【简译】中世纪纹章（Medieval Heraldry）

Heraldry, which is the use of inherited coats of arms and other symbols to show personal identity and family lineage, began on the mid-12th century CE battlefield as an easy means to identify medieval royalty and princes who were otherwise unrecognisable beneath their armour. By the 13th century CE, the practice had spread to nobles and knights who began to take pride in bearing the colours and arms of their family predecessors. Shields and tunics were particularly good places to display such symbols as lions, eagles, crosses, and geometric forms. As more and more knights employed coats of arms, they had to become more sophisticated to differentiate them, and the use of heraldry even spread to institutions such as universities, guilds, and towns. The practice still continues today, with many countries having official colleges of arms which assign individuals and institutions with new arms, and although the medieval knight has long since disappeared, the symbolism of heraldry remains a common sight from company logos to sports teams' badges.

          纹章是使用继承的纹饰和其他符号来显示个人身份和家族血统的，它始于公元 12 世纪中叶的战场，是识别中世纪皇室和王子的一种简便方法，因为在穿戴盔甲的情况下很难识别他们的身份。到了公元 13 世纪，这种做法已经扩展到贵族和骑士，他们开始以穿戴家族前辈服饰颜色的服装与佩戴家族纹章为荣。盾牌和长袍是展示狮子、鹰、十字架和几何形状等符号的好地方。随着越来越多的骑士采用纹章，纹章的制作也变得越来越复杂，以区别于其他纹章，纹章的使用甚至扩展到了大学、行会和城镇等一些机构。虽然中世纪的骑士早已消失，但纹章的象征意义仍是商业标志和运动队徽章的常见元素。

Heralds传令官

In the Middle Ages, heraldry was known as armoury (in Old French armoirie) and it was distinct from other and more ancient symbols worn by warriors on the battlefield because heraldic arms were both personal and hereditary. The name heraldry derives from the heralds, those officials responsible for listing and proclaiming ancient armorial bearings, especially at medieval tournaments. In the tournaments, a large number of knights either fought in mock cavalry battles or jousted against each other, and it was the heralds' job to advertise the coming of a tournament, indicate the rules under which they would be held, and pass on challenges issued by one knight to another.

          在中世纪，纹章被称为 armoury（古法语 armoirie），它有别于战士在战场上佩戴的其他更古老的标志，因为纹章既是个人的，也是世袭的。纹章的名称来源于传令官，即负责列出和宣布古代纹章的官员，尤其是在中世纪的锦标赛上。在锦标赛中，众多骑士或进行模拟骑兵战斗，或相互比武，而传令官的职责就是宣传锦标赛的到来，说明比赛规则，并将一位骑士向另一位骑士发出的挑战书传递给对方。

It was, above all, the heralds' task to keep track of all the coats of arms and be able to identify which arms belonged to which name, perhaps listing them in a 'roll of arms'. By the 14th century CE, as rulers grasped that heralds with their extensive knowledge of who's who could be very useful sources of information on exactly who they were fighting against in battles, the status of heralds had steadily grown. The heralds wore a short tunic (tabard) which was embroidered with the arms of their master. Heralds also acted as messengers and were given safe passage during times of war. Eventually, heralds were organising such important events as weddings and funerals for royalty and the nobility. The specialised study of family arms known as heraldry was now fully established, and it had become a social science with its own vocabulary, history, rules, and social grades.

          最重要的是，传令官的任务是记录所有的纹章，并能够识别哪些纹章对应哪个名字，并将它们列在“纹章卷”中。到了公元 14 世纪，随着统治者认识到传令官的重要性，他们可以提供非常有用的信息，让统治者及时知道他们在战斗中的对手到底是谁，传令官的地位逐渐提高。传令官身穿绣有各自领主臂章的纹章战袍。传令官还充当信使，在战争期间享有安全通行权。随着时间的推移，传令官还为皇室和贵族举办婚礼和葬礼等重要活动。对纹章的专门研究（称为纹章学）当时已经很成熟，它已成为一门社会科学，有自己的词汇、历史、规则和社会等级。

