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The unsentimental, decisive way with things was the Norman way,
這種理性而果斷的處事方式 正是諾曼人的風格
giving a hard-nosed edge to the fuzzy tangles of contracts and customs
與這種重視實際的風格形成鮮明對比的是
that had been used by the Anglo-Saxons.
盎格魯撒克遜拖泥帶水的風俗和契
And it was in this spirit that William,in 1085, held court in Gloucester
也正是本著這種精神 1085年 威廉在格洛斯特舉行受覲禮
and launched arguably the most extraordinary campaign of his entire reign,a campaign for information.
并發動了一場他在位期間 飽受爭議卻也最為非凡的一場運動 信息運動
We tend to think of William as more or less permanently in the saddle.
我們傾向于認為威廉 幾乎從未放下過手中的權力
He grew up in a world, after all,where authority was usually delivered on the blade of a sword.
畢竟 他在一個 以武力爭奪權力的世界里長大成人
So it's all the more impressive that he seems to have understood instinctively that information could also be power.
因而更為人所欽佩的是 他似乎天生就知道 信息也是一種力量
William the Conqueror was the first database king.
征服者威廉是第一位掌握海量信息的國王
His immediate need was to raise a tax,
他的直接目的是提高賦稅
but the compilation of the Domesday Book was more than just a glorified audit.
但是《末日審判書》的編撰 并非美化了的統計報告那么簡單
It was a complete inventory of everything in the kingdom,shire by shire, pig by pig;
它完整記錄了國家的每一樣東西 逐郡審查 連一頭豬都不放過
who had owned what before the coming of the Normans and who owned what now;
每家每戶在諾曼征服前 財產多少 現在又擁有多少
how much it had been worth then and how much now.
那時價值幾何 現在又幾何
The king sent his men all over England, into every shire,
國王派人至英格蘭全境 深入到每一個郡
to find out how many hundred hides there were in each shire,
讓他們統計出 每郡面積幾何
what land and cattle the king himself had in the county.
國王在每個郡擁有多少王田和家畜
So very narrowly did he have it investigated there was no single hide nor shame to relate it,
他的調查極為嚴格細致 既不敢藏匿也不會因丟臉而恥于記錄
but it seemed no shame to him was there one ox or one cow left out and not put down in record.
或說對他來講不會恥于記錄 是不是有一頭牛 沒有被記錄下來
