Chapter 11 - The Kingdom of the Franks / 第十一章 - 法兰克王国

Now we're ready to travel旅行/ˈtrævəl/ back to the west. At the beginning of the last chapter, you put your finger手指/ˈfɪŋɡər/ on Rome罗马/roʊm/ and then moved it east and south, all the way down to New Zealand. Rome used to be the strongest empire帝国/ˈempaɪər/ in the ancient world. But at the beginning of the Middle Ages中世纪/ˈmɪdl eɪdʒɪz/, barbarians蛮族人/bɑrˈberiənz/ invaded Rome. Rome became weaker and weaker, and other civilizations文明/ˌsɪvələˈzeɪʃənz/ became stronger and stronger.

Let's imagine想象/ɪˈmædʒɪn/ a journey旅程/ˈdʒɜrni/ from New Zealand, where the Maori毛利人/ˈmaʊri/ live, back through some of these civilizations. Start by finding New Zealand on your map地图/mæp/. Now paddle划桨/ˈpædl/ your canoe独木舟/kəˈnu/ north (up, on your map) and west (left). You should see the coast海岸/koʊst/ of Australia just ahead of you! You'll need to paddle along the coast, still going north. Keep your eyes open, and you might see Aborigine原住民/ˌæbəˈrɪdʒɪni/ canoes, out fishing for sea cows海牛/si kaʊz/.

You have a long journey ahead of you, up through the Pacific Ocean太平洋/pəˈsɪfɪk ˈoʊʃən/. Go on paddling! After many weeks, you'll find yourself approaching the islands岛屿/ˈaɪləndz/ of Japan, the "Land of the Rising Sun." Beach your canoe on the shores海岸/ʃɔrz/ of Japan and wander漫步/ˈwɑndər/ across the country, and you'll see Chinese clothing服装/ˈkloʊðɪŋ/, Chinese books书籍/bʊks/, and Chinese buildings建筑物/ˈbɪldɪŋz/. Remember, China lent Japan its language语言/ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/, its architecture建筑风格/ˈɑrkɪˌtektʃər/, and its customs习俗/ˈkʌstəmz/, until Japan decided to break free!

Cross over the water水/ˈwɔtər/ between China and Japan (you'd better hire a boat船/boʊt/!) and come ashore at the Chinese mainland大陆/ˈmeɪnlənd/. If you're feeling adventurous爱冒险的/ədˈventʃərəs/, you can hike徒步旅行/haɪk/ south into Korea, which sits between China and Japan. But you might stumble偶然遇到/ˈstʌmbəl/ into the middle of a battle战斗/ˈbætl/, because China and Japan are fighting to control控制/kənˈtroʊl/ Korea.

Find a sturdy结实的/ˈstɜrdi/ mountain山/ˈmaʊntən/ pony小马/ˈpoʊni/, hop on, and start your long journey west through Asia. If you take a little detour绕道/ˈditʊr/ to the south (remember, south is down on a map or globe地球仪/ɡloʊb/), you'll find yourself in India, where the Gupta笈多王朝/ˈɡʊptə/ kings ruled.

Now travel旅行/ˈtrævəl/ west again. You'll need a boat, because you're going to sail航行/seɪl/ through the Indian Ocean, across to the peninsula半岛/pəˈnɪnsələ/ of Arabia. The Islamic Empire伊斯兰帝国/ɪsˈlæmɪk ˈempaɪər/ began here, following the lead of Muhammad穆罕默德/moʊˈhæməd/. Climb out of your boat, rent a camel骆驼/ˈkæməl/ (you're going to have to plod艰难行走/plɑd/ through hot, sandy, deserts沙漠/ˈdezərts/), and start your journey back north (up, on a map or globe).

Keep traveling north, and you'll arrive at the borders边界/ˈbɔrdərz/ of the Byzantine Empire拜占庭帝国/ˈbɪzənˌtaɪn ˈempaɪər/, the land once ruled by Justinian查士丁尼/dʒʌˈstɪniən/ the Just Emperor, and his wife, the empress皇后/ˈemprəs/ Theodora狄奥多拉/θiəˈdɔrə/. The Byzantine Empire was once the eastern half of the old Roman Empire—until the Roman Empire split分裂/splɪt/ in two. Now go west (left) one more time. Are you swimming in the Mediterranean Sea地中海/ˌmedətəˈreɪniən si/? The land all around the Mediterranean used to belong to Rome.

Swim over to Italy (the peninsula that looks like a boot靴子/but/), climb ashore, and walk up through Italy. Now you're standing on the top of an icy mountain range山脉/ˈmaʊntən reɪndʒ/: the Alps阿尔卑斯山/ælps/. The land all around you was ruled by Rome until barbarians invaded入侵/ɪnˈveɪdəd/. But a funny thing happened to these barbarians. When they came into Roman territory领土/ˈterəˌtɔri/, they began to learn Roman customs.

