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While the plague took, it could also give.
瘟疫尽管有夺 但也有予
In the first year of the Black Death,John Crudchate, who is a minor,
在黑死病的第一年 约翰·克鲁切特 一个小孩
became an orphan, but an orphan with assets,because he could now inherit the lots left to him by his father and another relative.
成为了孤儿 但却是个有钱的孤儿 因为他可以继承他父亲和另一个亲戚 给他留下的财产
This must have been the making of a small but serious village fortune.
瘟疫使得零散的农村资源开始整合
In another place in the rolls, we learn that the harvest had become twice as expensive to gather in.
在卷宗中提到的另一个地方 可以看到 为获丰收 需投入的成本整整提高了一倍
Twelve pence, written in Roman numerals, per acre,because, the rolls say,of the plague and the scarcity of labour.
每英亩需十二便士 那是用罗马数字写的 按照卷宗中所说 这是因为瘟疫和劳动力缺乏
Workers, it seems, were thin on the ground and were beginning to charge accordingly.
看起来 市面上的工人越来越少 要价自然也就水涨船高
Farnham's story could be repeated all through Britain.
法纳姆的故事在英国随处可见
The countryside after the Black Death was an irreversibly altered world.
黑死病后的农村 发生了永久性的改变
For one thing, there were no more serfs.
其中之一就是 再也没有农奴了
For centuries, being a serf meant being tied by custom and by birth to your local lord.
几个世纪以来 成为农奴意味着 你在道义和血统上都依附于你的领主
He gave you a tiny spot of land on which you could farm,and in return, you put in hours of grinding toil,unpaid, on his very big farm.
他给你一块小得可怜的土地让你耕种 而作为回报 你得在他的大农场中 无偿地做苦力
There were other ways, too, in which you were not free.
生活的方方面面 你都没有自由
You had to ask his permission to marry,and you were not, repeat not, ever to leave.until, that is, the Black Death.
得到领主的允许才能结婚 而且你永远永远不得离开 直到 黑死病的降临
