纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 053洛泰尔一世水晶雕刻（5）

"We know almost nothing about the court of Lothair II simply because most of our sources devoted¹ to him are in two particular categories. One—narrative sources describing the vulnerability of his own little kingdom in the middle of the west and the east Frankish kingdoms, where his uncles, Charles the Bald on the west and Louis the German on the east, were in fact casting their greedy eyes upon his kingdom with the hope of taking it. The other category of information is much more pertinent² to this crystal, in that it is concerning the attempts Lothair II made to get rid of his wife Theutberga. He appears to have married her very soon after he inherited the throne, even though he had a long-standing mistress called Waldrada, from whom he had two children, a son and a daughter. When he married Theutberga she had no children, and she continued to bear no children, and Lothair appears to have decided³ Waldrada would be a better bet. So he recruited his two bishops⁴, of Cologne and Trier, to have the marriage annulled⁵, on the grounds of incest with Theutberga's brother."

原因在于现有的与他相关的资料基本只有两类。一类引用各项记录描述他那夹在东西法兰克王国之间的小国的脆弱，他的两位叔叔，西边的秃头查理和东边的日耳曼人路易，都对他的江山虎视眈眈。另一类则跟这块水晶关系更密切，着重描述了国王为摆脱妻子塞勃格而作的努力。他似乎是在继承王位不久之后便迎娶了塞勃格，但之前早巳有个名叫沃尔德华达的情妇，还为他生有一子一女。而塞勃格一直没有给他添子嗣。洛泰尔似乎断定沃尔德华达才是较好的选择。他找来科隆和特里尔的两位主教，要他们以王后与她的兄弟乱伦为由宣布解除他们的婚姻关系。

Lothair's bid to divorce his wife and marry his mistress was no self-indulgent whim⁶; he needed to have a legitimate⁷ heir. It was his only chance to preserve his inheritance and his kingdom. But royal divorce, then as now, was political dynamite⁸.

洛泰尔试图废后再迎娶情妇的行为并非完全出于一己私欲：他需要一位合法继承人，这是他保留继承权与王国的唯一机会。但王室的离婚件，不论今时还是往日，都是政治上的一颗重磅炸弹。

The bishops of Cologne and Trier had actually obtained confessions⁹ from the Queen—possibly through torture—that she had committed incest with her brother, but Theutberga appealed to the Pope, who investigated the case and declared her innocent.

科隆和特里尔的主教其实已经拿到了王后供认与兄弟乱伦的证词，这可能是屈打成招的结果。但塞勃格又向教皇上诉，后者通过调査宣布她是清白的。

1 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

2 pertinent   

adj.恰当的；贴切的；中肯的；有关的；相干的

参考例句：

• The expert made some pertinent comments on the scheme.那专家对规划提出了一些中肯的意见。
• These should guide him to pertinent questions for further study.这些将有助于他进一步研究有关问题。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

5 annulled   

v.宣告无效( annul的过去式和过去分词 )；取消；使消失；抹去

参考例句：

• Their marriage was annulled after just six months. 他们的婚姻仅过半年就宣告取消。
• Many laws made by the former regime have been annulled. 前政权制定的许多法律被宣布无效。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

7 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

8 dynamite   

n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破)

参考例句：

• The workmen detonated the dynamite.工人们把炸药引爆了。
• The philosopher was still political dynamite.那位哲学家仍旧是政治上的爆炸性人物。

9 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》