TED演讲:激发《权力的游戏》灵感的战争(2)

 　　But instead of a crown, York's head acquired a pike after he was killed in battle with the Queen's loyalists. 可惜的是，理查·约克没能成功戴上王冠，而是在与皇后的支持者对战时被一枝矛刺中而亡。

　　His young son took up the claim and was crowned Edward IV. 他年幼的儿子继承了他的王位，成为爱德华四世。

　　Edward enjoyed great military success against the Lancasters. 后来，爱德华四世沉醉于战胜兰卡丝一族的喜悦中。

　　Henry was captured, while Margaret fled into exile with their reportedly cruel son, Edward of Westminster. 亨利六世被俘，而玛格丽特则带着残酷的儿子——威斯敏斯特的爱德华逃亡。

　　But the newly crowned King made a tragic¹ political mistake 可是，新国王犯了一个可悲的政治错误。

　　by backing out of his arranged marriage with a French Princess to secretly marry the widow of a minor² Noble. 他没有信守承诺迎娶法国公主，而是私下和一个低级贵族的寡妇结婚。

　　This alienated³ his most powerful ally, the Earl of Warwick. 这使他失去了最有力的支持——华威伯爵。

　　Warwick allied⁴ with the Lancasters, turned Edward's jealous younger brother, George, against him, 华威伯爵于是与兰卡斯特一族联手，连同爱德华四世爱妒的弟弟乔治，一起对付他。

　　and even briefly⁵ managed to restore Henry as King, but it didn't last. 他们甚至成功重新拥立亨利六世为国王。可惜，这并没有持续太久。

　　Edward recaptured the throne, the Lancaster Prince was killed in battle, 爱德华重新夺回王位，兰卡斯特一族的王子则战死于战役中。

　　and Henry himself died in captivity⁶ not long after. 亨利六世亦在俘获后不久逝世。

　　The rest of Edward IV's reign⁷ was peaceful, but upon his death in 1483, the bloodshed resumed. 爱德华四世的统治一直安然无事，直至1483年，他的逝世使得腥风血雨再次刮起。

　　Though his twelve-year-old son was due to succeed him,  虽然，他12岁的儿子继承了王位，

　　Edward's younger brother Richard III declared his nephews illegitimate due to their father's secret marriage. 但是他的弟弟爱德华三世声称侄子并没有继承权，只因为他是父亲秘密婚姻下的结果。

　　He assumed the regency himself and threw the boys in prison. 他成了摄政王，然后囚禁侄子们。

　　Though no one knows what ultimately became of them, 尽管没人清楚他们的结果，

　　after a while, the Princes disappeared and Richard's power seemed secure. 但在王子们消失以后，理查德王位看上去再没有任何威胁。

　　But his downfall would come only two years later from across the narrow sea of the English Channel. 可惜，两年之后，他在英伦海峡迎来了他的没落。

　　Henry Tudor was a direct descendant of the first Duke of Lancaster, 亨利·都铎是兰卡斯特公爵的直系子孙，

　　raised in exile after his father's death in a previous rebellion. 在他父亲死于叛乱之后，一直在流放之地长大。

　　With Richard III's power grab causing a split in the York faction⁸, 因为理查三世夺取权力的关系，导致约克一族开始分裂。

　　Henry won support for his royal claim. 亨利赢得了皇室的支持。

　　Raising an army in France, he crossed the Channel in 1485 and quickly defeated Richard's forces. 亨利在法国筹备一支军队以后，1485年横渡英伦海峡，并且迅速地击退了理查三世的军队。

　　And by marrying Elizabeth of York, elder sister of the disappeared Princes, 他后来迎娶了消失王子们的姐姐——约克的伊丽莎白。

　　the newly crowned Henry VII joined the two roses, finally ending nearly a century of war. 新上任的亨利七世联合了两个家族，结束了持续近一个世纪的战争。

　　We often think of historical wars as decisive conflicts with clearly defined winners and losers. 我们通常认为，历史上的战争都是黑白分明的，有着绝对的胜者和败者。

　　But the Wars of the Roses, like the fiction they inspired, 但在“玫瑰战争”中，正如那本被他们启发的小说一样，

　　show us that victories can be uncertain, alliances unstable⁹, and even the power of Kings as fleeting¹⁰ as the seasons. 告诉了我们，胜利不一定是肯定的，联盟不一定是稳固的，甚至国王的权力也可以像四季更迭般一样飘忽。

1 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

2 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

5 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

6 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

7 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

8 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

9 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

10 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。