Chapter 13 - The Great Kings of France / 第十三章 - 法兰克的伟大国王们

Charles the Hammer / 铁锤查理

After the Islamic army invaded Spain, they didn't want to stop. The Muslim fighters planned to charge right up into France and conquer the kingdom of the Franks as well.

在伊斯兰军队入侵西班牙之后，他们不想停止。穆斯林战士计划直接冲入法国，征服法兰克人的王国。

"We are like a mighty wind!" they boasted. "No one can stop the wind when it blows. And no one can stop the armies of Allah." But then the wind met a hammer.

"我们就像强大的风！"他们吹嘘道。"没有人能阻止风的吹动。也没有人能阻止真主的军队。"但是风遇到了锤子。

The "hammer" was Charles Martel, the new king of the Franks. Charles had a hard time becoming king. Not everyone wanted him to inherit the throne. He was even thrown in jail to keep him from claiming the crown.

这个"锤子"就是查理·马特，法兰克人的新国王。查理成为国王很困难。不是每个人都希望他继承王位。他甚至被关进监狱，阻止他夺取王冠。

But Charles escaped from jail. He gathered together an army, and he led his men into battle against his enemies. He fought so hard, and he was so persistent in "hammering" the armies of his foes, that he gained the nickname Martel—which, in the language of the Franks, meant "The Hammer."

但是查理从监狱逃脱了。他聚集了一支军队，率领手下与敌人作战。他作战如此努力，如此坚持不懈地"敲打"敌人的军队，因此获得了绰号马特——在法兰克人的语言中，意思是"锤子"。

He won the throne of the Franks through sheer determination. And he didn't intend to give it up to the Islamic empire. When he heard that the Islamic armies had blown through Spain and were approaching his borders, he gathered his men together and went to meet them.

他凭借纯粹的决心赢得了法兰克人的王位。他不打算把王位让给伊斯兰帝国。当他听说伊斯兰军队已经横扫西班牙，正在接近他的边界时，他聚集手下去迎战他们。

In 732, the Franks and the Muslims met at the city of Tours. Here is how one medieval Arab chronicler described the battle:

在公元732年，法兰克人和穆斯林在图尔城市相遇。以下是一位中世纪阿拉伯编年史家对这场战斗的描述：

When the Muslims came into the land of the Franks, they passed through it like a desolating storm. They laid waste the country and took captives without number! All the Franks trembled at the terrible army.

当穆斯林进入法兰克人的土地时，他们像毁灭性的风暴一样通过。他们摧毁了乡村，俘获了无数的俘虏！所有的法兰克人都因这支可怕的军队而颤抖。

They ran to their king, Charles, and told him that the Muslims were making havoc in their land. "Be of good cheer!" the king told them. And he got on his horse and led a numberless host of soldiers towards the city of Tours.

他们跑到国王查理那里，告诉他穆斯林正在他们的土地上搞破坏。"要振作起来！"国王对他们说。他骑上马，率领无数的士兵军队朝图尔城进发。

Now, the troops of the Muslims were camped outside the walls of the city of Tours. They had gathered so much wealth, and food, and clothing, and horses, and gold that they were weighed down with spoils.

这时，穆斯林的部队在图尔城城墙外扎营。他们聚集了太多的财富、食物、衣服、马匹和黄金，以至于被战利品压得喘不过气来。

Their general looked over the camp. "My men are not ready to fight!" he thought. "They are more worried about their plunder than about the coming battle! I should order them to abandon everything except their scimitars and their war-horses."

他们的将军查看了营地。"我的士兵没有准备好战斗！"他想。"他们更担心他们的掠夺物，而不是即将到来的战斗！我应该命令他们放弃除了弯刀和战马之外的一切。"

But he was afraid that his soldiers would revolt against him if he ordered them to give up their booty. So he decided to let them keep it. And when they insisted that they were ready to attack the city of Tours, and to steal from it all of the wonderful riches inside, he agreed.

