Beginnings英国起源(42)

Alfred's grandson would be crowned the first King of England in a great Roman-style coronation. And where did this momentous event happen? Where else but Bath? Well, we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. England has been conceived, not yet born. And to the north, Pictland has even further to go before it's recognisably a kingdom of Scotland. But for a generation or two it did look as though the grafting of Anglo-Saxon culture onto the enduring legacy of Roman Britain had produced an extraordinary flowering. But the shoots were still green, the buds were tender and vulnerable, and before this new kingdom had a chance to mature, it would be cut down by the devastating blow of an invader's axe.

阿尔弗雷德的孙子是第一个以罗马仪式加冕的英格兰国王，如此盛事，定是要选在巴斯举行。这一切或许尚言之过早，此时的英格兰仍在孕育，尚未诞生。而北方的皮克特则要经历更漫长的过程，苏格兰王国才会初见雏形。在当时的那一两代人看来，罗马不列颠遗留下来的不朽遗产，仿佛正哺育着盎格鲁撒克逊文明抽枝萌芽，不日将成为奇葩，但枝芽尚且娇嫩，蓓蕾仍旧脆弱。而这个新兴的王国还未及发展成熟便将彻底夭折在入侵者的战斧之下。