Chapter 27 - War for the English Throne / 第二十七章 - 英格兰王位之争

The French法国人/frentʃ/ weren't the only people人民/ˈpiːpəl/ to fight战斗/faɪt/ with each other over who should be king国王/kɪŋ/. England英格兰/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ had its own civil war内战/ˈsɪvəl wɔːr/ over the throne王位/θroʊn/!

Cousins堂兄弟/ˈkʌzənz/ from one side of the royal family王室/ˈrɔɪəl ˈfæməli/, called Lancastrians兰开斯特派/læŋˈkæstriənz/, fought against cousins from the other side of the family, called Yorks约克派/jɔːrks/. The Yorks had a white rose白玫瑰/waɪt roʊz/ on their banners旗帜/ˈbænərz/, and the Lancastrians had a red rose红玫瑰/red roʊz/ on theirs.

So today we call these wars战争/wɔːrz/ over the English throne the Wars of the Roses玫瑰战争/wɔːrz ʌv ðə ˈroʊzɪz/. The Wars of the Roses began during the reign统治/reɪn/ of Henry VI亨利六世/ˈhenri ðə sɪksθ/, the baby son of Henry V.

When Henry VI grew up, he began ruling统治/ˈruːlɪŋ/ England for himself. He was a very good man好人/ɡʊd mæn/. He spent hours小时/ˈaʊərz/ and hours in prayer祈祷/prer/, he refused to have his enemies敌人/ˈenəmiz/ put to death死亡/deθ/, and once he even left a dance舞会/dæns/ given in his honor because he thought that the dresses裙子/ˈdresɪz/ worn by the young ladies weren't decent得体的/ˈdiːsənt/ enough!

But Henry VI preferred更喜欢/prɪˈfɜːrd/ reading阅读/ˈriːdɪŋ/ and praying to ruling. Once, he was reading in his room房间/ruːm/ when his dukes公爵/duːks/ came to ask him about a problem问题/ˈprɑːbləm/ in his country国家/ˈkʌntri/. King Henry VI sighed and said to the priest牧师/priːst/ who was with him, "They do so interrupt打扰/ˌɪntəˈrʌpt/ me by day and night. I can hardly find a moment时刻/ˈmoʊmənt/ to read holy teachings without disturbance!"

After he had been king for years and years, Henry VI had a fit of madness疯狂/ˈmædnəs/. Suddenly he stopped speaking说话/ˈspiːkɪŋ/ to anyone. He sat in one place, staring凝视/ˈsterɪŋ/ in front of him, for hours. He didn't seem to hear听到/hɪr/ his friends朋友/frends/ when they spoke to him—even when they told him that his wife妻子/waɪf/ had just given birth to a son儿子/sʌn/.

Henry VI's madness was probably inherited遗传的/ɪnˈherətəd/. His grandfather祖父/ˈɡrændfɑːðər/, the king of France法国/fræns/, had struggled with fits of insanity精神错乱/ɪnˈsænəti/ all his life. He even believed相信/bɪˈliːvd/ that he was made of glass玻璃/ɡlæs/, and that he would break破碎/breɪk/ if he fell over. Now this madness had passed down to the English royal family王室/ˈrɔɪəl ˈfæməli/.

England needed someone to run管理/rʌn/ the country until Henry VI recovered康复/rɪˈkʌvərd/. So Henry's family asked Henry's distant cousin远房表亲/ˈdɪstənt ˈkʌzən/, the duke of York约克公爵/duːk ʌv jɔːrk/, to become Protector保护者/prəˈtektər/, or substitute king代理国王/ˈsʌbstɪtuːt kɪŋ/.

The duke of York agreed. But when Henry VI began to get better更好/ˈbetər/, the York family didn't want to give up the throne. Henry and his queen王后/kwiːn/ had to gather聚集/ˈɡæðər/ an army军队/ˈɑːrmi/ and march against the duke of York's army. After a huge battle战斗/ˈbætəl/, the York supporters were defeated被击败/dɪˈfiːtəd/, and the duke himself was killed被杀/kɪld/. The queen ordered his head头/hed/ put up on the city walls, with a paper crown on it!

Now Henry VI could rule again. But the York attempt尝试/əˈtempt/ to get the throne wasn't over. The Duke of York's son, Edward爱德华/ˈedwərd/, raised another army and attacked the royal forces again. And this time, the Yorks were victorious胜利的/vɪkˈtɔːriəs/. They put Henry VI in jail监狱/dʒeɪl/. In 1461, Edward took over the throne, proclaiming宣布/prəˈkleɪmɪŋ/ himself to be Edward IV爱德华四世/ˈedwərd ðə fɔːrθ/, the rightful king of England.

