第2章　盎格魯—諾曼底時期 (1066～1350)

2.1　復習筆記

I. Background Knowledge (背景知識)

1The Norman Conquest (諾曼征服)

(1) Brief Introduction (簡介)

In 1066, the French-speaking Normans came under Duke William and defeated the English at Hastings. The Norman Conquest marks the establishment of feudalism in England. The chief feature of the feudal society was distinct division into class, mainly two classes: landlords and peasants.

在1066年，說法語的諾曼底人在威廉公爵(uke William)帶領下入侵，并在赫斯汀打敗了英國人。諾曼征服標志著封建制度在英國的建立。封建國家的主要特征是明顯的等級劃分，主要是地主和農民兩個階級。

(2) Influence (影響)

① The bringing of Roman civilization to England;

② The growth of nationality, i.e. a strong centralized government, instead of the loose union of Saxon tribes;

③ The new language and literature, which were proclaimed in Chaucer.

① 古羅馬文明被帶入了英格蘭；

② 國體增強了，強大的中央集權政府代替了散亂的撒克遜部落聯盟；

③ 產生了新的語言和文學。杰弗里·喬叟的作品說明了這一點。

II. Features of New Literature (新文學特征)

1The new literature was remarkably varied, but of small intrinsic worth; and very little is now read.

新文學雖然說是色彩紛呈，可作品內在價值不高，我們現在讀得也極少。

2Three classes of new literature:

① Matter of France;

② Matter of Greece and Rome;

③ Matter of Britain tales.

新文學故事的類別：

① 取材于法國的。

② 取材于希臘和羅馬的。

③ 取材于英格蘭的。

III. Literary Terms (文學術語)

1The Romance（傳奇文學）

(1) The Content of the Romance（傳奇定義）

Romance was the most prevailing kind of literature in feudal England. It was a long composition, sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero. The central character of romances was the knight, a man of noble birth skilled in the use of weapons. The code of manners and morals of a knight is known as chivalry.

Typical representative work is Le Morte D’Arthur, a collection of stories about King Arthur, translated from French by Sir Thomas Malory.

傳奇文學是封建英國最為盛行的文學體裁。它一般是長篇作品，主要描述高尚的英雄的生平和冒險。傳奇的中心人物是武士，武士出身高貴并且善使武器。武士以其俠氣著稱。

傳奇典型代表作是由托馬斯·馬洛里由法語翻譯成的《亞瑟王之死》，是關于亞瑟王生平故事的選集。

(2) The Romance Cycles（傳奇分類）

The romances are divided into such groups or cycles as the “matters of Britain”, “matters of France” and “matters of Rome”. The “matters of Britain” are about adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The “matters of France” are of Emperor Charlemagne and his peers. The “matters of Rome” are about Alexander the Great and so forth.

傳奇可分為“英國類”，“法國類”和“羅馬類”。“英國類”傳奇是關于亞瑟王和他的圓桌武士的冒險。“法國類”是關于查理曼大帝和他的貴族們。“羅馬類”是關于亞歷山大大帝。

(3) The Class Nature of the Romance（傳奇的階級本質）

The theme of loyalty to king and lord was repeatedly emphasized in romances, as loyalty was the corner-stone of feudal morality. The romances had nothing to do with the common people. They were composed for the noble, of the noble.

對國王和主上的忠誠是傳奇中反復強調的主題。傳奇與平民無關，傳奇是由貴族而作也是為貴族而寫的。

IV. Major Writers and Works（中世紀主要作品作家）

1◆ir Gawain and the Green Knight（高文爵士與《綠衣騎士》）

(1) Content（簡要內容）

The story can be divided into three parts: challenge of the Green Knight; Gawain’s quest for the Green Knight in the forest; the meeting of the two in the green chaple.

故事可以分成三部分：綠衣騎士的戰書；高爾文在森林里對綠衣騎士的請求；兩人在綠色教堂的見面。

(2) Analysis of the story（作品分析）

Gawain is concerned with the rights and wrongs of conduct. It is a series of tests on faith, courage, purity and human weakness for self-preservation. The story presents a profoundly Christian view of man’s personality and his destiny. By praising self-protection before honor, and deceit before his trust in the love of God, Gawain has sinned and fallen and become an image of Adam. Human excellence is married by original sin and courtly values alone are no protection. Though Gawain can hope to be excused, the girdle itself remains a perpetual remainder of his weakness, the motif of the Green knight’s head cutting might originated in ancient vegetation myth in which the beheading would have been a ritual death to ensure a rebirth in the following spring. There is a very clear structure in the story Gawain and the Green Knight.

The poem is told with the purpose of portraying ideal character in action, with a preference for irony, suggestion and implication, and morality in which the humorously grotesque merges with the morally seriousness.

高爾文是人們行為是非判斷的導向。故事講述了一系列的對信念、勇氣及純潔的考驗，以及人自我保護能力的考驗。故事充分顯示了基督徒對人性格及命運的看法。在獲得榮譽前贊揚自我保護，在對上帝充分信任前欺騙，高爾文犯了原罪并展現出亞當的形象。人性與原罪與聯結在一起，并且尊嚴本身是沒有什么能保護的。盡管高爾文希望為自己找到借口，但是腰帶卻成了他弱點的永久象征。砍頭的主題是源于古老的植物傳說，樹木要剪枝以確保在下一個春天的重生。高爾文與綠衣騎士在故事中的結構線索非常清晰。

這首詩目的在于刻畫理想的角色，并且在闡述嚴肅道德問題時又不乏幽默詼諧。

2Malory（馬洛里）

◆e Morte D’Arthur《亞瑟王之死》

Translated by Malory from French, the legends of King Arthur are the foundation of Le Morte D’Arthur. Malory selected the most interesting parts, such as the adventures of the Knights of the Round Table, the quest of the Holy Grail, the death of Arthur, and the dissolution of the fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table. Malory treated the legends in the spirit of medieval knighthood and chivalry and used simple, idiomatic English prose and told the stories in a vivid manner.

經馬洛里由法語譯成，《亞瑟王之死》是基于亞瑟王的一生傳奇。但是馬洛里選擇了其中最有趣的部分，例如圓桌武士的冒險，尋找圣杯，亞瑟之死，圓桌武士的志同道合的關系的消亡。馬洛里用中世紀的騎士精神和俠氣處理了傳奇，并且是用簡單，慣用的英語，講述了栩栩如生的故事。