THE ISLE OF ATHELNEY.
Of all this we now, after the lapse10 of a thousand years, speak as men who know the sequel, and (because we do know the sequel) it is the harder for us to appreciate the intensity11 of that crisis. We are helped by the occurrence of an opportune12 discovery. Just when our nation was beginning to be ripe for historical reflection and capable of entering into the struggles of our remote forefathers13, there was ‘dug up’ in the locality where Alfred took refuge in the year 878, a personal ornament14 bearing his name in impressive characters. It is to us now as if the king himself had but recently passed that way under such stress of circumstances as constrained16 him to hide his royal insignia, and as if we somehow by this chance were brought nearer to the burden of his lot, and were made sharers not only in the 94 fruits of his triumph, but also in the toil17 and the joy of his achievement.
By the sudden surprize with which the Danes had broken the peace and come upon him at Chippenham in the dead of winter, they had almost fulfilled their design and taken him captive. But he had fled, and they had Wessex at will, and were proceeding18 to divide and occupy the land. The king, with a few companions, had escaped into Selwood, and thence by wood and by fen19, like hunted creatures, they eluded20 pursuit, but were never secure until they had passed beyond Pedrida.
What were his reflections on finding himself suddenly an outcast in the winter, a fugitive21 in the wild? He had experienced hair-breadth escapes, but none like this! He had trusted Guthrum’s oath, had thought him in earnest this time! And even now he was loth to charge this last perfidy22 upon him. No! this trick was not his, it came from those buccaneers in the Severn Sea. Mad at the defeat of last summer’s combined scheme, which they had come from far north to support, they had forced Guthrum’s95 hand, and compelled him to join them in this winter raid. And they would not stop there! Finding that he had given them the slip, they would certainly be down upon some part of the coast of Somerset or of Devon, and preparations must be made to receive them. Odda will surely be stirring: he is safe to be on the alert! I must find out what he is doing, and we must work on a plan; he in Devon, and I in Somerset!
It was now twelve years since he had come to the front, and had taken his stand by the side of his brother ?thered. The moment when he had begun to share in public affairs had coincided with a great change in the situation. That was the time when the invaders23 acquired a footing in East Anglia: they made there a centre of operations from which they went out and to which they came in—it had become the head quarters of an invading host which manifested a settled design of conquest. Previously25 the incursions of the Northmen had been desultory26, but from that time they had become methodical. This change had coincided with the death of ?thelbriht in 866, and the accession of ?thered. 96 In the following year had died Alhstan, that vigilant27 patriot28, the old warlike bishop29 of Sherborne.
?thered and I were the two youngest of the family, and our relations had been peculiarly close. Before we were united by public cares, we had been partners in our private concerns. Our several estates had been kept in one and worked in common, under agreed conditions, so that they had remained undivided. Our names had been coupled together by the common voice of the nation. The style was ever thus:—?tered cyning and ?lfred his brotur.
Oh what a fearful time it was for Angelcynn, that five years of ?thered’s reign31! Northumbria, that old imperial kingdom, was crushed; Mercia reduced to make a peace with the heathen, which was the best we could effect by marching in force to Nottingham to support Burgred and ?thelswith! And, worst of all, the East Angles defeated in battle, the good king Edmund slain32 (he fought like a hero, and died like a martyr); the land conquered, possessed33, and turned from an Anglian into a Danish kingdom!
97
It was our turn next. All was at length ripe for the subjugation34 of Wessex, and on this aim they brought all their strength to bear. We made a gallant35 stand at Ashdown against overwhelming odds36; we slew37 their kings and jarls, and made their practised braves fly before the rustic38 militia39 of Ecgberht. Eight pitched battles in that year, besides smaller fights without number. But ?thered died at Easter. Rightly the people revere40 him as a saint. So I was left to continue the struggle single-handed.
Since then they have established themselves in the possession of London, and they have banished41 Burgred and set up for king in Mercia a tool of their own; also Halfdan has abolished the kingdom of Northumbria and partitioned the land. And amidst all this, what a destruction of religious houses, seats of piety43 and learning and education—Lindisfarne, Wearmouth, Jarrow, York, Ripon, Bardney, Ely, Crowland, Medeshamstead, and many others.
They have destroyed the powers of Northumbria and Mercia; but there they had a point in their favour which is against them here. The Welsh at the back of those nations were98 always ready to co-operate with the invader24, but that is not so here in the west. The Cornish have never made common cause with the heathen since the battle of Hingston Down, in which that coalition44 was quashed by Ecgberht. And we have a still better guarantee in the constant policy of Wessex ever since the days of Ina and Aldhelm. The territorial45 quarrel was then appeased46, and the religious difference too. The West Welsh were conquered, but they were never wantonly humiliated47, no man was ejected from his own. They appreciated the respect and even honour that was shown to their favourite church of Glastonbury. Therefore I have good hope of the support of the men of Somerset.
True, we have to count upon the hostility48 of the Welsh on the opposite shore of the Severn Sea, where the Danish fleets find harbour and all friendly countenance49. Still, that is not quite the same thing as having an active enemy behind your back upon the same stretch of territory. Here in this west country the people differ only in degrees of allegiance, none are actively50 hostile. This is the weak point in the position of the invaders. This is the one little99 bit of advantage that still remains to us. I must improve it to the utmost!
But first of all we must provide against a sudden descent on the coast. For the last two years events have succeeded one another at a quickened pace: surprize on surprize! There, under the opposite coast, lies a heathen fleet, ready to be down upon us without notice! The coast-wardens must be kept up to the mark, and I not to be seen in it!
