Beginnings英国起源(36)

In addition to land, the Vikings were keen on one other kind of merchandise: people - whom they sold as slaves. A thousand such slaves were taken from Armagh in one raid alone. A burial dated to 879 contained a Viking warrior with his sword, two ritually murdered slave girls and the bones of hundreds of men, women and children, his very own body count, to take with him to Valhalla. On the positive side, though, there was one thing that the Vikings did manage to do, however, inadvertently. They created England. By smashing the power of most of the Saxon kingdoms, the Vikings accomplished what left to themselves, the warring tribes could never have managed - some semblance of alliance against a common foe.

除土地外，让维京人垂涎的还有一样。人，可作为奴隶被贩卖的人。在阿玛（古郡名，位于北爱尔兰自治区）的一次劫掠行动，就能捕获千余奴隶。879年一位维京勇士的葬礼， 陪葬的除了他的剑，还有两名在葬礼上杀掉的女奴，以及上百男女和孩子的尸骨。作为他的殉葬品，护送他进入英灵殿。从积极方面看，有一件事情是维京人促成的，虽然这并非他们本意：他们成就了英格兰。撒克逊诸王国逐个溃散，维京人成功地促使这些相互敌对的部落，作出了他们自己本永不会做出的决定——建立一个联盟来抵御共同的敌人，