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When they emerged from the vivats and incense,
在欢呼喝彩 袅袅焚香中
they were the french-speaking sovereigns of an enormous realm
来自法语区的他们接管了幅员辽阔的帝国
which stretched from the Pyrenees through to the vineyards of Gascony,
自庇里牛斯山起 到加斯科尼的葡萄园
along the cod-fish run coastal waters of Brittany,
沿着鳕鱼丰富的布列塔尼海域
over the Channel to England, along the length and breadth of the country to the Welsh borders and the windy moors of Cumbria and Northumbria.
跨过海峡直达英格兰 顺着整个威尔士边界 越过广袤乡村 止于坎布里亚和诺森布里亚 多风的原野
And it was a perfect time to come into this colossal inheritance.
继承如此庞大的财富 任谁都会欢欣喜悦
For the mid-12th century really was the springtime of the middle ages.
而十二世纪中叶 确实是中世纪的春天
Literacy and learning were spreading from the cathedral schools in Paris and Canterbury.
文化的风潮始于巴黎 及坎特伯雷的教堂学校 迅速席卷开来
Monasteries were being founded at a record pace,
修道院如雨后春笋般建立起来
and although they were supposed to be purged of worldliness,
尽管它们应该是远离世俗的清静之地
before long they were the engines of economic power,Producers of wool, master of the mills and rivers.
而在很久以前 它们却是国家经济的带动者 羊毛的生产者 磨坊与河流的所有者
So if this was indeed springtime, Henry and Eleanor had just got themselves the fattest and the ripest fruit.
在那个春光明媚的时代 亨利和埃莉诺 刚刚摘得了最为成熟饱满的果实
It's unlikely they ever thought of it as a true empire in the Roman sense of a single realm.
他们并没有如同罗马统治者那样 视其为绝对统一的帝国
Its many regions were treated separately,according to their customs.
根据各地的习俗 很多地方也受到区别对待
While Westminster was increasingly at the heart of administration,
当威斯敏斯特逐渐地 成为权力机构的中心
Rouen in Normandy, Chinon in Anjou and Poitiers in Aquitaine were just as important.
诺曼底的鲁昂 安茹的希侬 阿基坦的普瓦捷也还是同样重要
It was rather the greatest and grandest family estate in all christendom.
这些不过是基督教国家中 最雄厚无匹的家族财产罢了
That surely was enough to be going on with.
当然也就足以应付一时
