and caused their father much trouble in the later part of his reign.They even got the Kings of France and Scotland to help them.But Henry put to flight all his enemies.He died，however，of a broken heart，on hearing that his favourite son John was among the rebels.Henry was much given to pleasure，cruel and passionate；but he was a clever man，and a lover of peace.
9.In this reign London became the capital of England.Winchester，the old capital，had been laid in ruins during the civil war in Stephen‘s reign.William the Lion，King of Scotland，was taken prisoner，and was not released till he had owned Henry as over-lord of Scotland.Richard the First gave up this claim for a sum of money.
a Canterbury.-In Kent，16miles north-west of Dover.
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1.亨利二世是金雀花王朝的第一位国王，他是安茹伯爵杰弗里a与亨利一世的女儿莫德的儿子。他可算是当时最强有力的一位国王，统治的疆域不光有英格兰，还包括大部分法国的领土，威尔士和爱尔兰也臣服于他。
2.他上台第一关心的事就是如何削弱贵族的势力，最终通过拆毁他们的城堡而达到了目的。然后他又琢磨着如何统治牧师群体，他找来一个效忠于他的牧师，名叫托马斯·贝克特，这是一个伦敦富商的儿子，亨利给了他巨额的财产以及强大的权力，还扶植他当上了坎特伯雷大主教。
3.但当贝克特得势之后，却并没有按照亨利的意愿行事。他居然放弃了巨额的财富、高贵的生活，还有前呼后拥的仆从，每日粗茶淡饭，鹑衣百结，还给十三个乞丐洗脚。
4.不久他联合其他牧师，一起反对亨利的统治。在此背景下，亨利控制国会或者叫议会起草了《克拉伦登宪章》，以此限制教权。但是贝克特还是一如既往，不断找国王的麻烦。有一天亨利在法国，又听见关于贝克特的烦心事，他实在忍无可忍，怒吼道：“那些成天靠我养活的窝囊废骑士，就没有一个能去把这个花岗岩脑袋的牧师给解决了吗？”
5.这句话传到他麾下的四位骑士的耳中，平日他们对贝克特炙手可热的权力就极其嫉妒，于是密谋渡海去英格兰，到坎特伯雷b刺杀贝克特。他们在大教堂里发现了贝克特，他正坐在祭坛上，这四人上去就让他脑袋开了花。
6.亨利后来听见这个骇人的谋杀事件后，不仅感到很愧疚，而且也害怕教皇怪罪于他。于是在公元1174年，他找了一块风水宝地，为贝克特修建了宏伟的陵墓；安葬以后，亨利赤足从坎特伯雷走到陵墓所在地，以示忏悔；并且跪在陵前，让人用打结的灯芯绒衣物鞭笞他的身体。
7.亨利在位期间最主要的事件是入侵爱尔兰。这个国家在当时被分成六个小国，被许多国王轮番统治。后来有两位实力最强的国王发生争执，其中一位向亨利寻求帮助，于是亨利派了一些贵族和骑士前往襄助。队伍领头的人是彭布洛克伯爵斯特朗博。此后不久享利便亲自前往，数位首领均对他表示效忠。
8.亨利有四个儿子，分别是亨利、杰弗里、理查德和约翰。这四位都调皮捣蛋，不忠不孝，给他们父王的统治带来了不少麻烦。他们后来获得了法国和苏格兰a 杰弗里：他的出身姓氏为Plantagenet，后来他的子孙后代也沿用下来，作为当时的王族姓氏。这个姓氏起源于他家族的一个徽章，上面镌刻着一小枝金雀花（法语：Plante de genet）。金雀花王朝分三个阶段：安茹王朝、兰开斯特王朝和约克王朝。
b 坎特伯雷：位于肯特郡，地处多佛西北16英里。
一些小国国王的支持，但是亨利依然对所有敌人开战了。享利死时伤心欲绝，因为在临终时听说他最疼爱的儿子约翰依然还在反叛者的队伍中。观其一生，亨利乐观、有激情，但也不失残暴；但总的说来，他是个智慧之君，并且爱好和平。
9.在他的治下，伦敦成为英格兰首都。旧都温彻斯特在斯蒂文国王时期的内战中成了废墟。苏格兰国王勇士威廉成了俘虏，直到他承认亨利对苏格兰的统治权才获得释放。理查德一世最终也放弃了战争赔款。
46
STRONGBOW’S INVASION OF IRELAND
斯特朗博入侵爱尔兰
blockade，shutting up；surrounding with troops.
deputy，one acting for another；agent.
disobedience，refusal to obey.
exploit，feat.
permitting，allowing.
precipice，cliff.produced，led to.resulted，ended.structure，building.warfare，fighting.
1.While King Henry the Second was living in France，a huge Irishman，called Dermot MacMorrogh，paid him a visit，which resulted in a Norman invasion of Ireland.A wicked woman，named Devorgilla，who was the wife of an Irish prince，had induced Dermot，then King of Leinster，to carry her off from an island in Meath，where her stern husband had shut her up.This produced a war，in which Dermot was defeated and driven from his throne.
2.He found his way to Henry；and he promised，if the English King would help to restore him，that he would hold his kingdom as a subject of the English crown-that he would，in fact，become Henry‘s vassal.Not being then able to go across，Henry gave Dermot a letter，permitting him to enlist the English nobles in his cause.
3.Dermot stayed a good while at Bristol，tr ying to persuade the neighbouring nobles to undertake his quarrel.At last Richard Strongbow，Earl of Pembroke，agreed to assist him in return for the hand of his daughter Eva，and for having been made heir to the crown of Leinster.Two knights crossed the sea before Strongbow was ready and with only a few hundred men seized the cities of Wexford and Dublin.We may understand the kind of warfare that was waged by the fact that three hundred Irish heads were brought to be laid in a heap at the feet of Dermot.
4.A little later，there went over a Norman knight，called Raymond the Fat，who was the deputy of Stronghow.Fat men are often goodnatured；but Raymond must have been an exception to that pleasant rule，for，when he had taken seventy prisoners，he carried them to the top of some high rocks，at thefoot of which the sea was washing，and having broken their bones with clubs，he flung them down the precipice into the water.
5.Strongbow himself then went over，although Henry had sent him word not to do so.His first exploit was the siege of Waterford.Then almost every town was surrounded by a wall；and the great object of besiegers was of course to make a hole，or，as it is called，a breach，in this defence.Strongbow managed to cut away the supports of a wooden house，which was built into the wall of Waterford；and when the structure fell，it tore away a large piece of the wall.Through the breach thus made the Normans rushed，and soon the streets were strewed with dead bodies.
6.Strongbow then marched to Dublin，which he took in a somewhat similar way.Just when his force was thinned by a command from the English King that all loyal knights should return，a band of Danes in armour，whose red shields were the terror of all that coast，attacked the defences of the city.But the Norman knights easily beat off these rude sailors.There was then a great blockade of Dublin，which lasted two months，and so reduced the strength of the Norman garrison that it was on the point of yielding to the besiegers.
7.But the Normans resolved on a final dash.At nine one morning from the opened gate they rushed out and charged the whole army.So sudden and so fierce was their onslaught，that the Irish army，although numbering thirty thousand，fled in terror at sight of the soldiers in armour，galloping on with levelled spears and with white plumes streaming from their helmets.
8.This success secured the footing of the Normans in Ireland.After the fighting was over，Henry，who had forgiven the disobedience of Strongbow，sailed to Ireland.He took up his quarters at Dublin，in a large house made of wicker-work，and there he ate his Christmas dinner，to which he invited a number of the Irish chiefs.
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