6.When the Anglo-Saxons settled in Britain，they were the slaves of a gross and absurd idolatry，which prevailed among all the northern tribes of Europe.
They dedicated each day of the week to a particular deity；and we still name theadaysafter their fashion.
7.Though Christianity had been introduced into Britain before the time of Augustine，it was not till he and his followers landed in Kent that the heathenism of the English was overthrown.The priests spent their leisure in the practice of many arts.Painting on glass and working in metals were favourite employments of even the highest churchmen；and not a few churches owed their bells and their coloured windows to the monks of this age.The monasteries were almost the only seats of learning.
中文阅读
1.在日常生活方面，即使是最上层的盎格鲁-撒克逊人也处于半野蛮半开化的状态。只要没有打仗，他们便每天钓鱼，带上猎狗或猎鹰到处打猎；一天的劳作结束之后，全家人，包括主人和仆人，都在一个大房间里聚集用餐。房间里有一个突起的土台，上面放着一张粗木桌，屋顶中央是用一块布做成的遮幕，用以遮风挡雨，因为天花板常常既漏风又漏雨；一家人长少咸集，主宾皆至，一起围坐在桌子旁边。
2.桌旁有奴仆随时伺候着，他们全都跪在地上，小心翼翼地把烤肉叉上的烤肉提供给每一位宾客，这些首领们再用小刀把肉切到自己盘子里。食物几乎全是猪肉，另外还有少许野味和鱼，还有些杂七杂八的粗制糕点和豆类。当时最流行的饮料是蜂蜜酒，一种用蜂蜜酿制而成的低度酒，像粮食酒、牛羊肉、小麦面包这些珍馐佳肴只有国王才能享受。
3.要等首领吃完，随从人员才开始吃，烤肉将按顺序向下分发，身份最低的奴仆与猎狗、猎鹰一起哄抢他们吃剩下的残羹冷炙。
4.东西吃完，大家才敞开肚皮喝酒，喝到东倒西歪为止。为了增加兴致并消磨时间，大家还会饶有兴趣地欣赏一会儿撒克逊独有的五弦竖琴，每一个人都要轮流和着音乐的节拍唱诗。这种带点文艺范儿的音乐消遣为粗犷的场面融入了仅有的风雅，a Name the days.-Sun daeg （Sunday）and moon daeg （Monday）were set apart for the worship of the great lights of heaven；Tuiscaes daeg （Tuesday），Wodenes daeg （Wednesday），Thores daeg （Thursday），and Freyaes daeg （Friday）were sacred to Tuisca，Woden，Thor，and Freya；while Saeteres daeg （Saturday）was devoted to the service of Saetere，a water-god.
不过没多久，优美的琴声就会淹没在醉汉们发酒疯的嚷嚷声中，打架也是家常便饭，最后等大家都呼呼睡去，一切才回归平静。他们就在刚才的饭厅席地而卧，垫着麦秆或者灯芯草，盖上衣服，很快就鼾声如雷了。
5.女人们则要安静许多，而且都有正事干，她们会拿起针线认认真真地缝补。她们还要织麻布和缝制羊毛衣物，她们男主人从里到外穿的衣服全都指望她们，正是她们的一针一线才让人们有衣可穿。
6.当盎格鲁-撒克逊人初入不列颠时，他们还是一帮不可理喻的异教徒，当时北欧许多部落也跟他们一样信仰着一种多神异教。一周七天，他们每天都会敬拜不同的神，而且这一风俗一直流传至今，我们如今对星期几的命名a就是来源于此。
7.尽管基督教在奥古斯丁时代前就已传入不列颠，但直到他的追随者登陆肯特，英格兰的异教历史才宣告结束。在空闲时间，牧师们都会搞点与艺术沾边的事。即使最高教廷的教职人员也都流行做一些玻璃画、金属工艺等事务，现在不少教堂的大钟和五颜六色的窗花就归功于那个时代修道士们。修道院几乎是当时唯一能够进修学业的启蒙之地。
a 对星期几的命名：太阳日（星期日Sunday）和月亮日（星期一Monday）指称上天的光明；星期二（Tuesday）、星期三（Wednesday）、星期四（Thursday）、星期五（Friday）分别对应Tuiscaes、Wodenes、Thores、Freyaes四位神，星期六（Saturday）则是纪念Saetere这位水神。
THE NORMAN LINE
诺曼王朝
29
WILLIAM I.-THE CONQUEROR
征服者威廉一世
1066to 1087A.D.-21years（公元1066~1087年，在位21年）account，a statement；description.
embraced，took in.
laying waste，destroying the houses and crops of.
rebellion，civil war.
reckless，careless.
siege，attack on a fortress.
signal，notice；sign.
tyrant，monarch who ruled by his own will.
