人类的故事 北欧人翻译
余年寄山水
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2020年07月30日 16:24
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保护他们免遭北欧人怒火的侵害
在公元3世纪和4世纪，中欧的日尔曼部落常常突破罗马帝国的边疆防御，长驱直入去劫掠罗马，靠抢夺当地的民脂民膏为生。到公元8世纪，报应终于到来，轮到日尔曼人自己成为“被劫掠”的对象了。他们对这种情形深恶痛绝，可强盗正是他们近亲表兄，即那些居住在丹麦、挪威和瑞典的斯堪的纳维亚人。
至于是什么原因驱使这些勤苦耐劳的水手去从事海盗生涯的，我们目前还搞不清楚。不过当这些北欧人尝到了抢劫的甜头和海盗生活自由自在的乐趣，就再没人能阻止他们。他们常常突然登陆某个坐落在河口附近的法兰克人或弗里西亚人的小村庄，像从天而降的瘟疫，打破小村子的和平安宁。他们杀光所有男人，掠走全部妇女，然后驾着他们的快船风驰而去。当国工或皇帝陛下的大队人马赶到现场时，强盗们早已远走高飞，只剩下了一堆冒着烟的废墟。
在查理曼大帝去世后的混乱岁月里，北欧海盗活动频繁，其行径更加大胆猖撅。他们的海盗船队光顾了欧洲所有的滨海国家，他们的水手沿荷兰、法兰西、英格兰及德国的海岸，建立起一系列独立小国。他们甚至远航到意大利碰运气。这些北欧人异常聪明。他们很快学会讲被征服民族的语言，抛弃了早期维京人（也是海盗）外表肮脏粗野、行为凶残野蛮的不文明习俗。
公元10世纪初期，一个叫罗洛的维京人多次侵扰法国海岸地区。当时的法国国王懦弱无能，无法抵御这些来自北方的凶悍强盗。于是，他想出一个法子，准备贿赂他们“做良民”。他允诺，如果他们保证不再骚扰他的其余属地，他就把诺曼底地区奉送给他们。罗洛同意了这笔交易，定居下来作了“诺曼底大公”。
不过，罗洛征服的热情一直延续到他子孙后代的血液中。面朝狭窄的海峡，在不到几小时的航程之外，就是他们能够清楚遥望到的英格兰海岸的白色岩壁和碧绿田野。可怜的英格兰经历了多少不堪回首的困难岁月啊！先是作了200年罗马帝国的殖民地。罗马人走后，它又被来自欧洲北部石勒苏益格的两个日尔曼部族，盎格鲁人和撒克逊人征服。随后，丹麦人越海而来，攻占了英格兰的大部分土地，建立起克努特王国。到公元11世纪，经过长期的抗争，丹麦人终于被赶走，一个撒克逊人做了国王，他被叫做忏悔者爱德华。他身体不好，看起来活不了多长时间，也没有后裔继承王位。这样的情形对野心勃勃的诺曼底大公当然是非常有利，他悄悄积蓄力量，等待发难的时机。
公元 1066年，爱德华去世，继承英格
兰王位的是威塞克斯亲王哈洛德。诺曼底大公率军渡海，开始了征服英格兰的战争。他在黑斯廷战役中击败了哈洛德，自封为英格兰国王。
你们在上一章已经看见过了，在公元800年时，一个日尔曼酋长摇身一变，成为了伟大的罗马帝国皇帝。现在到公元1066年，一个北欧海盗的子孙又被承认为英格兰国王。历史上的真人真事如此有趣，远胜过荒诞不经的神话，我们还有什么必要去读神话故事呢？
WHY THE PEOPLE OF THE TENTH CENTURY PRAYED THE LORD TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE FURY OF THE NORSEMEN
IN the third and fourth centuries, the Germanic tribes of central Europe had broken through the defences of the Empire that they might plunder Rome and live on the fat of the land. In the eighth century it became the turn of the Germans to be the “plundered-ones.” They did not like this at all, even if their enemies were their first cousins, the Norsemen, who lived in Denmark and Sweden and Norway.
What forced these hardy sailors to turn pirate we do not know, but once they had discovered the advantages and pleasures of a buccaneering career there was no one who could stop them. They would suddenly descend upon a peaceful Frankish or Frisian village, situated on the mouth of a river. They would kill all the men and steal all the women. Then they would sail away in their fast-sailing ships and when the soldiers of the king or emperor arrived upon the scene, the robbers were gone and nothing remained but a few smouldering ruins.
During the days of disorder which followed the death of Charlemagne, the Northmen developed great activity. Their fleets made raids upon every country and their sailors established small independent kingdoms along the coast of Holland and France and England and Germany, and they even found their way into Italy. The Northmen were very intelligent They soon learned to speak the language of their subjects and gave up the uncivilised ways of the early Vikings (or Sea- Kings who had been very picturesque but also very unwashed and terribly cruel.
Early in the tenth century a Viking by the name of Rollo had repeatedly attacked the coast of France. The king of France, too weak to resist these northern robbers, tried to bribe them into “being good.” He offered them the province of Normandy, if they would promise to stop bothering the rest of his domains. Rollo accepted this bargain and became “Duke of Normandy.”
But the passion of conquest was strong in the blood of his children. Across the channel, only a few hours away from the European mainland, they could see the white cliffs and the green fields of England. Poor England had passed through difficult days. For two hundred years it had been a Roman colony. After the Romans left, it had been conquered by the Angles and the Saxons, two German tribes from Schleswig. Next the Danes had taken the greater part of the country and had establishe
d the kingdom of Cnut. The Danes had been driven away and now (it was early in the eleventh century) another Saxon king, Edward the Confessor, was on the throne. But Edward was not expected to live long and he had no children. The circumstances favoured the ambitious dukes of Normandy.
In 1066 Edward died. Immediately William of Normandy crossed the channel, defeated and killed Harold of Wessex (who had taken the crown) at the battle of Hastings, and proclaimed himself king of England.
In another chapter I have told you how in the year 800 a German chieftain had become a Roman Emperor. Now in the year 1066 the grandson of a Norse pirate was recognised as King of England.
Why should we ever read fairy stories, when the truth of history is so much more interesting and entertaining?