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

譯者: Keying Chen 審譯者: Regina Chu

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

一個胖乎乎的磨坊主， 勉強清醒地坐在他的馬上，

rambles on about the flighty wife of a crotchety old carpenter

沒完沒了的談著一個壞脾氣的老木匠 輕浮的妻子的故事。

and the scholar she takes as her lover.

妻子有一個學者情夫，

To get some time alone together,

為了有獨處的時間，

the scholar and the wife play various tricks

學者和妻子耍各種花招，

that involve feigning madness,

比如，裝瘋，

staging a biblical flood,

上演聖經裡洪水的場景，

and exposing themselves in public.

還有在公眾場合裸露身子。

But the parish clerk is also lusting after the wife,

一個神職人員也仰慕， 想要追求這位妻子，

and comes by every night to sing outside her house.

他每天晚上都在妻子房前唱歌。

This becomes so tiresome that she tries to scare him away

妻子覺得他很煩人，想要把他嚇走。

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

於是她把屁股挪到窗外， 讓他親她的屁股。

When this appears not to work,

這個方法並沒有起作用。

her scholar decides to try farting in the same position,

學者決定把自己的屁股 挪到同樣的位置放屁。

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

但是這次，

這個神職人員準備了 一根滾燙的撥火棍。

This might all sound like a bawdy joke,

這聽起來像是 一個下流的猥瑣的笑話，

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

但這其實是出自英國文學史上 最受人尊敬的作品之一：

The Canterbury Tales,

《 坎特伯里故事集 》

which seamlessly blends the lofty and the lowly.

它無縫融合了高雅與低賤。

The work consists of 24 stories,

故事集裡，

each told by one of Chaucer’s spirited characters.

喬叟筆下栩栩如生的人物 講述了 24 個故事。

Narrators include familiar Medieval figures

敘事者包括熟悉的中世紀人物，

such as a Knight,

比如，騎士、

a Clerk,

神職人員、

and a Nun,

修女，

and the less recognizable Reeve,

還有少有人知的城鎮長官，

and Mancible,

伙食委員，

and others.

等等。

The Tales are written in Middle English,

這本故事集是用中古英語寫的，

which often looks entirely different from the language spoken today.

和我們今天的英語看起來完全不一樣。

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

這種中古語在 12 世紀 到 15 世紀被使用，

and evolved from Old English

並由古英語演變而來，

due to increased contact with European romantic languages

這是 1066 年「諾曼征服」之後， 和歐洲羅曼語接觸增多的結果。

after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Most of the Middle English alphabet is still familiar today,

大部分中古英語的字母 和現在的很相似，

with the inclusion of a few archaic symbols,

包含了一些古老的符號。

such as yogh, which denotes the y,

比如，yogh 表示 y、

j,

j，

or gh sound.

或者是 gh 的音。

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

故事中的講述者第一次 在薩瑟克區的泰巴旅店相遇。

They have a journey in common:

他們都有同樣的征程：

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

去坎特伯里，訪問聖托馬斯·貝克特 埋葬之地的朝聖之旅，

a martyred archbishop who was murdered in his own Cathedral.

這位殉道的大主教 在自己的座堂內被殺害。

Eager and nosy for some personal details,

這家旅店的主人， 急切地想八卦一些隱私，

the host of the Inn proposes a competition:

提出了一個比賽的想法：

whoever tells the best tale will be treated to dinner.

誰能講出最好的故事， 他就請誰吃飯。

If not for their pilgrimage,

如果不是因為這次朝聖之旅，

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

許多人沒有機會和其他人接觸。

This is because Medieval society followed a feudal system

這是因為中世紀社會遵循封建制度，

that divided the clergy and nobility from the working classes,

把神職人員和貴族，

和由農民和奴隸組成的 工人階級分開來。

made up of peasants and serfs.

By Chaucer’s time,

喬叟那個時代，

a professional class of merchants and intellectuals had also emerged.

由商人和知識分子組成的 專業階層也出現了。

Chaucer spent most of his life as a government official

在英法百年戰爭時期， 喬叟一生大部分時間是政府官員，

during the Hundred Years' War,

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

在義大利、法國 和他的老家英格蘭奔波。

This may have influenced the panoramic vision of his work,

這可能就影響了他作品的全景，

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

在故事裡，所有階級都會被嘲笑。

Chaucer uses the quirks of the characters’ language –

喬叟利用人物語言的特點，

the ribald humor of the Cook,

像是廚子下流的幽默，

the solemn prose of the Parson,

牧師的莊嚴散文，

and the lofty notions of the Squire –

地主鄉紳的崇高理念，

to satirize their worldviews.

諷刺了他們的世界觀。

The varied dialects, genres, and literary tropes

方言、流派，和文學傾向的不同，

also make the work a vivid record

將中世紀人們不同的娛樂方式

of the different ways Medieval audiences entertained themselves.

描繪得栩栩如生，鮮明生動。

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

例如，士兵所講述的典雅之愛，

chivalry,

騎士精神，

and destiny

和命運

riffs on romance,

與浪漫愛情即興交織；

while the tales of working-class narrators are generally comedies

而工人階層會講一些喜劇，

filled with scatological language,

用一些下流的語言，

sexual deviance,

講述異常性趣

and slapstick.

和低俗鬧劇。

This variation includes something for everyone,

每一個人都能明白這種不同，

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

這就是為什麼不論是 中古英語還是翻譯版本，

in both Middle English and translation.

人們都很喜歡這部文學作品。

While the narrative runs to over 17,000 lines,

雖然這個故事超過了 17000 行，

it's apparently unfinished,

但是它顯然還沒有完結。

as the prologue ambitiously introduces 29 pilgrims

因為序言裡介紹了 29 位朝聖者，

and promises four stories apiece,

並且每人都會講 4 個故事，

and the innkeeper never crowns a victor.

旅店老闆也沒有選出勝者。

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

可能，喬叟沉溺於豪華的創作，

that he delayed picking a winner -

以至於久久不能選出勝利者。

or perhaps he was so fond of each character

又或者每一個角色他都很喜歡，

that he just couldn’t choose.

所以他選不出贏家。

Whatever the reason,

不論是哪一個原因，

this means that every reader is free to judge;

這意味著每一個讀者都可以自己決定

the question of who wins is up to you.

誰是你心中的獲勝者。