维京史话（2012）

York.
约克
Founded by the Romans,
罗马人建造的城市
by the 9th century AD,
落成于公元九世纪
this was one of the great Christian cities of Anglo-Saxon England.
这里曾经是盎格鲁-撒克逊人最大的基♥督♥教城市之一
But York had a shock coming.
然而约克受到过一次巨大的震荡
Because in 866 AD, an entire army arrived here,
公元八六六年，一支军队占领了此地
turned the place Viking
使这里变成维京人的领地
and called it Jorvik.
并把城市更名为"约维克"
This city, and half of England besides,
这座城市，连同半个英格兰
became part of Scandinavia.
都成为了斯堪的纳维亚的一部分
'Today, even over 1,000 years later,
甚至直到一千多年后的今天
'the image of the marauding Viking warrior is as strong as ever...'
劫掠成性的维京战士给人的印象仍然是勇猛嗜杀...
Thank you. '..especially up here.'
...尤其是在此地
What we know, or think we know, about the Vikings
我们所知的或者说是我们自以为知道的维京人
is much more myth than reality.
其实远比现实中的维京人神秘
Even the famed horned helmets are a modern invention.
甚至连著名的牛角头盔也是后世所虚构的
So, just who WERE the Vikings?
那么维京人到底是些什么样的人呢?
'I'm going to find out the truth about the Vikings...
我试图去揭开维京人的真♥相♥...
'..leaving Britain behind to enter their land
离开英伦进入他们的领地
'and their own mysterious world.'
和他们独有的神秘世界
Even now, this place feels like it's on the edge of everything.
时至今日，这里还象是世界的边缘
'It's going to take me all over Scandinavia...'
这次旅程将带我游历整个斯堪的那维亚地区
Do you have a map?
你有地图吗?
'..and far beyond.'
甚至更加深入
These are Arabic Dirhams,
这些都是阿♥拉♥伯货币迪拉姆
minted in places like Baghdad.
在巴格达等地铸造
'And, as an archaeologist,
作为考古学家
'I'll be seeking out some of the most telling evidence of all...
我将从所有的古代遗址中
'..the remains of ancient people...'
选出最为显著的证据
This flamboyant hairstyle just adds to his allure.
这种炫目的发型增加了他的吸引力
'..and the stunning treasures they left behind...
还有这些他们遗留后世的耀眼宝藏…
'..all to get inside the heads of the Vikings themselves.'
...深入了解维京人的意识思想...
Oh, wow! How can that be 1,000 years old?
哇！这东西怎么会已经有一千年了啊？
'The real Vikings - from their point of view.'
…用他们的视角探寻真实的维京人
'To start my investigation, I've come to Norway...'
我来到了挪威从这里开始了我的研究
Smoked salmon.
烟熏三文鱼
'..in particular, Bergen,
特别是卑而根
a port that faces the wild Atlantic Ocean.'
这个濒临大西洋惊涛骇浪的港口
If I'm going to understand the origins of the Vikings,
如果我想要理解维京人的起源
then this is the place to start,
那么这里应该是个不错的起点
because at the end of the 8th century,
因为在公元八世纪末期
it's likely that the ships carrying those first raiders
很有可能装载着第一批劫掠者的船只
set out from this coastline.
正是从这里的海岸出发的
It's hard to imagine that it was from here, 1,200 or so years ago,
难以置信，一千二百多年前的这个地方
that so much terror was unleashed,
居然会释放出如此多的恐怖
but this is how I wanted to feel at the beginning of this journey,
但这正是我在旅程开始时希望能够感受到的
so that I could try and understand this seismic moment in European history
这样我才能尝试去理解欧洲历史上这个悸动的时刻
from the Viking point of view.
从维京人的视角
The Vikings weren't just savage pirates,
维京人不光是野蛮的海盗
but sophisticated traders, who criss-crossed the known world,
他们也是穿梭在已知世界的精明商人
running silks and silver, as well as slaves and stolen booty.
他们交易着丝绸白银还有奴隶和战利品
Epic adventurers,
他们是史诗般的冒险家
who voyaged to the exotic cities of Asia
远赴亚洲的各个城市
and the unknown mysteries of America.
和神秘未知的美洲
While much of Dark Age Europe had been shaped
正当中世纪的欧洲大部分地区
by the civilising influence of Rome,
还生活在罗马文明的阴影下时
up here in Scandinavia,
在斯堪的纳维亚
the Vikings had emerged from a distinctive,
维京人已经演化出了一种独特的
in fact, a unique, culture.
事实上是独一无二的文化
They were untainted by concepts like the written law and life in towns,
他们没有诸如律法和城市生活的概念
far less by belief in a Christian God.
更不用说基♥督♥教信仰
The Vikings bequeathed to us a part of our cultural DNA
维京人遗传给我们的这部分文化DNA
that's wilder, darker, more mysterious
相比我们从罗马文明所继承的
than anything that was to be had from Rome.
更野性更黑暗也更加神秘
And it wasn't just what they did that made them dangerous.
并不是他们的行为本身使得他们充满危险
It was what they thought and what they believed.