From the 15th century CE, heralds and apprentice heralds (pursuivants) were employed in colleges of arms, which settled disputes over conflicting arms and examined people's claims to have one in the first place. There arose a whole series of specific rules and conventions of heraldry, and it was these colleges of heralds who replaced the monarch as the power who granted or removed arms (due to cowardice or serious crimes). In England, for example, the function was and still is performed by the Royal College of Arms in, what is now appropriately enough, Queen Victoria Street, London. Such offices helped to sort out the confusion which had arisen from anyone, even peasants, creating their own coat of arms, and they accumulated detailed records of all the arms that had ever been created in their jurisdiction. The oldest known English roll of arms dates to c. 1244 CE. Currently housed in the British Library, it is a single sheet, painted on both sides by Mathew Paris and showing 75 coats of arms starting with the king's.

          从公元 15 世纪开始，纹章师和他们的学徒（pursuivants）在纹章学院工作，这些学院负责解决因相互冲突的纹章而产生的纠纷，并审查受审者是否具有资格获得纹章。正是这些纹章学院取代了国王，成为授予或撤回纹章的权力机构（针对怯懦或严重罪行）。例如，在英国，皇家纹章学院过去和现在都在履行这一职能，该学院位于伦敦维多利亚女王街。这些机构帮助解决了因任何人，甚至是农民，自己创造纹章而产生的混乱，并详细记录了在其管辖范围内产生的所有纹章。已知最古老的英国纹章卷可追溯到约公元 1244 年。目前收藏在大英图书馆，这是一张由马修·帕里斯 (Mathew Paris)绘制的双面纹章，从国王的纹章开始，共展示了 75 个纹章。

纹章的演变

Medieval heraldry originated, then, sometime in the 12th century CE as individual warriors – first kings and then knights, too – sought to show off to their opponents exactly who they were up against hidden behind the armour. The idea was that when the enemy saw the three lions motif of Richard I or the black shield of the Black Prince, they would tremble with fear in the knowledge they were not about to fight just any old knight. The retainers of a certain knight and those knights who fought for a particular baron or other nobleman might also wear their master's arms and colours in special purpose liveries.

          中世纪纹章起源于公元 12 世纪的某个时候，当时的战士们（首先是国王，然后是骑士）试图向他们的对手展示隐藏在盔甲背后的真实身份。当时的想法是，当敌人看到理查德一世的三狮图案或黑王子的黑色盾牌时，他们会因害怕而颤抖，因为他们知道自己要对付的不是普通的骑士。某位骑士的家臣和那些为某位男爵或其他贵族作战的骑士也可能会在特殊用途的铠甲上佩戴其主人的纹章和穿戴其主人专属颜色的服饰。

The next step was the children of celebrated warriors reusing the arms of their father and so the idea of a hereditary symbol developed with even daughters having the right to bear the arms of their parents. The first recognised instance of a coat of arms being passed on from one generation to another is that of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou (d. 1151 CE) and his grandson William Longespée ('Longsword', d. 1226 CE), who both have six lions rampant on the carved shield on their tombs.

           接下来发展到著名战士的子女继承他们父亲的纹章，于是世袭标志的概念发展起来，甚至女儿也有权使用父母的纹章。安茹伯爵杰弗里（Geoffrey，Count of Anjou，卒于公元 1151 年）和他的孙子第三代索尔兹伯里伯爵威廉·朗格斯佩（William Longespée，“长剑”，卒于公元 1226 年）的墓上雕刻的盾牌上都有六只雄狮。

早期设计

The first symbols of identification did not have to be very complicated; indeed, simplicity and boldness made them all the more visible on the battlefield. The most obvious and striking place to carry identification was the shield, which might bear a single specific colour or two colours separated by a horizontal, vertical or diagonal line. Then, as more and more knights took up the trend, so arms had to become more varied if they were to keep their purpose of identification. As a result, not just colours but also symbols were adopted, for example, lions, eagles, tools, flowers, crosses, and stars were all popular choices. Symbols were sometimes stylised because they had to be recognisable from a distance and fit into the peculiar shape of a shield. In addition, certain colours were not mixed as that made the shield difficult to identify (e.g., black on purple and vice-versa)