The mobility51 of these troopers defies calculation! How unexpected and startling was that occupation of Wareham last autumn! How daringly defiant52 of gods and men that breach53 of their most sacred oath! When by that perjury54 they had lulled55 our mistrust, they made a sudden rush for Exeter! Perfidy is part of their tactics. How wonderful, how divinely providential, that storm off Swanage, which wrecked56 the perfidious57 plan! And now, not to be baulked, they pounce58 upon Chippenham in time of truce59 and in mid42-winter, thinking to capture me! How great in war is the unexpected! Without perfidy, I too must learn to meditate60 surprize; I must contrive61 how to100 distract their calculations, and strike where least expected.
With some such a strain of thought as this (if I have followed him aright) now ruminated62 the undaunted king, in whom thought was the spring of action. Moreover, he reasoned thus with himself: ‘So long as winter lasts, they cannot follow me with the host by the way that I have come, but if they learn my whereabouts, they may easily find adventurers who would undertake to kill me. Wherefore I must not make myself too freely known, but proceed cautiously, and make proof of men before I trust myself to them. To most I must appear like some mounted yeoman hunter who follows the high deer that abound63 in the forests about these hills. And as for this sacred toy, this personal enigma64, this Jewel of ceremony, which many eyes have beheld65, I must no longer carry it about me, lest peradventure it make me known unawares. I will bury it in some convenient spot!’
The western boundary of Wessex had for centuries been the Great Wood of which the101 ancient name still survives as a specific element in the historic designation of Frome Selwood.
This great wood was also called Wealwudu, a very natural and appropriate name, because it had long been the barrier between the Saxon and the Welsh populations. Here lies the most fitting scene for the story of Denewulf. In the time when the king was a fugitive, he found this man keeping swine in the forest, and he discovered in him a great natural capacity and aptness for good, and after his return to power he educated Denewulf, and made him bishop of Winchester. This story does not run on all fours, because according to the best authorities Denewulf became bishop of Winchester in 879, and if he was keeping swine in 878, being already of mature age, it smacks66 rather of hagiology than of history. But it may be that the marvel67 has been enhanced in transmission; or if we choose the lowest estimate and call it mere68 fiction, still it is worth while observing what manner of stories were invented about king Alfred.
Behind this barrier the Danes had never been102 able to get a footing. As if aware how greatly this was needed for the success of their designs upon Wessex, they had made several attempts. Two great efforts which imply this aim were made at the end of the reign of Ecgberht. The force of thirty-five ships which that king repelled69 at Charmouth, on the coast of Dorset, seems to indicate something more than merely a plundering70 incursion.
In 835, a great naval71 armament (micel sciphere) came to the Cornish coast and were joined by the West Welsh, and they gathered in force at Hingston Down, where they probably intended to fortify72 themselves; when Ecgberht appeared with an army, and dispersed73 them.
The next recorded attempt of the kind was in the year 845, in the reign of ?thelwulf, when the Wicengas entered the mouth of the Parret, and were met by the posse comitatus of the two shires, Somerset and Dorset, under their two ealdormen, and Alhstan the warlike bishop of Sherborne.
Only in the very last year (877) their land-force had, by a perfidious surprize, seized Exeter,103 acting74 in concert with a fleet of one hundred and twenty ships, which were to sail up the Exe and co-operate with them—but they were wrecked in a storm off Swanage [30]. This disaster, combined with the promptitude of the king in assault, had compelled them to capitulate, and had dislodged them from Exeter.
Of the same nature and motive76 was the attempt of this spring on the coast of Devon at a place which Asser calls Cynwit, with a force of twenty-three ships, which were wintering on the opposite coast of the Severn Sea. The repulse77 was complete and the blow decisive, but the name of the English leader is not given by the contemporary annalist. A hundred and twenty years later, Ethelwerd calls him Odda the ealdorman of Devonshire. The reticence78 of the Chronicle suggests that this achievement was conducted by Alfred while he was keeping 104in the background, lest the place of his retreat should become known.
Gradually and by the spontaneous action of natural causes, the western barrier of the Saxon was moved from the line of Selwood to the fenland of Pedrida. This barrier was deeper bedded in the soil, was harder to pass, and has left behind it memories more indelible. The first explicit79 notice of this virtual transfer of the western boundary meets us seventeen years later than the epoch80 with which we are now engaged, and it may be worth while to go so far out of our way in order the better to realize the import of Pedrida.
In the last decade of Alfred’s reign, when he was in the agony of that supreme81 crisis which tested the value of his institutions, a great muster82 of force was called for, and the extent of the contributing area is sketched83 by the annalist as matter of amazement84. ‘There gathered ?thered aldorman and ?thelm aldorman and ?thelnoth aldorman, and the king’s Thanes who were then at home in the fortifications, from every garrison85 east of Pedrida105 (whether west of Selwood or east), likewise also north of Thames and west of Severn:—moreover some part of the Welsh nation[31].’
Here we mark the startling novelty that the Welsh in 894 are seen aiding the Saxon against the Dane; and we can hardly forgo86 a passing cry of wonder and pleasure at this signal token of the imperial success of Alfred’s policy. But our present concern is with the recognition of Pedrida as the westernmost limit of Wessex proper instead of Selwood, and the implication that the change was recent. We see that Selwoodshire (as the intervening district was popularly called) was by 894 quite assimilated and included in the military administration of Wessex, but that beyond Pedrida some other rule was operative at that time. Such a fact reflects back an illustrative light upon the year 878, and helps us to estimate the situation of Alfred when he was in Somerset beyond Pedrida.