Edward was a handsome英俊的/ˈhænsəm/ youth of nineteen, six feet tall, a good dancer舞者/ˈdænsər/ and a good fighter战士/ˈfaɪtər/. He was also a capable能干的/ˈkeɪpəbəl/ king. He learned the names名字/neɪmz/ of every important重要的/ɪmˈpɔːrtənt/ man in his kingdom王国/ˈkɪŋdəm/, so that he could greet every one like a friend朋友/frend/.

But Edward fell in love爱情/lʌv/ with a woman女人/ˈwʊmən/ his family didn't like. Elizabeth Woodville伊丽莎白·伍德维尔/ɪˈlɪzəbəθ ˈwʊdvɪl/ was older than he was. And she had been married结婚/ˈmærid/ before—to a knight骑士/naɪt/ who died fighting on Henry VI's side! Edward knew that his mother母亲/ˈmʌðər/ and his advisors顾问/ədˈvaɪzərz/ would never approve赞成/əˈpruːv/ of Elizabeth. So he married her in secret秘密/ˈsiːkrət/.

Months later, when his advisors tried to arrange安排/əˈreɪndʒ/ a marriage婚姻/ˈmæridʒ/ between Edward and a foreign外国的/ˈfɔːrən/ princess公主/ˈprɪnsəs/, Edward had to admit承认/ədˈmɪt/ that he was already married. He ordered London伦敦/ˈlʌndən/ decorated with colored paper彩纸/ˈkʌlərd ˈpeɪpər/ and tinfoil锡箔/ˈtɪnfɔɪl/, and brought Elizabeth Woodville into the city in a great parade游行/pəˈreɪd/. He also gave her five brothers important jobs工作/dʒɑːbz/ in his government政府/ˈɡʌvərnmənt/.

Many of the English nobles贵族/ˈnoʊbəlz/ didn't like that. They thought the Woodvilles伍德维尔家族/ˈwʊdvɪlz/ were gaining too much power权力/ˈpaʊər/. So several of the nobles joined together with Henry VI's supporters and let Henry VI out of jail. They marched towards Edward's palace宫殿/ˈpæləs/ in the middle of the night to arrest逮捕/əˈrest/ him. But he heard they were coming, jumped out of bed床/bed/, and fled逃跑/fled/ from the country!

Now Henry VI was king again—but not for long. Edward was busy raising another army. He marched back into England and took Henry VI prisoner囚犯/ˈprɪzənər/. "My good cousin表兄/ˈkʌzən/," Henry VI said, when he was taken captive俘虏/ˈkæptɪv/, "I know that in your hands my life will not be in danger危险/ˈdeɪndʒər/." But he was wrong. While he was in prison监狱/ˈprɪzən/, someone killed him. We don't know who the murderer凶手/ˈmɜːrdərər/ was, but Edward probably gave the order for Henry VI's death.

Now that his rival对手/ˈraɪvəl/ was gone, Edward IV was able to reign统治/reɪn/ for twelve uninterrupted years. When he died in 1483, his twelve-year-old son became king in his place. But this young king, Edward V爱德华五世/ˈedwərd ðə fɪfθ/, was too little to rule all alone. So his uncle Richard理查德/ˈrɪtʃərd/, Edward IV's brother, offered to help.

That was the end of the twelve-year-old king's reign. Richard took over the throne and announced that he was now King Richard III国王理查德三世/kɪŋ ˈrɪtʃərd ðə θɜːrd/ of England. Young Edward V and his little brother mysteriously神秘地/mɪˈstɪriəsli/ disappeared消失/ˌdɪsəˈpɪrd/. The people of England murmured低语/ˈmɜːrmərd/ about Richard's cruelty残忍/ˈkruːəlti/. They whispered低声说/ˈwɪspərd/ that he had ordered his brother's two sons murdered谋杀/ˈmɜːrdərd/ so that he could take the throne.

They told stories故事/ˈstɔːriz/ about his wickedness邪恶/ˈwɪkədnəs/. According to one story, Richard was born with a full set of teeth牙齿/tiːθ/ and ate live frogs青蛙/frɔːɡz/ for fun! According to another, he had a withered枯萎的/ˈwɪðərd/ arm手臂/ɑːrm/ because Elizabeth Woodville, the young king's mother, had put a curse诅咒/kɜːrs/ on him.

