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As far as we know, Medieval England was never invaded by ice zombies, or terrorized by dragons, but it was shaken by a power struggle between two noble families spanning generations and involving a massive cast of characters with complex motives and shifting loyalties.
就我們所知，中世紀的英國不是被冰僵尸入侵，也不是受到惡龍的威脅，而是因兩個貴族家庭之間的權力斗爭而動搖。這場斗爭世世代代持續，牽連眾多人物，有的動機復雜、有的見風使舵。
If that sounds familiar, it's because the historical conflicts known as the Wars of the Roses served as the basis for much of the drama in Game of Thrones.
如果那些話你聽著耳熟，是因為電視劇《權力的游戲》的大部分背景都取材于剛才提及的歷史斗爭——“玫瑰戰爭”。
The real-life seeds of war were sewn by the death of King Edward III in 1377.
戰爭的起因是1377年愛德華三世的逝世。
Edward's oldest son had died before his father, but his ten-year-old son, Richard II, succeeded to the throne ahead of Edward's three surviving sons.
愛德華的長子死在他之前，但他十歲的兒子——理查二世，越過愛德華的其他三個兒子，繼承了王位。
This skipping of an entire generation left lingering claims to the throne among their various offspring, particularly the Lancasters, descended from Edward's third son, and the Yorks, descended from his fourth son.
由于略過了一代人的關系，這三位兒子的后代一直糾纏王位繼承的問題。以三兒子的后代蘭卡斯特一族和四兒子的后代約克一族爭論最激烈。
The name of the ensuing wars comes from the symbols associated with the two families, the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster.
“玫瑰戰爭”的名字和兩個家族的家徽有關。白玫瑰代表約克一族；紅玫瑰則是蘭卡斯特一族。
The Lancasters first gained the throne when Richard II was deposed by his cousin Henry IV in 1399.
1399年，亨利四世罷免理查二世，蘭卡斯特一族首先奪得王位。
Despite sporadic unrest, their reign remained secure until 1422, when Henry V's death in a military campaign left an infant Henry VI as king.
盡管社會偶有騷動，但蘭卡斯特一族的統治一直持續到1422年，當時亨利五世于軍營病逝，留下了幼小的亨利六世繼承王位。
Weak-willed and dominated by advisors, Henry was eventually convinced to marry Margaret of Anjou to gain French support.
亨利六世意志軟弱，同時受到臣子們的蠱惑，最終被說服迎娶安茹的瑪格麗特以換取法國的支持。
Margaret was beautiful, ambitious, and ruthless in persecuting any threat to her power, and she distrusted Richard of York, most of all.
瑪格麗特既美麗又有野心、她冷酷地對待任何威脅到她的權力的人，其中她特別不信任約克一族的理查。
York had been the King's close advisor and loyal General, but was increasingly sidelined by the Queen, who promoted her favorite supporters, like the Earls of Suffolk and Somerset.
約克一族世世代代是國王的近臣和忠誠的將軍，但皇后漸漸提拔她的支持者，如薩福克伯爵和森密實伯爵，架空了約克一族。
York's criticism of their inept handling of the war against France led to his exclusion from court and transfer to Ireland.
約克對他們在法國戰爭中無能的批評導致他被排除在朝廷之外，并被流放到愛爾蘭。
Meanwhile, mounting military failures, and corrupt rule by Margaret and her allies caused widespread discontent, and in the midst of this chaos, Richard of York returned with an army to arrest Somerset and reform the court.
同時，戰場上接二連三的失敗和瑪格麗特與她同黨們的迂腐管治，引起了社會廣泛的不滿。在這一片混亂中，理查·約克帶領軍隊回歸，捉拿森密實伯爵，重組議會。
Initially unsuccessful, he soon got his chance when he was appointed Protector of the Realm after Henry suffered a mental breakdown.
盡管一開始并不成功，但理查很快便發現了他的機會，在亨利六世的一次精神崩潰時，他被任命為護國將軍。
However, less than a year later, Henry suddendly recovered and the Queen convinced him to reverse York's reforms.
然而，不到一年，亨利六世突然康復，同時瑪格麗特說服他推翻理查·約克的改革。
York fled and raised an army once more.
理查逃亡，再次組織軍隊。
Though he was unable to directly seize the throne, he managed to be reinstated as Protector and have himself and his heirs designated to succeed Henry.
雖然他沒法直接奪取王位，但他再次成功地成為護國將軍，自己和后代亦成為亨利六世的繼承者。