106
The political division here indicated has left traces which may still be recognized, particularly in the dialect and in folk-lore. Of the dialect we have a remarkable87 monument in Mr. Elworthy’s works, The Dialect of West Somerset, and his West Somerset Word-Book. Especially to be noted88 is the ‘u’ of the West Country, which is radically89 one with the Welsh ‘u’ and with the French ‘u,’ while at the same time it has a very distinct local character of its own. Every Englishman who is conversant90 with the French language knows how hard it is to acquire the utterance91 of the French ‘u’ after the age of infancy92. A like strangeness is experienced by English people born east of Pedrida, when they attempt to reproduce the western ‘u.’ In fact, this vowel93-sound is Keltic; it is a legacy94 from our British predecessors95.
Not that this British ‘u’ is absolutely confined to the western promontory96: it may be occasionally heard in other parts of the country by a cultivated and observant ear. Mr. Mayhew once told me that he had heard it in the Corn Market at Oxford97. But though not confined to the lands west of Pedrida, it is in a peculiar107 manner concentrated there. It is chiefly in Devonshire that this peculiar30 vowel has wakened wider attention, but this is simply because that county has been the most frequented as a place of holiday resort.
The so-called Devonian ‘u’ and its contiguous sounds have been described many times from first to last, but it has been mostly in that perfunctory vein99 which contents the summer tourist. It is rare to catch such a plain and solid illustration as the following, which is quoted from the preface to Mr. Elworthy’s West Somerset Word-Book:—‘I was a passive listener at Brandon’s while a bonnet100 was being discussed, and when making the payment ventured to remark to the young lady, “You must have been a long time in London.” “Oh yes, ten years; but why do you ask?” “Only for information,” said I. “And did you come straight from Teignmouth?” With much surprise at my supposing she came from Devonshire, she said at length that she was a native of Newton Abbott. I could not pretend to define the precise quality of her two, but it was only in that one word that I recognized her locality.’
108
If the vocabulary of this dialect were minutely examined by a competent Welsh scholar, some British words might be detected. Among those which would deserve early attention are plum (soft, as a bed), pilm or pillum (dust), welt (to beat, thrash).
Another local characteristic of the West Welsh promontory is this, that it is the peculiar haunt of a race of whimsical or mischievous101 sprites called Piskies or Pixies. In South Devon and Cornwall any one whose conduct is strange and unaccountable is said to be pisky-led. This is a branch of the numerous kindred of that versatile102 Puck, whose memory is kept fresh by the Midsummer Night’s Dream. In an Anglo-Saxon perambulation of land at Weston by Bath, we meet with a Pucan Wyl, Puck’s Well[32]. The English Dialect Dictionary preserves the name of Aw-Puck for Will-o’-the-Wisp or ignis fatuus, a compound which imports that he is the most dangerous of the species. This name was current in Worcestershire, but is now obsolete103 [33].
109
These are the more obvious extant traces of the long isolation104 of the trans-Pedridan world: others there are which have attracted inquiry105, such as peculiar customs, implements106, songs and song-tunes, which latter have been investigated by Dr. Bussell and the Rev1. S. Baring-Gould.
The Somerset to which Alfred retired107 was widely unlike the Somerset of to-day. In this respect three points may be taken: (1) Differences in the distribution of land and water; (2) differences in the trees and woods and game; (3) differences in the political aspect of the population.
1. West Somerset was separated from East Somerset by wide inland waters: the beds of the Brue and Parret were lakes in the winter, and only passable in summer to those who knew the ground. Pedrida was regarded as a natural limit, like the sea itself, dividing nations; it was spoken of in like phraseology. Thus we read in 658 how Cenwalh warred against the 110 Welsh and drave them even unto Pedrida[34]; and, in 682, how Centwine drave the Bret-Welsh even unto the sea[35].
The cause of that expanse of water and large area of fenland happened far back beyond historical chronology, and we can only date it by using the geological method of reckoning time. Far back in the sub-glacial era a subsidence of the land took place which affected108 the coast of Somerset and North Devon. Proof of this is found in a submarine forest extending along the south coast of the Severn Sea, which has long been known. ‘That portion of it visible at Porlock was described in 1839 by Sir Henry de la Beche, and more recently by Mr. Godwin Austen in an essay read before the Geological Society in 1865[36].’
Subsequently the Rev. H. H. Winwood and Professor Boyd Dawkins verified the discovery by a thorough examination of the forest-bed. 111 Near Minehead the forest consists of oak, ash, alder109, and hazel, which grew on a blue clay. An ancient growth of oak, ash, and yew110 is found everywhere underneath111 the peat or alluvium in the Somersetshire levels. Throughout this wide area the trees were destroyed by the growth of peat, or by the deposits of the floods, except at a few isolated112 spots, which stand at a higher level than usual, in the great flat extending between the Polden Hills and the Quantocks. One of these oases113, a little distance to the west of Middlezoy, is termed the Oaks, because those trees form a marked contrast to the prevailing114 elms and willows116 of the district. In the neighbouring ditches, that gradually cut into peat, and then into silt117, prostrate118 oaks are very abundant[37].
Subsidence of the land at a remote geological period was the cause of the impassable state of these levels in the time of king Alfred, and the modern system of drainage which was carried out at a later date has been the cause of the improved condition which we see now, and 112 which has made the Vale of Taunton Dean proverbial as the Garden of England.
