A brief history of goths - Dan Adams

翻译人员: Riley WANG 校对人员: Lipeng Chen

What do fans of atmospheric post-punk music

充满神秘感的后朋克音乐的粉丝们

have in common with ancient barbarians?

与古代野蛮人有什么共同之处呢？

Not much.

虽然看上去毫无关联，

So why are both known as goths?

但为何他们都被称为哥特人。

Is it a weird coincidence

这是个奇怪的巧合？

or a deeper connection stretching across the centuries?

还是二者间有长达几个世纪的深层联系？

The story begins in Ancient Rome.

故事开始于古罗马。

As the Roman Empire expanded, it faced raids and invasions

随着罗马帝国不断扩张，它面临着

from the semi-nomadic populations along its borders.

国境线附近半游牧民族的入侵和袭击。

Among the most powerful were a Germanic people known as Goths

其中最强大的势力是一伙德国人——哥特，

who were composed of two tribal groups,

他们由两个部落构成：

the Visigoths

东哥特人，

and Ostrogoths.

西哥特人。

While some of the Germanic tribes remained Rome's enemies,

虽然一些德国部落始终与罗马为敌，

the Empire incorporated others into the imperial army.

但罗马帝国将其他部落收归整合入军队。

As the Roman Empire split in two,

当罗马帝国一分为二时，

these tribal armies played larger roles in its defense

这些部落军队在防御和内部权力斗争上

and internal power struggles.

起到了很大作用。

In the 5th century, a mercenary revolt lead by a soldier named Odoacer

5世纪时，由一名名叫 Odoacer 的士兵领导了 一次雇佣兵反叛，

captured Rome and deposed the Western Emperor.

他们抓住并废黜了西罗马国王。

Odoacer and his Ostrogoth successor Theoderic

Odoacer 及东哥特首领 Theoderic

technically remained under the Eastern Emperor's authority

理论上仍受东罗马皇帝统治，

and maintained Roman traditions.

并保持着罗马的传统。

But the Western Empire would never be united again.

但此时西罗马帝国不在团结，

Its dominions fragmented into kingdoms ruled by Goths

并分裂成不同的国家，

and other Germanic tribes

其统治者为哥特人以及

who assimilated into local cultures,

融入当地文化的其他德国部落，

though many of their names still mark the map.

但现在的地图上仍能够 反映出当时部落的名称。

This was the end of the Classical Period

这标志着古典时期的终结，

and the beginning of what many call the Dark Ages.

以及黑暗时期的开始。

Although Roman culture was never fully lost,

尽管罗马文化从未完全消失，

its influence declined and new art styles arose

但它的影响力不断减少， 新的艺术风格逐渐产生，

focused on religious symbolism and allegory

它们关注宗教符号和寓言

rather than proportion and realism.

而不是和谐的比例和现实意义。

This shift extended to architecture

这种转变也延伸到了建筑风格。

with the construction of the Abbey of Saint Denis in France in 1137.

1137年法国圣丹尼斯修道院建立，

Pointed arches, flying buttresses, and large windows

尖拱、飞拱、大窗这样的设计

made the structure more skeletal and ornate.

使得建筑结构显得更加瘦削豪华。

That emphasized its open, luminous interior

它强调室内要开放、明亮

rather than the sturdy walls and columns of Classical buildings.

而不是充满古典建筑中的结实墙面和柱子。

Over the next few centuries,

在接下来的几个世纪，

this became a model for Cathedrals throughout Europe.

这成为欧洲教堂风格的范本。

But fashions change.

但是时尚易变，

With the Italian Renaissance's renewed admiration for Ancient Greece and Rome,

意大利文艺复兴重新燃起了 对古希腊古罗马的崇敬，

the more recent style began to seem crude and inferior in comparison.