1.William，after the Battle of Hastings，marched to London；and was crowned there on Christmasday，1066.With him the Norman line begins.He promised to rule according to the English laws，and was at first just and merciful：but his new subjects gave him much trouble by forming plots against his life；and once，when he was in Normandy，they fixed on a day for destroying all the Normans in the country，as ？thelred had destroyed the Danes.
2.But William soon returned；and，when he heard of it，he began to act like a cruel tyrant，burning houses and killing people，and laying waste whole counties.Taking away the rich estates of the English，he gave them to his Norman followers；who promised，in return，to serve him in time of war.Thus began in England the Feudal System，or the custom of holding land by giving service in war，instead of by paying rent in money.
3.Three chief events of his reign were these：-The DomesdaybBook waswritten，the Curfew
Bell was brought in，and the New Forest was made.TheDomesday Book contained an account of every estate in England，with thea Domesday.-That is，Judgmentday，or Law-day.Alfred the Great made a collection of dooms；that is，laws.
b Curfew.-From French words meaning “cover fire”.The English thought this law or custom a mark ofdegradation.
name of its owner；and an account of the ploughed land，as well as of the rivers，forests，and lakes which it contained.
4.The Curfew was a bell which was rung in every parish at eight o’clock at night，as a signal for the peopleto put out their lights and fires.The New Forest embraced all Hampshire，from Winchester to the sea.Here William destroyed sixty villages，and drove out all the inhabitants，in order to make it a fit place for hunting deer！
5.The Conqueror had four sons，Robert，Richard，William，and Henry.Robert raised a rebellion in France against his father.Duringthe siege of a castle，father and sonCOMBAT BETWEEN WILLIAM AND HIS SON.
met in single combat；for both being covered with armour，they did not know each other.Robert knocked his father off his horse，and would have killed him；but at that moment he saw his face.He was so shocked that he fell down before his father，and asked his pardon.
6.Some years after this，King William was besieging a town in France，when his horse，treading on some hot ashes，began to plunge.The King，who had become very fat and heavy，was bruised on the saddle，and this caused his death.He left the crown of England to his second living son，William，and that of Normandy to Robert.
7.William was a daring soldier and an able ruler；but he was cruel and reckless in the means he used to gain his ends.
中文阅读
1.黑斯廷斯之战完毕以后，威廉挥师进入伦敦，于公元1066年的圣诞节加冕为王，诺曼王朝从此开始。威廉宣称将按照英格兰的固有法律治理国家，并首重公道与仁德，但他治下之民也不安分，制定了很多阴谋诡计来反对他。有一次，当他在诺曼底的时候，这些人甚至密谋在某一天把全国所有诺曼人赶尽杀绝，就像当年埃瑟尔里德屠杀丹麦人那样。
2.不过幸好威廉很快就赶回来了，当他听见这个阴谋后，立即大发雷霆，并且杀人放火，大开杀戒，几乎将全国毁尽。他将全英国的宝贵财产全部卷走，分给了追随他的诺曼人。作为回馈，这些人承诺在他面临战争之时，将出兵相助。因此从公元1072年开始，封建制度正式在英国建立。从此之后，领主持有土地以派兵出战为条件，不再以地租形式付徭役。
3.在威廉当政时期，有三件大事：完成《英国土地志》a的编撰、实行“宵禁制度b”、修建“新森林公园”。《英国土地志》成书于公元1086年，记录了全英国几乎所有的资源财产，并且标注了这些资产的各自持有者；还有耕地的数目，以及河流、森林、湖泊的分布也都全部写在书中。
