16

EDWIN OF DEIRA

德伊勒的埃德温国王

ambassador, messenger from a king; envoy.　　　　　　opportunity, occasion.
concern, interest.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　promised, gave his word.
converted, turned; changed.　　　　　　　　　　　　protect, guard; defend.
exclted, aroused.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　remember, keep in mind.
impressed, made thoughtful.　　　　　　　　　　　　undermined, broken; upset.
usurper, one who had seized what he had no right to.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　inclined, willing.

1. There is much romance in the story of King Edwin of Deira, in whose time Northumbria was converted to the Christian faith. Driven from his throne by an usurper, this prince wandered about the middle of England for a long time, and then waded through the fens that border the Wash, until he found, as he thought, a safe refuge in the wooden palace of King Redwald in East Anglia.

2. Redwald promised to protect him; but that King was very greedy, and his faith was undermined by an offer of some gold from the usurper who had taken Edwin's place. His fear, too, was excited by a threat of war in case of refusal.One night Edwin was just preparing to go to bed in Redwald's house, when a friend came in and told him that men who had come from Northumbria to get Redwald to slay him were at that moment under the same roof with himself!

3. In great alarm he dressed himself, and went out. As the night was very dark, he could not be seen. Having sat down on a stone, which was opposite the palace door, he fell fast asleep. In his sleep he had a wonderful dream:—A tall, grand-looking man seemed to come and ask him what he was doing there in the dark alone, when everybody else was in bed.

4. “How does that concern you?” said Edwin to the man.

“Ah,” said the kingly figure, “what would you give to the person who should save you from your present danger and give you back your crown?”

“I would give everything I possess in the world,” said Edwin.

“Would you obey one who might be able to teach you the sure road to happiness here and hereafter?”

“Yes,” said Edwin, “I would.”

“Then,” said the visitor, putting his hand on the prince's head, “remember this sign, and, when the crown is given to you, remember to keep the promise you have just made.”

5. Almost at the same time, within the house, Redwald's queen was beseeching her husband not to shed the blood of his guest Edwin. Overcome by her strong entreaties, the Anglian King chose to make war rather than to stain his hands so shamefully. Going out to battle on behalf of Edwin, he won on the banks of the Idle a great victory, which ended in the death of the Northumbrian usurper, and in the replacing of the crown on the head of “the wandering prince.”

6. A dark-haired Christian monk, Paulinus, came from Kent to be the chaplain and confessor of Edwin's second wife, and to him the introduction of Christianity into Northumbria is said to have been due. He worked on Edwin's feelings of awe; and probably having heard of the King's dream, he went in one day and laid his hand on the King's head. Edwin was just then a good deal impressed by a narrow escape he had had from being murdered. A person, pretending to be an ambassador, had rushed on him with a sword, and but for a faithful nobleman, who flung himself before the point and received the thrust,Edwin would have been killed. He was therefore all the more inclined to listen to Paulinus, and he declared himself willing to become a Christian.

7. The first Northumbrian that was baptized was the baby daughter of Edwin. Soon after her admission into the Church, the high priest of the heathen service took an opportunity of showing how little he cared for the temple in which he had been used to conduct a false worship.

8. It was the law in Northumbria that priests should neither ride on horses nor carry spears. In order to defy the idols which he had served, the high priest mounted a horse, and, taking a spear in his hand, galloped to the door of the temple and flung the weapon in. As no punishment followed so daring an act,the people ran for torches, and soon the heathen temple was in a blaze! A large wooden church was built at York, and there Edwin was baptized.

9. Penda, the pagan King of Mercia, hated Edwin, because he had yielded to the preaching of what seemed to his mind a weak superstition; and he also envied the peace and plenty for which the kingdom of Northumbria had become famous. Accordingly, raising an army, and getting the King of Wales to help him, he fought with the army of Edwin in the pine forests of Hatfield.Edwin was slain, and his head was carried from the battle-ground stuck on the point of a Mercian spear.