而是他们的思想和他们的信仰
'Right here in Bergen are some of the preserved remains
在卑尔根，这里就有一些受到保护的遗址
'of one of the very earliest Vikings ever found...
其中之一是维京早期所建立的...
'..although, it has to be said,
虽然我们必须说
'they're not exactly in the best of shape.'
这些东西的形状并不完美
These poor fragments are all that remains of the skeleton of a man.
这些碎片都是人体骨骼的一部分
These are arm bones...
这是手臂骨骼
..and these are parts of one leg.
...这些来自腿骨
Alongside him were grave goods,
骨骼的旁边是些随葬物
including his sword.
包括他的剑
So it's safe to say that he was a warrior.
所以很肯定他生前是一位武士
But what's remarkable about him, what's fascinating,
但是他真正的非凡和迷人之处在于
is that this individual is the first
他是我们所发现的
that we know of to have been buried in true, classic Viking style.
用真正经典的维京风格安葬的第一人
He was buried inside a Viking ship
他是被安葬在一条维京船里的
that was intended to take him to the afterlife,
这样做是为了能把他载往来世
to Valhalla,
载去瓦尔哈拉殿
where he would feast and fight
在那他能够和北方的诸神们
alongside the Norse Gods themselves.
一起享用盛宴和并肩战斗
He was a sea-borne warrior.
他曾是个漂泊于海上的武士
He would have been carrying the responsibility and the expectations of his family,
他肯定肩负着家庭的的责任和期望
who would be hoping that he would
家人希望他荣归故里时
return richer, more famous, with a great reputation,
会腰缠万贯和名满天下
that would change not just his life, but theirs.
这样他和家人的生活都会有改观
A Viking wasn't only something you were,
作为维京人不仅关乎你是谁
but something you did.
还关乎你做些什么
To go a-Viking, was to head out
去“维京”意思就是背井离乡
into the open seas in search of adventure.
去往广阔的海洋冒险
Their transport was a technological miracle,
他们的交通工具是种技术上的奇迹
the notorious Viking longboat -
曾令人闻风丧胆的维京海盗船
an icon of an entire Age.
那是整整一个时代的象征
'From Bergen, it's just a short hop to Norway's capital, Oslo...
卑尔根与挪威首都--奥斯陆近在咫尺
'..resting place of the finest Viking ship ever unearthed.'
在这里曾发掘出最完好的维京海盗船
Like our man, it dates from the very beginning of the Viking Age.
这艘船的历史可以追溯到维京时代的最早期
This stunning craft is the Oseberg Ship.
这件令人瞠目的工艺品就是"欧塞堡"号♥
It's certainly the most famous Viking ship we have
它肯定是所有维京海盗船中最赫赫有名的一艘
and, to my eyes, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the most beautiful.
并且在我眼中，它毫无疑问是最漂亮的
This was once one of the most sophisticated ships in the world...
它曾是世界上最先进的船只之一
..the epitome of technological brilliance and maritime audacity.
它是辉煌技术和大胆无畏航海精神的缩影
The ship itself is the work of many craftsmen,
船体是由很多工匠共同完成的
but here, in this carving,
而这个部位，这里的雕刻
is the imagination and the skill of just one artist, one person.
则是一位艺术家个人想象力和技艺的体现
It's this exciting, vivid depiction of a dragon or sea serpents
雕刻惟妙惟肖的刻画了龙和海蛇
twisted together, biting tails.
首尾相交的缠绕在一起
The scales on the skin are picked out
身上的鳞片清晰可辨
with these carefully-etched lines.
线条流畅
And while it's one thing to be handed an object that you can hold in your hand
当别人递给你一件可以握在手里的东西
and be told, "This is 1,000 or 1,200 years old",
并告诉你"这东西是一千或一千二百年前的"
it's of another order of magnitude to stand
和当你站在这样一样东西之下
beneath something like this.
两者产生的震撼完全不是一个数量级的
This says that the Vikings were real people with huge ambition.
维京人毫无疑问是雄心勃勃的
This is just one of hundreds, or thousands, of ships
这艘船只是那个时代建造的
built during the Viking Age.
成千上万艘船中的其中之一
THIS is what the Vikings were capable of.
这就是维京人的能力
The Vikings might have burst into our British history
维京人突然闯入不列颠的历史舞台
in a blizzard of flashing axes,
在漫天大雪中挥舞着闪亮的利斧
but the culture that gave rise to them
然而，这种使维京人得以崛起的文化
certainly didn't appear out of a clear blue sky.
绝对不是一朝一夕间形成的
Instead, they were the product of thousands of years of cultural evolution.
相反，这是几千年持续不断的文明演变的产物
They were shaped by their land and by the sea
塑造维京人的精神是他们的土地和大海
and by countless generations of Scandinavian "proto-Vikings".
以及世世代代斯堪的纳维亚的维京"原人"
And it's only by understanding the world of their most distant ancestors
只有理解了维京人遥远祖先所生活的世界后
that we can hope to dig down to their real roots,
我们才有可能去深入了解他们的真正起源
to distil the very Viking essence, if you like,
并提取维京精神的真正精华
and to see why, and how, the terrifying phenomenon of the Vikings
从而明白这种可怕的维京现象