自考英语国家概况精讲系列第三章
Chapter 3
第三章
The Shaping of the Nation (1066-1381)
英国的形成(公元1066-1381)
I. Norman Rule (1066-1381)
诺曼统治(公元1066-1381)
1. William\'s Rule (1066-1087)
威廉一世的统治(公元1066-1087)
England\'s feudalism under the rule of William the Conqueror
在威廉统治下的英国封建制度
①Under William, the feudal system in England was completely established. ②According to this system, the King owned all the land personally. ③William gave his barons large estates in England in return for a promise of military service and a proportion of the land\'s produce. ④These estates were scattered far and wide over the country, so that those who held them could not easily combine to rebel the king. ⑤The barons, who had become William\'s tenants-in-chief, parceled out land to the lesser nobles, knights and freemen, also in return for goods and services. ⑥At the bottom of the feudal scale were the villeins or serfs. ⑦One peculiar feature of the feudal system of England was that all landowners must take the oath of allegiance,not only to their immediate lord, but also to the king.
①在威廉统治下,英国的封建制度得到完全确立。②根据此制度,国王拥有全国所有土地。③威廉把英国的大片土地分给贵族,条件是换取对方服役和收租。④这些地产分散于各处,这样土地拥有者就不易联合起来反叛国王。⑤已成为国王土地承租人的贵族又把土地分配给小贵族、骑士和自由民,同样换取货物和服役。⑥在封建等级底层的是农奴。⑦英国封建制独有的特色就是,无论是土地承租人还是二佃户,都必须要宣誓效忠于直接领主,而且要效忠于国王。
2. King Henry II and his reforms
亨利二世国王和他的改革
The ways King Henry II consolidate the monarchy.
亨利二世巩固君主制的途径。
Henry II took some measures to consolidate the monarchy. He forced the Flemish mercenaries to leave England; recalled grants of Royal lands made by his previous king Stephen; demolished many castles built in Stephen‘s time; strengthened and widened the powers of his sheriffs and relied for armed support upon a militia composed of English freemen.
亨利二世采取了一些措施巩固君主制。他迫使弗兰德斯雇佣军离开英国,收回史蒂芬森赠出皇室土地;拆除几十座史蒂芬森时造德城堡,加强并扩大了他的行政长官们的权力,依靠由英国自由民组成的民兵获取军事支持。
The ways Henry II reform the courts and the law.
亨利二世对法院及法律进行改革的方式。
King Henry II greatly strengthened the Court and extended its judicial work. He spanided the whole country into six circuits and appointed justices to each. Cases were therefore heard before the intermittent justices who applied the law impartially. During his reign, a common law was gradually established in place of the previous laws of the local barons. He also introduced a new jury system to replace the old ordeal-based trial system. Besides, he shifted the trial of clergymen charged with criminal offenses from the Bishop\'s court to the King\'s court.
亨利二世大大加强了王家法院,扩展了其司法工作的职权范围。他将全国分为六个审制区。案件更多地由巡回法官审理,并不偏不倚地使用法律。在他统治时期,逐渐建立起超越地方领主法律的普遍法。另外,他用陪审员制度代替了旧的残酷的审判制度。他坚持被控犯有刑事罪的神职人员应由国王法庭审判,而不由主教法庭审判。
II.Contents and the significance of the Great Charter
《大宪章》的内容及意义
Great Charter was signed by King John in 1215 under the press of the barons. It consists of sixty-three clauses. Its important provisions are as follows: (1) no tax should be made without the approval of the Grand Council; (2) no freemen should be arrested, imprisoned or deprived of their property; (3) the Church should possess all its rights, together with freedom of elections; (4) London and other towns should retain their traditional rights and privileges, and (5) there should be the same weights and measures throughout the country. Although The Great Charter has long been popularly regarded as the foundation of English liberties, it was a statement of the feudal and legal relationships between the Crown and the barons, a guarantee of the freedom of the Church and a limitation of the powers of the king. The spirit of the Great Charter was the limitation of the powers of the king, keeping them within the bounds of the feudal law of the land.
《大宪章》是约翰国王1215年在封建贵族压力下签定的。《大宪章》总共63条,其中最重要的内容是:(1) 未经大议会同意,不得征税;(2) 只有根据国家有关法律才能逮捕、监禁自由人以及剥夺他们的财产;(3)教会应享受其所有权利且有选举自由;(4) 伦敦和其它城镇应保留其古时的权力和特权;(5) 全国要使用统一的重量和长度度量衡。尽管人们普遍认为《大宪章》为英国的自由奠定了基础,但该宪章只是规定国王和贵族之间封建关系和法律关系的文件,保证了教会的自由,限制了国王权利。《大宪章》的精神是限制国王权力,使其在英国封建法律允许的范围内活动。
III.The origins of the English Parliament
英国议会的起源
The Great Council is known to be the prototype of the current British Parliament. In 1265, Simon de Montfort summoned the Great Council, together with two knights from each county and two citizens from each town. It later developed into the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Its main role was to offer advice. There were no elections or parties. And the most important part of Parliament was the House of Lords.
