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Two ceremonies took place on Lammas Day, 1087, at Old Sarum. First, every noble in England gathered here to take an oath of loyalty to the King. But then came the handing over of the Book, the ultimate weapon to keep them in line. Now nobody could hold back anything, and it was this book, the Domesday Book, that made the gathering at Old Sarum unique in the history of feudal monarchy in Europe. For the Book ultimately was England. For centuries after, this was the secret of English government, a partnership between the power of the landed classes and the authority of the state, between the guardians of the green acres and the keepers of knowledge. In the right hand corner, the gentry, in the left hand corner, the civil service. And in between them, the eternal umpire, the King. |
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1087 nián de shōu huò jié qī jiān, liǎng xiàng diǎn lǐ zài lǎo sāi lè mǔ jǔ xíng. shǒu xiān, yīng gé lán de suǒ yǒu guì zú dōu jù jí yú cǐ, xiàng guó wáng xuān shì xiào zhōng. zhī hòu, kāi shǐ mò rì shěn pàn shū de jiāo fù, zhè shì ràng zhèi xiē guì zú lǎo lǎo shí shí de zuì zhì mìng de wǔ qì. rú jīn, zài méi rén néng yǐn mán rèn hé shì, yě zhèng yīn zhè běn shū, mò rì shěn pàn shū ràng zhè lǎo sāi lè mǔ jí huì. zài ōu zhōu fēng jiàn jūn zhǔ zhì de lì shǐ shàng, huà shàng le dú yī wú èr de yī bǐ. zhèng shì zhè běn shū, zuì zhōng dì zào le yīng gé lán. zhī hòu de jǐ gè shì jì lǐ, zhè běn shū dōu shì yīng gé lán zhèng fǔ de zuì gāo jī mì. tā shì dì zhǔ jiē jí shì lì, yǔ guó jiā quán lì, jí nóng tián de jiān guǎn zhě yǔ xìn xī zhǎng wò zhě de hé zuò zhī qì yuē. yòu shàng jiǎo shì, guì zú men, zuǒ shàng jiǎo shì, zhèng fǔ xíng zhèng jī gòu, jiā zài zhōng jiān de shì yǒng héng de zhòng cái zhě, guó wáng. |