          最初的身份识别标志并不需要非常复杂；事实上，简单、大胆的设计使它们在战场上更加醒目。最明显、最醒目的识别标志是盾牌，它可以绘有单一特定颜色或由水平、垂直或对角线分隔的两种颜色。后来，随着越来越多的骑士加入到这一潮流中，纹章也必须变得更加多样化，才能保持其识别目的。因此，不仅是颜色，符号也开始被采用，例如，狮子、鹰、工具、花朵、十字架和星星都是很受欢迎的选择。符号有时会被风格化，因为它们必须从远处就能辨认出来，并适合盾牌的特殊形状。此外，某些颜色不能混用，否则盾牌就难以辨认（例如，黑底紫字，反之亦然）。

The next step was to create a unique combination of these designs with certain colours. An additional source of variety was when two families married and their coats of arms could be mixed (compounding) – from a simple half and half ensemble to including a miniature version in one corner of the other. There were also symbols added to coats of arms to indicate the offspring of a holder of arms, for example, a white line through the shield to indicate a first son who otherwise had the same arms as his father. Similarly, a coat of arms might carry an extra symbol to denote the holder was an illegitimate son of the original bearer of the arms.

          下一步是将这些设计与特定的颜色进行独特的组合。当两个家族结婚时，他们的盾形纹章可以混合（复合）——从简单的一半一半的组合，到在另一个盾形纹章的一角加入一个微型版本，这也是盾形纹章多样性的一个额外来源。纹章上还会添加一些符号来表示纹章持有者的后代，例如，盾牌上的一条白线表示长子，而长子的纹章与父亲相同。同样，盾形纹章也可能带有额外的符号，表示持有者是原纹章持有者的私生子。

纹章的用途

Coats of arms could be repeated on other paraphernalia of warfare such as on the front and back of surcoats (a long sleeveless gown tied at the waist and worn over armour), pennons (triangular lance flags), horse coverings, banners, and hung below the trumpets of heralds. Although rare because it was expensive, some knights had their arms engraved on their armour. Coats of arms were not only useful in warfare, though. They were a good way to identify competitors in medieval tournaments and knights often had to hang their coat of arms outside the inn in which they were staying during the event. From this practice, the idea of a permanent inn sign took hold, a fact which explains why many of the oldest pubs in England have such names as the Red Lion, Rose and Crown, Black Swan, and White Horse, all classic heraldic symbols.

          纹章可以在其他战争用具上重复出现，如罩衣（系在腰部的长无袖外衣，穿在盔甲外）、旆（三角长矛旗）、马套、旗帜的正面和背面，也可以挂在传令官的号角下面。有些骑士会在盔甲上镌刻自己的纹章，但由于价格昂贵而很少见。纹章不仅在战争中有用，在中世纪的竞技比赛中，纹章是识别参赛者的好方法，骑士们经常要把纹章挂在比赛期间下榻的客栈外。因此，英国许多最古老的酒馆都有红狮、玫瑰王冠、黑天鹅和白马等名称，这些都是经典的纹章标志。

Coats of arms might appear in official records, where they were often used as seals instead of signatures, and they were painted on residence walls, appeared in the stained glass windows of churches, were sculpted in stone on building exteriors, painted on tableware, and, of course, were represented on the tomb of the person who had borne the right to carry the arms while alive. The shield-shape was always maintained and even developed as real shield designs changed over the centuries. When the shield became redundant in the 15th century CE thanks to all-encompassing plate armour, the designs of coats of arms became ever more fanciful and the shield more elaborate. However, the classic kite-shaped shield, although a little squatter, remains the favourite of heralds even today. The notable exceptions are the arms of women who, from the 14th century CE, began to bear their own coat of arms, typically in a lozenge shape.

