As far as we know, Medieval England was never invaded by ice zombies, or terrorized by dragons, but it was shaken by a power struggle between two noble families spanning generations and involving a massive cast of characters with complex motives and shifting loyalties.
就我们所知，中世纪的英国不是被冰僵尸入侵，也不是受到恶龙的威胁，而是因两个贵族家庭之间的权力斗争而动摇。这场斗争世世代代持续，牵连众多人物，有的动机复杂、有的见风使舵。
If that sounds familiar, it's because the historical conflicts known as the Wars of the Roses served as the basis for much of the drama in Game of Thrones.
如果那些话你听着耳熟，是因为电视剧《权力的游戏》的大部分背景都取材于刚才提及的历史斗争——“玫瑰战争”。
The real-life seeds of war were sewn by the death of King Edward III in 1377.
战争的起因是1377年爱德华三世的逝世。
Edward's oldest son had died before his father, but his ten-year-old son, Richard II, succeeded to the throne ahead of Edward's three surviving sons.
爱德华的长子死在他之前，但他十岁的儿子——理查二世，越过爱德华的其他三个儿子，继承了王位。
This skipping of an entire generation left lingering claims to the throne among their various offspring, particularly the Lancasters, descended from Edward's third son, and the Yorks, descended from his fourth son.
由于略过了一代人的关系，这三位儿子的后代一直纠缠王位继承的问题。以三儿子的后代兰卡斯特一族和四儿子的后代约克一族争论最激烈。
The name of the ensuing wars comes from the symbols associated with the two families, the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster.
“玫瑰战争”的名字和两个家族的家徽有关。白玫瑰代表约克一族；红玫瑰则是兰卡斯特一族。
The Lancasters first gained the throne when Richard II was deposed by his cousin Henry IV in 1399.
1399年，亨利四世罢免理查二世，兰卡斯特一族首先夺得王位。
Despite sporadic unrest, their reign remained secure until 1422, when Henry V's death in a military campaign left an infant Henry VI as king.
尽管社会偶有骚动，但兰卡斯特一族的统治一直持续到1422年，当时亨利五世于军营病逝，留下了幼小的亨利六世继承王位。
Weak-willed and dominated by advisors, Henry was eventually convinced to marry Margaret of Anjou to gain French support.
亨利六世意志软弱，同时受到臣子们的蠱惑，最终被说服迎娶安茹的玛格丽特以换取法国的支持。
Margaret was beautiful, ambitious, and ruthless in persecuting any threat to her power, and she distrusted Richard of York, most of all.
玛格丽特既美丽又有野心、她冷酷地对待任何威胁到她的权力的人，其中她特别不信任约克一族的理查。
York had been the King's close advisor and loyal General, but was increasingly sidelined by the Queen, who promoted her favorite supporters, like the Earls of Suffolk and Somerset.
约克一族世世代代是国王的近臣和忠诚的将军，但皇后渐渐提拔她的支持者，如萨福克伯爵和森密实伯爵，架空了约克一族。
York's criticism of their inept handling of the war against France led to his exclusion from court and transfer to Ireland.
约克对他们在法国战争中无能的批评导致他被排除在朝廷之外，并被流放到爱尔兰。
Meanwhile, mounting military failures, and corrupt rule by Margaret and her allies caused widespread discontent, and in the midst of this chaos, Richard of York returned with an army to arrest Somerset and reform the court.
同时，战场上接二连三的失败和玛格丽特与她同党们的迂腐管治，引起了社会广泛的不满。在这一片混乱中，理查·约克带领军队回归，捉拿森密实伯爵，重组议会。
Initially unsuccessful, he soon got his chance when he was appointed Protector of the Realm after Henry suffered a mental breakdown.
尽管一开始并不成功，但理查很快便发现了他的机会，在亨利六世的一次精神崩溃时，他被任命为护国将军。
However, less than a year later, Henry suddendly recovered and the Queen convinced him to reverse York's reforms.
然而，不到一年，亨利六世突然康复，同时玛格丽特说服他推翻理查·约克的改革。
York fled and raised an army once more.
理查逃亡，再次组织军队。
Though he was unable to directly seize the throne, he managed to be reinstated as Protector and have himself and his heirs designated to succeed Henry.
虽然他没法直接夺取王位，但他再次成功地成为护国将军，自己和后代亦成为亨利六世的继承者。
