1. The statute¹ of Wales in 1284 placed the country under English law and Edward presented his new-born-son to the Welsh people as the Prince of Wales, a title held by the heir to the throne ever since.

1284年的威尔士法，使威尔士处于英国法律之下，爱德华一世将他新出生的儿子赠与威尔士人民，封他为威尔士王子。此后，该称号一直由该王位的继承人沿用至今。

 

2. When Edward Ⅲ claimed the French Crown by the right of his mother Isabella, the French refused to recognize the claim because the Salic Law debarred females from the succession. In 1337 Edward declared a war that was to last a hundred years.

爱德华三世通过他母亲伊莎贝拉的关系宣布继承法国王位，但法国人民拒绝承认，因为萨利法典规定女子不得继承王位，于是在1337年，爱德华对法宣战，战争持续了一百年。

 

3. Black Death swept through England in the summer of 1348 without warning. It killed between one half and one third of the population of England.

1348年夏天，黑死病横扫全英国，没有任何征兆，它夺去了三分之一到一半的英国人口。

 

4. In 1351 the government issued a statute of Laborers² which made it a crime for peasant to ask for more wage or for their employers to pay more than the rates laid down by the Justice of the Peace.

1351年政府颁布“劳工法令”。规定农民们涨工资的要求或者雇主支付比地方官制定的工资水平高的工资都是犯罪。

 

5. Although the Peasant Uprising of 1381, was brutally³ suppressed, it had far-reaching significance in English history. It dealt a telling blow to villeinage and a new class of yeomen farmers emerged, paving the way for the development of capitalism⁴.

尽管1381年的农民起义被血腥镇压了，但在英国历史上留下了深远的影响。它沉重打击了封建农奴制度，产生了全新的自耕农阶级，为资本主义发展铺设了道路。

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