纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 061刘易斯棋子（6）

 

Around 1200, the Isle¹ of Lewis, on the north-west edge of what's now Scotland, was at the heart of the Norse world. It was part of the kingdom of Norway. The language was Norwegian, and its archbishop had his cathedral in Trondheim, 250 miles north of Oslo. Trondheim was one of the great centres for carving² walrus³ ivory, and the style of the Lewis Chessmen is very close to pieces made there. We know that similar chess pieces have also been found in Ireland, and Lewis was a staging post on the thriving sea route between Trondheim and Dublin. Here's medieval historian Miri Rubin:

"I personally believe that they come from Norway, and I personally believe they probably came from somewhere around Trondheim, it looks like so much that's produced there. But the thing is, if we think of Great Britain not as - as it is now - very much connected to the central and southern European sphere, but if we think of the North Sea as a sort of "connector" of regions, there is that whole North Sea region ... that's where the Vikings came from, that's where the predecessors⁴ of the Normans who ultimately conquered England came from. So if we think of that as a sort of commonwealth⁵, a northern commonwealth, that traded in those ... and that became rich because it had these ... amazing raw materials of wood, and amber⁶, and fur, and metals, then we can imagine better how something produced in Norway can end up on the west end of Scotland."

领地，它作为北欧世界的核心，使用挪威语，大主教的教堂位于特隆赫姆，奥斯陆以北二百五十英里。特隆赫姆曾是海象牙雕刻制作中心，刘易斯棋子的风格与产自这里的其他作品很接近。我们了解到，在爱尔兰也曾发现过类似棋子，而刘易斯也是特隆赫姆和都柏林之间兴旺的海洋贸易线上的中转站。中世纪历史学教授米尔·罗宾如是说：

我相信它来自挪威，很可能产于特隆赫姆附近，因为它与当地的同类物品风格酷似。但我们也要考虑到，当时的大不列颠与中欧、北欧之间的往来并不像今日这么频繁，那么作为各地区间纽带的，（与其说是北海，）不如说是整个北海地区。

那里是维京人的老家，是最终征服了欧洲的诺曼人的祖籍。因此，如果我们假定它是一个联邦，一个因其惊人的森林、琥珀、皮毛和金属资源而富有的北方联邦，我们就不难理解为什么挪威产的东西最终会来到苏格兰西海岸了。

 

1 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

2 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

3 walrus   

n.海象

参考例句：

• He is the queer old duck with the knee-length gaiters and walrus mustache.他穿着高及膝盖的皮护腿，留着海象般的八字胡，真是个古怪的老家伙。
• He seemed hardly to notice the big walrus.他几乎没有注意到那只大海象。

4 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

6 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。