They built houses房屋/ˈhaʊzəz/, like Roman houses, and lived in them, instead of roaming漫游/ˈroʊmɪŋ/ around on horseback马背/ˈhɔrsbæk/. They discovered Roman customs, like shaving刮胡子/ˈʃeɪvɪŋ/ and taking baths洗澡/bæθs/. Missionaries传教士/ˈmɪʃəˌneriz/ taught them about Christianity基督教/ˌkrɪstiˈænəti/. They learned to speak Latin拉丁语/ˈlætən/. They became civilized文明的/ˈsɪvəˌlaɪzd/. And these ex-barbarians前蛮族人/eks bɑrˈberiənz/ began to establish their own kingdoms王国/ˈkɪŋdəmz/, all over the land that once belonged to the Romans.

The land of Gaul高卢/ɡɔl/, just north of the Mediterranean Sea, was invaded by barbarians called the Franks法兰克人/fræŋks/. The Franks were made up of several different tribes部落/traɪbz/. And they didn't regard themselves as barbarians. As a matter of fact, they claimed声称/kleɪmd/ that they were descended后裔/dɪˈsendəd/ from the ancient古代的/ˈeɪnʃənt/ inhabitants居民/ɪnˈhæbətənts/ of the great city of Troy特洛伊/trɔɪ/.

The Frankish法兰克的/ˈfræŋkɪʃ/ tribes settled定居/ˈsetəld/ down in Gaul next to the Roman citizens公民/ˈsɪtəzənz/ who were already living there. Other barbarian tribes, called the Burgundians勃艮第人/bərˈɡʌndiənz/ and the Allemani阿勒曼尼人/ˌæləˈmæni/, settled in Gaul too. Now many different people人民/ˈpipəl/ lived side-by-side并肩/saɪd baɪ saɪd/ in Gaul. And they didn't like each other very much!

But even though the Romans and the Franks and the Burgundians and the Allemani were enemies敌人/ˈenəmiz/, they became allies盟友/ˈælaɪz/, just long enough to fight off the Huns匈奴人/hʌnz/. Do you remember that the Huns helped destroy Rome and invaded countries all the way over to India? The Huns were a frightening可怕的/ˈfraɪtənɪŋ/, savage野蛮的/ˈsævɪdʒ/ warrior战士/ˈwɔriər/ race. And the people of Gaul decided that although they hated仇恨/ˈheɪtəd/ each other, they hated the Huns even more.

So they united团结/juˈnaɪtəd/ into one army军队/ˈɑrmi/ under the leadership领导/ˈlidərʃɪp/ of a great fighter战士/ˈfaɪtər/ named Merovius墨洛维/məˈroʊviəs/. Merovius was the chief首领/tʃif/ of a Frankish tribe. He led his army against the Huns—and defeated击败/dɪˈfitəd/ them! The Huns retreated撤退/rɪˈtritəd/ from Gaul. And as soon as the Hun threat威胁/θret/ had vanished消失/ˈvænɪʃt/, the people of Gaul divided again into their warring交战的/ˈwɔrɪŋ/ tribes.

But Merovius's grandson孙子/ˈɡrændsʌn/, Clovis克洛维斯/ˈkloʊvɪs/, always remembered the days when his grandfather祖父/ˈɡrænˌfɑðər/ had briefly made the Franks into one people. In the year 481, when Clovis was twenty, he inherited继承/ɪnˈherətəd/ the leadership of his tribe. And he set out to make all of Gaul into one empire.

So Clovis married结婚/ˈmeriəd/ a princess公主/ˈprɪnsəs/ from one barbarian tribe—Clotilda克洛蒂尔德/kloʊˈtɪldə/, a Burgundian. He fought other tribes and forced强迫/fɔrst/ them to accept接受/ækˈsept/ him as a leader领袖/ˈlidər/. He defeated the last Roman soldiers士兵/ˈsoʊldʒərz/ left in Gaul. He convinced说服/kənˈvɪnst/ other Frankish chiefs to swear allegiance忠诚/əˈlidʒəns/ to him. And eventually, he ruled over all of Gaul. His empire became known as the Frankish Empire法兰克帝国/ˈfræŋkɪʃ ˈempaɪər/. Today, we call this part of the world France法国/fræns/, after the Franks.

While he was conquering征服/ˈkɑŋkərɪŋ/ his empire, Clovis became a Christian基督徒/ˈkrɪstʃən/. According to a medieval中世纪的/ˌmidiˈivəl/ book called The Chronicle of St. Denis, Clovis converted改信/kənˈvɜrtəd/ to Christianity because he wanted God to help him defeat his enemies. Clovis's wife, Clotilda, was already a Christian. And she wanted her husband丈夫/ˈhʌzbənd/ to become a Christian too. But Clovis refused拒绝/rɪˈfjuzd/, until he fought a great battle against the Allemani and saw that his men were being slaughtered屠杀/ˈslɔtərd/.

So he looked up to heaven天堂/ˈhevən/. "God," he said, "I will serve服务/sɜrv/ you forever, if only you will give me the victory胜利/ˈvɪktəri/!" The medieval story tells us, "Instantly, his men were filled with burning valor勇气/ˈvælər/, and a great fear恐惧/fɪr/ smote his enemies, so that they turned their backs and fled the battle." The Allemani leaders surrendered投降/səˈrendərd/, and Clovis won the day.

