A week before he left Naples, Charles had sent to Rome Monseigneur de Saint-Paul, brother of Cardinal9 de Luxembourg; and just as he was starting he despatched thither10 the new Archbishop of Lyons. They both were commissioned to assure Alexander that the King of France had the most sincere desire and the very best intention of remaining his friend. In truth, Charles wished for nothing so much as to separate the pope from the league, so as to secure him as a spiritual and temporal support; but a young king, full of fire, ambition, and courage, was not the neighbour to suit Alexander; so the latter would listen to nothing, and as the troops he had demanded from the doge and Ludavico Sforza had not been sent in sufficient number for the defense11 of Rome, he was content with provisioning the castle of S. Angelo, putting in a formidable garrison12, and leaving Cardinal Sant' Anastasio to receive Charles while he himself withdrew with Caesar to Orvieto. Charles only stayed in Rome three days, utterly13 depressed14 because the pope had refused to receive him in spite of his entreaties15. And in these three days, instead of listening to Giuliano delta16 Rovere, who was advising him once more to call a council and depose17 the pope, he rather hoped to bring the pope round to his side by the virtuous18 act of restoring the citadels19 of Terracina and Civita Vecchia to the authorities of the Romagna, only keeping for himself Ostia, which he had promised Giuliano to give back to him. At last, when the three days had elapsed, he left Rome, and resumed his march in three columns towards Tuscany, crossed the States of the Church, and on the 13th reached Siena, where he was joined by Philippe de Commines, who had gone as ambassador extraordinary to the Venetian Republic, and now announced that the enemy had forty thousand men under arms and were preparing for battle. This news produced no other effect an the king and the gentlemen of his army than to excite their amusement beyond measure; for they had conceived such a contempt for their enemy by their easy conquest, that they could not believe that any army, however numerous, would venture to oppose their passage.
Charles, however, was forced to give way in the face of facts, when he heard at San Teranza that his vanguard, commanded by Marechal de Gie, and composed of six hundred lances and fifteen hundred Swiss, when it arrived at Fornova had come face to face with the confederates, who had encamped at Guiarole. The marechal had ordered an instant halt, and he too had pitched his tents, utilising for his defence the natural advantages of the hilly ground. When these first measures had been taken, he sent out, first, a herald20 to the enemy's camp to ask from Francesco di Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, generalissimo of the confederate troops, a passage for his king's army and provisions at a reasonable price; and secondly21, he despatched a courier to Charles VIII, pressing him to hurry on his march with the artillery22 and rearguard. The confederates had given an evasive answer, for they were pondering whether they ought to jeopardise the whole Italian force in a single combat, and, putting all to the hazard, attempt to annihilate23 the King of France and his army together, so overwhelming the conqueror24 in the ruins of his ambition. The messenger found Charles busy superintending the passage of the last of his cannon25 over the mountain of Pontremoli. This was no easy matter, seeing that there was no sort of track, and the guns had to be lifted up and lowered by main farce26, and each piece needed the arms of as many as two hundred men. At last, when all the artillery had arrived without accident on the other side of the Apennines, Charles started in hot haste for Fornovd, where he arrived with all his following on the morning of the next day.
From the top of the mountain where the Marechai de Gie had pitched his tents, the king beheld27 both his own camp and the enemy's. Both were on the right bank of the Taro28, and were at either end of a semicircular chain of hills resembling an amphitheatre; and the space between the two camps, a vast basin filled during the winter floods by the torrent29 which now only marked its boundary, was nothing but a plain covered with gravel30, where all manoeuvres must be equally difficult for horse and infantry. Besides, on the western slope of the hills there was a little wood which extended from the enemy's army to the French, and was in the possession of the Stradiotes, who, by help of its cover, had already engaged in several skirmishes with the French troops during the two days of halt while they were waiting for the king.
