011 中世纪骑士

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" Grandpa! I got a starring role in the class play!" Laurie bounded into Grandpa's study

“爷爷！我在班级话剧里得到了主演角色！”劳丽蹦跳着进了爷爷的书房。

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" That's terrific!" Grandpa said, giving her a hug." Tell me more."

“太棒了！”爷爷说着，抱了抱她，“跟我说说。”

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" The title of the play is Medieval Nights, but our teacher says it's based on some book called The Canterbury Tales."

“剧名叫《中世纪之夜》，不过我们老师说，它是根据一本叫《坎特伯雷故事集》的书改编的。”

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" Ah! That's one of the most famous books of the Middle Ages

“啊！那是中世纪最有名的书之一。

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It was written by a man named Geoffrey Chaucer," Grandpa said

是一个叫杰弗里·乔叟的人写的。”爷爷说。

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" The play is about a group of travelers going to visit a cathedral

“这出戏讲的是一群旅人去参观一座大教堂。

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I'm an English queen who meets a knight and sends him on a long journey!"

我演的是一个英国女王，她遇到一位骑士，然后派他踏上漫长的旅程！”

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Grandpa smiled." Then I'm sure you live in a magnificent castle!

爷爷笑了。“那我相信你一定住在一座宏伟的城堡里！

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How much do you know about cathedrals, knights, and castles?" he asked

关于大教堂、骑士和城堡，你知道多少？”他问。

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" Not much," Laurie admitted." My class is going to study the Middle Ages next week."

“不太多。”劳丽坦白道，“我们班下周才会学中世纪。”

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" I could give you an introduction," Grandpa offered

“我可以给你介绍一下，”爷爷提议道。

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" Sure." Laurie settled down on the couch

“好啊。”劳丽在沙发上坐好。

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" The Middle Ages refers to the time between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the European Renaissance

“中世纪指的是从罗马帝国崩溃到欧洲文艺复兴开始之间的时期，

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so from around the fifth century to the fifteenth century

也就是大约从五世纪到十五世纪。

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In Europe the Christian Church had become the richest, most powerful institution

在欧洲，基督教会成了最富有、最有权势的机构。

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You, Queen Laurie, might have been baptized in a cathedral, like the one in your play

你，劳丽女王，可能会在像你剧中的那座大教堂里受洗。

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You'd attend church every Sunday, get married in a church, pay taxes to the church, and go there to seek advice and make confessions

你每个星期天都要去教堂，在教堂结婚，向教会交税，还要去那里寻求建议和忏悔。

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Church buildings became really beautiful during the Middle Ages

中世纪时期，教堂建筑变得非常美丽。

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Medieval architects designed tall buildings with pointy steeples that reached toward heaven

中世纪的建筑师设计了高高的建筑，有着指向天空的尖塔。

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The insides were filled with expensive sculptures, golden goblets, and other fancy things

教堂内部摆满了昂贵的雕塑、金杯和其他华丽的物品。

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Huge, stained-glass windows flooded the church with colored light

巨大的彩绘玻璃窗让斑斓的光线洒满教堂。

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But these beautiful windows weren't just decoration — they also told stories

但这些美丽的窗户不仅仅是装饰——它们也在讲述故事。

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Many people those days couldn't read, so how could they learn the stories of the Bible?

那时很多人不识字，那他们怎么能了解圣经故事呢？

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Well, priests could tell them of course

嗯，神职人员当然可以讲给他们听。

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But people could also look up at the massive windows and see the story of Jesus, for example, pictured in the glass."

但人们也可以抬头看那些巨大的窗户，看到描绘在玻璃上的故事，比如耶稣的故事。”

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" Wow... Like a storybook." Laurie gazed at the windows in the study, trying to imagine a story painted there

“哇……就像一本故事书。”劳丽凝视着书房里的窗户，试着想象故事描绘在上面的样子。

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" I bet there is a monk and a nun in your play too," Grandpa said

“我敢肯定你们剧里也有修士和修女。”爷爷说。

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" Yep. But I'm glad I get to be the queen and wear a nice costume," Laurie confessed

“对。但我很高兴能扮演女王，穿上漂亮的戏服。”劳丽坦白道。

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" The nun just wears a boring gown and something to cover her head."

“修女只能穿一件单调的长袍，还得用东西把头包起来。”

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" Men and women who became monks and nuns devoted their lives to the church

“成为修士和修女的男女将他们的生命奉献给了教会。

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They didn't have time to worry about things like pretty clothes

他们没有时间去操心漂亮衣服之类的事。

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They lived in their own communities, separated from the town

他们住在自己的社区里，与城镇隔开。

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Monks wore plain, brown robes, ate simple food, and spent their days praying and studying the Bible

修士们穿着朴素的棕色长袍，吃着简单的食物，终日祈祷研读圣经。

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They were often well-educated and could read and write

他们往往受过良好教育，能够读书写字。

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Many copied out long sections of the Bible in beautiful script

许多人用精美的书法抄写长篇的圣经段落。

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Nuns devoted most of their day to prayer too, but they were busy with chores such as cooking, cleaning, and sewing

修女们一天中大部分时间也献给了祈祷，但她们还要忙于做饭、打扫和缝纫之类的杂务。

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Many medieval Christians wanted to create an entirely Christian world

许多中世纪的基督徒想要创造一个完全基督教的世界。

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But there were still strong empires with different religions

但仍然存在着信奉不同宗教的强大帝国。

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For example, the Muslim Abbasid Empire ruled northern Africa and the Middle East

