rambles on about the flighty wife of a crotchety old carpenter

他閒談著一個壞脾氣老木匠的輕浮妻子

and the scholar she takes as her lover.

以及她的學者愛人

To get some time alone together,

為了有一些時間可以獨處

the scholar and the wife play various tricks

學者和妻子耍了許多花招

that involve feigning madness,

包括裝瘋賣傻

staging a biblical flood,

假冒一場聖經中的水災

and exposing themselves in public.

以及公眾曝露裸體

But the parish clerk is also lusting after the wife,

但是教區修道士也對妻子動了慾望

and comes by every night to sing outside her house.

每一晚都來到她家窗外唱歌

This becomes so tiresome that she tries to scare him away

這變得很折騰人，所以她試著把他嚇跑

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

方式是把屁股探出門外給他親

When this appears not to work,

當這招看似不管用時

her scholar decides to try farting in the same position,

她的學者決定用同一姿勢放屁

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

但這一次，修道士早已準備好一根炙熱的撥火棍

This might all sound like a bawdy joke,

這聽起來或許像個下流笑話

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

不過它其實來自其中一部最享譽盛名的英國文學著作：

The Canterbury Tales,

《坎特伯里故事集》

which seamlessly blends the lofty and the lowly.

它將高貴的和卑下的巧妙融合在一塊

The work consists of 24 stories,

作品包含 24 個故事

each told by one of Chaucer's spirited characters.

每一個都由喬叟的其中一個活靈活現的角色述說

Narrators include familiar Medieval figures

故事包含了中世紀常見的角色

such as a Knight,

像是騎士、

a Clerk,

修道士、

and a Nun,

修女、

and the less recognizable reeve,

沒什麼名氣的地方長官、

and Manciple,

伙食管理員

and others.

以及其他

The Tales are written in Middle English,

故事是以中世紀英語寫成

which often looks entirely different from the language spoken today.

看起來往往和現今英語全然不同

It was used between the 12th and 15th centuries, and evolved from Old English

它被使用於 12 至 15 世紀，源自於古英語

due to increased contact with European romantic languages after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

起因是諾曼人於 1066 年的入侵，使得古英語與歐洲拉丁語系語言有更多的交流

Most of the Middle English alphabet is still familiar today,

大多數中世紀英語的字母至今仍能夠被認得

with the inclusion of a few archaic symbols,

其中含有幾個古老符號

such as "yogh", which denotes the "y",

像是 yogh，指示了 y

j,

j

or gh sound.

或是 gh 音

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

故事集中多嘴的角色們最一開始在南華克的戰袍客棧會面

They have a journey in common:

他們有一趟一樣的行程：

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

前去坎特伯里探訪聖托馬斯．貝克特聖地的朝聖之旅

a martyred archbishop who was murdered in his own Cathedral.

他是一位在自己的教堂中遭謀殺殉職的大主教

Eager and nosy for some personal details, the host of the Inn proposes a competition:

愛管閒事的客棧主人很想知道他們的個人身家背景，於是提議一場比賽：

whoever tells the best tale will be treated to dinner.

誰講了最棒的故事，就會被招待晚餐

If not for their pilgrimage,

若非為了朝聖之旅

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

許多這些角色本該不會有機會互相交談

This is because Medieval society followed a feudal system

這是因為中世紀社會遵循一種封建系統

that divided the clergy and nobility from the working classes,

將神職人員和貴族與勞動階層分開

made up of peasants and serfs.

後者為農夫和苦役

By Chaucer's time,

到了喬叟的年代 (喬叟生平 1343 - 1400)

a professional class of merchants and intellectuals had also emerged.

由商人和知識分子組成的專業階級也已經出現了

Chaucer spent most of his life as a government official during the Hundred Years' War,

喬叟大半輩子都在擔任百年戰爭期間的政府官員

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

他遊走於義大利和法國各地，以及他的家鄉英格蘭

This may have influenced the panoramic vision of his work,

這或許造就了他作品中的全景視野

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

而在故事集中，任何一個階級都逃不出嘲弄

Chaucer uses the quirks of the characters' language –

喬叟善用了角色話語中的雙關 —

the ribald humor of the cook,

廚師粗鄙的幽默

the solemn prose of the parson,

郊區牧師莊嚴的散文

and the lofty notions of the squire –

以及鄉紳崇高的見解 —

to satirize their worldviews.

這些都被用以諷刺他們的世界觀

The varied dialects, genres, and literary tropes

多變的方言、類型以及文學修辭

also make the work a vivid record of the different ways Medieval audiences entertained themselves.

也使得該作品成為中世紀聽眾如何娛樂自己的一項生動記錄

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

舉例來說，有關宮廷愛情的騎士故事

chivalry,

以及騎士精神、

and destiny

命運、

riffs on romance,

反反復復的羅曼史

while the tales of working-class narrators are generally comedies filled with scatological language,

而勞動階層的敘事者多半陳述喜劇故事，其中包含情色言語、

sexual deviance,

外遇發生性關係

and slapstick.

以及鬧劇

This variation includes something for everyone,

這些多變涵蓋了每個人的某些面向

and that's one reason why readers continue to delight in the work in both Middle English and translation.

這也是為何無論在中世紀英語或是現今的翻譯中，讀者依然能夠享受閱讀這部作品

While the narrative runs to over 17,000 lines,

即使故事多達一萬七千多行

it's apparently unfinished,

它很顯然還是未完結

as the prologue ambitiously introduces 29 pilgrims

因為序幕中模糊地介紹了 29 個朝聖者

and promises four stories apiece,

承諾每個人會說四個故事

and the innkeeper never crowns a victor.

而且客棧主人一直沒有選出優勝者

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

有可能喬叟太過埋頭於他華麗的創作中

that he delayed picking a winner -

以至於延遲選出優勝者 —

or perhaps he was so fond of each character

也或許他太喜歡每個角色了

that he just couldn't choose.

所以他選不出來

Whatever the reason,

無論是什麼原因

this means that every reader is free to judge;

這意味著每個讀者都有得定奪；

the question of who wins is up to you.

誰贏了說故事大賽，由你決定