The situation was not reassuring31. From the top of the mountain which overlooked Fornovo, one could get a view, as we said before, of the two camps, and could easily calculate the numerical difference between them. The French army, weakened by the establishment of garrisons32 in the various towns and fortresses33 they had won in Italy, were scarcely eight thousand strong, while the combined forces of Milan and Venice exceeded a total of thirty-five thousand. So Charles decided34 to try once more the methods of conciliation35, and sent Commines, who, as we know, had joined him in Tuscany, to the Venetian 'proveditori', whose acquaintance he had made when on his embassy; he having made a great impression on these men, thanks to a general high opinion of his merits. He was commissioned to tell the enemy's generals, in the name of the King of France, that his master only desired to continue his road without doing or receiving any harm; that therefore he asked to be allowed a free passage across the fair plains of Lombardy, which he could see from the heights where he now stood, stretching as far as the eye could reach, away to the foot of the Alps. Commines found the confederate army deep in discussion: the wish of the Milanese and Venetian party being to let the king go by, and not attack him; they said they were only too happy that he should leave Italy in this way, without causing any further harm; but the ambassadors of Spain and Germany took quite another view. As their masters had no troops in the army, and as all the money they had promised was already paid, they must be the gainer in either case from a battle, whichever way it went: if they won the day they would gather the fruits of victory, and if they lost they would experience nothing of the evils of defeat. This want of unanimity36 was the reason why the answer to Commines was deferred37 until the following day, and why it was settled that on the next day he should hold another conference with a plenipotentiary to be appointed in the course of that night. The place of this conference was to be between the two armies.
The king passed the night in great uneasiness. All day the weather had threatened to turn to rain, and we have already said how rapidly the Taro could swell38; the river, fordable to-day, might from tomorrow onwards prove an insurmountable obstacle; and possibly the delay had only been asked for with a view to putting the French army in a worse position. As a fact the night had scarcely come when a terrible storm arose, and so long as darkness lasted, great rumblings were heard in the Apennines, and the sky was brilliant with lightning. At break of day, however, it seemed to be getting a little calmer, though the Taro, only a streamlet the day before, had become a torrent by this time, and was rapidly rising. So at six in the morning, the king, ready armed and on horseback, summoned Commines and bade him make his way to the rendezvous40 that the Venetian 'proveditori' had assigned. But scarcely had he contrived41 to give the order when loud cries were heard coming from the extreme right of the French army. The Stradiotes, under cover of the wood stretching between the two camps, had surprised an outpost, and first cutting the soldiers' throats, were carrying off their heads in their usual way at the saddle-bow. A detachment of cavalry42 was sent in pursuit; but, like wild animals, they had retreated to their lair43 in the woods, and there disappeared.
This unexpected engagement, in all probability arranged beforehand by the Spanish and German envoys44, produced on the whole army the effect of a spark applied45 to a train of gunpowder46. Commines and the Venetian 'proveditori' each tried in vain to arrest the combat an either side. Light troops, eager for a skirmish, and, in the usual fashion of those days, prompted only by that personal courage which led them on to danger, had already come to blows, rushing down into the plain as though it were an amphitheatre where they might make a fine display of arms. Far a moment the young king, drawn47 on by example, was an the point of forgetting the responsibility of a general in his zeal48 as a soldier; but this first impulse was checked by Marechal de Gie, Messire Claude de la Chatre de Guise49, and M. de la Trimauille, who persuaded Charles to adopt the wiser plan, and to cross the Taro without seeking a battle,—at the same time without trying to avoid it, should the enemy cross the river from their camp and attempt to block his passage. The king accordingly, following the advice of his wisest and bravest captains, thus arranged his divisions.
The first comprised the van and a body of troops whose duty it was to support them. The van consisted of three hundred and fifty men-at-arms, the best and bravest of the army, under the command of Marechal de Gie and Jacques Trivulce; the corps50 following them consisted of three thousand Swiss, under the command of Engelbert der Cleves and de Larnay, the queen's grand equerry; next came three hundred archers51 of the guard, whom the king had sent to help the cavalry by fighting in the spaces between them.
The second division, commanded by the king in person and forming the middle of the army, was composed of the artillery, under Jean de Lagrange, a hundred gentlemen of the guard with Gilles Carrone far standard-bearer, pensioners52 of the king's household under Aymar de Prie, some Scots, and two hundred cross-bowmen an horseback, with French archers besides, led by M. de Crussol.