2. In Alfred’s time the eye was greeted by a variety of trees which are not observable now. The elm predominates all over the plain. I asked the occupier of Athelney Farm about the trees on his land, and he said there was hardly anything but elm. Of other kinds he had only two ash-trees and one beech119; ‘but (he added) we find bog-oak in the moors120, and it makes good gate-posts.’ The elms have driven out both oak and ash, and whatever other sorts they touched in their ‘wrastling’ progress. These sombre grenadiers dress up their lines so close as to leave little room for other trees. They suck the fruitful soil more than any other tree, and they repay their costly121 nurture122 with timber of inferior value. Introduced by the Romans to serve as stakes and props123 in the culture of the vine, they have overrun the land like the imported rabbits in some of our colonies. In Alfred’s day these hungry aliens had not yet usurped124 the field, and there was still room for the display of the rich variety of nature—oak, ash, beech, fir, maple125, yew, sycamore, hornbeam,113 holly126, poplar, aspen, alder, hazel, wych-elm, apple, cherry, juniper, elder, willow115, mountain ash, spindle-tree, buckthorn, hawthorn127, wild plum, wild pear, service-tree, &c. But now, the fair places of the field are encumbered128 by the tall cousins of the nettle129, and the most diversified130 of English counties is muffled131 with a monotonous132 shroud133 of outlandish and weedy growth.
In the animal world, likewise, the lapse of a thousand years has brought change. In the pastures the most frequent animal is the cow, and only on rare occasions, as we view the moors from some elevated ‘tump,’ have we the chance to see a little company of antlered deer careering over the open plain, clearing the rhines with an airy bound. In Alfred’s time too, cow-keeping was a stock industry, and we read of the king as entertained incognito134 by one of his own cowherds (apud quendam suum vaccarium).
But the proportion of wild to domesticated135 animals was far greater then than it is now. The whole stretch of country from Pedrida to the end of Exmoor, fifty miles long and twenty miles wide, was then almost a continuous forest, abounding136 with game of all kinds, but 114 especially with red deer, which still continues, though in diminished numbers. This noble creature is thus described by Bewick:—
‘The Stag or Red Deer. This is the most beautiful animal of the deer kind. The elegance137 of his form, the lightness of his motions, the flexibility138 of his limbs, his bold, branching horns, which are annually139 renewed, his grandeur140, strength, and swiftness, give him a decided141 pre-eminence over every other inhabitant of the forest[38].’
The red deer still lives and breeds along the southern coast of the Severn Sea, and this is I believe the only part of Great Britain in which this right royal animal still ranges at large in all the freedom of nature. I am informed by my friend Mr. Townshend that in Ireland they are kept as an ornament in some gentlemen’s parks, but that in a free state of nature they survive only in the mountains of Killarney.
115
Here it will be useful to read Leland’s notes of travel across the lowlands of Somerset, especially as they touch some places with which we are concerned. (I quote from the Proceedings142 of the Somersetshire Arch?ological and Natural History Society, No. xxxiii, ‘Leland in Somersetshire, 1540–1542.’)
‘Thens to Cury-Malet a 3. Miles, wher is a Parke longging to Chambernoun of Devonshire.
I left this Parke a litle on the lift Hand, and sone after cam over a great Brook143, that resith West South West, and rennith East North East into Ivel a 2. Miles above Michelborow by Estimation.
(Here I cam from the Hilly Ground to the Low and Marschy Ground of Somerseteshir.)
Thens to North Cury stille by low Ground aboute a 2. Miles or more. The Chirch of Welles hath fair Landes here.
And hereabout is Stoke Gregory, wher the Chirch of Welles hath Possessions.
Thens about a Mile to the Ripe of Thone Ryver, by the which I passed by the space of half a Mile, and then I went over Thone by a Wood Bridge.
Athelney lyith half a Mile lower on Thon, and ther is a Bridge of Wood to entre thabbay[39], and beneth that almost at the very Confluence145 of Thone and Ivel is another Wood Bridge over Thone.
116
Ther is a great Bridge on Thone at Basford a Mile lower then Thonetoun.
From this Bridge by Athelney I rode by a low Marsch Ground a 2. Miles to Pedertun Park.
There ys a great Numbre of Dere longging to this Park, yet hath it almost no other Enclosure but Dikes to let the Catelle of the Commune to cum yn.
The Dere trippe over these Dikes and feede al about the Fennes, and resort to the Park agayn. There is a praty Lodge75 moted yn the Parke.
There cummith a praty Broke thorough the Park, and half a Mile beneth the Park it goith ynto Ivel.
This Brooke is caullid Peder, and risith West South West yn the Hylles aboute a 2. Myles of. First it cummith by Noth Pedreton, a praty uplandisch Toun, wher is a fair Chirch, the Personage whereof was impropriate to Mynchin bocland.
Then it touchith on South Pederton, in the which Paroch the Parke standith, and so to the Ryver of Ivel.
From the Lodge in Pederton Parke to Northpedertun a Mile.
From Northpedertun to Bridgewater 2. Miles. The way or I cam ynto Bridgwater was caused with Stone more then half a Myle.’
Here we may observe that Leland appears to know of no river Parret; to him it was ‘Ivel.’ It would be curious to learn when and how a minor149 tributary150 gave its name of Parret to the117 lower waters of the Ivel. It may be surmised151 that Pedrida was never the name of a river, but of a belt of country, and that it may have meant ‘the passage or ford98 of the Peder,’ Leland’s ‘praty broke.’ The name seems to contain the Welsh rhyd, a ford. At first it may have denoted the ford of the Peder, and then by natural extension it may have come to designate the whole fenland of the lower Ivel.
3. Racial differences were still seen and felt. The West Welsh had been conquered, and were now living in peaceful subjection, and forming an outlying part of the kingdom of Wessex; but still they were imperfectly assimilated.
The old internecine152 quarrel between the races had in this western land been hushed and calmed; and on no other border were the British living and mingling153 with their conquerors154 on such amicable155 terms. There was a very great difference between the disposition156 of the West Welsh towards the Saxon and that of the ‘North Welsh’ on the opposite coast of the Severn Sea.