Richard may have gotten his crown by wickedness, but he didn't keep it for long. Two years after he became king, another royal cousin, Henry Tudor亨利·都铎/ˈhenri ˈtuːdər/, gathered yet another army and challenged挑战/ˈtʃælɪndʒd/ Richard's claim声称/kleɪm/ to the throne.

In 1485, Richard marched his own soldiers out to meet Henry at a battleground战场/ˈbætəlɡraʊnd/ called Bosworth Field博斯沃思原野/ˈbɑːzwərθ fiːld/. Richard should have won the "Battle of Bosworth Field," because his army was twice as large as Henry's. But his soldiers didn't fight very hard. As a matter of fact, only a few hundred men were killed in the battle. The rest surrendered投降/səˈrendərd/!

When Richard's advisors saw that Henry was winning, they told Richard to run. But Richard refused. "I will not budge移动/bʌdʒ/ a foot!" he yelled. "I will die king of England!" And he did. He was killed in the battle, and the royal plume羽毛/pluːm/ on his helmet was lopped off砍掉/lɑːpt ɔːf/ and given to Henry Tudor. Henry put it on and announced that he was now the new king of England. The Wars of the Roses were finally over!

When Richard III理查德三世/ˈrɪtʃərd ðə θɜːrd/ died at the Battle of Bosworth Field, he left a mystery谜团/ˈmɪstəri/ behind him. Remember, at first Richard wasn't king. He was the regent摄政王/ˈriːdʒənt/ for his nephew, Edward V. But then Edward V and his little brother disappeared. What happened to these two boys? No one knew.

Here is the story of the two princes in the Tower塔/ˈtaʊər/. When Edward IV married Elizabeth Woodville (the woman his family didn't like), they had two sons. The elder boy was named Edward after his father. The younger boy was named Richard, after his uncle. The younger boy lived with his mother, the queen, in London, but little Edward lived in a quiet castle城堡/ˈkæsəl/ out in the country, with servants仆人/ˈsɜːrvənts/ and tutors家庭教师/ˈtuːtərz/ to look after him.

One of the queen's brothers lived with him as his governor管理者/ˈɡʌvərnər/. He made sure that Edward finished all his schoolwork作业/ˈskuːlwɜːrk/ and did as he was told.

When Edward IV died, his elder son was only twelve. Someone needed to help him rule England until he was old enough to be king on his own. Edward had left papers文件/ˈpeɪpərz/ making his brother Richard the Protector, or substitute king, for the little boy. But young Edward's mother and her brothers wanted to be the ones who helped the new king rule. So they didn't tell Richard, who was far away in the north of England, that Edward IV was dead. Instead, they planned to bring the little boy to London and have him crowned加冕/kraʊnd/ right away. Once young Edward was crowned king, he could choose his own helpers.

But one of Richard's friends saw what was happening and sent Richard a frantic疯狂的/ˈfræntɪk/ message. "Hasten to the capital首都/ˈkæpɪtəl/ with a strong force!" he wrote. "Avenge the insult侮辱/ɪnˈsʌlt/ done by your enemies! You should take the young king immediately under your protection保护/prəˈtekʃən/!"

As soon as Richard got this message, he set off for London himself with a band of soldiers. He met Edward, his servants, and his governor on their way to London for the young king's crowning. When Richard saw Edward, he knelt down跪下/nelt daʊn/ and bowed his head. But he also told his nephew, "Your mother and her brothers are trying to take over your kingdom. And if you allow them to rule for you, they might try to get rid of you. I fear for your life!"

Edward insisted坚持/ɪnˈsɪstəd/, "My mother and her brothers are innocent无辜的/ˈɪnəsənt/ of any wrongdoing!" but Richard and his soldiers disagreed. They locked Edward's governor in a nearby inn旅店/ɪn/ and arrested Edward's servants and soldiers. Then Richard put all his own soldiers in their place. And Richard sent a message to Edward's mother and her brothers, saying, "I haven't kidnapped绑架/ˈkɪdnæpt/ the king, my nephew. I have rescued拯救/ˈreskjuːd/ him. I am more worried about his welfare福祉/ˈwelfer/ than any of you."

"I will bring him to London very shortly so that he can be crowned." The queen and her brothers didn't believe Richard. They were sure that Richard would kill Edward and take the crown. But most people in London trusted Richard and refused to join the queen in fighting against him. So the queen took her younger son, Edward's little brother, and hid in a church教堂/tʃɜːrtʃ/ where she would be safe.