Lastly, the third division, i.e. the rear, preceded by six thousand beasts of burden bearing the baggage, was composed of only three hundred men-at-arms, commanded by de Guise and by de la Trimouille: this was the weakest part of the army.
When this arrangement was settled, Charles ordered the van to cross the river, just at the little town of Fornovo. This was done at once, the riders getting wet up to their knees, and the footmen holding to the horses' tails. As soon as he saw the last soldiers of his first division on the opposite bank, he started himself to follow the same road and cross at the same ford39, giving orders to de Guise and de la Trimouille to regulate the march of the rear guard by that of the centre, just as he had regulated their march by that of the van. His orders were punctually carried out; and about ten o'clock in the morning the whole French army was on the left bank of the Taro: at the same time, when it seemed certain from the enemy's arrangements that battle was imminent53, the baggage, led by the captain, Odet de Reberac, was separated from the rear guard, and retired54 to the extreme left.
Now, Francisco de Gonzaga, general-in-chief of the confederate troops, had modelled his plans on those of the King of France; by his orders, Count de Cajazzo, with four hundred men-at-arms and two thousand infantry, had crossed the Taro where the Venetian camp lay, and was to attack the French van; while Gonzaga himself, following the right bank as far as Fornovo, would go over the river by the same ford that Charles had used, with a view to attacking his rear. Lastly, he had placed the Stradiotes between these two fords, with orders to cross the river in their turn, so soon as they saw the French army attacked both in van and in the rear, and to fall upon its flank. Not content with offensive measures, Gonzaga had also made provision for retreat by leaving three reserve corps on the right bank, one to guard the camp under the instruction of the Venetian 'provveditori', and the other two arranged in echelon55 to support each other, the first commanded by Antonio di Montefeltro, the second by Annibale Bentivoglio.
Charles had observed all these arrangements, and had recognised the cunning Italian strategy which made his opponents the finest generals in the world; but as there was no means of avoiding the danger, he had decided to take a sideway course, and had given orders to continue the match; but in a minute the French army was caught between Count di Cajazzo, barring the way with his four hundred men-at-arms and his two thousand infantry, and Gonzaga in pursuit of the rear, as we said before; leading six hundred men-at-arms, the flower of his army, a squadron of Stradiotes, and more than five thousand infantry: this division alone was stronger than the whole of the French army.
When, however, M. de Guise and M. de la Trimouille found themselves pressed in this way, they ordered their two hundred men-at-arms to turn right about face, while at the opposite end—that is, at the head of the army-Marechal de Gie and Trivulce ordered a halt and lances in rest. Meanwhile, according to custom, the king, who, as we said, was in the centre, was conferring knighthood on those gentlemen who had earned the favour either by virtue56 of their personal powers or the king's special friendship.
Suddenly there was heard a terrible clash behind it was the French rearguard coming to blows with the Marquis of Mantua. In this encounter, where each man had singled out his own foe57 as though it were a tournament, very many lances were broken, especially those of the Italian knights58; for their lances were hollowed so as to be less heavy, and in consequence had less solidity. Those who were thus disarmed59 at once seized their swords. As they were far more numerous than the French, the king saw them suddenly outflanking his right wing and apparently60 prepared to surround it; at the same moment loud cries were heard from a direction facing the centre: this meant that the Stradiotes were crossing the river to make their attack.
The king at once ordered his division into two detachments, and giving one to Bourbon the bastard61, to make head against the Stradiotes, he hurried with the second to the rescue of the van, flinging himself into the very midst of the melee62, striking out like a king, and doing as steady work as the lowest in rank of his captains. Aided by the reinforcement, the rearguard made a good stand, though the enemy were five against one, and the combat in this part continued to rage with wonderful fury.