          纹章可能会出现在官方记录中，这些纹章经常被用作印章而不是签名；纹章还被绘制在住宅的墙壁上，出现在教堂的彩色玻璃窗上，被雕刻在建筑外墙的石头上，绘制在餐具上。当然，纹章还会出现在生前有权携带纹章的人的墓碑上。几个世纪以来，随着盾牌设计的不断变化，盾牌的形状始终保持不变，甚至有所发展。公元 15 世纪，由于板甲的普及，盾牌变得多余，纹章的设计变得更加奇特，盾牌也更加精致。不过，经典的风筝形盾牌虽然略显笨拙，但仍是当时传令官们的最爱。值得注意的例外是女性的盾形纹章，从公元 14 世纪起，她们开始佩戴自己的盾形纹章，通常为菱形。

As heraldry evolved and it became more important to show off family lineage than to identify oneself on a battlefield, coats of arms became more and more impressive and complex. These devices are known as an achievement in heraldic terms. No longer merely a shield form, they have retainers either side holding the shield (lions, unicorns, knights etc.), the shield might be topped with a crested helmet and even a crown in royal cases. Scrollwork such as complicated leaf arrangements surround the shield and a motto may be added below which encapsulates a family saying or commemorates a memorable event in their history.

          随着纹章学的发展，炫耀家族血统比在战场上表明身份更为重要，纹章也变得越来越令人印象深刻和复杂。用纹章术语来说，这些盾牌被称为“荣誉”。它们不再仅仅是盾牌的形式，盾牌的两侧还有手持盾牌的侍从（狮子、独角兽、骑士等）。盾牌周围有卷轴装饰，如复杂的树叶排列，盾牌下方还可添加箴言，以概括家族箴言或纪念其历史上值得纪念的事件。

纹章术语和设计惯例

Heraldry employs an extensive range of specific vocabulary so that coats of arms may be precisely described in words (a blazon). The shield, known as the field or ground, is divided into specific areas such as the top (chief), middle (fesse) and bottom (base). The right side of the shield is the dexter and the left side the sinister, with the right and left being from the viewpoint of someone holding the shield from behind, as in battle. The colours used in a shield are known as tinctures and have their own particular heraldic names. The colours used in medieval times were generally limited to:

Gold (yellow) - oro

Silver (white) - argent

Red - gules

Black - sable

Green - vert

Purple - purpure

Blue - azure

          纹章学使用了大量特定词汇，以便用文字精确描述纹章。盾牌被称为“领域”，分为特定区域，如顶部（头部）、中部（腰带）和底部（底座）。盾牌的右侧为正方，左侧为反方，左右两侧是在战斗中从后面持盾者的视角。盾牌上使用的染料被称为“酊剂 (Tincture)”，并有自己特定的纹章名称。中世纪纹章使用的颜色一般仅限于以下几种：

金（黄）（Gold (yellow)）—金色（/ɔːr/；在法语意为“黄金”）

银（白）（Silver (white)）—银色（argent）

红色（Red）—红色（gules）

黑色（Black）—黑色（sable）

绿色（Green）—绿色（vert）

紫色（Purple）—紫色（Purpure）

蓝色（Blue）—蓝色（azure）

Green and purple were less commonly used than the others, while in the 15th century CE mulberry (murrey) and orange (tenné) were added to the list. An alternative background to colour was furs, that is designs which resemble the furs which were commonly used in medieval aristocratic clothing. The two most popular were ermine (from the stoat) with many small black tail tips and vair (from the squirrel) which was represented by various white and blue patterns.

          与其他颜色相比，绿色和紫色较少使用，而到了公元 15 世纪，桑葚色（murrey）和橙色（tenné）也被加入其中。颜色和金属的替代品是毛皮，其设计让人想起中世纪贵族服装中常用的皮革。最流行的两种毛皮是带有许多小黑尾尖的貂皮（来自白鼬）和以各种白色和蓝色图案表现的松鼠毛皮。

To increase combinations, the shield was divided (parted) into different zones of colour by a single vertical (per pale), horizontal (fess) or diagonal line (bend dexter or bend sinister). Alternatively, the shield was divided into four blocks (quarterly), had a chevron, or was divided into either four (saltire) or eight triangles (gyronny). These standard eight variations eventually evolved into a much larger number of divisions and designs. The dividing line between areas of colour could also be altered to provide even more variety, becoming, for example, wavy, crenellated, or zig-zag. Yet another variety was to give the shield a border (sub-ordinary) or impose thick lines of colour (ordinaries) such as stripes, chevrons, crosses and Y-shapes.

