What is a butt tuba and why is it in medieval art? - Michelle Brown

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

A rabbit attempts to play a church organ,

一隻兔子在嘗試彈奏教堂的管風琴，

while a knight fights a giant snail

同時一名騎士在對抗 一隻巨型蝸牛，

and a naked man blows a trumpet with his rear end.

還有一個赤裸的人 在用他的屁股吹喇叭。

Painted with squirrel-hair brushes on vellum or parchment

用松鼠毛的畫筆繪製在 羊皮紙或仿羊皮紙上，

by monks, nuns, and urban craftspeople,

作者包括僧侶、修女，及都市工匠，

these bizarre images populate the margins of the most prized books

這些怪異的圖像滿佈在中世紀

最有價值的書籍的空白處。

from the Middle Ages.

Their illustrations often tell a second story as rich as the text itself.

這些插圖通常訴說著第二個故事，

且豐富程度不輸給正文。

Some images appear in many different illuminated manuscripts,

在許多不同的裝飾手稿上 都可以看到這類圖像，

and often reinforce the religious content of the books they decorated.

這些圖像強化了它們 所裝飾的書籍的宗教內容。

For example, a porcupine picking up fruit on its spines

比如，一隻豪豬拔起牠刺上的水果，

could represent the devil stealing the fruits of faith--

可能代表著魔鬼偷走了信仰的果實，

or Christ taking up the sins of mankind.

或是基督扛起人類的原罪。

Medieval lore stated that a hunter could only capture a unicorn

中世紀的傳說指出， 獵人只能夠在獨角獸

把牠的角放在處女的膝上時， 才能夠去捕捉牠，

when it lay its horn in the lap of a virgin,

so a unicorn could symbolize either sexual temptation

所以，獨角獸可能象徵著性誘惑

or Christ being captured by his enemies.

或是基督被他的敵人捕捉。

Rabbits, meanwhile, could represent human’s lustful natures—

而兔子則可以代表 人類的好色天性——

and could redeem themselves through attempts to make sacred music

儘管牠們有缺點，仍然可以 透過嘗試製作神聖音樂的方式

despite their failings.

來為自己贖罪。

All of these references would have been familiar to medieval Europeans

中世紀歐洲人會很熟悉 所有上述這些例子，

from other art forms and oral tradition,

在藝術形式及口述傳統中會提及到，

though some have grown more mysterious over the centuries.

不過，經過數世紀之後， 有些變得更神秘了。

Today,

現今，沒有人能肯定

no one can say for sure what the common motif of a knight fighting a snail means—

騎士對抗蝸牛的 這種常見圖案代表什麼——

or why the knight so often appears to be losing.

或者為什麼騎士通常 都是戰敗的一方。

The snail might be a symbol of the inevitability of death,

蝸牛可能是象徵無可避免的死亡，

which defeats even the strongest knights.

死亡能夠打敗最強壯的騎士。

Or it could represent humility, and a knight’s need to vanquish his own pride.

或者，它有可能代表人性，

及騎士必需要克服他自身的驕傲。

Many illuminated manuscripts were copies of religious or classical texts,

許多裝飾手稿都是 宗教或古典文本的複本，

and the bookmakers incorporated their own ideas and opinions in illustrations.

而製書者將他們自己的想法 和意見融入到插圖中。

The butt tuba, for example,

比如，屁股大號有可能是

was likely shorthand to express disapproval with--

代表不贊成的簡略表達方式，

or add an ironic spin to-- the action in the text.

或是將諷刺的詮釋添加到文中。

Illuminations could also be used to make subversive political commentary.

裝飾圖案也可以用來 做破壞性的政治評論。

The text of the "Smithfield Decretals"

《史密斯菲爾德教令》的內文

details the Church’s laws and punishments for lawbreakers.

詳細描述教堂的法律 以及對違法者的懲罰。

But the margins show a fox being hanged by geese,

但在空白處畫了 一隻狐狸被鵝吊起來，

a possible allusion to the common people turning on their powerful oppressors.

這可能是在暗示一般人 反抗他們的強大壓迫者。

In the "Chronica Majora,"

在《英國編年史》中，

Matthew Paris summarized a scandal of his day,

馬修派瑞斯概述了 他那個年代的一件醜聞，

in which the Welsh prince Griffin

在醜聞中，威爾斯王子葛里芬

plummeted to his death from the tower of London.

從倫敦的高塔上落下身亡。

Some believed the prince fell, Paris wrote,

派瑞斯寫道，有些人 相信王子是跌落，

while others thought he was pushed.

其他人則認為他是被推下去的。

He added his own take in the margins,

他在空白處加上了他自己的想法，

which show the prince falling to his death

他認為王子之所以會摔死，

while trying to escape on a rope made of bed-sheets.

是因為他試圖要用 床單做成的繩子逃脫。

Some margins told stories of a more personal nature.

有些空白處講述 本質上更個人化的故事。

"The Luttrell Psalter,"

《魯特瑞爾詩篇》是 一本讚美詩和祈禱文的書，

a book of psalms and prayers commissioned by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell,

由傑佛瑞呂特雷爾爵士委託製作，

shows a young woman having her hair done,

書中有一位年輕女子去做頭髮，

while a young man catches a bird in a net.

同時有一位年輕人 用網子抓了一隻鳥。

The shaved patch on his head is growing out,

他剃掉的頭髮已經長出來了，

indicating that he is a clergyman neglecting his duties.

顯示他是個疏忽職責的神職人員。

This alludes to a family scandal

這是在暗示一件家庭醜聞，

where a young cleric ran away with Sir Geoffrey’s daughter Elizabeth.

一位年輕的神職人員 和傑佛瑞爵士的女兒伊麗莎白私奔。

The family’s personal spiritual advisor likely painted it into the book

書中的這個圖很有可能是由 該家庭的私人宗教顧問畫的，

to remind his clients of their failings

以提醒他的客戶 不要忘記自己的缺點，

and encourage their spiritual development.

並鼓勵他們做靈性上的發展。

Some artists even painted themselves into the manuscripts.

有些藝術家甚至 把自己畫到手稿當中。

The opening image of Christine de Pisan’s collected works

在克里斯蒂娜德皮桑的 作品合輯中，最開頭的圖像

shows de Pisan presenting the book to the Queen of France.

顯示德皮桑將書上呈給法國女王。

The queen was so impressed by de Pisan's previous work

德皮桑先前的作品讓女王印象深刻，

that she commissioned her own copy.

所以女王委託創作她自己的複本。

Such royal patronage

有這種皇家的贊助，

enabled her to establish her own publishing house in Paris.

讓她得以在巴黎建立 她自己的出版社。

The tradition of illuminated manuscripts lasted for over a thousand years.

裝飾手稿的傳統持續了至少一千年。

The books were created by individuals or teams for uses as wide-ranging

這些書籍有的是個人創作， 有的是團隊創作，用途廣泛，

as private prayer aids, service books in churches, textbooks,

包括私人祈禱的輔助、 教堂的祈禱書、課本，

and protective talismans to take into battle.

以及帶到戰爭中的護身符。

Across all this variation,

這些在空白處的微妙小插圖

those tricky little drawings in the margins

可說是千變萬化，

are a unique window into the minds of medieval artists.

是讓我們了解中世紀藝術家 想法的獨特窗口。