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

翻译人员: Yip Yan Yeung 校对人员: sylvia feng

Medieval Europe.

中世纪欧洲。

Where unbathed, sword-wielding knights ate rotten meat,

从不洗澡的挥剑骑士们吃着腐肉，

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

以为地球是个平面， 保护穿着贞操带的少女，

and tortured their foes with grisly gadgets.

用可怕的刑具折磨着他们的仇敌。

Except... this is more fiction than fact.

只是有一点…… 这些都是编的，而不是事实。

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

那这些关于中世纪的流言 都是从哪里来的呢？

And what were they actually like?

真实的情况是什么样的呢？

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

“中世纪”指的是跨越一千年、

stretching from the fall of Rome in the 5th century

从公元 5 世纪西罗马帝国灭亡

to the Italian renaissance in the 15th.

至公元 15 世纪意大利 文艺复兴运动之间的这段时间。

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

虽然世界上的其他地区 也会使用这个用语，

the term traditionally refers specifically to Europe.

但通常来说这个词语特指欧洲。

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

一个错误的认知是中世纪的人 都是无知、没有文化的。

For example, a 19th century biography of Christopher Columbus

比如，19 世纪一部 关于克里斯托弗·哥伦布的传记

incorrectly purported that medieval Europeans thought the Earth was flat.

错误地宣称中世纪欧洲人 以为地球是平的。

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

确实，很多中世纪学者 将地球描述为宇宙中心，

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

但就其形状是没有什么争议的。

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

13 世纪有一篇流行的文章 就叫做《在世界这个球体上》。

And literacy rates gradually increased during the Middle Ages

中世纪的文化程度随着修道院、

alongside the establishment of monasteries, convents and universities.

女修道院和大学的建立逐渐提高。

Ancient knowledge was also not “lost”;

古代知识也没有“失传”；

Greek and Roman texts continued to be studied.

依旧有人在研究古希腊 和古罗马文学。

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

中世纪人吃腐肉、 用香料掩盖口味的说法

was popularized in the 1930s by a British book.

在 1930 年代 由一本英国书籍传开。

It misinterpreted one medieval recipe

它误解了一份中世纪食谱，

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

依据当时禁止出售腐肉的法律

as evidence it was regularly consumed.

证明人们经常吃腐肉。

In fact, medieval Europeans avoided rancid foods

其实中世纪欧洲人 会避免食物变质，

and had methods for safely preserving meats,

有安全保存肉类的方法，

like curing them with salt.

如用盐加工贮藏。

Spices were popular.

香料很受欢迎。

But they were oftentimes pricier than meat itself.

但它们通常会比肉类本身更贵。

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

所以，如果买得起香料， 当然也买得起完好的食物。

Meanwhile, the 19th century French historian Jules Michelet

同时，19 世纪的法国历史学家 儒勒·米什莱（Jules Michelet）

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

将中世纪称为 “没洗过一次澡的一千年”。

But even small towns boasted well-used public bathhouses.

但是，就算是小镇都号称 有经常使用的公共澡堂。

People lathered up with soaps made of things

人们用肥皂打出泡沫，

like animal fat, ash, and scented herbs.

肥皂可能由动物油脂、 粉尘和带香味的药草制成。

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

他们还会使用漱口水、 挤上牙膏和牙粉的刷牙布，

and spices and herbs for fresh-smelling breath.

还会用香料和药草清新口气。

So, how about medieval torture devices?

那中世纪刑具呢？

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

1890 年代，大量 “半蛮荒时代的遗害”

went on tour.

广为流传。

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

其中：铁处女，以其插满钉子的门 让观众兴致盎然，

but it was fabricated, possibly just decades before.

但它是虚构的， 也许只是几十年前刚编的。

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

没有迹象表明铁处女 在中世纪真实存在过。

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

而苦刑梨确实存在，

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

但也许是之后的故事， 也没有用于刑罚。

It may have just been a shoe-stretcher.

也许它只是个撑鞋器。

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

其实很多看起来产于中世纪的刑具 都是很久之后的产物。

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

中世纪的法律程序总体 没有这些工具所展现的那么恐怖。

They included fines, imprisonment, public humiliation,

包括了罚款、监禁、当众羞辱

and certain forms of corporal punishment.

和某些肉体惩罚。

Torture and executions did happen,

确实有拷问和处刑的情况，

but especially violent punishments, like drawing and quartering,

但尤其是暴力的 惩罚方式，如车裂，

were generally reserved for crimes like high treason.

通常都留给严重叛国罪享用。

Surely chastity belts were real, though, right?

但是贞操带确实是真的，对吧？

Probably not.

也许不是。

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

贞操带首次由一名 15 世纪的

德国工程师提出， 有可能是在开玩笑，

alongside fart jokes and a device for invisibility.

还有一些放屁整蛊和隐身装置。

From there, they became popular subjects of satire

贞操带由此成为了 讽刺创作的热门主题，

that were later mistaken for medieval reality.

之后被误解成了 中世纪真实发生的情况。

Ideas about the Middle Ages have varied

关于中世纪的看法

depending on the interest of those in later times.

因后人的立场而异。

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

这个说法和“黑暗时代” 这样的贬义词，

was popularized during the 15th and 16th centuries

在 15、16 世纪风靡一时，

by scholars biased toward the Classical and Modern periods

由偏好之前的古典时期 和之后的近代的学者散播。

that came before and after.

And, as Enlightenment thinkers celebrated their dedication to reason,

由于启蒙运动的思想家们 想体现他们对理性的追求，

they depicted medieval people as superstitious and irrational.

他们将中世纪人描绘成 迷信、无理的样子。

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

19 世纪，有些浪漫主义 欧洲民族主义思想家又……

romanticized the Middle Ages.

将中世纪浪漫化了。

They described isolated, white, Christian societies,

他们描绘了封闭的、 只有白人的基督教社团，

emphasizing narratives of chivalry and wonder.

着重强调了骑士精神和奇幻故事。

But knights played minimal roles in medieval warfare.

但骑士在中世纪战事中 只是微不足道的角色。

And the Middle Ages saw large-scale interactions.

中世纪是百花齐放的时期。

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

各种想法顺着拜占庭、穆斯林和 蒙古商贸通道流入了欧洲。

And merchants, intellectuals, and diplomats of diverse origins

背景各异的商人、 知识分子和外交使者

visited medieval European cities.

来到了中世纪欧洲城市。

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

最广为流传的流言可能是 中世纪的千年

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

形成了欧洲历史上 一整个独立的时期。

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

人们总爱为中世纪无中生有， 而不是实事求是，

the Middle Ages became a ground for dueling ideas—

于是中世纪成为了思想碰撞的土壤，

fueling more fantasy than fact.

滋养了言过其实的奇闻轶事。