As soon as he got home, Clovis went to find a bishop主教/ˈbɪʃəp/ and asked him to explain Christianity. The bishop did, and Clovis agreed to be baptized受洗/ˈbæptaɪzd/. Now Clovis, the ex-barbarian, was an emperor—and a Christian.

Clovis managed设法/ˈmænədʒd/ to unite团结/juˈnaɪt/ the battling交战的/ˈbætlɪŋ/ peoples of Gaul into one empire: the Franks. But could he keep保持/kip/ them together? Clovis decided that three things would help make the Franks, the Romans, Burgundians, and the Allemani into one people.

First, he established建立/ɪˈstæblɪʃt/ a capital首都/ˈkæpətəl/ city at a place called Lutetia Parisiorium卢泰西亚·帕里西奥鲁姆/luˈteʃə pəˌrɪziˈɔriəm/—an old Roman fortress要塞/ˈfɔrtrəs/, built on a hill near the river Seine塞纳河/seɪn/. It was easy to defend防守/dɪˈfend/, because anyone who attacked it would have to climb uphill while fighting. And there were already good, smooth, Roman roads道路/roʊdz/ leading to Lutetia Parisiorium. Clovis had a wall城墙/wɔl/ built around the hill and named his new city Paris巴黎/ˈpærɪs/.

Now, all of his people could call Paris their capital city. Second, Clovis decreed颁布法令/dɪˈkrid/ that everyone in his empire should become a Christian. When he was baptized, he had three thousand三千/θri ˈθaʊzənd/ of his fighting men baptized at the same time. Do you think all of those men were Christians? Probably not. But Clovis knew that people who follow the same religion宗教/rɪˈlɪdʒən/ are less likely to attack each other. So he made Christianity the official官方的/əˈfɪʃəl/ religion of the Franks. And he built an enormous cathedral大教堂/kəˈθidrəl/ in Paris, called St. Genevieve圣日内维耶夫/seɪnt ˌʒənəˈviv/.

Now Clovis had one religion in his country, and one capital city. But he needed one more thing to keep his country unified统一的/ˈjunəˌfaɪd/: One law. The Franks and the Romans and the Burgundians and the Allemani all had different laws法律/lɔz/. Like Justinian查士丁尼/dʒʌˈstɪniən/, Clovis knew that a strong, peaceful country needs one set of laws that everyone follows. So he had his scribes抄写员/skraɪbz/ and clerics牧师/ˈklerɪks/ issue a new set of laws called the Salic Laws萨利克法/ˈsælɪk lɔz/.

These laws tell us quite a lot about the kingdom of the Franks! Here is one of the Salic Laws: If a Roman attacks a Frank and steals from him, he will pay twenty-five hundred二千五百/ˈtwenti faɪv ˈhʌndrəd/ denars德纳里乌斯/ˈdinɑrz/. This was a lot of money钱/ˈmʌni/! A man would have to work工作/wɜrk/ for at least three months to earn 2500 denars. But then the law goes on: But if a Frank attacks a Roman and steals from him, he will pay fourteen hundred一千四百/ˌfɔrˈtin ˈhʌndrəd/ denars.

A Frank who attacked a Roman would pay a much smaller fine罚金/faɪn/ than a Roman who robbed a Frank. So although the Romans were part of the Frankish empire, they weren't given the same protections保护/prəˈtekʃənz/ as the Franks. Does this seem fair公平的/fer/ to you? Here is another law: If a man calls another man "Fox狐狸/fɑks/," or "Hare野兔/her/," he will have to pay 120 denars.

Calling names was against the law! If you called someone a "fox," you were calling them sly狡猾的/slaɪ/ and untrustworthy不值得信任的/ʌnˈtrʌstˌwɜrði/—like a spy间谍/spaɪ/. And if you called a man a "hare," you were saying that he was cowardly胆小的/ˈkaʊərdli/ and anxious焦虑的/ˈæŋkʃəs/ to run away from a fight. Loyalty忠诚/ˈlɔɪəlti/ to their country and bravery勇敢/ˈbreɪvəri/ in battle were very important to the Franks.

If anyone wants to move搬家/muv/ to another village村庄/ˈvɪlɪdʒ/, and even one person in the village doesn't want him there, he cannot move. If he does anyway, the people of the village must warn警告/wɔrn/ him three times to leave. After the third warning, the people of the village can summon召唤/ˈsʌmən/ the king's men to come and take the offender违法者/əˈfendər/ away.

Clovis may have brought the Franks, Romans, Burgundians, and Allemani together into one empire—but it sounds as though some of them still didn't want to live close to each other. What if a Roman wanted to move into a Burgundian village? The people who lived there could refuse拒绝/rɪˈfjuz/ to accept接受/ækˈsept/ him. The empire of the Franks was united, but it was not peaceful和平的/ˈpisfəl/.