Ⅰ. Historical Background（历史背景）
(1) The earliest settlers of the British Isles were the Celts, who migrated to the British Isles about 600 B.C.
不列颠群岛最早的定居者是凯尔特人，他们大约在公元前600年移民到不列颠群岛。
(2) From 55 B.C. to 407 A.D. the British Isles were under the rule of the Roman Empire.
从公元前55年到公元407年，不列颠群岛处于罗马帝国的统治之下。
(3) About 450 A.D., waves of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invaded the British Isles. They settled in England, and drove the Celts into Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
公元450年左右，盎格鲁人、撒克逊人和朱特人占领了不列颠群岛。他们在英格兰定居，将凯尔特人驱逐到威尔士、苏格兰和爱尔兰。
(4) It was around 500 A.D., in the struggle against Cerdic, the founder of the kingdom of Wessex, that the Celtic King Arthur, a legendary figure, is said to have acquired his fame.
大约在公元500年，在与威塞克斯王国创始人塞迪奇的斗争中，传说中的凯尔特王亚瑟获得了他的名声。
(5) Beginning from the later part of the 8th century, the Danes, or the Vikings, came to invade England, at first, along the eastern coast, but later they threatened to overrun the whole country.
在8世纪50年代初期，丹麦人又叫北欧海盗开始入侵英格兰，开始是东海岸，进而威胁到整个国家的统治。
(6) In the second half of the 9th century King Alfred, the Great of Wessex (849～899) led the Anglo-Saxon kings to defeat the invaders by uniting their forces.
在9世纪后半期，阿尔弗雷德国王，威塞克斯的统治者领导盎格鲁-撒克逊的国王们团结一致打败了入侵者。
(7) In the early 11th century all England was conquered by the Danes for 23 years. Then the Danes were expelled, but in l066 the Normans came from Normandy in northern France to attack England under the leadership of the Duke of Normandy who claimed the English throne.
在11世纪早期，整个英格兰已经被丹麦统治23年了。后来丹麦人被驱逐出境，但是1066年，罗马人从法国北部的诺曼底登陆，在诺曼底公爵的领导下袭击英格兰，宣布他对英国的统治。
Ⅱ. Northumbrian School and Wessex literature（诺森伯兰流派和西萨克斯文学）
There were two highlights in the development of the Anglo-Saxon literature.
盎格鲁-撒克逊文学发展史上有两个制高点：
(1) The first was the Northumbrian School. Its center was the monasteries and abbeys in the kingdom of Northumbria. Related with this school was Caedmon who lived in the 7th century and who turned the stories in the Bible into verse form. Another well-known figure of the Northumbrian School was the Venerable Bede (673～735), a monk who wrote in Latin and whose work. The Ecclesiastical History of English People earned for him the title of “Father of English History”.
第一个制高点是诺森伯兰流派。它的中心是诺森伯兰王国的寺庙和修道院。和这个学派密切相关的是生活在7世纪的凯德蒙，他将圣经中的故事转化成诗歌的形式。另外一位代表人物是可敬的圣彼得(673～735)，一个用拉丁文写作的和尚，他凭借《英吉利教会史》一书，被誉为“英国历史之父”。
(2) In 871 Alfred became king of Wessex. His contributions to English literature are threefold. First, a number of Latin books of educative value were translated into West Saxon dialect. It is said that King Alfred himself translated the history by Bede. Secondly, Alfred was responsible for the launching of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. It began with the story of Caesar’s conquest and annually recorded important events until 1154. It is an important history book as well as a piece of literary work. Alfred’s third contribution is that he created a style of Anglo-Saxon prose which was not obscure.
871年，阿尔弗雷德成了威塞克斯之王，他对英国文学的贡献包括以下三个方面：①一些具有教育价值的拉丁文书籍被翻译成西撒克逊方言。据说阿尔弗雷德本人翻译了彼得写的史书；②他推动了《盎格鲁-撒克逊编年史》的撰写。史书包括从凯撒征战到1154年间发生的重要事件。这是一本重要的史书，同时也是杰出的文学著作；③他发明了一种易于理解的的文体——盎格鲁-撒克逊散文。
Ⅲ. Anglo-Saxon poetry（盎格鲁-撒克逊诗歌）
Some 30, 000 lines of Anglo-Saxon poetry have survived. There are a long epic poetry Beowulf, a number of religious poems and heroic poem, and some elegies. The earliest is Widsith and the last is Maldon, a poem about the battle of Maldon. The most famous Anglo-Saxon poem is Beowulf.
被保存下来的盎格鲁-撒克逊诗句大约有30,000句。其中包括长篇史诗《贝奥武甫》、宗教诗、英雄诗和挽歌。最早的诗是《威德西兹》，最后一首诗歌是《马尔顿》，此诗关于马尔顿战役。最著名的盎格鲁-撒克逊诗歌是《贝奥武甫》。
IV. Beowulf（《贝奥武甫》）
(1) About the Poem（关于诗歌）
It was probably written down in the 8th century through the manuscript of the poem preserved today dates back to the10th century and was written in the Wessex dialect. The poem contains altogether3, 183 lines and the story in it is based on partly historical and partly legendary materials, brought over by the Anglo-Saxons from their original homes.