例如，穆斯林的阿拔斯帝国统治着北非和中东地区。

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European Christians didn't like that their holy land — including Jerusalem, where Christianity developed — was controlled by Muslims

欧洲的基督徒不希望他们的圣地——包括基督教发源地耶路撒冷——被穆斯林所控制。

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Many Christians journeyed to these places to worship

许多基督徒远行到这些地方去朝拜。

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And church leaders worried about Christians' safety because sometimes they were attacked

教会领袖担心基督徒们的安全，因为他们有时会受到袭击。

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So the pope asked barons — wealthy landowners — to gather their armies and fight for Christianity

于是，教皇请求贵族们——那些富有的地主——集结他们的军队，为基督教而战。

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These battles, known as the Crusades, lasted for nearly two hundred years and killed almost nine million people

这些被称为十字军东征的战争，持续了近两百年，夺去了将近九百万人的生命。

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The Christian fighters were called Crusaders and wore red crosses on their armor

这些基督教战士被称为十字军，他们的盔甲上戴着红色的十字架。

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Many were knights. Is the knight in your play a Crusader, Laurie?" Grandpa asked

其中很多是骑士。劳丽，你剧里的那个骑士是十字军吗？”爷爷问道。

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" I don't know! All I know is that he travels around and when he finally returns, he gets married and lives in a castle," Laurie said

“我不知道！我只知道他四处游历，最后回来的时候，结了婚，住进了一座城堡，”劳丽说。

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" Is he chivalrous and handsome?" Grandpa asked, smiling

“他是不是既侠义又英俊？”爷爷笑着问。

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" Handsome? No! Yuck," Laurie answered, crinkling her nose

“英俊？不！呃，”劳丽皱起鼻子回答。

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" And I don't know what chivalrous means."

“而且我也不知道侠义是什么意思。”

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" Chivalrous means good, honorable, and polite to women

“骑士精神就是善良、正派，而且对女性彬彬有礼。

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All knights were expected to be chivalrous

所有骑士都应当有骑士精神。

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They practiced this, along with fighting skills, from a young age

他们从小就练习骑士精神，也练武艺。

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Knights worked for barons. In exchange for protection, barons gave their knights some land and maybe a nice castle to live in

骑士为男爵效力。男爵给骑士一些土地，有时还有漂亮的城堡住，以换取保护。

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Battles were often deadly, so knights were respected for their bravery

战斗往往生死攸关，所以骑士因勇敢而受人尊敬。

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Plus they made an awe-inspiring sight when they dressed for battle

而且，他们身穿战袍时，画面令人敬畏。

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In the early Middle Ages, a knight's armor was a suit made of tiny iron rings linked together

在中世纪早期，骑士的盔甲是由小铁环连在一起做成的甲衣。

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But eventually knights realized they needed more protection and began wearing suits made of iron and steel plates

但后来骑士们意识到需要更多防护，开始穿用铁板和钢板做成的盔甲。

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It was like having a full-body shield that weighed over 22 kilograms!"

那就像一个全身盾牌，重量超过22公斤呢！”

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" I'd rather hear about the castles," Laurie requested." Since I'll be living in one."

“我还是更想听城堡的事，”劳丽说，“因为我要住在一座城堡里呀。”

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" Of course. Castles were large, sturdy stone buildings with many rooms

“当然。城堡是巨大坚固的石头建筑，有很多房间。

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There were great candlelit halls for feasts and celebrations, but also dark, damp prisons

有烛光璀璨的大厅用于盛宴和庆典，但也有阴暗潮湿的地牢。

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Castles had to protect the owner, as well as the servants, guards, and entertainers who lived there

城堡要保护主人，也要保护住在里面的仆人、守卫和艺人们。

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Neighboring noblemen often fought each other for land

邻近的贵族经常为土地互相争斗。

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So many castles had stone defense walls that circled the entire castle

所以许多城堡都有一圈石砌的防御墙，环绕整座城堡。

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Sometimes there were even two or three walls

有时甚至有两三道墙。

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Guards would stand on top of the walls and shoot arrows or throw huge rocks at intruders

守卫会站在墙上，朝入侵者射箭或砸大石头。

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Many castles also had a moat, which was a man-made canal around the castle

许多城堡还有护城河，就是环绕城堡的人工河道。

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In order to cross it, visitors needed to have a bridge let down, or else swim across

想要过河，来访者得让人放下吊桥，要么就得游过去。

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The tall towers were often lookout points to spot intruders

那些高塔常常是瞭望点，用来发现入侵者。

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Or perhaps to spot a knight returning from his journey!"

也许，还能望见从旅途中归来的骑士呢！”

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" Laurie! Will you help me make dinner?" Laurie's mom called from downstairs

“劳丽！来帮我做晚饭好吗？”劳丽的妈妈从楼下喊道。

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" Coming, Mom!" Laurie hollered back. Then she giggled

“来了，妈妈！”劳丽大声回答。然后她咯咯地笑了。

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" Silly Mom. Queens don't cook dinner!" She turned to Grandpa and raised her chin like a queen

“妈妈真傻。女王可不做饭！”她转向爷爷，像女王一样抬起下巴。

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" Be sure to join us for our feast in the great hall tonight."

“今晚一定要来大厅参加我们的盛宴哦。”

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Bowing slightly, Grandpa answered," It would be my pleasure, Your Highness."

爷爷微微鞠躬，答道：“愿为您效劳，殿下。”