中文阅读

1. 关于德伊勒的埃德温国王，历来就有不少浪漫的故事，整个诺森布里亚王国就是在他的治下皈依了基督教。后来他被一位叛臣篡夺了王位，自己在英格兰中部流浪了很长一段时间，然后趟过沃什湾的泥泞沼泽，最后终于在东盎格鲁国王雷德沃尔德的木屋宫殿中找了他自认为安全的避难所。

2. 雷德沃尔德虽然口头上承诺保护他的安全，但这位国王却极其阴险贪婪，而且埃德温的那位篡位者还用黄金收买了他。另一方面，雷德沃尔德也非常害怕一旦拒收黄金，战争可能随时降临。一天晚上，埃德温在雷德沃尔德的宫殿寓所里正准备上床睡觉，他的一位朋友急忙赶来通风报信，说那位想让雷德沃尔德杀死他的诺森布里亚人，此刻已经就在这栋房子里了！

3. 埃德温惊慌失措，立马乔装改扮后逃离了王宫。但由于当时正是晚上，外面一片漆黑，根本看不见路，他无奈地在王宫正对面不远处的一块大石头上坐了下来，并且很快睡着了。他做了一个怪梦：一个身材魁梧，道貌巍然的男人来到他的面前，说这么晚别人都睡觉了，你一个人在这鬼地方干嘛？

4. “关你什么事？”埃德温白了他一眼。

“嗯，”这个人应了一声，又继续说道：“如果有一个人可以在你目前的危难中救你的命，还能重新把王位还给你，你会拿什么回报他呢？”

“我可以给他我在这世上拥有的任何东西。”埃德温如此回答。

“如果有人给你指引道路，通向未来的幸福彼岸，你会听从吗？”

“会，我当然会。”埃德温说。

“那既然如此，”这位神秘人边说边把一只手放在这位国王的头上，“记住我这个手势，当王位重归于你之时，别忘了你刚才许下的承诺。”

5. 而几乎就在同时，王宫里面雷德沃尔德的王后正在苦苦哀求她的丈夫不要对他的客人埃德温下毒手。在这诚恳的哀求下，这位盎格利亚国王最终选择开战，而没有耻辱地玷污自己的双手。接下来他便代表埃德温出战，在艾德河岸取得大捷，最终诺森布里亚的篡位者在这场战争中身亡，该国的王冠又重新回到了这位“流亡国君”的头上。

6. 满头黑发的主教保利努斯也来到埃德温身边，成了他第二任妻子的专职牧师，因此对保利努斯而言，把基督教传入诺森布里亚王国的时机已经成熟了。他看准了埃德温的敬畏之心，当然也许是他听说过埃德温的那个怪梦。有一天他走进埃德温的房间，把一只手放到了这位国王的头上。顿时埃德温又想起他经历过的一次九死一生的遇刺事件，当时有一个人扮成使者模样，突然持剑向他冲来，要不是一

位忠诚的王臣在剑落下的前一秒挡在他身前，他早就倒在血泊之中了。这样一来，通过这个手势，他越发听从并信任保利努斯，最终他宣称乐意成为一名基督徒。

7. 第一个受洗的诺森布里亚人就是埃德温刚出生不久的女儿，后来当她能够进入教堂礼拜的时候，大祭司便瞅准机会，上演了一场闹剧，让众人看到了他平日装模作样的礼拜是多么的虚假，他对神殿是多么的漠不关心。

8. 诺森布里亚有一条法律，规定牧师不允许骑马，也不允许携带长矛。为了挑战他服务已久的权威，这位大祭司故意骑上马，手里握着一根长矛，疯狂冲向神殿大门并将长矛掷了进去。这样的胆大妄为居然没有被惩罚，当地的百姓愤怒了，全民暴动，到处放火，不久这座异教种殿就在熊熊大火中成了灰烬。人们后来又在约克修建了一座很大的木制教堂，埃德温就是在这里受洗成为基督徒的。

9. 麦西亚王国的异教徒国王彭达非常憎恨埃德温，因为埃德温的信仰在他看来不过是种软弱无力的迷信；同时他还嫉妒诺森布里亚王国远近闻名的安宁与富足。于是他在公元633年组建了一支军队，拉上威尔士国王入伙，在哈特菲尔德的松林里与埃德温开战。埃德温在这场战争中阵亡，他的头颅被麦西亚人挑在长矛尖上从战地带了出来。