3 Castle had moats

What were the Middle Ages in the middle of? We call the years between the ancient world and the modern world in Europe the Middle Ages. They started in the 470s, when rule by the Romans came to an end, and they finished in the 1450s. The Romans once ruled most of Europe and North Africa. Then fierce warriors invaded, splitting Roman lands into many small kingdoms. By the 1450s Europe had larger countries again, more like those of today. The map above includes many of the people and places talked about in this book. In the Middle Ages, no one knew what the whole world looked like. This is what Arab map- makers thought the world looked like In the 1150s. it shows Asia, North Africa and Europe. Neither the Arabs nor the Europeans knew about other parts of the world. Most people thought the world was flat. Sailors were afraid of falling over the edge if they on went long voyages!

中世纪处于什么时期？ 我们把欧洲古代世界和现代世界之间的时期称为中世纪。 他们开始于公元470年代，当时罗马人的统治即将结束，并于15世纪50年代结束。 罗马人曾经统治过欧洲和北非的大部分地区。 然后，凶猛的战士入侵，把罗马的土地分裂成许多小王国。 到15世纪50年代，欧洲又有了更大的国家，更像今天的国家。 上面的地图包括这本书中谈到的许多人和地方。 在中世纪，没有人知道整个世界是什么样子的。 这就是15世纪50年代阿拉伯地图绘制者所认为的世界的样子。 它展示了亚洲、北非和欧洲。 阿拉伯人和欧洲人都不知道世界上还有其他地方。 大多数人认为地球是平的。 水手们在长途航行时害怕从悬崖边上掉下去！

Why did kings and queens wear crowns? European rulers in the Middle Ages had much more power than they do today. They made the laws, and everyone had to do what they said. A glittering golden crown was like a badge—I it was one way of showing how important the king or queen was. The king told the barons what to do. The barons told the knights what to do. Everyone told the poor peasants what to do. The ruler of the Inca people of South America was called the Sapa Inca. His crown was made of gold and feathers. His tunic and cloak were made of fine wool. European kings and queens were often given funny nicknames. Some rulers were good, some were bad— and some were just ugly! In many countries today, laws are made by the group of people we call a parliament, not the king or queen. Why were the peasants revolting? Well, they didn't actually look revolting, just a bit muddy! Poor people often rose up in revolt and fought against their rulers, though. They were trying to win a better way of life. The peasants had to give money or food to their local lord every year— even though they often went hungry themselves.

为什么国王和王后要戴王冠？ 中世纪的欧洲统治者比现在拥有更大的权力。 他们制定法律，每个人都必须按他们说的去做。 一顶闪闪发光的金冠就像一枚徽章——这是显示国王或王后有多重要的一种方式。 国王告诉男爵们该怎么做。 男爵们告诉骑士们该怎么做。 每个人都告诉贫农该怎么做。 南美洲印加人的统治者被称为萨帕印加人。 他的王冠是用黄金和羽毛做成的。 他的外衣和斗篷是用细羊毛做的。 欧洲的国王和王后经常被赋予有趣的绰号。 有些统治者是好的，有些是坏的——还有一些就是丑！在今天的许多国家，法律是由我们称之为议会的一群人制定的，而不是国王或王后。 农民为什么要造反？ 嗯，它们看起来并不恶心，只是有点泥泞！然而，穷人经常起来反抗他们的统治者。 他们在努力争取更好的生活方式。 农民们不得不每年给当地领主钱或食物——尽管他们自己经常挨饿。

Why did castles have moats? Moats were deep, wide ditches filled with water, which made it harder for enemies to break into a castle. Friendly visitors could cross the moat over a drawbridge. But when enemies attacked, the drawbridge was raised. Spies and traitors were chained up in the castle's dungeons. These were dark and damp and full of rats and spiders! Strong stone walls were built to protect towns and cities all over the world. The picture on the right shows Great Zimbabwe, a walled city began in the 1000s by the Shona people of southern Africa. Pueblo Bonito was one of the walled towns built by the Anasazi people of North America between 950 and 1300. One way to beat enemies who shut themselves up in a castle was to surround it—and wait! This was called a siege. When the castle ran out of food and water, the people inside had to give in. In the 1300s, people in Europe learned how to make big guns called cannons. In time it became easier to blow up castles—if the guns went off properly!

为什么城堡有护城河？ 护城河是又深又宽的沟渠，里面充满了水，这使得敌人很难闯入城堡。 友好的游客可以从吊桥上越过护城河。 但当敌人进攻时，吊桥就升起来了。 间谍和叛徒被锁在城堡的地牢里。 这里又黑又潮湿，到处都是老鼠和蜘蛛！坚固的石墙被用来保护世界各地的城镇。 右图显示的是大津巴布韦，这是一个有城墙的城市，始建于21世纪，由非洲南部的绍纳人建造。 普韦布洛博尼托是北美阿纳萨齐人在950年至1300年之间建造的有城墙的城镇之一。 打败把自己关在城堡里的敌人的一个方法就是包围它，然后等待！这就是所谓的围攻。 当城堡里的食物和水耗尽时，里面的人不得不让步。 在14世纪，欧洲人学会了如何制造大炮。 随着时间的推移，炸毁城堡变得更容易了——如果枪法正确的话！

Why did knights wear armour? In battle, knights were bashed and battered about by swords, arrows, axes, long pointed lances and metal clubs called maces. They had to protect their bodies from all these sharp weapons, so they wore suits of tough metal armour. Putting on armour wasn't easy. A squire was a boy who was learning to be a knight. He helped the knight get ready for battle. Armour wasn't very comfortable to wear, so knights put on thick padded clothes underneath. Until the 1200s most knights wore chain-mail armour. This was made from linked metal rings. Later armour was made from solid metal plates. By the end of the Middle Ages, a knight was like a can of beans on legs-completely covered in metal! Japanese knights were called samurai. Their armour was made of metal plates fixed to padded silk and leather. A samurai always had a bath before going into battle. Then, if he died, he knew he would be clean and ready to go to heaven. Bows and deadly arrows were used by soldiers in most parts of the world.

