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Good morning, class. Today we are going to start a big unit on government.
同學(xué)們大家早上好。今天我們要開始學(xué)習(xí)一個(gè)全新的單元，這個(gè)單元講的是政府。
Before the rise of the nation-state and absolute monarchies, Europe went through a period known as feudalism.
在單一民族國家和君主專制政體出現(xiàn)之前，歐洲經(jīng)歷了一段封建社會(huì)時(shí)期。
Like our concept of democracy, feudalism had many forms and varied by location and time period.
和我們熟知的民主的概念類似，封建主義同樣在不同時(shí)期、不同地區(qū)以多種形式存在。
Let's see, feudalism originated by mixing Roman law with Germanic tradition.
我們來看一下，西歐封建制度最初是通過羅馬封建制度和日耳曼社會(huì)傳統(tǒng)融合而形成的。
The Germanic warriors that lived about 3,000 years ago had a tradition of electing a supreme warrior as leader.
生活在3000年前的日耳曼戰(zhàn)士的傳統(tǒng)是將他們當(dāng)中最強(qiáng)的戰(zhàn)士選為領(lǐng)袖。
After battles, he would collect all of the spoils and distribute them fairly among all the warriors.
戰(zhàn)爭結(jié)束后，這位領(lǐng)袖會(huì)收集所有的戰(zhàn)利品并將其平均分發(fā)給所有的戰(zhàn)士。
The term feudalism is defined by three principle terms: They are lords, vassals, and fiefs.
封建制度是由三個(gè)基本的名詞來定義的：封建領(lǐng)主、封臣和封地。
Okay, a lord, in feudalism, is a person that owns land. He temporarily gives this land to another person, called a vassal.
好的，封建領(lǐng)主是擁有土地的人。他把自己的土地暫時(shí)性地交給另外一個(gè)人，即封臣。
The vassal enters this contract so he may gain the land. Land sizes varied, from the size of a small farm, to huge counties.
封臣接受這樣的契約關(guān)系以期獲得封地。封地面積大小不一，小到一個(gè)小型農(nóng)場，大到囊括幾個(gè)郡。
The vassal gained the revenues generated by the land, usually in the form of farming products.
封臣的收入通常是他們封地中收獲的農(nóng)產(chǎn)品。
What did the lord get? At this time, there were no standing armies. There were no professional soldiers. The vassal swore allegiance to the lord.
那領(lǐng)主能得到什么呢？在這個(gè)時(shí)期，沒有常備軍隊(duì)。沒有職業(yè)軍人。封臣發(fā)誓效忠領(lǐng)主。
In times of trouble, the lord could call upon the vassal to fight for the lord. This guaranteed the security of the lord.
戰(zhàn)亂時(shí)期，領(lǐng)主可以召集封臣為其赴戰(zhàn)。這樣領(lǐng)主的安全便有了保障。
Other details were often included in feudal deals.
封建契約中還包括一些其他細(xì)節(jié)。
For example, since the lord still owned the land and merely lent the land to the vassal, the lord still had to maintain the land and defend it.
比如，由于領(lǐng)主只是將土地借給封臣，他們?nèi)哉莆罩恋氐乃袡?quán)，因此他們?nèi)孕杈S護(hù)這些土地。
The vassal, many times, would be required to grind his wheat and bake his bread in the ovens and mills owned by the lord, who then could collect taxes.
多數(shù)情況下，封臣需要在領(lǐng)主的磨坊磨小麥、用領(lǐng)主的烤箱烤面包，這樣領(lǐng)主就可以對他們征稅。
Umm, oh, yes, the vassals also acted as counselors to the lord.
哦，還有，封臣們還擔(dān)任這領(lǐng)主顧問的角色。
During times of crisis, the lords would often hold meetings, calling together all the vassals to help them decide major decisions, such as to go to war or not.
危機(jī)時(shí)刻，領(lǐng)主會(huì)召集會(huì)議，聚集封臣幫助其作出決定，比如是否要開戰(zhàn)的決定。
Ah, lastly, feudalism had many levels.
啊，最后，封建制度中存在著很多等級(jí)。
What I mean is, a king could be a lord, giving aristocrats large lands, who then became his vassals.
我的意思是，國王可以是領(lǐng)主，將大量土地分封給貴族，貴族便成為了他們的封臣。
Those aristocrats were lords themselves, dividing up their land to lesser vassals.
貴族本身又是領(lǐng)主，將自己的封地分給低一級(jí)的封臣。
The top of this hierarchy was the emperor, who was the lord to his vassal kings.
這個(gè)等級(jí)制度的最頂端是君主，他是封臣們領(lǐng)主的領(lǐng)主。
Feudalism declined when lords became strong enough to maintain a standing army and did not require the services of their vassals.
領(lǐng)主的實(shí)力逐漸壯大，足以維持常備軍隊(duì)，不再需要封臣的服務(wù)，這時(shí)封建制度就沒落了。
Question 16. What are the three terms that define feudalism?
問題16 定義封建制度的三個(gè)名詞是什么？
Question 17. What is a lord in feudalism?
問題17 封建制度中領(lǐng)主是什么？
Question 18. During times of crisis, what would the lords do?
問題18 危機(jī)時(shí)刻，領(lǐng)主會(huì)怎么做？
Question 19. Who is at the top of the hierarchy in feudalism?
問題19 封建等級(jí)制度的頂端是誰？
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