Beginnings英国起源(40)

By the spring of 878, Alfred had managed to piece together an improvised alliance of resistance. And at King Egbert's stone on the borders of Wiltshire and Somerset, near the site of this 19th-century folly built to celebrate it, he took command of an army which two days later, fought and defeated Guthrum's Vikings. Alfred's victory was a holding operation, forcing the Vikings to settle for less than half the country. But when in 886 Alfred entered London, rebuilt over the old Roman site, something of a deep significance did happen. He was acclaimed as the sovereign lord of all the English people not under subjection to the Danes. So it appears that during Alfred's lifetime the idea of a united English kingdom had become conceivable and even desirable.

878年春， 阿尔弗雷德拼凑汇集了一支临时御敌联盟，在威尔特郡与萨默塞特郡交界处的埃格伯特国王像，这个19世纪为欢庆胜利而建，却极富讽刺意义的雕像附近。他指挥着这支部队，两天后，大败格斯鲁姆所率的维京海盗，阿尔弗雷德此战告捷，只能维持现状，迫使维京海盗安于半壁江山。（885年丹麦人撕毁了和平协议与英格兰再次交战，英大获全胜，阿尔弗雷德的军队收复了伦敦，丹麦人退居英格兰北部的丹麦区。）而当886年阿尔弗雷德进驻伦敦，在罗马旧址上重建都城时，发生了一件具有历史性意义的事，他被尊为至高无上的王,所有不在丹麦人管辖内的英格兰人的王。因此，似乎在阿尔弗雷德的有生之年，建立统一的英格兰王国，不仅不再是梦想，还成为了民心所向。