6 myths about the Middle Ages that everyone believes - Stephanie Honchell Smith

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Una Kavazović

Medieval Europe.

Srednjovekovna Evropa.

Where unbathed, sword-wielding knights ate rotten meat,

Tu su neokupani vitezovi vitlali mačevima, jeli trulo meso,

thought the Earth was flat, defended chastity-belt wearing maidens,

smatrali da je zemlja ravna, branili deve obučene u pojaseve nevinosti

and tortured their foes with grisly gadgets.

i mučili svoje neprijatelje grozomornim spravama.

Samo što... radi se pre o izmišljotinama nego činjenicama.

Except... this is more fiction than fact.

So, where do all the myths about the Middle Ages come from?

Stoga, odakle potiču svi ti mitovi o srednjem veku?

And what were they actually like?

I kako je isti zapravo izgledao?

The “Middle Ages” refers to a 1,000-year timespan,

„Srednji vek” se odnosi na vremenski raspon od 1 000 godina,

stretching from the fall of Rome in the 5th century

koji se proteže od pada Rima u petom veku

to the Italian renaissance in the 15th.

do italijanske renesanse u XV veku.

Though it’s been applied to other parts of the world,

Iako je primenjiv na druge delove sveta,

the term traditionally refers specifically to Europe.

termin se tradicionalno odnosi izričito na Evropu.

One misconception is that medieval people were all ignorant and uneducated.

Jedna zabluda je da su srednjovekovni ljudi svi bili neuki i neobrazovani.

For example, a 19th century biography of Christopher Columbus

Na primer, biografija Kristifora Kolumba iz XIX veka

incorrectly purported that medieval Europeans thought the Earth was flat.

netačno je tvrdila da su srednjovekovni Evropljani smatrali da je zemlja ravna.

Sure, many medieval scholars describe the Earth as the center of the universe—

Svakako da mnogi srednjovekovni učenjaci opisuju Zemlju kao središte univerzuma -

but there wasn't much debate as to its shape.

ali nije bilo mnogo rasprava o njenom obliku.

A popular 13th century text was literally called “On the Sphere of the World.”

Popularni tekst iz XIII veka doslovno je bio naslovljen „Na sferi sveta”.

And literacy rates gradually increased during the Middle Ages

A stope pismenosti su polako rasle tokom srednjeg veka

alongside the establishment of monasteries, convents and universities.

zajedno sa uspostavljanjem manastira, samostana i univerziteta.

Ancient knowledge was also not “lost”;

Ni drevno znanje nije bilo „izgubljeno”;

Greek and Roman texts continued to be studied.

grčki i rimski tekstovi su i dalje izučavani.

The idea that medieval people ate rotten meat and used spices to cover the taste

Zamisao da su srednjovekovni ljudi jeli trulo meso

i koristili začine da prikriju ukus

was popularized in the 1930s by a British book.

je popularizovala britanska knjiga iz 1930-ih.

It misinterpreted one medieval recipe

Tu je pogrešno protumačen jedan srednjovekovni recept

and used the existence of laws barring the sale of putrid meat

i iskorišćeno je postojanje zakona koji brane prodaju trulog mesa

as evidence it was regularly consumed.

kao dokaz da je redovno konzumirano.

In fact, medieval Europeans avoided rancid foods

Zapravo, srednjovekovni Evropljani su izbegavali užeglu hranu

and had methods for safely preserving meats,

i imali su metode bezbednog čuvanja mesa,

like curing them with salt.

poput konzervacije solju.

Spices were popular.

Začini su bili popularni.

But they were oftentimes pricier than meat itself.

Međutim, često su bili skuplji od samog mesa.

So if someone could afford them, they could also buy unspoiled food.

Stoga, ko je mogao da ih priušti, mogao je i da kupi nepokvarenu hranu.

Meanwhile, the 19th century French historian Jules Michelet

U međuvremenu, francuski istoričar iz XIX veka Žil Mišelet

referred to the Middle Ages as “a thousand years without a bath.”

označavao je srednji vek kao „hiljadu godina bez kupanja”.

But even small towns boasted well-used public bathhouses.

Međutim, čak su se i manji gradovi dičili često korišćenim javnim kupatilima.

People lathered up with soaps made of things

Ljudi su se sapunali sapunima pravljenim od stvari

like animal fat, ash, and scented herbs.

poput životinjske masti, pepela i mirišljavog bilja.

And they used mouthwash, teeth-scrubbing cloths with pastes and powders,

I koristili su vodice za usta, krpe za ribanje zuba sa pastama i praškovima,

and spices and herbs for fresh-smelling breath.

kao i začine i bilje za svež dah.

So, how about medieval torture devices?

Dakle, šta je sa srednjovekovnim spravama za mučenje?

