Translator’s Preface

 “The Duke of Brittany” is the story of the brief but eventful career of Arthur, son of Geoffrey Plantagenet and Constance of Brittany. Geoffrey was the fourth son of Henry the Second of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Guienne. Upon the death of his brother Henry, Richard, surnamed the Lion-hearted, became the heir apparent and succeeded to the throne after the death of his father in 1189. Richard shortly afterward¹ became one of the leaders of the Third Crusade, which ended disastrously². After being taken prisoner in Austria by Duke Leopold he was ransomed³ and returned to England, where he suppressed the rebellion of his brother John. He then invaded France to punish Philip the Second, John’s ally, but was mortally wounded while besieging⁴ the fortress⁵ of Chalus, near Limoges. On Richard’s death, John, surnamed Lackland, ascended⁶ the throne, ignoring the rightful claim of Duke Arthur, Geoffrey’s son. Almost his first act was the murder of Arthur, who, with the encouragement of Philip Augustus of France, was prepared to defend his claim as the son of an elder brother. By John’s foul⁷ deed England lost its French fiefs.

 

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The story turns upon the events in Arthur’s short life, his young days in Brittany, the violent death of his father, the relations of his mother to Philip of France, the boy’s love for his uncle Richard, his service in the field with Philip, his espousal to Marie of France, the war with John, his capture and assassination⁸ by the latter. The incidental characters are the Jew Abraham of Paris, Earl Salisbury, the valiant⁹ knight¹⁰ H?el of Mordant¹¹ and his son Alan, between whom and Arthur existed a beautiful friendship. Many of the scenes are of thrilling dramatic interest, particularly the one in which the crafty¹² and malicious¹³ Queen Eleanor refrained from blinding Arthur only because of his resemblance to his father, her favorite son; the assassination on shipboard; and the accusation¹⁴ of King John by Alan. Some of the historical data in the story are not accurate in minor¹⁵ details, but in general the tale follows the versions of the historical authorities. It is a fascinating picture of two lovable, high-minded, chivalrous¹⁶ youths, worthy¹⁷ the study of the youths of to-day.

 

G. P. U.

 

Chicago, 1908.

1 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

2 disastrously   

ad.灾难性地

参考例句：

• Their profits began to spiral down disastrously. 他们的利润开始螺旋形地急剧下降。
• The fit between the country's information needs and its information media has become disastrously disjointed. 全国的信息需求与信息传播媒介之间的配置，出现了严重的不协调。

3 ransomed   

付赎金救人，赎金( ransom的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His wife ransomed him at a heavy price. 他妻子花了大价钱才把他赎了出来。
• Surely, surely, we have ransomed one another, with all this woe! 确确实实，我们已经用这一切悲苦彼此赎救了！ 来自英汉文学 - 红字

4 besieging   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They constituted a near-insuperable obstacle to the besieging infantry. 它们就会形成围城步兵几乎不可逾越的障碍。
• He concentrated the sun's rays on the Roman ships besieging the city and burned them. 他把集中的阳光照到攻城的罗马船上，把它们焚毁。

5 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

6 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

8 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

9 valiant   

adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人

参考例句：

• He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
• Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施，通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。

10 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

11 mordant   

adj.讽刺的；尖酸的

参考例句：

• Actors feared the critic's mordant pen.演员都惧怕这位批评家辛辣尖刻的笔调。
• His mordant wit appealed to students.他那尖刻的妙语受到学生们的欢迎。

12 crafty   

adj.狡猾的，诡诈的

参考例句：

• He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。

13 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

14 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

15 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。

16 chivalrous   

adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的

参考例句：

• Men are so little chivalrous now.现在的男人几乎没有什么骑士风度了。
• Toward women he was nobly restrained and chivalrous.对于妇女，他表现得高尚拘谨，尊敬三分。

17 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。