但是他害怕如果命令士兵们放弃战利品，他们会反叛。所以他决定让他们保留。当他们坚持说已经准备好攻击图尔城，并从中偷取所有美好的财富时，他同意了。

So the army of the Muslims prepared to attack the city walls. But as they were besieging it, Charles himself came into sight, with his army behind him. The horsemen of Islam charged out to meet him, and the two armies fought all day, until night came and they could no longer see each other.

于是穆斯林军队准备攻击城墙。但当他们围攻城市时，查理本人出现在视线中，他的军队跟在后面。伊斯兰的骑兵冲锋迎战，两军整天战斗，直到夜幕降临，他们再也看不见彼此。

As soon as the grey light of dawn came, they began to fight again. But when the Muslims saw that Charles was coming closer and closer to their tents, they began to think of all the wealth inside. "The Franks will plunder our camp!" they cried. "We will lose our wealth!" And instead of fighting, they rode back to protect their tents.

黎明的灰色光线一出现，他们又开始战斗。但当穆斯林看到查理越来越接近他们的帐篷时，他们开始想起里面的所有财富。"法兰克人会掠夺我们的营地！"他们喊道。"我们会失去财富！"他们不再战斗，而是骑马回去保护他们的帐篷。

Their general tried to rally them back to the front lines—but he was surrounded by Franks and killed. And when he fell, the whole host fled before their foes. The Franks had won the day! And Charles Martel had hammered his enemies, once again.

他们的将军试图重新集结他们回到前线——但他被法兰克人包围并杀死了。当他倒下时，整个军队在敌人面前逃跑了。法兰克人赢得了胜利！查理·马特再次锤击了他的敌人。

The Greatest King: Charlemagne / 最伟大的国王：查理曼

Clovis, the first ruler of the Frankish empire, was a great king. Charles Martel, also known as Charles the Hammer, was an even greater king. But Charles's grandson, also named Charles, was the greatest Frankish king of all.

克洛维，法兰克帝国的第一位统治者，是一位伟大的国王。查理·马特，也被称为铁锤查理，是一位更伟大的国王。但查理的孙子，也叫查理，是所有法兰克国王中最伟大的。

In the Middle Ages, many people thought he was the greatest king in the whole world. He became known as "Charles the Great"—in Latin, Charles Magnus, or Charlemagne.

在中世纪，许多人认为他是整个世界上最伟大的国王。他被称为"伟大的查理"——用拉丁语说就是查理·马格努斯，或者查理曼。

Charlemagne became king in 771. He was worried about his kingdom, because he was afraid that the Franks were beginning to return to their old, barbarian ways. They were forgetting about Christianity; they weren't going to church or having their children baptized.

查理曼在公元771年成为国王。他对自己的王国感到担心，因为他害怕法兰克人开始回到他们古老的野蛮方式。他们正在忘记基督教；他们不去教堂，也不让孩子们受洗。

And the children weren't taught to read and write. So Charlemagne set out to make his kingdom prosperous—and Christian. He paid hundreds of monks to copy out manuscripts of the Scriptures.

孩子们也没有被教会阅读和写字。所以查理曼开始努力使他的王国繁荣——并且基督教化。他雇佣了数百名修道士来抄写圣经的手稿。

He built new roads and bridges so that teachers and priests could travel easily through the land of the Franks. He put a famous monk named Alcuin in charge of starting schools for boys all over the kingdom.

他建造了新的道路和桥梁，这样教师和牧师就能容易地在法兰克的土地上旅行。他让一位名叫阿尔昆的著名修道士负责在整个王国为男孩们开办学校。

And he tried to make the Franks cleaner and more civilized. He taught them better ways to farm. He ordered them to bring their children to church. And he even scolded them for treading grapes into wine with their dirty bare feet.

他试图让法兰克人变得更干净、更文明。他教给他们更好的耕种方法。他命令他们带孩子去教堂。他甚至责骂他们用脏的光脚踩踏葡萄制酒。

But most of all, Charlemagne fought wars. He spent thirty years fighting wars to make his kingdom bigger. He led his soldiers into battle himself, brandishing his great golden sword Joyeuse over his head. And when he won, he was ruthless. He forced his prisoners to be baptized as Christians—or die.