In the 1890s, a collection of allegedly “terrible relics of a semi-barbarous age”

1890-tih, kolekcija navodnih „užasnih relikta poluvarvarskog doba”

went on tour.

je krenula na turneju.

Among them: the Iron Maiden, which fascinated viewers with its spiked doors—

Tu je bila i železna devica,

koja je opčinjavala gledaoce svojim bodljikavim vratima -

but it was fabricated, possibly just decades before.

ali napravljena je verovatno svega nekoliko decenija ranije.

And there’s no indication Iron Maidens actually existed in the Middle Ages.

I nema naznaka da su železne device zapravo postojale u srednjem veku.

The “Pear of Anguish,” meanwhile, did exist—

„Kruška muke”, s druge strane, zaista je postojala -

but probably later on and it couldn’t have been used for torture.

ali verovatno kasnije i nije korišćena za mučenje.

It may have just been a shoe-stretcher.

Možda se prosto radilo o kalupu za cipele.

Indeed, many ostensibly medieval torture devices are far more recent inventions.

Uistinu, mnoge tobože srednjovekovne sprave za mučenje su skoriji izumi.

Medieval legal proceedings were overall less gruesome than these gadgets suggest.

Srednjovekovni pravni postupci

su bili sveukupno manje užasni nego što te sprave nagoveštavaju.

They included fines, imprisonment, public humiliation,

Uključivali su novčane kazne, lišavanje slobode, javno poniženje

and certain forms of corporal punishment.

i određene oblike telesnog kažnjavanja.

Torture and executions did happen,

Mučenja i pogubljenja su se dešavala,

but especially violent punishments, like drawing and quartering,

ali izuzetno nasilne kazne, poput čerečenja,

were generally reserved for crimes like high treason.

uopšteno su bile rezervisane za zločine poput veleizdaje.

Surely chastity belts were real, though, right?

Zasigurno su pojasevi nevinosti bili stvarni, zar ne?

Probably not.

Verovatno ne.

They were first mentioned by a 15th century German engineer, likely in jest,

Prvi put se pominju kod nemačkog inženjera iz XV veka, verovatno pogrdno,

alongside fart jokes and a device for invisibility.

pored šala s prdežima i spravama za nevidljivost.

From there, they became popular subjects of satire

Odatle su postali popularna tema za satire

that were later mistaken for medieval reality.

koje su posle pomešane sa srednjovekovnom stvarnošću.

Ideas about the Middle Ages have varied

Ideje o srednjem veku su varirale

depending on the interest of those in later times.

u zavisnosti od interesovanja onih iz kasnijih perioda.

The term— along with the pejorative “Dark Ages”—

Termin - pored pejorativa „mračno doba” -

was popularized during the 15th and 16th centuries

su popularizovali tokom XV i XVI veka

by scholars biased toward the Classical and Modern periods

učenjaci koji su gajili pristrasnost ka klasičnom i modernom dobu

that came before and after.

koji su bili pre i posle njega.

And, as Enlightenment thinkers celebrated their dedication to reason,

I, kako su prosvetiteljski mislioci slavili posvećenost razumu,

they depicted medieval people as superstitious and irrational.

prikazivali su srednjovekovne ljude kao sujeverne i iracionalne.

In the 19th century, some Romantic European nationalist thinkers— well—

U XIX veku, neki evropski romantičarsko-nacionalistički mislioci

romanticized the Middle Ages.

su - pa - romantizovali srednji vek.

They described isolated, white, Christian societies,

Opisivali su izolovana, belačka, hrišćanska društva,

emphasizing narratives of chivalry and wonder.

naglašavajući pripovesti o viteštvu i čudesima.

But knights played minimal roles in medieval warfare.

Međutim, vitezovi su igrali neznatne uloge u srednjovekovnom ratovanju.

And the Middle Ages saw large-scale interactions.

Srednji vek je svedočio interakcijama velikih razmera.

Ideas flowed into Europe along Byzantine, Muslim, and Mongol trade routes.

Ideje su se slivale u Evropu

vizantijskim, muslimanskim i mongolskim trgovinskim rutama.

And merchants, intellectuals, and diplomats of diverse origins

A trgovci, intelektualci i diplomate iz raznih krajeva

visited medieval European cities.

su posećivali srednjovekovne evropske gradove.

The biggest myth may be that the millennium of the Middle Ages

Najveći mit je možda da se milenijum dug srednji vek

amounts to one distinct, cohesive period of European history at all.

uopšte svodi na jedan jasan, kohezivan period evropske istorije.

Originally defined less by what they were than what they weren’t,

Prvobitno definisan manje po tome šta jeste nego šta nije,

the Middle Ages became a ground for dueling ideas—

srednji vek je postao tlo za sučeljavanje ideja -

fueling more fantasy than fact.

raspirujući više izmišljotine nego činjenice.