Obeying his orders, Bourbon had thrown himself upon the Stradiotes; but unfortunately, carried off by his horse, he had penetrated63 so far into the enemy's ranks that he was lost to sight: the disappearance64 of their chief, the strange dress of their new antagonists65, and the peculiar66 method of their fighting produced a considerable effect on those who were to attack them; and for the moment disorder67 was the consequence in the centre, and the horse men scattered68 instead of serrying their ranks and fighting in a body. This false move would have done them serious harm, had not most of the Stradiotes, seeing the baggage alone and undefended, rushed after that in hope of booty, instead of following up their advantage. A great part of the troop nevertheless stayed behind to fight, pressing on the French cavalry and smashing their lances with their fearful scimitars. Happily the king, who had just repulsed69 the Marquis of Mantua's attack, perceived what was going on behind him, and riding back at all possible speed to the succour of the centre, together with the gentlemen of his household fell upon the Stradiotes, no longer armed with a lance, for that he had just broken, but brandishing70 his long sword, which blazed about him like lightning, and—either because he was whirled away like Bourbon by his own horse, or because he had allowed his courage to take him too far—he suddenly found himself in the thickest ranks of the Stradiotes, accompanied only by eight of the knights he had just now created, one equerry called Antoine des Ambus, and his standard-bearer. "France, France!" he cried aloud, to rally round him all the others who had scattered; they, seeing at last that the danger was less than they had supposed, began to take their revenge and to pay back with interest the blows they had received from the Stradiotes. Things were going still better, for the van, which the Marquis de Cajazzo was to attack; for although he had at first appeared to be animated71 with a terrible purpose, he stopped short about ten or twelve feet from the French line and turned right about face without breaking a single lance. The French wanted to pursue, but the Marechal de Gie, fearing that this flight might be only a trick to draw off the vanguard from the centre, ordered every man to stay in his place. But the Swiss, who were German, and did not understand the order, or thought it was not meant for them, followed upon their heels, and although on foot caught them up and killed a hundred of them. This was quite enough to throw them into disorder, so that some were scattered about the plain, and others made a rush for the water, so as to cross the river and rejoin their camp.
When the Marechal de Gie saw this, he detached a hundred of his own men to go to the aid of the king, who was continuing to fight with unheard-of courage and running the greatest risks, constantly separated as he was from his gentlemen, who could not follow him; for wherever there was danger, thither he rushed, with his cry of "France," little troubling himself as to whether he was followed or not. And it was no longer with his sword that he fought; that he had long ago broken, like his lance, but with a heavy battle-axe, whose every blow was mortal whether cut or pierced. Thus the Stradiotes, already hard pressed by the king's household and his pensioners, soon changed attack for defence and defence for flight. It was at this moment that the king was really in the greatest danger; for he had let himself be carried away in pursuit of the fugitives72, and presently found himself all alone, surrounded by these men, who, had they not been struck with a mighty73 terror, would have had nothing to do but unite and crush him and his horse together; but, as Commines remarks, "He whom God guards is well guarded, and God was guarding the King of France."
All the same, at this moment the French were sorely pressed in the rear; and although de Guise and de la Trimouille held out as firmly as it was possible to hold, they would probably have been compelled to yield to superior numbers had not a double aid arrived in time: first the indefatigable74 Charles, who, having nothing more to do among the fugitives, once again dashed into the midst of the fight, next the servants of the army, who, now that they were set free from the Stradiotes and saw their enemies put to flight, ran up armed with the axes they habitually75 used to cut down wood for building their huts: they burst into the middle of the fray76, slashing77 at the horses' legs and dealing78 heavy blows that smashed in the visors of the dismounted horsemen.
The Italians could not hold out against this double attack; the 'furia francese' rendered all their strategy and all their calculations useless, especially as for more than a century they had abandoned their fights of blood and fury for a kind of tournament they chose to regard as warfare79; so, in spite of all Gonzaga's efforts, they turned their backs upon the French rear and took to flight; in the greatest haste and with much difficulty they recrossed the torrent, which was swollen80 even more now by the rain that had been falling during the whole time of the battle.
Some thought fit to pursue the vanquished81, for there was now such disorder in their ranks that they were fleeing in all directions from the battlefield where the French had gained so glorious a victory, blocking up the roads to Parma and Bercetto. But Marechal de Gie and de Guise and de la Trimouille, who had done quite enough to save them from the suspicion of quailing82 before imaginary dangers, put a stop to this enthusiasm, by pointing out that it would only be risking the loss of their present advantage if they tried to push it farther with men and horses so worn out. This view was adopted in spite of the opinion of Trivulce, Camillo Vitelli, and Francesco Secco, who were all eager to follow up the victory.