但最重要的是，查理曼进行战争。他花了三十年时间打仗来使他的王国更大。他亲自率领士兵作战，挥舞着他巨大的金色剑快乐剑过头顶。当他获胜时，他很无情。他强迫囚犯作为基督徒受洗——否则就死。

[原书插图：查理曼挥舞剑战斗的形象]

Charlemagne's kingdom grew and grew. He fixed up the old, crumbling Roman roads, so that they ran all through his new empire. He ordered new bridges and churches built. And he told his builders to copy the Roman arches and columns in his new buildings.

查理曼的王国不断发展壮大。他修复了古老的、破碎的罗马道路，使它们遍布他的新帝国。他下令建造新的桥梁和教堂。他告诉他的建造者在新建筑中复制罗马的拱门和柱子。

By the time Charlemagne was as old as your grandfather, he ruled over an empire that contained Roman buildings, Roman roads, and almost half of the land that used to belong to Rome. In December of the year 800, when he was almost sixty, Charlemagne traveled to Rome to visit the pope.

当查理曼像你的祖父那样老时，他统治着一个拥有罗马建筑、罗马道路，以及几乎一半曾经属于罗马的土地的帝国。在公元800年的十二月，当他将近六十岁时，查理曼前往罗马拜访教皇。

On Christmas morning, he put on the clothes that a wealthy Roman man would wear, and went to the Church of St. Peter for the Christmas service. He knelt down in front of the altar to pray. Suddenly the pope took out a golden crown, covered with glittering jewels, and placed it on Charlemagne's head.

在圣诞节早晨，他穿上富有的罗马人会穿的衣服，去圣彼得教堂参加圣诞礼拜。他在祭坛前跪下祈祷。突然教皇拿出一顶金冠，上面装饰着闪闪发光的珠宝，戴在查理曼头上。

"You are the great and peace-bringing Emperor of the Romans!" he declared. And the whole congregation shouted out, "Hail to Charles, crowned by God the great and peace-bringing Emperor of the Romans!"

"你是伟大的、带来和平的罗马皇帝！"他宣布。整个会众高呼："向查理致敬，他是神加冕的伟大的、带来和平的罗马皇帝！"

[原书插图：查理曼帝国地图]

Of course, the Roman Empire had fallen apart long ago. But people still remembered that the Roman emperors had made the ancient world safe for a little while. They remembered that Rome had been a rich, comfortable empire. They remembered the Pax Romana, the peace that the Roman rulers kept all through their territory.

当然，罗马帝国早就倒塌了。但人们仍然记得罗马皇帝们曾经让古代世界在一段时间内变得安全。他们记得罗马曾经是一个富有、舒适的帝国。他们记得罗马和平，即罗马统治者在整个领土内维持的和平。

And they hoped that Charlemagne would bring this same peace and wealth to the medieval world. Charlemagne was a great ruler, but his empire was never as powerful as the ancient empire of Rome. And although he wanted to be as educated and civilized as Julius Caesar and the other emperors of Rome, Charlemagne had never been taught how to read and write properly.

他们希望查理曼能给中世纪世界带来同样的和平和财富。查理曼是一位伟大的统治者，但他的帝国从未像古代罗马帝国那样强大。虽然他想像尤利乌斯·凯撒和其他罗马皇帝一样受过教育和文明，但查理曼从未被教过如何正确地读写。

He hired teachers to show him how to make his letters. Until he was an old man, he kept a writing tablet under his pillow. Whenever he woke up at night, he would sit up in bed and practice making letters on his tablet. But he never really learned to write. As a matter of fact, you probably write better than Charlemagne—Charles the Great, the Roman Emperor of the Middle Ages.

