TED ED P6 A brief history of goths

What do fans of atmospheric  post-punk music have in common with ancient barbarians?

Not much. So why are both known as goths?

Is it a weird coincidence or a deeper connection stretching  across the centuries?

atmospheric  adj.  大气（层）的，有关大气的；有神秘（美）感的，富有情调的

post-punk   n.  后朋克adj.  后朋克的

barbarian  n.  野蛮人；未开化的人；无教养的人  adj.  野蛮的；未开化的

The story begins in Ancient Rome. As the Roman Empire expanded, it faced raids and invasions  from the semi-nomadic populations  along its borders.

Among the most powerful were a Germanic people known as Goths who were composed of two tribal groups, the Visigoths  and Ostrogoths.

raid  n.  突袭，袭击；突击检查，突然搜查；抢劫，打劫；  v.  突袭，偷袭；突击搜捕，突然搜查；抢劫，劫掠；

nomadic adj.  游牧的；流浪的

tribal  adj.  部落的，部族的

While some of the Germanic tribes remained Rome's enemies,  incorporated others into the imperial army.

As the Roman Empire split in two, these tribal armies played larger roles in its defense and internal power struggles.

 incorporate  v. 包含，合并；adj.  合成一体的，合并的；具体化的；

imperial  adj.  帝国的，皇帝的；宏伟的，华丽的；专横的，飞扬跋扈的；

struggle  v.  奋斗，努力；搏斗，扭打，挣扎脱身  n.  奋斗，斗争；难事；搏斗，扭打

In the 5th century, a mercenary revolt lead by a soldier named Odoacer captured Rome  and deposed the Western Emperor.

Odoacer and his Ostrogoth successor Theoderic technically remained under the Eastern Emperor's authority and maintained Roman traditions.

But the Western Empire would never be united again.

Its dominions fragmented into kingdoms ruled by Goths and other Germanic tribes who assimilated into local cultures, though many of their names still mark the map.

mercenary  adj.  雇佣的；唯利是图的  n.  雇佣兵；唯利是图者

depose  vt.  免 职；作证；废黜

successor  n.  继承者，接替的事物

dominion  n.  主权，统治权；支配；领土

fragment  n. 碎片；片段；残存部分  v.（使）破碎，分裂

assimilate  v.融入，（使）同化；吸收，理解；使相似，成为相似

This was the end of the Classical Period and the beginning of what many call the Dark Ages.

这标志着古典时期的终结，以及黑暗时期的开始。

Although Roman culture was never fully lost, its influence declined and new art styles arose focused on religious symbolism and allegory rather than proportion and realism.

allegory  n. 寓言

This shift extended to architecture  with the construction of the Abbey of Saint Denis in France in 1137.

Pointed arches, flying buttresses, and large windows made the structure more skeletal and ornate.

尖拱、飞拱、大窗这样的设计使得建筑结构显得更加瘦削豪华。

That emphasized its open,  luminous interior rather than the sturdy walls and columns of Classical buildings.

Over the next few centuries, this became a model for Cathedrals throughout Europe.

construction  n.建造，建筑；创立，构建；构造，结构；建筑物；

buttress  n.扶壁；山边扶壁状凸出部分；支持力量  v.支持；用扶壁支撑（建筑物等）

flying buttress 飞拱

skeletal  adj.骨骼的，像骨骼的；骸骨的；骨瘦如柴的

ornate  adj.华丽的；

luminous  adj.夜光的，发亮的；鲜亮的，鲜艳的；照亮的，明亮的；睿智的，美丽的；

 sturdy  adj.结实的，坚固的；（人或身体）强壮的，健壮的；坚决的，坚定的

Cathedral 教堂

But fashions change. With the Italian Renaissance's renewed admiration for Ancient Greece and Rome, the more recent style began to seem crude and inferior in comparison.

Writing in his  book,  "Lives of the Artists," Giorgio Vasari was the first to describe it as Gothic, a derogatory reference to the Barbarians thought to have destroyed  Classical civilization.

The name stuck, and soon came to describe the Medieval period overall, with its associations of darkness, superstition, and simplicity.

crude  adj.粗略的，大概的；粗糙的，粗制的；冒犯的，粗俗的；天然的，自然的

inferior  adj.次的，较差的；低等的，下级的；自卑的

derogatory  adj.贬低的，贬义的

superstition  n.  迷信

simplicity n.简单（性)，容易（性）；简朴，朴素；简单（或质朴、朴素）之处；愚蠢，无知

But time marched on, as did what was considered fashionable.

In the 1700s, a period called the Enlightenment came about, which valued scientific reason  above all else.

Reacting against that, Romantic authors like Goethe and Byron sought idealized visions of a past of natural landscapes and mysterious spiritual forces.

Here, the word Gothic  was repurposed again to describe a literary genre that emerged as a darker strain of Romanticism.

march on  继续前进：表示不断向前推进

landscape  n.（陆上 ，尤指乡村的）风景，景色；形势，情形

spiritual  adj.精神的，心灵的；宗教的

strain  n.焦虑，紧张；负担，紧张；张力，压力；损伤，扭伤；品种，类型；气质，个性特点；旋律，曲调；口吻，语气；

The term was first applied  by Horace Walpole to his own 1764 novel,  "The Castle of Otranto" as a reference to the plot  and general atmosphere.

Many of the novel's elements became genre staples inspiring classics and the countless movies they spawned.

小说中的众多元素成为了哥特体裁的典型，并启发了众多经典故事及改编电影。

The gothic label belonged to literature and film until the 1970s when a new musical scene emerged.

spawn  v. 引发，促生；大量生产

Taking cues from artists like The Doors and The Velvet Underground, British post-punk groups, like Joy Division, Bauhaus, and The Cure, combined gloomy lyrics  and punk dissonance with imagery inspired  by the Victorian era, classic horror, and androgynous glam fashion.

By the early 1980s, similar bands were consistently described as Gothic rock by the music press, and the stye's popularity brought it out of dimly lit clubs to major labels and MTV.

cue  n.暗示，提示

 lyric  n.歌词  adj. 抒情的

dissonance  n.不一致；不调和；不和谐音

androgynous  adj.  中性的，雌雄同体的

glam  adj.迷人的；华丽摇滚乐的  n.魅力；华丽摇滚乐

And today, despite occasional negative media attention and stereotypes, Gothic music and fashion continue as a strong underground phenomenon.

They've also branched into sub-genres, such as cybergoth, gothabilly, gothic metal, and even steampunk.

The history of the word gothic is embedded in thousands of years  worth of countercultural movements, from invading outsiders becoming kings to towering spires  replacing solid columns to artists finding beauty in darkness.

哥特这个词伴随了上千年的历史，它是一种反对传统文化的运动，开始于哥特民族作为外族入侵称王，而后，高耸的尖塔代替了粗壮的圆柱，艺术家在黑暗中发现了美。

Each step has seen a revolution of sorts and a tendency for civilization to reach into its past to reshape its present.

每一步都是一种改革，也是文明回溯过去进而重塑现在的趋势。