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Chapter 30
第三十章
The Norsemen
北歐人
Why the people of the tenth century prayed the lord to protect them from the fury of the Norsemen
為什么10世紀的人們會祈禱上帝保護他們免遭北歐人怒火的侵害
In the third and fourth centuries, the Germanic tribes of central Europe had broken through the defences of the Empire that they might plunder Rome and live on the fat of the land. In the eighth century it became the turn of the Germans to be the "plundered-ones." They did not like this at all, even if their enemies were their first cousins, the Norsemen, who lived in Denmark and Sweden and Norway.
在公元3世紀和4世紀，中歐的日爾曼部落常常突破羅馬帝國的邊疆防御，長驅直入去劫掠羅馬，靠搶奪當地的民脂民膏為生。到公元8世紀，報應終于到來，輪到日爾曼人自己成為"被劫掠"的對象了。他們對這種情形深惡痛絕，可強盜正是他們近親表兄，即那些居住在丹麥、挪威和瑞典的斯堪的納維亞人。
What forced these hardy sailors to turn pirate we do not know, but once they had discovered the advantages and pleasures of a buccaneering career there was no one who could stop them. They would suddenly descend upon a peaceful Frankish or Frisian village, situated on the mouth of a river. They would kill all the men and steal all the women. Then they would sail away in their fast-sailing ships and when the soldiers of the king or emperor arrived upon the scene, the robbers were gone and nothing remained but a few smouldering ruins.
至于是什么原因驅使這些勤苦耐勞的水手去從事海盜生涯的，我們目前還搞不清楚。不過當這些北歐人嘗到了搶劫的甜頭和海盜生活自由 自在的樂趣，就再沒人能阻止他們。他們常常突然登陸某個坐落在河口附近的法蘭克人或弗里西亞人的小村莊，像從天而降的瘟疫，打破小村子的和平安寧。他們殺光所有男人，掠走全部婦女，然后駕著他們的快船風馳而去。當國工或皇帝陛下的大隊人馬趕到現場時，強盜們早已遠走高飛，只剩下了一堆冒著煙的廢墟。
During the days of disorder which followed the death of Charlemagne, the Northmen developed great activity. Their fleets made raids upon every country and their sailors established small independent kingdoms along the coast of Holland and France and England and Germany, and they even found their way into Italy.
在查理曼大帝去世后的混亂歲月里，北歐海盜活動頻繁，其行徑更加大膽猖撅。他們的海盜船隊光顧了歐洲所有的濱海國家，他們的水手沿荷蘭、法蘭西、英格蘭及德國的海岸，建立起一系列獨立小國。他們甚至遠航到意大利碰運氣。
