Everything you need to know to read “The Canterbury Tales” - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: Yifan L 校对人员: Liu Qi

A portly Miller, barely sober enough to sit on his horse,

一位发福的磨坊主, 勉强清醒地坐在他的马上，

rambles on about the flighty wife of a crotchety old carpenter

唠叨着一位坏脾气老木匠的 轻浮妻子

and the scholar she takes as her lover.

和她的学者情人。

To get some time alone together,

为了获得独处的时间，

the scholar and the wife play various tricks

这位学者和木匠的妻子 耍了各种花招,

that involve feigning madness,

比如假装发疯，

staging a biblical flood,

上演圣经中洪水的场景，

and exposing themselves in public.

和在公共场合赤身裸体。

But the parish clerk is also lusting after the wife,

但是一位牧师 也垂涎这名妻子，

and comes by every night to sing outside her house.

并且每晚都来她家门外唱歌。

This becomes so tiresome that she tries to scare him away

当她忍无可忍时， 她试图吓走他，

by hanging her rear end out the window for him to kiss.

于是她把屁股伸出窗外让他亲吻，

When this appears not to work,

但是这并不管用。

her scholar decides to try farting in the same position,

她的学者情人决定 用同样的姿势放屁，

but this time, the clerk is waiting with a red-hot poker.

但是这次，牧师准备了 烧红的拔火棍。

This might all sound like a bawdy joke,

这故事听起来 像是个低俗笑话，

but it’s part of one of the most esteemed works of English literature ever created:

但它其实是来自英国文学史上 最令人尊敬的作品之一：

The Canterbury Tales,

《坎特伯雷故事集》,

which seamlessly blends the lofty and the lowly.

它完美融合了高雅与低俗。

The work consists of 24 stories,

这部作品包含了24个故事，

each told by one of Chaucer’s spirited characters.

每个故事都由乔叟笔下 生动的角色讲述。

Narrators include familiar Medieval figures

讲述者包括了 我们所熟悉的中世纪形象，

such as a Knight,

比如骑士，

a Clerk,

牧师，

and a Nun,

和修女，

and the less recognizable Reeve,

还有少为人知的城镇长官，

and Mancible,

伙食管理员，

and others.

和其他一些角色等。

The Tales are written in Middle English,

这些故事是用中古英语所写，

which often looks entirely different from the language spoken today.

和我们今天所讲的英语 看起来完全不同。

It was used between the 12th and 15th centuries,

它在12至15世纪期间使用，

and evolved from Old English

由古英语演变而来。

due to increased contact with European romantic languages

主要是由于在1066年 诺曼人征服英格兰后，

after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

古英语与欧洲罗曼语族的 接触增多而导致的演变。

Most of the Middle English alphabet is still familiar today,

大部分的中古英语字母 和现代英语很相似，

with the inclusion of a few archaic symbols,

包括一些古老的符号，

such as yogh, which denotes the y,

比如yogh中这些符号， 分别代表了y，

j,

j,

or gh sound.

或是gh的发音。

The loquacious cast of the Tales first meet at the Tabard Inn in Southwark.

这些健谈的讲述者们第一次会面是在 在萨瑟克的塔巴德旅馆。

They have a journey in common:

他们来这里的目的相同：

a pilgrimage to Canterbury to visit the shrine of St. Thomas Beckett,

那就是去坎特伯雷朝圣， 拜访圣托马斯·贝克特的神庙。

a martyred archbishop who was murdered in his own Cathedral.

这位大主教是一位 在自己教堂里被谋杀的殉道者。

Eager and nosy for some personal details,

好管闲事的旅馆主人， 为了探听这些人的私事，

the host of the Inn proposes a competition:

提议举办一场比赛：

whoever tells the best tale will be treated to dinner.

谁能讲出最棒的故事， 他就请谁吃晚餐。

If not for their pilgrimage,

如果不是因为这次朝圣之旅，

many of these figures would never have had the chance to interact.

这之中的大多数人 都不会有交集。

This is because Medieval society followed a feudal system

因为中世纪社会采用封建制度，

that divided the clergy and nobility from the working classes,

神职和贵族， 与工人阶层是严格分开的，

made up of peasants and serfs.

工人阶层由农民和奴隶组成。

By Chaucer’s time,

在乔叟生活的年代，

a professional class of merchants and intellectuals had also emerged.

商人和知识分子阶层也已经产生了。

Chaucer spent most of his life as a government official

乔叟生在百年战争期间，

during the Hundred Years' War,

一生任职政府官员，

traveling throughout Italy and France, as well as his native England.

游历于意大利和法国， 还有他的祖国英格兰，

This may have influenced the panoramic vision of his work,

这使得他的作品具有全景性。

and in the Tales, no level of society is above mockery.

在《坎特伯雷故事集》中， 他讽刺所有社会阶层。

Chaucer uses the quirks of the characters’ language –

乔叟利用人物语言的特点——

the ribald humor of the Cook,

厨子的粗鄙幽默，

the solemn prose of the Parson,

牧师的严肃乏味，

and the lofty notions of the Squire –

还有乡绅的高尚信念，

to satirize their worldviews.

来嘲讽他们的世界观。

The varied dialects, genres, and literary tropes

乔叟作品中丰富的方言、 体裁和文学比喻

also make the work a vivid record

生动地展现了

of the different ways Medieval audiences entertained themselves.

中世纪读者们各种娱乐方式。

For instance, the Knight’s tale of courtly love,

比如，骑士所讲的宫廷爱情，

chivalry,

骑士精神，

and destiny

和命运曲折的

riffs on romance,

爱情故事。

while the tales of working-class narrators are generally comedies

而工人阶层讲述者们的故事 大多是喜剧，

filled with scatological language,

充斥着粗俗语言，

sexual deviance,

出轨的性趣，

and slapstick.

和滑稽的表演。

This variation includes something for everyone,

这些故事的多样化 满足了不同的读者群体，

and that’s one reason why readers continue to delight in the work

这就是该作品中古英语 和翻译版

in both Middle English and translation.

都广受读者赞誉的原因。

While the narrative runs to over 17,000 lines,

虽然乔叟的叙述超过一万七千行，

it's apparently unfinished,

但很明显这部作品没有完结。

as the prologue ambitiously introduces 29 pilgrims

他在序章里曾野心勃勃地 介绍了29位朝圣者，

and promises four stories apiece,

并保证每人都有4个故事，

and the innkeeper never crowns a victor.

不仅如此，旅馆主人 最终也没宣布比赛的赢家。

It’s possible that Chaucer was so caught up in his sumptuous creations

也许，乔叟因过于沉浸于 他的创作盛宴

that he delayed picking a winner -

才迟迟无法为这场比赛 选一个赢家，

or perhaps he was so fond of each character

也许是因为他喜欢每一个角色，

that he just couldn’t choose.

所以才难以抉择。

Whatever the reason,

不论是何原因，

this means that every reader is free to judge;

对读者而言意味着

the question of who wins is up to you.

我们能自由决定心中的赢家。