根据保存到现在的10世纪的手稿显示此书大约完成于公元8世纪，用威塞克斯方言写成。全诗一共3183行，诗歌部分来源于事实，部分来源于神话传说，是盎格鲁-撒克逊人从他们最原始的家园带来的。
(2) Synopsis（故事梗概）
The epic begins with a brief account of Danish kings down to Hrothgar who builds a splendid hall called Heorot. A monster named Grendel is enraged at the sound of merrymaking which nightly comes from the hall and disturbs his peace. He comes out of the lair at the bottom of the sea and goes to the hall each night and devours warriors. This has been going on for twelve years. Beowulf, nephew to King Hygelac of the Geats, hears of Grendel and sails with fourteen companions to lend help to Hrothgar. The Danish king receives and entertains the visitors and Beowulf boasts of his past exploits and declares his determination to conquer or die. Grendel comes at night and eats up one of Beowulf’s companions. Then a terrible combat follows and Beowulf finally wins by tearing one arm and a shoulder off the monster who flees mortally wounded. Hrothgar rewards the hero with rich gifts.
史诗开始简要介绍了丹麦国王荷罗斯加，他建造了一座恢弘的宫殿希奥罗特。宫殿举行宴会的声音扰了一个叫哥伦多的怪兽的宁静。他每天都从海底的巢穴出来，去大殿吞噬士兵。这一现象持续了12年。贝奥武甫，耶阿特国王许基拉克的侄子听说了哥伦多的恶行后，带上十四名同伴坐船来帮助荷罗斯加。丹麦国王款待了他们，贝奥武甫说起自己曾经的功勋，并发誓非胜即死。哥伦多深夜来袭，吃掉了贝奥武甫的一个同伴。一场激烈的斗争随之而来，贝奥武甫撕下了怪兽的一条手臂和连着的肩膀，怪兽身受重伤，贝奥武甫取得了胜利。荷罗斯加赏赐他丰厚的礼品。
At night Grendel’s mother comes to avenge her son and carries off Hrothgar’s favourite aeschere. Beowulf is sent for and he sets out with his companions to seek for the sea-monster. He plunges into a pool and reaches a cave beneath the sea. There he fights with Grendel’s mother and eventually succeeds in killing her with a magic sword found hanging in the cave. He returns with the heads of two monsters and is welcomed and further rewarded by Hrothgar. Then he returns to the Geats. In the following year King Hygelac dies and his son succeeds as king but is soon killed in battle with the Swedes. Beowulf is chosen king and rules wisely and well for fifty years.
晚上，哥伦多的母亲来为他的儿子复仇，他带走了荷罗斯加最心爱的参事。贝奥武甫奉命带领他的同伴去搜索海怪。他跳入一个池中，在海底发现一个洞穴。他在那儿和海怪展开战斗，并最终用挂在洞穴上的一把神奇的宝剑杀死了她。他带着两个怪兽的首级而归，又受到了重赏。后来他回到耶阿特。几年后许基拉克去世，他的儿子继承王位，但没多久就在与瑞典人的交战中牺牲。贝奥武甫当选为国王，持续在位五十年之久。
Then a runaway slave robs part of a hoard of hidden treasure guarded by a dragon and the latter is enraged and ravages the land with fiery breath. Beowulf, now an aged king, resolves to fight the dragon himself. He goes there with twelve companions. The old king orders his men to wait outside while he himself goes down to the mound of treasure. There the aged king fights bravely against the dragon but the sword fails him and he is in danger. One of the companions, Wiglaf, rushes down to help and wounds the monster and then Beowulf kills it with a knife but is himself mortally wounded. He gives his last orders about his own funeral as he dies. Wiglaf sends a messenger to announce the king’s death and the people visit the scene of battle and carry away the treasure. They throw the dragon into the sea and build a funeral pyre to bum Beowulf’s body. The poem ends with the people lamenting Beowulf’s death and praising him as a great and good king.
一个逃跑的奴隶偷了一部分由一条龙在看管的财宝，惹怒了那条龙，它喷出炙热的火焰报复这片陆地。贝奥武甫此时年事已高，但决心亲自除掉恶龙，他带了12名同伴出发了。老国王命令同伴在外面守候，他孤身一人深入藏宝之山。他与恶龙奋勇抗战，但是他的剑掉了，使他陷入了困境。同伴威格拉夫冲进来帮他，恶龙身负重伤，贝奥武甫用匕首杀死了恶龙，但是自己也受了重伤。他向同伴交代了自己的身后事后就离开了人世。威格拉夫宣布国王的去世，后来人们参
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