骑士为什么要穿盔甲？ 在战斗中，骑士们被剑、箭、斧头、长矛和一种叫做狼牙棒的金属棒打得遍体鳞伤。 他们必须保护自己的身体不受这些锋利武器的伤害，所以他们穿着坚硬的金属盔甲。 穿上盔甲并不容易。 乡绅是一个正在学习成为骑士的男孩。 他帮助骑士做好战斗准备。 盔甲穿起来不太舒服，所以骑士们在里面穿上厚厚的棉衣。 直到12世纪，大多数骑士都穿着锁子甲。 这是由相连的金属环制成的。 后来的盔甲由坚固的金属板制成。 到了中世纪末期，骑士就像一罐长着腿的豆子——完全被金属包裹着！日本的骑士被称为武士。 他们的盔甲由金属板制成，固定在有衬垫的丝绸和皮革上。 武士出征前总是要洗个澡。 然后，如果他死了，他知道他将是干净的，准备去天堂。 世界上大部分地区的士兵都使用弓和致命的箭。

Why did churches have steeples? Steeples made churches look as if they were pointing up to heaven. During the Middle Ages, people throughout the world showed love for their god by building beautiful churches, mosques or temples. Spire builders worked high above the ground on a tiny wooden platform. It must have been very dangerous! Even church roofs and drainpipes were decorated, sometimes with very ugly heads called gargoyles. Rainwater spouted out through their mouths. The world's biggest holy building is the Hindu temple of Angkor Wat, in Cambodia. It was built in the 1100s. You could fit 8,317 tennis courts inside it! Why did mosques have minarets? Minarets are the tall slender towers on mosques, the buildings where Muslims pray to God. They, too, point to heaven. At the top of the minaret is a balcony, where a man called a muezzin stands to call people to prayer. In 803, workers finished carving a 70-metre-high statue of Buddha into cliffs near the town of Leshan, in China. Two people can sit on just one of its toenails! Gautatna Buddha was a great religious teacher who was born in India in the 560s BCE.

为什么教堂有尖塔？ 尖塔使教堂看起来好像指向天堂。 在中世纪，世界各地的人们通过建造美丽的教堂、清真寺或寺庙来表达对他们的神的爱。 塔尖的建造者在一个很小的木制平台上工作。 那一定很危险！甚至教堂的屋顶和排水管也被装饰起来，有时会有非常丑陋的被称为滴水嘴怪的头。 雨水从他们的嘴里喷涌而出。 世界上最大的神圣建筑是柬埔寨的吴哥窟印度教寺庙。 它建于11世纪。 它可以装下8317个网球场！为什么清真寺有宣礼塔？ 宣礼塔是清真寺上细长的高塔，是穆斯林向真主祈祷的地方。 它们也指向天堂。 尖塔的顶端是一个阳台，一个叫做宣礼员的人站在那里召唤人们祈祷。 1980年，工人们在中国乐山镇附近的悬崖上雕刻了一座70米高的佛像。 两个人可以坐在它的一个脚趾甲上！释迦牟尼佛是一位伟大的宗教导师，公元前560年出生于印度。

Who were steeples on their heads? All kinds of weird and wonderful headdresses passed in and out of fashion in Europe during the Middle Ages. In the 1400s women began wearing tall hats called hennins, which looked rather like church steeples. Getting through a doorway must have been tricky—some hennins were nearly a metre high! Some hats were shaped like animals' horns. Others were like butterflies' wings. There were no shops selling ready-made clothes. Rich people paid tailors to make their clothes. Poor people made their own. People showed off their money by wearing expensive clothes and jewellery. The finest materials were made in Italy, Spain and the East. Who wore platform shoes? Streets were so muddy that noble ladies started to wear shoes with very high soles. Maids often had to hold the lady up as she walked along! Have you ever seen shoes with long pointed toes like this? The toes were so long they had to be tied to the wearer's leg! They were all the rage for men about 600 years ago. Some French knights trying to escape from an enemy army had to cut the points off their shoes before they could run away!

谁的头上有尖塔？ 在中世纪的欧洲，各种奇形怪状的头饰时兴又失传。 15世纪时，女性开始戴一种叫hennins的高帽子，看起来很像教堂的尖塔。 通过一扇门一定很棘手——有些母鸡几乎有一米高！有些帽子的形状像动物的角。 还有一些像蝴蝶的翅膀。 没有卖现成衣服的商店。 富人付钱给裁缝为他们做衣服。 穷人自己做。 人们穿着昂贵的衣服和珠宝来炫耀他们的钱。 最好的材料产自意大利、西班牙和东方。 谁穿厚底鞋？街上泥泞不堪，贵妇们开始穿高底鞋。 当这位女士走路时，女仆们常常不得不扶着她！你见过像这样的长尖鞋吗？ 脚趾太长了，必须绑在穿着者的腿上！大约600年前，它们在男性中风靡一时。 一些法国骑士试图从敌军手中逃脱，他们不得不在逃跑之前把鞋尖切掉！