These pacific relations were not of recent date; they appear as a deliberate policy in the reign of Ina before the end of the seventh118 century, and even earlier indications of this tendency may be gleaned157 which carry us back two hundred years behind the reign of Alfred.
When in 665, Wina[40], bishop of Winchester, consecrated158 Ceadda (St. Chad), he had with him two British bishops159 as his assistants. These two bishops must have belonged to the West Welsh. Further, there is reason to believe that Ceadwalla, though descended160 from Cerdic, and king of Wessex, was half a Briton. Again: the legendary161 tales about Ina’s legislation which are embodied162 in the so-called Laws of Edward the Confessor, however unhistorical, have possibly a traditional value as characterizing the attitude of Wessex towards her British subjects in the seventh and eighth centuries. In this apocryphal163 text it is said that by Ina’s enactment164 ‘the British were declared politically equal with the English, and that as he himself had set the example of a Welsh marriage, so he would that connubium between the two races should 119be legally recognized.’ These are distorted reminiscences of the historical fact that Ina maintained a conciliatory policy towards the conquered British, and in this course he was well supported or perhaps guided by Aldhelm, abbot of Malmesbury, who in 704 was requested by a synod to write a letter to Gerontius (Geraint), king of Damnonia, and exhort165 him and his people to conformity166 with Catholic usage in the time of keeping the Easter festival. The letter was sent, and it is still extant. It is addressed, in respectful and courteous167 language—‘To the most glorious prince, swaying the sceptre of the Western realm, whom I, the searcher of the heart is my witness, do embrace with brotherly charity—to king Geraint and to all God’s priests dwelling168 in Damnonia, Aldhelm, &c.[41]’
And when, shortly afterwards, H?dde, bishop of Winchester, died, and the moment had arrived for the long-contemplated169 division of the vast 120diocese of Wessex, Aldhelm became bishop ‘to the west of the wood,’ over a province which (as Ethelwerd tells us) was commonly called Selwoodshire. Aldhelm died in 709 upon one of his episcopal journeys, at the village of Doulting on the western brow of Mendip, between Wells and Frome. His memory has been locally revived in the present century by the discovery of a small Saxon church in Bradford-on-Avon, which has been identified by competent judges with the ecclesiola which William of Malmesbury says that Aldhelm built in that place. To him was probably due the preservation170 of the British monastery171 at Glastonbury and its endowment by king Ina.
That spot was dear to the British patriot as the mysterious sojourn172 of their hero, who in due time was to return and revive the ancient glory of the British name. The extant books in which this legend is recorded are later than the time of Alfred, but the romance itself is of the sixth century. Our oldest English form of it is of about a.d. 1200.
121 THE PASSING OF ARTHUR
(From La?amon’s Brut, line 28,582.)
Arthur wes forwunded
Arthur was wounded
wunderliche swithe.
very dangerously.
Ther to him com a cnaue,
There to him came a youth
the wes of his cunne;
he wes Cadores sune,
he was son of Cador,
the eorles of Cornwaile.
the earl of Cornwall.
Constantin hehte the cnaue;
Constantine hight the youth;
he wes than kinge deore.
to the king he was dear.
Arthur him lokede on,
Arthur looked upon him,
ther he lai on folden,
where he lay on the ground,
and thas word seide,
and these words said,
mid sorhfulle heorte:
with sorrowful heart:
Constantin thu art wilcume,
Constantine thou art welcome,
thu weore Cadores sune;
thou wert Cador’s son;
ich the bitache here,
I here commit to thee,
mine kineriche:
my kingdom:
* * *
* * *
And ich wulle uaren to Aualun,
And I will fare to Avalon,
to uairest alre maidene;
to Argante there quene,
to Argante the queen,
122
aluen swithe sceone:
elf exceeding sheen;
and heo scal mine wunden
and she shall my wounds
makien alle isunde;
make all sound;
al hal me makien,
all whole me make,
mid halewei?e drenchen.
with healing drinks.
And seothe ich cumen wulle
And sith return I will
to mine kineriche:
to my kingdom:
and wunien mid Brutten,
and dwell with Britons,
mid muchelere wunne.
with much delight.
?fne than worden,
Even with these words,
ther com of se wenden,
lo came from sea wending,
that wes an sceort bat lithen,
that was a short boat sailing,
sceouen mid vthen:
driving with the waves:
and twa wimmen therinne,
and two women therein,
wunderliche idihte:
and heo nomen Arthur anan,
and they took Arthur anon,
and aneouste hine uereden,
and straight him bore away,
and softe hine adun leiden,
and softly down him laid,
and forth with him to sea
they gan to move away.
Tha wes hit iwurthen,
Then was it come to pass,
that Merlin seide whilen:
what Merlin said whilome:
that weore unimete care,
that there should be much curious care
123
of Arthures forth fare.
when Arthur out of life should fare.
Bruttes ileueth ?ete,
Britons believe yet,
that he beo on liue,
that he be alive,
and wunnie in Aualun,
and dwelling in Avalon,
mid fairest alre aluen:
with the fairest of all elves;
and lokieth euere Bruttes ?ete,
still look the Britons for the day
whan Arthur cume lithen.
of Arthur’s coming o’er the sea.
All this history was known to Alfred and went to swell176 the stream of his meditations177, which tended to assure him that he had a fresh and promising178 field before him, and to mature in him the purpose of exerting himself to win the hearty179 attachment180 of this well-affected but still half alien population.
Between Twelfth Day and Easter Day of the year 878 there were barely eleven weeks, for Easter fell early that year, namely on March 23. Of Alfred’s doings in that interval181 we have no information, except in so far as it seems to be indicated that the affair of Cynwit was not conducted without his intervention182. And we may add the traditional story of the cakes,124 a story which probably dates from Alfred’s day, as we have reasonably good evidence that it was current in the tenth century. Nor may we omit his espial of the Danish camp in minstrel guise183, a legend which, though not found in early authorities, yet does claim some credit from the book in which it is narrated184, namely the Book of Hyde—a book in which we might expect to find some early traditions of New Minster, one of king Alfred’s foundations.
