倍的人物。在现代通常放战车的位置，排列着斯堪的纳维亚世界中最可怕的队伍，他们恶狠狠地伫立着，有的还咬着手中盾牌的上沿，杀戮的欲望似乎就要爆发。

它们被称为"Berserker”,狂暴战士。“Berserker”为冰岛文，原意为穿着熊皮衣服的人。英文中的“berserk”一词至今仍有“狂暴的、充满暴力破坏欲”之意。这些棋子比棋盘上所有其他类型的棋子都更能揭示当年北欧战争的可怖。

 

1 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

2 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

3 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。

4 meditative   

adj.沉思的，冥想的

参考例句：

• A stupid fellow is talkative;a wise man is meditative.蠢人饶舌，智者思虑。
• Music can induce a meditative state in the listener.音乐能够引导倾听者沉思。

5 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

6 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

7 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

8 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。

9 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

10 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

11 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

12 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

13 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。