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The unsentimental, decisive way with things was the Norman way,
这种理性而果断的处事方式 正是诺曼人的风格
giving a hard-nosed edge to the fuzzy tangles of contracts and customs
与这种重视实际的风格形成鲜明对比的是
that had been used by the Anglo-Saxons.
盎格鲁撒克逊拖泥带水的风俗和契
And it was in this spirit that William,in 1085, held court in Gloucester
也正是本着这种精神 1085年 威廉在格洛斯特举行受觐礼
and launched arguably the most extraordinary campaign of his entire reign,a campaign for information.
并发动了一场他在位期间 饱受争议却也最为非凡的一场运动 信息运动
We tend to think of William as more or less permanently in the saddle.
我们倾向于认为威廉 几乎从未放下过手中的权力
He grew up in a world, after all,where authority was usually delivered on the blade of a sword.
毕竟 他在一个 以武力争夺权力的世界里长大成人
So it's all the more impressive that he seems to have understood instinctively that information could also be power.
因而更为人所钦佩的是 他似乎天生就知道 信息也是一种力量
William the Conqueror was the first database king.
征服者威廉是第一位掌握海量信息的国王
His immediate need was to raise a tax,
他的直接目的是提高赋税
but the compilation of the Domesday Book was more than just a glorified audit.
但是《末日审判书》的编撰 并非美化了的统计报告那么简单
It was a complete inventory of everything in the kingdom,shire by shire, pig by pig;
它完整记录了国家的每一样东西 逐郡审查 连一头猪都不放过
who had owned what before the coming of the Normans and who owned what now;
每家每户在诺曼征服前 财产多少 现在又拥有多少
how much it had been worth then and how much now.
那时价值几何 现在又几何
The king sent his men all over England, into every shire,
国王派人至英格兰全境 深入到每一个郡
to find out how many hundred hides there were in each shire,
让他们统计出 每郡面积几何
what land and cattle the king himself had in the county.
国王在每个郡拥有多少王田和家畜
So very narrowly did he have it investigated there was no single hide nor shame to relate it,
他的调查极为严格细致 既不敢藏匿也不会因丢脸而耻于记录
but it seemed no shame to him was there one ox or one cow left out and not put down in record.
或说对他来讲不会耻于记录 是不是有一头牛 没有被记录下来