The king retired to a little village an the left bank of the Taro, and took shelter in a poor house. There he disarmed, being perhaps among all the captains and all the soldiers the man who had fought best.
During the night the torrent swelled83 so high that the Italian army could not have pursued, even if they had laid aside their fears. The king did not propose to give the appearance of flight after a victory, and therefore kept his army drawn up all day, and at night went on to sleep at Medesano, a little village only a mile lower down than the hamlet where he rested after the fight. But in the course of the night he reflected that he had done enough for the honour of his arms in fighting an army four times as great as his own and killing84 three thousand men, and then waiting a day and a half to give them time to take their revenge; so two hours before daybreak he had the fires lighted, that the enemy might suppose he was remaining in camp; and every man mounting noiselessly, the whole French army, almost out of danger by this time, proceeded on their march to Borgo San Donnino.
While this was going on, the pope returned to Rome, where news highly favourable85 to his schemes was not slow to reach his ears. He learned that Ferdinand had crossed from Sicily into Calabria with six thousand volunteers and a considerable number of Spanish horse and foot, led, at the command of Ferdinand and Isabella, by the famous Gonzalva de Cordova, who arrived in Italy with a great reputation, destined86 to suffer somewhat from the defeat at Seminara. At almost the same time the French fleet had been beaten by the Aragonese; moreover, the battle of the Taro, though a complete defeat for the confederates, was another victory for the pope, because its result was to open a return to France for that man whom he regarded as his deadliest foe. So, feeling that he had nothing more to fear from Charles, he sent him a brief at Turin, where he had stopped for a short time to give aid to Novara, therein commanding him, by virtue of his pontifical87 authority, to depart out of Italy with his army, and to recall within ten days those of his troops that still remained in the kingdom of Naples, on pain of excommunication, and a summons to appear before him in person.
Charles VIII replied:
That he did not understand how the pope, the chief of the league, ordered him to leave Italy, whereas the confederates had not only refused him a passage, but had even attempted, though unsuccessfully, as perhaps His Holiness knew, to cut off his return into France;
That, as to recalling his troops from Naples, he was not so irreligious as to do that, since they had not entered the kingdom without the consent and blessing88 of His Holiness;
That he was exceedingly surprised that the pope should require his presence in person at the capital of the Christian89 world just at the present time, when six weeks previously90, at the time of his return from Naples, although he ardently91 desired an interview with His Holiness, that he might offer proofs of his respect and obedience92, His Holiness, instead of according this favour, had quitted Rome so hastily on his approach that he had not been able to come up with him by any efforts whatsoever93. On this point, however, he promised to give His Holiness the satisfaction he desired, if he would engage this time to wait for him: he would therefore return to Rome so soon as the affairs that brought him back to his own kingdom had been satisfactorily, settled.
Although in this reply there was a touch of mockery and defiance94, Charles was none the less compelled by the circumstances of the case to obey the pope's strange brief. His presence was so much needed in France that, in spite of the arrival of a Swiss reinforcement, he was compelled to conclude a peace with Ludovico Sforza, whereby he yielded Novara to him; while Gilbert de Montpensier and d'Aubigny, after defending, inch by inch, Calabria, the Basilicate, and Naples, were obliged to sign the capitulation of Atella, after a siege of thirty-two days, on the 20th of July, 1496. This involved giving back to Ferdinand II, King of Naples, all the palaces and fortresses of his kingdom; which indeed he did but enjoy for three months, dying of exhaustion95 on the 7th of September following, at the Castello della Somma, at the foot of Vesuvius; all the attentions lavished96 upon him by his young wife could not repair the evil that her beauty had wrought97.
