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

譯者: Yitong Zhang 審譯者: Shelley Tsang 曾雯海

Medieval Europe.

中世紀的歐洲

Where unbathed, sword-wielding knights ate rotten meat,

在那裡， 從不洗澡只顧揮劍的騎士吃著腐爛的肉，

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

堅信地平說， 捍衛佩戴貞操帶的少女們，

and tortured their foes with grisly gadgets.

並用著可怕的小玩意兒折磨他們的敵人。

Except... this is more fiction than fact.

然而⋯⋯這些故事更多是虛構而非事實。

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

所以，這些關於中世紀的神話 到底是從哪兒傳出來的？

And what were they actually like?

這些故事實際上又是怎麼樣的？

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

“中世紀”一詞指代了大約一千年的時間跨度，

stretching from the fall of Rome in the 5th century

從5世紀羅馬的衰落

to the Italian renaissance in the 15th.

到15世紀義大利的文藝復興。

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

儘管這個詞也被用來描述世界上的其他地區，

the term traditionally refers specifically to Europe.

但它在傳統意義上特指歐洲。

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

一個誤解是中世紀的人們 都很無知且沒有受過教育。

For example, a 19th century biography of Christopher Columbus

比如，一本19世紀的關於哥倫布的傳記中，

incorrectly purported that medieval Europeans thought the Earth was flat.

錯誤地宣稱了中世紀的歐洲人都相信地平說。

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

誠然，許多中世紀的學者 將地球描述為宇宙的中心—

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

但關於地球的形狀 並沒有太多爭議。

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

13世紀流行的一篇文章 甚至就叫做《在世界的球面上》。

And literacy rates gradually increased during the Middle Ages

在中世紀，識字率逐漸提高

alongside the establishment of monasteries, convents and universities.

隨著寺院、修道院和大學的建立。

Ancient knowledge was also not “lost”;

古代的知識也沒有“丟失”；

Greek and Roman texts continued to be studied.

人們仍然在研究希臘和羅馬文。

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

中世紀的人吃爛肉， 並用香料掩蓋腐爛味這個說法

was popularized in the 1930s by a British book.

在20世紀30年代被一本英國書所普及。

It misinterpreted one medieval recipe

這本書曲解了一篇中世紀的食譜

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

並利用當時禁止出售腐肉的法律的存在

as evidence it was regularly consumed.

作為腐肉經常被食用的證據。

In fact, medieval Europeans avoided rancid foods

實際上，中世紀的歐洲人會避免吃酸敗的食物

and had methods for safely preserving meats,

並且掌握了安全保存肉類的方法，

like curing them with salt.

比如用鹽醃製。

Spices were popular.

香料在當時很流行，

But they were oftentimes pricier than meat itself.

但它們常常比肉本身還要貴。

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

所以，如果有人能買得起香料， 那他們肯定能買得起沒腐爛的食物。

Meanwhile, the 19th century French historian Jules Michelet

此外，19世紀的法國歷史學家儒勒·米歇爾

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

將中世紀稱為“沒有洗澡的一千年”。

But even small towns boasted well-used public bathhouses.

但即使是小城鎮也有長期使用的公共澡堂。

People lathered up with soaps made of things

人們用肥皂擦拭身體，

like animal fat, ash, and scented herbs.

這些肥皂常用動物脂肪、灰燼和芳香草藥製成。

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

人們還使用漱口水， 帶糊狀物和粉狀物的擦牙布，

and spices and herbs for fresh-smelling breath.

以及香料和草藥來獲得清新的口氣。

So, how about medieval torture devices?

那麼，中世紀的酷刑裝置又如何呢？

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

在19世紀90年代， 一批據稱是“半野蠻時代的可怕遺物”

went on tour.

進行了巡展。

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

在這些遺物之中， “鐵處女”那帶有尖刺的門使觀眾著迷—

but it was fabricated, possibly just decades before.

但它只是捏造的，可能就在幾十年前。

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

此外，並沒有任何證據證明 “鐵處女”真的在中世紀存在過。

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

與此同時，“苦刑梨”確實存在—

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

但那可能是後來的事， 而且它不可能被用於酷刑。

It may have just been a shoe-stretcher.

它可能不過是個鞋撐。

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

事實上，許多表面上是中世紀的酷刑裝置 都是更近代的發明。

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

中世紀的法律程序大體上 沒有這些折磨用具顯示的那麼可怕。

They included fines, imprisonment, public humiliation,

實際的懲罰手段包括罰款、監禁和公開羞辱，

and certain forms of corporal punishment.

以及某些形式的體罰。

Torture and executions did happen,

折磨和死刑確實發生過，

but especially violent punishments, like drawing and quartering,

但特別暴力的懲罰，例如五馬分屍，

were generally reserved for crimes like high treason.

一般是為叛國罪等罪行保留的。

Surely chastity belts were real, though, right?

可貞操帶，毫無疑問，是真的對吧？

Probably not.

也可能不是真的。

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

它們最早是由15世紀的德國工程師提到的， 很有可能是在開玩笑，

alongside fart jokes and a device for invisibility.

和那些放屁玩笑與隱身裝置一起。

From there, they became popular subjects of satire

從那時起，貞操帶就成了人們諷刺的談資，

that were later mistaken for medieval reality.

後來被誤認為是中世紀時的現實。

Ideas about the Middle Ages have varied

關於中世紀的想法不是一成不變的

depending on the interest of those in later times.

主要基於後人的興趣而有所不同。

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

“中世紀”這個詞—連同貶義的“黑暗時代”—

was popularized during the 15th and 16th centuries

在15和16世紀流行起來

by scholars biased toward the Classical and Modern periods

藉由偏向古典和現代時期的學者們之口

that came before and after.

這些人在中世紀前後出現。

And, as Enlightenment thinkers celebrated their dedication to reason,

此外，當啟蒙思想家們 讚頌其對於理性的奉獻時，

they depicted medieval people as superstitious and irrational.

他們將中世紀的人們描繪成迷信與非理性的。

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

在19世紀，一些浪漫主義的 歐洲民族主義思想家—往好了說—

romanticized the Middle Ages.

美化了中世紀。

They described isolated, white, Christian societies,

他們將中世紀描繪成與世隔絕的、 聖潔的且信奉基督教的社會，

emphasizing narratives of chivalry and wonder.

強調了騎士精神和奇蹟的敘述。

But knights played minimal roles in medieval warfare.

但騎士在中世紀的戰爭中發揮的作用很小，

And the Middle Ages saw large-scale interactions.

且在中世紀時期出現了大規模的互動：

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

思想順著與拜占庭、穆斯林 以及蒙古人的貿易路線流入歐洲，

And merchants, intellectuals, and diplomats of diverse origins

來自不同地方的商人、知識份子和外交官

visited medieval European cities.

造訪了中世紀的歐洲城市。

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

最大的神話，可能就是中世紀的千年時間

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

被等同於歐洲歷史上 一段獨特的、有凝聚力的時期。

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

從一開始，與其說中世紀是什麼樣的， 不如說中世紀不是什麼樣的，

the Middle Ages became a ground for dueling ideas—

中世紀早已成為思想對決的場地—

fueling more fantasy than fact.

助長了更多的幻想，而非事實。