哥特这种近代风格 相比之下显得原始简陋。

Writing in his 1550 book, "Lives of the Artists,"

1550年，在《艺术家的生活》中

Giorgio Vasari was the first to describe it as Gothic,

作者 Giorgio Vasari 首次将这种风格称为哥特。

a derogatory reference to the Barbarians

但这是一种意指野蛮人的贬义说法，

thought to have destroyed Classical civilization.

并认为这种思想毁了古典文明。

The name stuck, and soon came to describe the Medieval period overall,

这个词语一直存在， 并且开始用于描述整个中世纪时期，

with its associations of darkness, superstition, and simplicity.

因为它让人联想到黑暗、迷信以及原始。

But time marched on, as did what was considered fashionable.

时间推进，时尚也在推进。

In the 1700s, a period called the Enlightenment came about,

1700年代，启蒙时期到来，

which valued scientific reason above all else.

科学理性最受推崇。

Reacting against that, Romantic authors like Goethe and Byron

与此相对，浪漫主义作家例如歌德与拜伦，

sought idealized visions of a past of natural landscapes

则寻求将自然景观理想化的视角

and mysterious spiritual forces.

以及神秘的精神力量。

Here, the word Gothic was repurposed again

于此，哥特一词的含义被重新定义，

to describe a literary genre that emerged as a darker strain of Romanticism.

它用来描述由浪漫主义衍生的 一种更黑暗的文学体裁。

The term was first applied by Horace Walpole

Horace Walpole 于1764年

to his own 1764 novel, "The Castle of Otranto"

在他的小说《奥特兰托堡》中 首次使用这个词，

as a reference to the plot and general atmosphere.

用来描述小说情节及整体氛围。

Many of the novel's elements became genre staples

小说中的众多元素成为了哥特体裁的典型，

inspiring classics and the countless movies they spawned.

并启发了众多经典故事及改编电影。

The gothic label belonged to literature and film until the 1970s

直到1970年代，哥特一直是 文学和电影的风格，

when a new musical scene emerged.

之后，一种新的音乐剧开始出现。

Taking cues from artists like The Doors and The Velvet Underground,

受到门户乐队，地下丝绒乐队的启发，

British post-punk groups,

英国的大量后朋克群体，

like Joy Division,

例如 Joy Division 乐队，

Bauhaus,

Bauhaus 乐队，

and The Cure,

The Cure 乐队，

combined gloomy lyrics and punk dissonance

他们的音乐混合了 阴郁的歌词，朋克的不协调音乐，

with imagery inspired by the Victorian era,

维多利亚时代的意象，

classic horror,

经典的恐惧元素，

and androgynous glam fashion.

以及中性魅力。

By the early 1980s, similar bands were consistently described

直到1980年代早期，这类风格相似的乐队

as Gothic rock by the music press,

都被音乐媒体称为哥特摇滚。

and the stye's popularity brought it out of dimly lit clubs

这种风格日渐流行， 表演也由灯光阴暗的俱乐部

to major labels and MTV.

转向主流唱片公司和音乐电视。

And today, despite occasional negative media attention and stereotypes,

如今，尽管偶尔会有媒体的 负面评价和刻板印象，

Gothic music and fashion continue as a strong underground phenomenon.

哥特音乐和时尚仍然是活跃的地下现象。

They've also branched into sub-genres,

并出现了更多的细分种类，

such as cybergoth,

例如赛博哥特，

gothabilly,

哥特比利，

gothic metal,

哥特金属，

and even steampunk.

甚至是蒸汽朋克。

The history of the word gothic is embedded

哥特这个词伴随了上千年的历史，

in thousands of years worth of countercultural movements,

它是一种反对传统文化的运动，

from invading outsiders becoming kings

开始于哥特民族作为外族入侵称王，

to towering spires replacing solid columns

而后，高耸的尖塔代替了粗壮的圆柱，

to artists finding beauty in darkness.

艺术家在黑暗中发现了美。

Each step has seen a revolution of sorts

每一步都是一种改革，

and a tendency for civilization to reach into its past to reshape its present.

也是文明回溯过去 进而重塑现在的趋势。