But while we desire to make the most of these items, it must be admitted that they constitute an inadequate185 furniture for eleven weeks of Alfred’s time in the most intense crisis of his life. At any other point in Alfred’s career, the silence of so many weeks might not provoke remark, but at this moment it makes a sensible void. If, however, we rightly apprehend186 the situation of the fugitive king, his hopes and his fears, his aims and his resources, we may (in the light of the great result) indulge a sober imagination without fear of considerable error.
Among the pieces of genuine tradition which seem to greet the explorer in Asser’s Life, there125 is perhaps none on which we may more confidently lean than a certain fragment in the paragraph beginning ‘Interea tamen rex[42].’
The drift of this context is that with all his wars and frequent interruptions, Alfred ruled his kingdom, and ‘practised every branch of the craft of venery; directed his goldsmiths and all his artificers; did moreover instruct the falconers and hawk-catchers and dog-trainers; and by his own novel engineering constructed buildings beyond all former wont187, statelier and more costly; had Saxon books read to him, and commanded others to learn Saxon poems by heart, &c.’
In this passage I seem to recognize a true historic note; and I think that in this picture of the range of his powers, and the roll of his accomplishments188, his vast activity and versatility189, we have some genuine reminiscences of the personality of Alfred. In the emphasis here laid on hunting, we may recognize the king who, some years later, sent a present of wolfhounds to the archbishop of Rheims, and such 126dogs, too, that their quality and breed was accentuated190 by the receiver in his grateful acknowledgement[43]. And when to this we add that he could make and sing a song, could tell a good tale, could make choice of men and win their confidence, we need little aid from imagination to perceive how this mysterious visitor might captivate the British hearts of all Somerset like one man, and perhaps set them wondering whether it could be their own ideal king Arthur come back to them again.
During nearly three months of that eventful year his aim was to cultivate closer relations with the people of that outlying territory, desiring that they might become attached to him with sentiments of loyalty191 and friendship. To devote himself to this undertaking192 was at once his duty, his interest, and his delight. For such an achievement as this he had advantages both natural and acquired. Apart from war, there is nothing like hunting for making comrades, if a man have a genial193 soul and be 127himself a mighty194 hunter. Alfred was a mighty hunter and a genial soul, and close at hand there was one of the finest hunting-grounds in the world.
Immediately from the Pedridan swamp the ground began to rise to north and north-west towards a run of hilly and woodland country forty miles long, and from ten to twenty miles broad; a country which remains singular to this day for its natural breed of red deer and its chase of the great game. This royal sport survives on Exmoor and in the Quantocks, and there are Minehead people who can tell you that they have seen the stag-hunt scamper195 through their main street in full cry.
At the entrance of this country, at a point which is conveniently situated196 for uniting activity inland with a constant observation of the line of Pedrida, is a village which is now called North Newton, with which Petherton Park had been so long and closely linked that it went by the popular name of Newton Park. I am led by a number of small indications to infer that this is the place where Alfred had his chief residence during those early months of the year 878.
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When Easter came, his action began to be overt197; he dropped personal disguise, and stood forth as ?lfred cyning. ‘When Easter came, king Alfred, with a small force, constructed a fort at Athelney, and out of that fort was warring against the invading host, he and the men of Somerset, that portion of them which was nighest[44].’ This is the action of a commander who has made sure of his following, and is now beginning his operations against the enemy. He fortifies198 himself on the east side of the bridge, where a conical hill offers an opportune position; and from that basis he opens a guerilla warfare199 with the invaders. He does not show his hand: he rather wants to be thought weak. This naturally draws away from head quarters more and more of the hostile force, who think that they shall presently deal a last blow to the Saxon resistance. And so with a petty and apparently200 futile201 display of military force, he continues to amuse and distract the enemy for the next six weeks.
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The impression made on the mind of the people by these events is traceable in two names: Athelney, which now represents ?thelinga Eig, the island of princes; and Borough202 Bridge, which means the bridge at the fortification. The fort which Alfred made in 878 is well preserved, the entrenchments occupying the summit of a conical hill near the east end of the bridge which spans the Parret, after its junction203 with the Tone.
How the king had employed the unrecorded months is manifest in the result. His muster-roll at Brixton Deveril, in the words of a contemporary, is brief yet eloquent204: ‘Then in the seventh week after Easter he rode to Ecgbrihtes Stan, on the eastern side of Selwood, and to meet him at that place came the men of Somerset, all of them, and the Wiltshire men, and of Hampshire the part that was on the hither side of the sea; and of him fain they were.’ This passage of the Saxon Chronicle seems to render a satisfactory account of the manner in which the king had employed his time from Epiphany to Easter in the year 878.
Absorbed in this supreme effort, where his all130 was at stake, he may well have found no time for recovering his buried Jewel, and he may never have revisited the spot until his marks were all obliterated205.
From the land beyond Pedrida, which had hitherto counted to the crown of Wessex only as a recent territorial acquisition, now started up around the fugitive king an army of devoted206 warriors207, who resolutely209 threw their weight into the scale, and rescued the dynasty of their conquerors.
Such was the nature of the force which Alfred now with a swelling210 heart perceived to be entirely211 at his disposal, and he buckled212 to the task of employing them to the best advantage. From the entrenched213 hill by Borough Bridge he prosecuted214 the war against the Danes, whose basis was at Chippenham, and this he continued for six weeks. This he could do with a small force, as he had great advantages of position. Between him and the foe215 lay the fenny channel of the Brue, which he and his people were expert in crossing. So it was comparatively easy for him to harass216 them and retire to his fort.
