纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 047萨顿胡头盔(6)

"Especially after 11 September 2001, when the firemen were so involved in New York, the helmet attained¹ new significance for me personally, because I had been given a fireman's helmet way back in the 1980s by a Boston fireman which was heavy, which was classically made, made of leather with copper² and metal spine³ on it and so on. I was given this, and I had a great sense of receiving a ritual gift, not unlike the way Beowulf receives the gift from Hrothgar after he kills Grendel."

911事件中,纽约的消防队员舍生忘死。在那之后.头盔对 我个人而言有了全新的意义。早在二十世纪八十年代，一名波士顿消防员就送过我一个消防员头盔，分量极沉，用传统工艺制成，原料是皮革和黄铜等等，还有一道金属脊。接受这件礼物对我而言有宗教仪式般的感觉，就和贝奥武甫杀死哥伦多后接受来自荷罗斯加的礼物一样。

In a sense, the whole Sutton Hoo burial ship is a great ritual gift, a spectacular assertion of wealth and power on behalf of two people-the man who was buried there and commanded huge respect, and the man who organised this lavish⁴ farewell and commanded huge resources. We are clearly in the presence of power.

从某种意义上说，整个萨顿胡墓葬都是一件仪式性的礼物，展示了两位历史人物的财富与权力：一位是埋葬在这里的受人尊敬的逝者，另一位是拥有巨大财富、安排了这次豪华葬礼的人。

The Sutton Hoo grave ship brought the poetry of Beowulf unexpectedly close to historical fact. In the process it profoundly changed our understanding of this whole chapter of British history. Long dismissed as the Dark Ages, this period-the centuries after the Romans withdrew-could now be seen as a time of high sophistication and extensive international contacts, that linked East Anglia not just to Scandinavia and the Atlantic, but ultimately to the eastern Mediterranean⁵ and beyond.

萨顿胡船葬无意中将诗歌《贝奥武甫》拉近了历史现实。在这个过程中，它彻底改变了我们对英国这一时期历史的认识。罗马撤离后的几 个世纪曾长期被认为是“黑暗时代”，现在我们了解，这其实是个高度发达的社会，贸易范围十分广泛，东安格利亚不仅与斯堪的纳维亚和大西 洋地区建立了密切联系，甚至与东地中海以外的地区也有往来。

The very idea of ship burial is Scandinavian, and the Sutton Hoo ship was of a kind that easily crossed the North Sea, so making East Anglia an integral part of a world that included modern Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The helmet is, as you might expect, of Scandinavian design.

船葬是斯堪的纳维亚常见的墓葬形式。我们的萨顿胡船轻松地穿越北海，使东安格利亚成为包括现代丹麦、挪威和瑞典在内的一个更广阔 世界的一部分。你也许猜到了，头盔也是斯堪的纳维亚式的。

1 attained   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
• Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

2 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

3 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

4 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

5 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。