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Robert had written a remarkable letter.
羅伯特寫了一封出色的信
The Scots would come, he said,Not as an invader but as liberators, for.
信中寫道 蘇格蘭人將遠道而來 我們不是入侵者 而是解放者 為了
Our people and your people, free in times past,
爾族人民與吾族人民 曾共享自由
share the same national ancestry and common custom.
源起一脈 民俗等同
The rhetoric was stirring and it found resonance with the native Irish.
信中的豪言壯語讓人激動 引發了本土愛爾蘭人的強烈共鳴
For nearly a century and a half,There had been an entrenched English colony in north and eastern Ireland,
在大約一個半世紀的時間里 英格蘭在愛爾蘭北部和東部 建立了根深蒂固的殖民統治
often safe only in castles like Carrickfergus,which Edward Bruce now besieged for a year.
如卡里弗格斯城堡這樣安全的地方 也被愛德華·布魯斯圍攻了一年之久
But the timing was unfortunate,For 1315 also saw the worst famine in living memory.
但時逢天災人禍 1315年 有史以來最嚴重的大饑荒爆發
Very soon, Edward Bruce's army became indistinguishable from any other disorderly gang of knights.
很快 愛德華·布魯斯的軍隊就和 其它橫征暴斂的騎士們一樣了
Using force to extract the provisions they desperately needed for their men and animals.
使用武力來奪取民眾 為人畜所準備的救命糧食
And not choosing to distinguish with any care between Gaelic friends and English foes.
他們見人就搶 不管你是盟友蓋爾人 還是仇敵英格蘭人
Famished and desperate,The Scots soldiers took what they needed from the Irish villagers
饑餓與絕望 蘇格蘭士兵從愛爾蘭村落掠奪所需物資
And finally resorted, so it was said,to digging up fresh graves.And eating the decayed bodies.
據說 到最后 他們挖開新下葬的墳墓 食用腐爛的尸體
Month by month, the Bruce's war of liberation turned into something remarkably like an occupation.
月復一月 布魯斯的解放戰爭 淪落得和侵略戰爭別無二致