This kind of warfare, continued for six weeks,131 must have had the designed effect of drawing off from the strength of the foe in Wiltshire, and causing them to concentrate their attention upon this feigned217 line of attack. For all this was only to amuse and distract the enemy, and so to facilitate the execution of a very different project, which the king was preparing. What was passing in Alfred’s mind may (in all essentials) be read in Lord Roberts’s narrative218 of his preparations for attacking the Afghans, when they were entrenched on the Peiwar Kotal in December, 1878[45]. By making display of reconnoitring parties and other preparations as for a front attack, carrying this on to the extent of raising batteries and mounting guns, till he had caused the enemy to make counter dispositions219 accordingly, he with the utmost secrecy220 by a circuitous221 night march made a flank attack, taking them unprepared, and promptly222 dislodged them from an apparently impregnable position. So Alfred, while waging the six weeks’ war, had his trusty messengers abroad all through Wiltshire and Hampshire, preparing for the tryst223 at Ecgbrihtes Stan.
132
Well may we exclaim with Sir Walter Besant—‘What follows is like a dream!’ Yea, verily, like a dream in its sudden transformation224 of the whole face and prospect225 of things, and equally unaccountable too; for no attempt to explain it by natural causes will ever match the stupendous result. It is not in order to dispel226 an illusion that we seek to trace the plan and the process—the illusion cannot be dispelled227. No, rather it is in order to penetrate228 further into the action of a life that has kindled229 our admiration230. Of that life we have a mirror in the enthusiasm with which his presence had fired the Welsh of Somerset beyond Pedrida. It is surely no mere accident that in the memorandum231 of that resolute208 force which mustered232 for his restoration, the first item should be—Sumors?te alle.
[30] Among promising fields of exercise in exploring the bed of the sea, there is the coast from Swanage Bay round to St. Aldhelm’s Head, which might yield some durable233 relics234 from the loot of ancient monasteries235. And if Alfred really did purchase the evacuation of Wareham in 877, ‘pecuniam dando,’ as Ethelwerd has it, the very coins may still be there, and in a good state of preservation.
[31] Ta gegaderode ?tered ealdormon and ?telm ealdorman and ?telnot ealdorman, and ta cinges tegnas te ta ?t ham ?t t?m geweorcum w?ron, of alcre byrig be eastan Pedredan, ge be westan Sealwuda ge be eastan; ge eac be nortan Temese, and be westan S?fern, ge eac sum d?l t?s Nore Weal cynnes. Sax. Chron., ā. 894.
[32] Kemble, Codex Diplomaticus, vol. iii, p. 423; Birch, Cartularium Saxonicum, No. 814.
[33] The English Dialect Dictionary. Edited by Joseph Wright, M.A., Ph.D., Deputy Professor of Comparative Philology236 in the University of Oxford.
[34] 658. Her Cenwalh gefeaht ?t Peonnum wit Walas and hie gefliemde ot Pedridan.
[35] 682. On tissum geare Centwine gefliemde Bret Wealas ot s?.
[36] Proceedings of the Somersetshire Arch?ological and Natural History Society, vol. xviii.
[37] From an Address by Professor Boyd Dawkins in the Proceedings of the Somersetshire Arch?ological and Natural History Society for the year 1872.
[38] A General History of Quadrupeds. The Figures engraved237 on Wood by Thomas Bewick, 1820, p. 135. In Taunton Castle, which is the home and museum of the Somersetshire Arch?ological and Natural History Society, the form and beauty of the red deer may be contemplated in a fine specimen238 which is set up in the great hall, the very hall of the Bloody239 Assize.
[39] Appendix E.
[40] The West Saxon form of this name was Wine, but I write it Wina, as also I adopt the Latin form Ina, in place of the genuine Ine, lest the English reader should allow it to pass through his mind in the shape of a monosyllable. The Anglian forms of these names (in Bede) are Ini and Wini.
[41] ‘Domino gloriosissimo occidentalis regni sceptra gubernanti, quem ego144, ut mihi scrutator cordis et rerum testis est, fraterna caritate amplector, Gerontio Regi simulque cunctis Dei sacerdotibus per Domnoniam conversantibus, Althelmus, &c.’ Haddan and Stubbs, Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents relating to Great Britain and Ireland, vol. iii, p. 268.
[42] In the edition by F. Wise (1722) it is on p. 48; in Monumenta Historica Britannica, p. 486.
[43] This letter is printed in the edition of Asser by F. Wise, p. 123; and the most important parts are given in English by Mr. Conybeare, Alfred in the Chroniclers, p. 218.
[44] And t?s on Eastron worhte ?lfred cyning, litle werede, geweorc ?t ?telinga eigge, and of tam geweorce was winnende wit tone here, and Sumurs?tna se d?l se t?r niehst w?s. Sax. Chron., ā. 878.
[45] Forty-one Years in India, chap. xlvi.
