7000 Norman infantry and knights sailed in warships across the English Channel.

7000名諾曼步兵和騎士乘坐戰艦駛過英吉利海峽。

Their target: England, home to more than a million people.

他們的目標是英格蘭，超過一百萬人的家園。

Theirs was a short voyage with massive consequences.

他們的航程很短，但後果很嚴重。

And around the same period of time,

而在同一時期前後。

other groups of Normans were setting forth all across Europe,

其他諾曼人的團體在歐洲各地展開。

going on adventures that would reverberate throughout that continent's history.

踏上了將會在該大陸的歷史上引起反響的冒險之旅。

So who were these warriors

那麼這些戰士是誰呢？

and how did they leave their mark so far and wide?

他們又是如何將自己的印記留得如此之遠的呢？

Our story begins over 200 years earlier,

我們的故事始於200多年前。

when Vikings began to settle on the shores of northern France

維京人開始在法國北部沿海地區定居下來

as part of a great Scandinavian exodus across northern Europe.

作為北歐斯堪的納維亞大遷徙的一部分。

The French locals called these invaders Normans,

法國當地人稱這些入侵者為諾曼人。

named for the direction they came from.

因其來自的方向而得名。

Eventually, Charles, the king of the Franks,

最終，法蘭克人的國王查理。

negotiated peace with the Viking leader Rollo in 911,

911年與維京人領袖羅羅談判和平。

granting him a stretch of land along France's northern coast

授予他法國北部海岸的一片土地。

that came to be known as Normandy.

後來被稱為諾曼底。

The Normans proved adaptable to their newly settled life.

事實證明，諾曼人能夠適應他們新的定居生活。

They married Frankish women,

他們娶了法蘭克人的女人。

adopted the French language,

採用了法語。

and soon started converting from Norse paganism to Christianity.

並很快開始從北歐異教皈依基督教。

But though they adapted,

不過雖然他們適應了。

they maintained the warrior tradition

他們保持著武士的傳統

and conquering spirit of their Viking forebears.

和維京人先輩的征服精神。

Before long, ambitious Norman knights were looking for new challenges.

不久之後，雄心勃勃的諾曼騎士們開始尋找新的挑戰。

The Normans' best-known achievement was their conquest of England.

諾曼人最著名的成就是他們征服了英格蘭。

In 1066, William, the Duke of Normandy,

1066年，諾曼底公爵威廉。

disputed the claim of the new English king, Harold Godwinson.

對英國新國王哈羅德-戈德溫森的主張提出異議。

Soon after landing in England,

登陸英國後不久。

William and his knights met Harold's army near the town of Hastings.

威廉和他的騎士們在黑斯廷斯鎮附近與哈羅德的軍隊相遇。

The climactic moment in the battle

戰鬥的高潮時刻

is immortalized in the 70-meter-long Bayeux Tapestry,

在70米長的拜厄掛毯中得到了永生。

where an arrow striking Harold in the eye seals the Norman victory.

在那裡，一箭擊中哈羅德的眼睛，封住了諾曼人的勝利。

William consolidated his gains with a huge castle-building campaign

威廉通過大規模的城堡建設運動鞏固了他的成果。

and a reorganization of English society.

以及英國社會的重組。

He lived up to his nickname "William the Conqueror"

他不愧是 "征服者威廉 "的綽號。

through a massive survey known as the Domesday Book,

通過被稱為 "多米諾書 "的大規模調查。

which recorded the population and ownership

記錄人口和所有制

of every piece of land in England.

英國每一塊土地的。

Norman French became the language of the new royal court,

諾曼法語成為新的王室的語言。

while commoners continued to speak Anglo-Saxon.

而平民則繼續說盎格魯-撒克遜語。

Over time, the two merged to give us the English we know today,

隨著時間的推移，二者的融合讓我們有了今天的英語。

though the divide between lords and peasants can still be felt

雖說貴賤分明

in synonym pairs such as cow and beef.

在同義詞對中，如牛和牛肉。

By the end of the 12th century,

到12世紀末。

the Normans had further expanded into Wales,

諾曼人已進一步向威爾士擴張。

Scotland,

蘇格蘭：

and Ireland.

和愛爾蘭。

Meanwhile, independent groups of Norman knights

同時，獨立的諾曼騎士團

traveled to the Mediterranean,

前往地中海。

inspired by tales of pilgrims returning from Jerusalem.

靈感來自於從耶路撒冷回來的朝聖者的故事。

There, they threw themselves into a tangled mass of conflicts

在那裡，他們投入到紛繁複雜的矛盾中去了

among the established powers all over that region.

在該地區的既有勢力中，。

They became highly prized mercenaries,

他們成了備受重視的僱傭兵。

and during one of these battles,

並在其中一場戰鬥中。

they made the first recorded heavy cavalry charge with couched lances,

他們首次記錄了重騎兵用長槍衝鋒。

a devastating tactic that soon became standard in medieval warfare.

一種毀滅性的戰術，很快成為中世紀戰爭的標準戰術。

The Normans were also central to the First Crusade of 1095-99,

諾曼人也是1095-99年第一次十字軍東征的核心。

a bloody conflict that re-established Christian control

血海深仇

in certain parts of the Middle East.

在中東某些地區。

But the Normans did more than just fight.

但諾曼人做的不僅僅是戰鬥。

As a result of their victories,

由於他們的勝利。

leaders like William Iron-Arm and Robert the Crafty

梟雄

secured lands throughout Southern Italy,

在整個意大利南部獲得土地。

eventually merging them to form the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130.

最終在1130年將其合併為西西里王國。

Under Roger II,

在羅傑二世的帶領下。

the kingdom became a beacon of multicultural tolerance

王國成為多元文化容忍的燈塔。

in a world torn apart by religious and civil wars.

在一個被宗教和內戰撕裂的世界裡。

Muslim Arab poets and scholars served in the royal court

阿拉伯穆斯林詩人和學者在皇宮任職

alongside Byzantine Greek sailors and architects.

與拜占庭希臘水手和建築師一起。

Arabic remained an official language along with Latin, Greek, and Norman French.

阿拉伯語與拉丁語、希臘語和諾曼底法語一起仍是官方語言。

The world's geographical knowledge was compiled in The Book of Roger,

世界上的地理知識都編入了《羅輯思維》。

whose maps of the known world

其世界地圖

would remain the most accurate available for 300 years.

將在300年內保持現有的最準確。

And the churches built in Palermo combined Latin-style architecture,

而在巴勒莫建造的教堂結合了拉丁風格的建築。

Arab ceilings,

阿拉伯人的天花板。

and Byzantine domes,

和拜占庭的穹頂。

all decorated with exquisite golden mosaics.

都用精緻的金色馬賽克裝飾。

So if the Normans were so successful, why aren't they still around?

那麼，如果諾曼人如此成功，為什麼他們不在了呢？

In fact, this was a key part of their success:

事實上，這也是他們成功的關鍵所在。

not just ruling the societies they conquered,

不僅僅是統治他們所征服的社會。

but becoming part of them.

但成為他們的一部分。

Although the Normans eventually disappeared as a distinct group,

雖然諾曼人最終作為一個獨特的群體消失了。

their contributions remained.

他們的貢獻仍然存在。

And today, from the castles and cathedrals that dot Europe's landscape

而今天，從遍佈歐洲的城堡和大教堂來看

to wherever the English language is spoken,

到任何講英語的地方。

the Norman legacy lives on.

諾曼人的遺產得以延續。