His uncle Frederic succeeded; and so, in the three years of his papacy, Alexander VI had seen five kings upon the throne of Naples, while he was establishing himself more firmly upon his own pontifical seat—Ferdinand I, Alfonso I, Charles VIII, Ferdinand II, and Frederic. All this agitation98 about his throne, this rapid succession of sovereigns, was the best thing possible for Alexander; for each new monarch100 became actually king only on condition of his receiving the pontifical investiture. The consequence was that Alexander was the only gainer in power and credit by these changes; for the Duke of Milan and the republics of Florence and Venice had successively recognised him as supreme101 head of the Church, in spite of his simony; moreover, the five kings of Naples had in turn paid him homage102. So he thought the time had now come for founding a mighty family; and for this he relied upon the Duke of Gandia, who was to hold all the highest temporal dignities; and upon Caesar Borgia, who was to be appointed to all the great ecclesiastical offices. The pope made sure of the success of these new projects by electing four Spanish cardinals103, who brought up the number of his compatriots in the Sacred College to twenty-two, thus assuring him a constant and certain majority.
The first requirement of the pope's policy was to clear away from the neighbourhood of Rome all those petty lords whom most people call vicars of the Church, but whom Alexander called the shackles104 of the papacy. We saw that he had already begun this work by rousing the Orsini against the Colonna family, when Charles VIII's enterprise compelled him to concentrate all his mental resources, and also the forces of his States, so as to secure his own personal safety.
It had come about through their own imprudent action that the Orsini, the pope's old friends, were now in the pay of the French, and had entered the kingdom of Naples with them, where one of them, Virginio, a very important member of their powerful house, had been taken prisoner during the war, and was Ferdinand II's captive. Alexander could not let this opportunity escape him; so, first ordering the King of Naples not to release a man who, ever since the 1st of June, 1496, had been a declared rebel, he pronounced a sentence of confiscation105 against Virginio Orsini and his whole family in a secret consistory, which sat on the 26th of October following—that is to say, in the early days of the reign99 of Frederic, whom he knew to be entirely106 at his command, owing to the King's great desire of getting the investiture from him; then, as it was not enough to declare the goods confiscated107, without also dispossessing the owners, he made overtures108 to the Colonna family, saying he would commission them, in proof of their new bond of friendship, to execute the order given against their old enemies under the direction of his son Francesco, Duke of Gandia. In this fashion he contrived to weaken his neighbours each by means of the other, till such time as he could safely attack and put an end to conquered and conqueror alike.
The Colonna family accepted this proposition, and the Duke of Gandia was named General of the Church: his father in his pontifical robes bestowed109 on him the insignia of this office in the church of St. Peter's at Rome.
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necessitated
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| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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advisers
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| 顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授 | |
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retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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infantry
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cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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thither
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defense
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garrison
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utterly
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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entreaties
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delta
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depose
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virtuous
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citadels
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herald
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secondly
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artillery
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annihilate
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conqueror
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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farce
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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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taro
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| n.芋，芋头 | |
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torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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31
reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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garrisons
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| 守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 ) | |
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fortresses
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| 堡垒，要塞( fortress的名词复数 ) | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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35
conciliation
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| n.调解，调停 | |
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36
unanimity
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| n.全体一致，一致同意 | |
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deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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38
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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39
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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41
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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42
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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lair
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| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
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envoys
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| 使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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46
gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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archers
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| n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 ) | |
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pensioners
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| n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 ) | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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echelon
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| n.梯队；组织系统中的等级；v.排成梯队 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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bastard
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| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
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melee
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| n.混战；混战的人群 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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antagonists
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| 对立[对抗] 者，对手，敌手( antagonist的名词复数 )； 对抗肌； 对抗药 | |
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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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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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repulsed
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| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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indefatigable
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| adj.不知疲倦的，不屈不挠的 | |
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habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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slashing
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| adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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quailing
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| 害怕，发抖，畏缩( quail的现在分词 ) | |
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swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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pontifical
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| adj.自以为是的，武断的 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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lavished
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| v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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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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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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102
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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103
cardinals
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| 红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数 | |
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104
shackles
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| 手铐( shackle的名词复数 )； 脚镣； 束缚； 羁绊 | |
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105
confiscation
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| n. 没收, 充公, 征收 | |
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106
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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107
confiscated
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| 没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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108
overtures
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| n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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