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costume, dress. foreign, from abroad.
defended, guarded; protected. encircled, surrounded.
delicate, refined. gallant, gay man; fop.
denoting, meaning. introduced, brought in.
derived, drawn. novelties, new fashions.
doublet, waistcoat. splendour, fineness.
reaction, an opposite tendency or current.
1. The castles of the Normans were built not for home-comfort, but for safety. The feature by which they are known is the rounded arch, as opposed to the pointed arch and lancet-shaped window of the later Gothic style. Encircled by the parapet and turrets of a wall about twelve feet high, stood the keep. This was a square tower of five stories, with walls ten feet thick. Round the whole castle ran a moat, or deep ditch, over which was thrown a drawbridge, defended at its outer end by a tower, called the Barbican.
2. In their manner of life the Normans were more temperate and delicate than the Saxons. They had only two regular meals: dinner, taken by the higher classes at nine in the morning; and supper at four or five in the afternoon. The Normans introduced the general use of the chief flesh meats found on our tables; —a change which is curiously seen in our language, where we find the words denoting the living animal—ox, sheep, calf, pig—to be English; while the words applied to the flesh used as food—beef, mutton, veal, pork—are Norman or French in their origin.
3. The higher classes of Normans drank foreign wines, and closed their revelry with a draught called the grace-cup. The lower classes cheered their hearts with home-brewed ale. The sleeping rooms of the great contained rude wooden bedsteads with coarse coverlets; but the mass of the people were obliged to content themselves with straw and sheepskins.
4. In dress, as in food, the Normans introduced many novelties. The gallant of this time, closely shaven, with long hair covering the shoulders, wore a loose doublet reaching half way down the leg, and girt with a fi ne belt. Over this was a short cloak, richly furred and laced with gold. The shoes were the strangest article of dress. They had very long toes, pointed and twisted like the horns of a ram; and the fashion grew so absurdly, that the toes were fastened with chains of gold or silver to the knees. A bonnet of velvet, and long hose fastened to the doublet by very many strings, called points, completed the costume.
5. The Norman ladies wore a kirtle or under-gown of silk, over which hung a loose wide-sleeved robe reaching the ground. The clergy, who were known by wearing heavy gold signet-rings, often vied with the gallants of the day in the splendour and fashion of their dress.
6. Ever since the Conquest, a struggle for the upper hand had been going on between the Saxon and Norman languages. About the time of Magna Carta a reaction began, which ended in the triumph of the former tongue. Three-fi fths of our Modern English may be traced to Old English.
7. Surnames were brought into general use by the Normans. They were derived from various sources, of which the most fruitful were personal qualities,as Armstrong, Whitehead, Swift; and occupations or trades, as Smith, Falconer, Taylor, Miller. Many were formed from Christian names by adding the Danish son, as Wilson; the Saxon ing, as Clavering; the Celtic Mac or O, as Macdonald, O'Connell; or the Norman Fitz, as Fitzgerald.
中文阅读
1. 诺曼人修城堡为的不是温馨安逸，而是牢固安全。因此他们的城堡特征鲜明，最突出的便是圆形拱门，与后来尖门尖窗的哥特式建筑风格迥异。城堡被高约12英尺的矮墙包围环绕，墙上还有塔楼作为堡垒要塞。塔楼一般呈方形，有五层，墙壁约10英尺厚。沿着城堡外围还有一条护城河或者很深的壕沟，上面悬着一座吊桥，桥的外端立有一个桥头堡，叫做碉楼。
2. 相比于撒克逊人，诺曼人在日常生活中显得更加温文尔雅，清心寡欲。他们一天只吃两餐，正餐一般在早上九点，上层人士尤其如此，晚餐则在下午四五点钟。在饮食习惯方面，诺曼人把他们主要的肉食都带进了英格兰，这可以从我们的语言中明显地看出来，比如我们说一些活的动物时，用的词是牛（Ox）、羊（Sheep）、牛犊（Calf）、猪（Pig），这些都是英语单词；而当我们说它们的肉时，用的词却是牛肉（Beef）、羊肉（Mutton）、小牛肉（Veal）、猪肉（Pork），这些都是诺曼语或法语的原始叫法。
3. 上层的诺曼人都喜欢喝外国酒，每次欢宴将尽时，他们都会喝干一杯所谓的“颂恩酒”。下层人平日举杯畅饮的则是家酿的麦芽酒，一样香甜醉人。他们卧室里的床比较简陋，无非一个粗木架，再搭上一些粗糙的布料；身上盖的也就是稻草和羊皮，仅此而已。
4. 与饮食方面一样，诺曼人在服饰上也为不列颠引入了不少新的风格样式。那时的时髦男子都把胡子刮得干干净净，但留着一头披肩长发，穿一件宽松背心，下摆较长能遮住半条腿，腰用一条精美的腰带束起来。背心外面是一件短外衣，上面细密地缝织着金线。鞋差不多算是最为花哨的，鞋尖很长，又尖又弯就像羊角一样；这种样式居然很快广为流行，还用金链或银链固定住鞋尖，一直绕到膝盖上。头戴天鹅绒的软帽，腿上的长筒袜用很多细绳固定在背心上，叫做“尖头系带”，它们扣上之后，这一身的打扮就完成了。
5. 诺曼女士则喜欢穿一件长袍或者丝绸衬袍，外面再套一件宽袖礼服，一直垂到地面。而那些牧师们，众所周知，都戴着硕大的图章戒指，他们着装的时髦程度与当时的时髦青年几乎不分上下，共同推动着潮流。
6. 从诺曼征服开始，关于英语和诺曼语谁才是主导语言的争斗就已经开始了。到了大宪章时代，一股反潮流又冒了出来，并最终以英语的获胜而告终。现在英语60%的词汇语法都可以追溯到这一时期的中古英语。
7. 姓氏的广泛使用也得归功于诺曼人。姓氏的来源极其广泛，其中最多的是一些个人品质方面的词汇，比如Armstrong（手臂有力）、Whitehead（白头）、Swift（敏捷）；还有关于职业与商业贸易的词汇，比如Smith（铁匠）、Falconer（用猎鹰狩猎者）、Taylor（裁缝）、Miller（磨坊工人）。另外还有许多基督教词汇也演变为姓氏，有的加上丹麦词缀son，例如Wilson；有的加上撒克逊词缀ing，例如Clavering；有的加上凯尔特词缀Mac或者O，例如Macdonald，OConnell；还有的加上诺曼词缀Fitz，例如Fitzgerald。