          为了增加组合，盾牌被一条垂直线（分隔）、水平线（三叶形）或对角线（弯曲在左上方或弯曲在右上方）分割成不同的颜色区域。或者，盾牌被分成四部分（四分法），有一个楔形，或者被分成四个（saltire）或八个三角形（gyronny）。这标准的八种变化最终演变成更多的划分和设计。颜色区域之间的分界线也可以改变，以提供更多的变化，例如，变成波浪形、雉堞形（锯齿状垛墙的城墙）或之字形。还有一种方法是在盾牌上加一个边框，或在盾牌上加一些粗线条的颜色，如条纹、楔形、十字和 Y 形。

Another popular form of identity on shields was to use animate charges (birds and animals) or inanimate charges (everyday objects like spurs, hammers, axes etc.). Monsters from mythology generally only appeared on arms after the medieval period.

          盾牌上另一种流行的标识形式是使用有生命的饰物（鸟类和动物）或无生命的饰物（马刺、锤子、斧头等日常用品）。神话中的怪兽一般在中世纪后才出现在盾牌上。

The description of a coat of arms had to be precise so that artists could reproduce them without a more expensive visual source. For this reason, a convention of description evolved where the elements which made up a coat of arms were always described in the following order and their exact position noted:

1、the field and its divisions (background)

2、the ordinary (lines)

3、the principal charges (objects)

4、the charge on the ordinary

5、the sub-ordinaries

6、the charges on the sub-ordinaries

          对纹章的描述必须精确，这样艺术家才能在没有更昂贵的视觉辅助工具的情况下复制纹章。因此，逐渐形成了一种描述惯例，即组成纹章的元素总是按以下顺序描述，并注明其确切位置：

1、区域划分（背景）

2、普通纹饰（一个简单的几何图形，以直线为界，从盾牌的侧面或顶部延伸至底部）

3、有生命或无生命的寓意物

4、普通纹饰上的寓意物（备注：翻译可能有误，一切以原文为主）

5、从属图案

6、从属图案上的寓意物（备注：翻译可能有误，一切以原文为主）

Heraldry still thrives today, of course, and has spread from the individual to the group with clubs, sports teams, and even businesses all creating their own badges of identity. Colleges of arms continue to issue new coats of arms for families, although the process can be both lengthy and expensive so that, even in the more socially mobile societies of the modern world, there is still some distinction and cachet in having the right to them. Coats of arms can still be seen in all manner of places where they send clear visual messages such as those which proclaim state authority on military uniforms and banknotes, those which promote quality and history as on fine porcelain and foodstuffs, and those which promote civic pride such as on fountains and war memorials.

          当然，纹章学至今依然兴盛，并从个人扩展到团体，俱乐部、运动队甚至企业都在创造自己的身份徽章。纹章学院继续为家族颁发新的纹章，尽管颁发过程可能既漫长又昂贵，但即使在现代社会中，拥有纹章的权利仍然具有一定的独特性和吸引力。纹章仍然可以在各种地方看到，它们传递着明确的视觉信息，例如在军装和钞票上宣示国家权威的纹章，在精美瓷器和食品上宣传质量与历史的纹章，以及在喷泉和战争纪念碑上宣扬公民自豪感的纹章。

参考书目：

Coss, P. Heraldry, Pageantry and Social Display in Medieval England. Boydell Press, 2003.

Gies, J. Life in a Medieval Castle. Harper Perennial, 2015.

Gravett, C. English Medieval Knight 1200–1300. Osprey Publishing, 2002.

Gravett, C. Knights at Tournament. Osprey Publishing, 2018.

Phillips, C. The Complete Illustrated History of Knights & The Golden Age of Chivalry. Southwater, 2017.

Slater, S. The Illustrated Book of Heraldry. Lorenz Books, 2013.

Wise, T. Medieval Heraldry. Osprey Publishing, 2017.

原文作者：Mark Cartwright

          驻意大利的历史作家。他的主要兴趣包括陶瓷、建筑、世界神话和发现所有文明的共同思想。他拥有政治哲学硕士学位，是《世界历史百科全书》的出版总监。

原文网址: https://www.worldhistory.org/Medieval_Heraldry/