大议会是当今英国议会的原型。1265年,西门德孟福尔召开大议会,各县有两名骑士,各镇有两名市民参加。大议会发展到后来演变成议会,分为上议院和下议院。其作用是而非决定;也没有选举和政党。议会的最重要的部分是上议院。
IV.The Hundred Years\' War and its consequences.
百年战争及其结果
The Hundred Years‘ War refers to the war between England and France that lasted intermittently from 1337 to 1453. The causes of the war were partly territorial and partly economic. The territorial causes were related with the possession by the English kings of the large duchy in France, while the French kings coveted this large slice. The economic causes were connected with cloth manufacturing towns in Flanders, which were the importer of English wool, but they were loyal to the French king politically. Besides, England\'s desire to stop France from giving aid to Scots and a growing sense of nationalism were the other causes.
The English\'s being driven out of France is regarded as a blessing for both countries. If the English had remained in France, the superior size and wealth of France would have hindered the development of a separate English national identity, while France was hindered so long as a foreign power occupied so much French territory.
百年战争指1337年到1453年英法之间一场断断续续的战争,战争的起因既有领土因素又有经济因素。领土起因尤其是与英国国王拥有法国的阿基坦大片公爵领地有密切关系,随着法国国王势力日增,他们渴望占领这片在他们领土内的土地。经济原因则与弗兰德斯有关。弗兰德斯地区生产棉布的城镇是英国羊毛的主要进口商,但这些城镇在政治上却效忠法国国王。其他原因还有英国试图阻止法国帮助苏格兰人,以及不断觉醒的民族意识。
战争的结果:把英国人赶出法国对两个国家都是幸事:若国车人继续留在法国,那么法国人在领土和财富上所占的优势必然会阻碍分离的英国民族的发展;而法国民族被外国势力占领了众多的领土,发展更是长期受阻。
V. The Black Death
黑死病
The Black Death is the modern name given to the deadly epidemic disease spread by rat fleas across Europe in the 14th century. It swept through England in the summer of 1348. It reduced England\'s population from four million to two million by the end of the 14th century.
The economic consequences of the Black Death were far-reaching. As a result of the plague, much land was left untended and there was a terrible shortage of labour. The surviving peasants had better bargaining power and were in a position to change their serfdom into paid labour. Some landlords, unable or unwilling to pay higher wages, tried to force peasants back into serfdom. In 1351 the government issued a Statute of Labourers which made it a crime for peasants to ask for more wages or for their employers to pay more than the rates laid down by the Justices of the Peace.
黑死病是指由鼠疫蚤传播的致命的淋巴腺鼠疫,是一种流行疾病,在14世纪传播了到欧洲。1348年夏天横扫全英国。英国的人口在14世纪末从400万锐减至200万。
黑死病对经济造成的后果更为深远。鼠疫导致了大片土地无人照管和劳动力极度匮乏。地主想把耕地变为人力需求较少的牧场。存活的农民处于有利的计价还价地位,从农奴变为雇佣劳动力。于是一些支付不起或不愿意支付较高工资的地主想方设法迫使农民重返农奴地位。1351年政府颁布“劳工法令”,规定农民们涨工资的要求,或者是雇主支付比地方官制订的工资水平要高的工资都是犯罪。
VI. The Peasant Uprising of 1381 and its significance
1381年农民起义及其意义
Armed villagers and townsmen of Kent and Essex, led by Wat Tyler and Jack Straw, moved on London in June, 1381. The king was forced to accept their demands. Most of the rebels dispersed and went home, while Tyler and other leaders stayed on for more rights. Tyler was killed at a meeting with the king.
The uprising was brutally suppressed, but it had far-reaching significance in English history. First, it directed against the rich clergy, lawyers and the landowners. Second, it dealt a telling blow to villeinage, and third, a new class of yeomen farmers emerged, paving the way to the development of capitalism.
1381年6月,在瓦特 泰勒和杰克 斯特劳领导下,凯特郡和埃塞克斯郡的农民和市民武装起来发动起义,并向伦敦进发。国王被迫接受了他们的要求。大多数起义农民解散回家,但泰勒和其他坚决的农民留下来要求得到更多的法律、宗教和政治权利。泰勒在又一次与国王的会见中被杀死。
尽管起义被血腥镇压,但在英国历史上留下了深远的影响。这次起义具有真实的社会性,把矛头直接对准了富有的教职人员、律师和地主。这次起义沉重打击了封建农奴制度,产生了全新的自耕农阶级,为资本主义发展铺设了道路。
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