The Statute of Rhuddlan / 鲁德兰法令

The Statute of Rhuddlan was a legal document that was issued by King Edward I of England in 1284. This statute marked a crucial turning point in the history of Wales as it formalised the incorporation of Welsh territory into the English legal and administrative framework.

鲁德兰法令是英格兰国王爱德华一世于一二八四年颁布的法律文件。该法令标志着威尔士历史上的一个重要转折点，因为它正式将威尔士领土纳入英格兰的法律和行政体系。

For many centuries, different parts of Wales had been ruled by a variety of Welsh warlords who often declared themselves either the prince or king of the whole of Wales . Consequently, they were often fighting each other for supremacy.

几个世纪以来，威尔士的不同地区一直由各种威尔士军阀统治，他们经常自称为威尔士全境的王子或国王。因此，他们经常为争夺霸权而互相争斗。

These warlords had a complex relationship with their English neighbour. Most of Wales is mountainous and so transportation within Wales could be difficult. This left most of the Welsh population isolated and impoverished as economic activity was generally restricted to sea fishing, sheep farming and mining. This led to the Welsh people resenting England’s cultural, economic and military power. However, some of the warlords had a good relationship with England.

这些军阀与他们的英国邻居关系复杂。威尔士大部分地区都是山区，因此在威尔士境内的交通可能很困难。这使得大多数威尔士人口处于孤立和贫困状态，因为经济活动通常仅限于海洋捕鱼、养羊和采矿。这导致威尔士人民对英格兰的文化、经济和军事力量产生了怨恨。然而，一些军阀与英格兰保持着良好的关系。

In 1267, England recognised Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd as the sole Prince of Wales on the condition that he acknowledged the King of England as his overlord. Unfortunately, this relationship deteriorated over time and Prince Llywelyn eventually refused to pay homage to King Edward I of England. A military conflict eventually ensued and Prince Llywelyn and his brother were both killed.

1267年，英格兰承认利维林·阿普·格鲁弗德亲王为威尔士唯一的亲王，条件是他承认英格兰国王为他的宗主。不幸的是，这种关系随着时间的推移恶化，利维林亲王最终拒绝向英格兰国王爱德华一世臣服。最终爆发了军事冲突，利维林亲王及其兄弟都被杀害。

King Edward I then took control of the whole of Wales. Two years later, Edward issued the Statute of Rhuddlan that introduced a new legal and administrative system that aligned Wales with England.

爱德华一世随后控制了整个威尔士。两年后，爱德华颁布了《鲁德兰法令》，引入了一套新的法律和行政制度，使威尔士与英格兰保持一致。

There were 4 major legal and administrative changes imposed on Wales. Firstly, the creation new administrative areas called ‘shires’. Although the boundaries of these administrative areas have changed over time, ‘shires’ still exist in England and Wales today e.g. Lancashire, Flintshire. Secondly, English common law was introduced to deal with crimes such as murder and robbery. However, traditional Welsh legal practices to deal with land and commercial disputes remained unchanged. Thirdly, inheritance laws were changed to allow women to inherit land and other property if there were no immediate male heirs. In addition, illegitimate children were banned from inheriting land and property. Finally, a hierarchical system of royal officials were appointed who were responsible for collecting taxes, administrating justice and maintaining law and order.

威尔士经历了四项主要的法律和行政变更。首先，创建了称为“郡”的新行政区域。尽管这些行政区域的边界随时间变化，但“郡”在今天的英格兰和威尔士仍然存在，例如兰开夏郡、弗林特郡。其次，引入了英格兰普通法以处理如谋杀和抢劫等犯罪。然而，处理土地和商业纠纷的威尔士传统法律惯例保持不变。第三，继承法发生变化，允许女性在没有直系男性继承人的情况下继承土地和其他财产。此外，非婚生子女被禁止继承土地和财产。最后，任命了一个等级分明的皇家官员系统，负责征税、行政司法以及维护法律和秩序。

King Edward I also declared that the next Prince of Wales would be born in Wales and would not speak English. However, this was somewhat of a trick as he appointed his son, Edward II, who had been born in Wales. At this time, English kings were descended from the French nobleman, William the Conquer, and so the English royal family actually spoke French not English.

爱德华一世还宣布，下一任威尔士亲王将出生在威尔士，并且不会说英语。然而，这有些像是一个诡计，因为他任命了他的儿子爱德华二世，他曾出生在威尔士。那时，英国国王是法国贵族征服者威廉的后代，因此英国皇室实际上讲法语而非英语。

Since that time, the heir to the English throne has been given the title of the Prince of Wales. Thus, King Charles III was the Prince of Wales when his mother, Elizabeth II, was queen. Now his son, William, is the Prince of Wales.

自那时起，英格兰王位的继承人被赋予威尔士亲王的头衔。因此，当查尔斯三世的母亲伊丽莎白二世为女王时，查尔斯三世是威尔士亲王。现在他的儿子威廉是威尔士亲王。

Even though this statute introduced English legal and administrative governance into Wales, this did not result in the complete annexation of Wales. Instead, Wales remained a semi-autonomous principality with many of its own customs and laws, albeit under English control. Wales was not fully incorporated into the English legal and administrative system until the Acts of Union in the mid-16th century.

尽管该法令将英国的法律和行政管理引入威尔士，但这并未导致威尔士的完全兼并。相反，威尔士仍然是一个半自治的公国，拥有许多自己的习俗和法律，尽管在英国的控制下。直到16世纪中叶的联合法案，威尔士才完全纳入英国的法律和行政体系。

Although some Welsh people today morn Welsh independence and the dominance of the English language over the Welsh language, the Statute of Rhuddlan and the Acts of Union have had an undeniable beneficial impact upon Wales. Wales became much more politically stable and wealthier as a result of its very close relationship with England.

尽管今天一些威尔士人对威尔士独立以及英语对威尔士语的优势表示哀悼，《鲁德兰法令》和《联合法案》对威尔士产生了不可否认的积极影响。由于与英格兰的紧密关系，威尔士在政治上变得更加稳定，财富也增加了。