Meanwhile, Richard did just what he said he would do. He brought young Edward, now King Edward V, to London and rode with him through the streets while people cheered, "Long live the King!" He made all the important people of London swear allegiance忠诚/əˈliːdʒəns/ to Edward V.

But he still wouldn't allow the queen or her brothers to see Edward. And soon he suggested that Edward would be safer if he moved to the Tower of London伦敦塔/ˈtaʊər ʌv ˈlʌndən/. The Tower had been built hundreds of years before by William the Conqueror征服者威廉/ˈwɪljəm ðə ˈkɑːŋkərər/—as a jail! Since then, other kings had added walls and buildings to the Tower, so that it was a palace宫殿/ˈpæləs/ as well as a jail. Edward had his own apartment公寓/əˈpɑːrtmənt/ in the Tower, with his own servants and his own soldiers. But all of his servants and soldiers were chosen by Richard.

Next, Richard sent a whole band of armed men武装人员/ɑːrmd men/ to the church where the queen was staying. He ordered the queen to send Edward's little brother to the Tower of London to live with Edward. "Edward is lonely孤独的/ˈloʊnli/," the message said. "He has no one to play with."

The queen didn't want to send her youngest son to stay at the Tower. Then, Richard would have control控制/kənˈtroʊl/ over both of the heirs继承人/erz/ to the throne. But with all of those armed men surrounding her, she had no choice. So she sent the little boy out to his uncle. And Richard took his nephew to live in the Tower with his brother Edward.

The next day, Richard announced that Edward's coronation加冕典礼/ˌkɔːrəˈneɪʃən/ (the ceremony仪式/ˈserəmoʊni/ in which he would be crowned king) would be put off until later. A few days later, a famous priest牧师/priːst/ preached a sermon布道/ˈsɜːrmən/ saying that Richard, not Edward, should be king. And a few days after that, a group of noblemen贵族/ˈnoʊbəlmən/ gathered together and asked Richard to take the crown away from Edward for the good of England.

Many people suspected怀疑/səˈspektəd/ that Richard had ordered the priest and the noblemen to say these things. "The people who had loved him as Protector," one London man wrote in his journal日记/ˈdʒɜːrnəl/, "started to complain抱怨/kəmˈpleɪn/ about him when he made himself King." But most people didn't complain very loudly, especially after Richard ordered Edward's governor beheaded斩首/bɪˈhedəd/. No one wanted to be next.

Just a few weeks later, Richard rode to the Tower of London himself—for his own coronation. His supporters crowned him king. Now Richard, the king's uncle, was Richard III, king of England. But what about Edward and his younger brother? They were still living in the Tower. But fewer and fewer people were allowed to see them. Soon the people of London began to mutter嘀咕/ˈmʌtər/ that the princes had been killed. The rumors谣言/ˈruːmərz/ spread through England and even over to France.

But for the next two years, no one knew for sure where the princes were or what had happened to them. Then Henry Tudor invaded入侵/ɪnˈveɪdəd/ England, killed Richard at the Battle of Bosworth, and became king. When Henry arrived in London, he had the Tower searched搜查/sɜːrtʃt/—but there was no sign迹象/saɪn/ of the boys.

No one ever discovered发现/dɪˈskʌvərd/ what happened to the princes. Twenty-five years later, one of Richard's knights骑士/naɪts/ claimed that he had murdered the two boys—but he confessed承认/kənˈfest/ to avoid being tortured折磨/ˈtɔːrtʃərd/, so he might have made this story up. Two important historians历史学家/hɪˈstɔːriənz/ then wrote that Richard had ordered the boys killed. But both of those historians wanted to please Henry VII亨利七世/ˈhenri ðə ˈsevənθ/, who had replaced Richard on the throne, so they were anxious急切的/ˈæŋkʃəs/ to make Richard look as bad as possible.

Other historians later suggested that Henry VII did away with the boys when he had the Tower searched, so that he would have no trouble keeping his throne. Almost two hundred years later, workers工人/ˈwɜːrkərz/ were clearing away a clutter杂乱/ˈklʌtər/ of old buildings in the Tower of London when they found an old chest箱子/tʃest/, buried in the ground.

When they opened the chest, they found two skeletons骨架/ˈskelətənz/. Almost everyone agreed that these two skeletons were those of the Princes. But who killed them? We'll never know for sure, but one thing is certain确定的/ˈsɜːrtən/: In the late Middle Ages中世纪/ˈmɪdəl ˈeɪdʒəz/, being the heir to the throne was dangerous危险的/ˈdeɪndʒərəs/!