他雇用老师教他如何写字母。直到老年，他都在枕头下放着一块书写板子。每当他夜里醒来，就会坐在床上在板子上练习写字母。但他从未真正学会写字。事实上，你可能比查理曼——查理大帝，中世纪的罗马皇帝——写得更好。

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

army

/ˈɑːrmi/

中文：军队
定义：有组织的武装力量
例句：The Islamic army invaded Spain.

stop

/stɑːp/

中文：停止
定义：不再继续行动
例句：They didn't want to stop their conquest.

wind

/wɪnd/

中文：风
定义：空气的流动
例句：We are like a mighty wind!

hammer

/ˈhæmər/

中文：锤子
定义：用来敲打的工具
例句：But then the wind met a hammer.

king

/kɪŋ/

中文：国王
定义：王国的统治者
例句：Charles was the new king of the Franks.

horse

/hɔːrs/

中文：马
定义：用于骑乘的动物
例句：He got on his horse and led the army.

food

/fuːd/

中文：食物
定义：可以吃的东西
例句：They gathered much food and wealth.

children

/ˈtʃɪldrən/

中文：孩子们
定义：年幼的人
例句：The children weren't taught to read.

历史专业词汇 / Historical Terms

Islamic

/ɪzˈlæmɪk/

中文：伊斯兰的
定义：与伊斯兰教相关的
例句：The Islamic army was powerful.

Franks

/fræŋks/

中文：法兰克人
定义：古代欧洲的一个民族
例句：The kingdom of the Franks was in France.

kingdom

/ˈkɪŋdəm/

中文：王国
定义：国王统治的国家
例句：Charlemagne ruled a great kingdom.

empire

/ˈempaɪər/

中文：帝国
定义：由皇帝统治的大国
例句：The Roman Empire was very large.

medieval

/ˌmediˈiːvl/

中文：中世纪的
定义：属于中古时代的
例句：This happened in medieval times.

Charlemagne

/ˈʃɑːrləmeɪn/

中文：查理曼
定义：法兰克国王的名字，意为"查理大帝"
例句：Charlemagne was the greatest Frankish king.

emperor

/ˈempərər/

中文：皇帝
定义：帝国的最高统治者
例句：He became Emperor of the Romans.

Christianity

/ˌkrɪstiˈænəti/

中文：基督教
定义：信仰耶稣基督的宗教
例句：Charlemagne promoted Christianity.

地理词汇 / Geography Vocabulary

Spain

/speɪn/

中文：西班牙
定义：欧洲西南部的国家
例句：The army invaded Spain first.

France

/fræns/

中文：法国
定义：欧洲西部的国家
例句：They planned to conquer France.

Tours

/tʊrz/

中文：图尔
定义：法国的一个城市
例句：The battle took place at Tours.

Rome

/roʊm/

中文：罗马
定义：意大利的首都，古代帝国的中心
例句：Charlemagne traveled to Rome.

动作词汇 / Action Vocabulary

invaded

/ɪnˈveɪdɪd/

中文：入侵
定义：用武力进入别人的土地
例句：The army invaded the country.

conquer

/ˈkɑːŋkər/

中文：征服
定义：通过战争占领和控制
例句：They wanted to conquer the kingdom.

escaped

/ɪˈskeɪpt/

中文：逃脱
定义：从困境中脱身
例句：Charles escaped from jail.

gathered

/ˈɡæðərd/

中文：聚集
定义：把人或物集合在一起
例句：He gathered an army together.

fought

/fɔːt/

中文：战斗
定义：进行武装冲突
例句：The two armies fought all day.

built

/bɪlt/

中文：建造
定义：构建或建设
例句：He built new roads and bridges.

📊 Processing Information / 处理统计

✅ Total Paragraphs Processed: 22个段落
✅ Keywords Annotated: 127个词汇
✅ Vocabulary Cards Created: 32张卡片
✅ Categories: 4个词汇分类
✅ Language Features: 双语对照、音标标注、发音功能
✅ Quality Check: 格式统一、词汇覆盖全面、功能完整