BBC英国史

To the medieval mind,there was nothing more serious than an oath,

在中世纪人看来 宣誓是最为庄重严肃的事

and the tapestry maker makes it clear that this was a religious act

而挂毯的制作者 让一位目击者手指"圣礼"字样

by having a witness point to the word "Sacramentum".

说明此行为的宗教性质

Harold's oath was indeed a kind of sacrament since it went right to the heart of the matter.

哈罗德的宣誓的确神圣 因为它直接关系到一个核心问题

What would happen to England after Edward died?

爱德华死后 英格兰将何去何从

Now the English said that Harold agreed to be William's man only in Normandy

现在英格兰人说 哈罗德只宣誓在诺曼底臣服于威廉

and that it had no bearing on the English succession.

此举与英格兰王位争夺毫不相关

The Norman chroniclers, though,said Harold had sworn to help William take the throne of England.

诺曼编年史上写的却是 哈罗德誓助威廉 拿下英格兰这片江山

The oath became even more binding when in a cheap theatrical trick

一个廉价而夸张的把戏 让这誓言看上去更具约束力

the cloth was whipped from the table over which Harold had sworn.

哈罗德宣誓用的桌子上的布落下

Underneath was revealed a reliquary containing the bones of a saint.

下面竟是一个圣骨箱 里面放着圣人的骨骸

Well, how much trouble was he in now?

他究竟惹上了多大的麻烦呢

Had Harold promised something he couldn't deliver,

哈罗德是许下了无法履行的诺言

or had he made no promises at all about the English crown?

亦或是只字未提英格兰王位的事呢

Norman chroniclers like to imagine the returning Harold

诺曼编年史认为归来的哈罗德

haunted by guilt, saying one thing but doing another.

为自己说一套做一套的行为万分愧疚

But in England anyway, there was no sign of a queasy conscience at all.

在英格兰 却毫无道德谴责一说

In fact, to get his hands on the crown,Harold now did something inconceivable for a Godwine,

事实上 为了得到王位 作为戈德温家人 哈罗德接下来的举动更令人咋舌

something which one day would have disastrous consequences.

并将在日后引发灾难性后果

He sold his own brother, Tostig, down the river.

他将亲弟弟托斯提戈扔进了河里

词汇解析

1、succession

一连串;一系列;连续

Adams took a succession of jobs which have stood him in good stead.

亚当斯连着做过几份让他颇为受益的工作。

Scoring three goals in quick succession, he made it 10-8.

在短短的时间内他连进三球，最终以 10 比 8 取胜。

继承;继任;继承权

She is now seventh in line of succession to the throne.

她目前是王位的第七顺位继承人。

2、contain

装有;容纳

The bag contained a Christmas card.

这个包里装着一张圣诞卡。

Factory shops contain a wide range of cheap furnishings.

工厂车间里陈设着种类繁多的廉价家具。

(著作、讲话或电影中)包括，包含

This sheet contained a list of problems a patient might like to raise with the doctor.

这张单子列出了病人可能会向医生提出的一系列问题。

The two discs also contain two of Britten's lesser-known song-cycles.

这两张唱片还包含了布里顿两首不甚知名的声乐套曲。

控制;遏制;防止…蔓延

More than a hundred firemen are still trying to contain the fire at the plant.

上百名消防队员仍在试图控制工厂的火势。

The city authorities said the curfew had contained the violence.

市政府称宵禁遏制住了暴力事件。