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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interpretations
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| n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 )；表演；演绎；理解 | |
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evoked
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| [医]诱发的 | |
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analyzed
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| v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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momentous
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lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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opportune
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| adj.合适的，适当的 | |
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forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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kin
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constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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fen
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| n.沼泽，沼池 | |
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eluded
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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perfidy
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| n.背信弃义，不忠贞 | |
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invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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invader
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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desultory
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vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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subjugation
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gallant
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odds
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slew
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rustic
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militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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revere
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| vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏 | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mid
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| adj.中央的，中间的 | |
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piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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coalition
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| n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合 | |
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territorial
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| adj.领土的，领地的 | |
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appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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mobility
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| n.可动性，变动性，情感不定 | |
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defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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perjury
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| n.伪证；伪证罪 | |
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lulled
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| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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perfidious
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| adj.不忠的，背信弃义的 | |
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pounce
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| n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意 | |
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truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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meditate
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| v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想 | |
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contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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ruminated
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| v.沉思( ruminate的过去式和过去分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼 | |
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abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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enigma
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| n.谜，谜一样的人或事 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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smacks
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| 掌掴（声）( smack的名词复数 )； 海洛因； （打的）一拳； 打巴掌 | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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repelled
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| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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plundering
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的现在分词 ) | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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fortify
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| v.强化防御，为…设防；加强，强化 | |
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dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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repulse
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| n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝 | |
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reticence
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| n.沉默，含蓄 | |
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explicit
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| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
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80
epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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81
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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82
muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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83
sketched
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| v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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84
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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85
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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86
forgo
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| v.放弃，抛弃 | |
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87
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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88
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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89
radically
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| ad.根本地，本质地 | |
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90
conversant
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|
| adj.亲近的，有交情的，熟悉的 | |
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91
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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92
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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93
vowel
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| n.元音；元音字母 | |
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94
legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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95
predecessors
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| n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身 | |
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96
promontory
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|
| n.海角；岬 | |
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97
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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98
Ford
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|
| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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99
vein
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|
| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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100
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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101
mischievous
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|
| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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102
versatile
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| adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的 | |
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103
obsolete
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|
| adj.已废弃的，过时的 | |
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104
isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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105
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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106
implements
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|
| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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107
retired
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|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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108
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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109
alder
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| n.赤杨树 | |
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110
yew
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| n.紫杉属树木 | |
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111
underneath
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|
| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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112
isolated
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|
| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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113
oases
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|
| n.（沙漠中的）绿洲( oasis的名词复数 )；（困苦中）令人快慰的地方（或时刻）；乐土；乐事 | |
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114
prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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115
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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116
willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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117
silt
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| n.淤泥，淤沙，粉砂层，泥沙层；vt.使淤塞；vi.被淤塞 | |
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118
prostrate
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|
| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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119
beech
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| n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的 | |
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120
moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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121
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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122
nurture
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|
| n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持 | |
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123
props
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| 小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋 | |
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124
usurped
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| 篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权 | |
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125
maple
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| n.槭树，枫树，槭木 | |
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126
holly
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| n.[植]冬青属灌木 | |
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127
hawthorn
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| 山楂 | |
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128
encumbered
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| v.妨碍，阻碍，拖累( encumber的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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129
nettle
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| n.荨麻；v.烦忧，激恼 | |
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130
diversified
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|
| adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域 | |
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131
muffled
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|
| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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132
monotonous
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|
| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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133
shroud
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| n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏 | |
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134
incognito
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|
| adv.匿名地；n.隐姓埋名；adj.化装的，用假名的，隐匿姓名身份的 | |
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135
domesticated
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|
| adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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136
abounding
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|
| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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137
elegance
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|
| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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138
flexibility
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|
| n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性 | |
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139
annually
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|
| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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140
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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141
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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142
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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143
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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144
ego
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| n.自我，自己，自尊 | |
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145
confluence
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| n.汇合，聚集 | |
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146
alias
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| n.化名；别名；adv.又名 | |
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147
westward
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|
| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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148
fenny
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|
| adj.沼泽的；沼泽多的；长在沼泽地带的；住在沼泽地的 | |
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149
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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150
tributary
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|
| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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151
surmised
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|
| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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152
internecine
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| adj.两败俱伤的 | |
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153
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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154
conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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155
amicable
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| adj.和平的，友好的；友善的 | |
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156
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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157
gleaned
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| v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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158
consecrated
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|
| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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159
bishops
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| （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 | |
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160
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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161
legendary
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| adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学） | |
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162
embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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163
apocryphal
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|
| adj.假冒的，虚假的 | |
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164
enactment
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| n.演出，担任…角色；制订，通过 | |
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165
exhort
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| v.规劝，告诫 | |
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166
conformity
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| n.一致，遵从，顺从 | |
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167
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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168
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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169
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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170
preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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171
monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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172
sojourn
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| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
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173
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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174
wondrous
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|
| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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175
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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176
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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177
meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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178
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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179
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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180
attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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181
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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182
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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183
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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184
narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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185
inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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186
apprehend
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| vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑 | |
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187
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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188
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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189
versatility
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| n.多才多艺，多样性，多功能 | |
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190
accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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191
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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192
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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193
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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194
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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195
scamper
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| v.奔跑，快跑 | |
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196
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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197
overt
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| adj.公开的，明显的，公然的 | |
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198
fortifies
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| 筑防御工事于( fortify的第三人称单数 )； 筑堡于； 增强； 强化（食品） | |
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199
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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200
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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201
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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202
borough
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| n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇 | |
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203
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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204
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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205
obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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206
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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207
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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buckled
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| a. 有带扣的 | |
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entrenched
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| adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯) | |
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prosecuted
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| a.被起诉的 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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harass
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| vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰 | |
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feigned
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| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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dispositions
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| 安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质 | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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circuitous
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| adj.迂回的路的，迂曲的，绕行的 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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tryst
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| n.约会；v.与…幽会 | |
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transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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dispel
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| vt.驱走，驱散，消除 | |
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dispelled
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| v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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memorandum
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| n.备忘录，便笺 | |
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mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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durable
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| adj.持久的，耐久的 | |
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relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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monasteries
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| 修道院( monastery的名词复数 ) | |
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philology
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| n.语言学；语文学 | |
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engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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