英國文化：英國的“四朵國花”及背后的故事

Each country in Britain has its own floral emblem.

英國的每個地區(qū)都有其代表性的花。

England - rose

英格蘭—玫瑰

The national flower of England is the rose. The flower has been adopted as England's emblem since the time of the Wars of the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).

英格蘭之花為玫瑰。自紅白玫瑰之戰(zhàn)(1455-1485)即蘭開斯特王朝(其家徽為紅玫瑰)和約克王朝(其家徽為白玫瑰)兩個家族之間的內戰(zhàn)起，玫瑰就成為了英格蘭代表性的花。

Scotland - thistle

蘇格蘭-奶薊草

The national flower of Scotland is the thistle, a prickly-leaved(adj. 葉子多刺的)purple flower which was first used in the 15th century as a symbol of defence. The Scottish Bluebell is also seen as the flower of Scotland.

蘇格蘭之花為奶薊草，其葉多刺，花瓣為紫。15世紀時初視為防御的象征。此外，藍鈴花也同樣被視為蘇格蘭之花。

Wales –daffodil

威爾士-黃水仙

The national flower of Wales is the daffodil, which is traditionally worn on St. David's Day(圣大衛(wèi)日). The vegetable called leek(n. 韭蔥)is also considered to be a traditionalemblem of Wales.

威爾士之花為黃水仙。根據威爾士傳統(tǒng)，人們會在圣大衛(wèi)日這一天穿戴上黃水仙。此外，韭蔥同樣也被視為威爾士之花。

There are many explanations of how the leek came to be adopted as the national emblem of Wales. One is that St David advised the Welsh, on the eve of battle with the Saxons, to wear leeks in their caps to distinguish friend from foe. As Shakespeare records in Henry V, the Welsh archers wore leeks at the battle of Agincourt in 1415.

對于韭蔥成為威爾士之花的說法有很多種。其中之一的說法就是，在與撒克遜人交戰(zhàn)前夕，圣大衛(wèi)建議威爾士士兵在軍帽處別上韭蔥以此區(qū)分敵友。根據莎士比亞在《亨利五世》寫道，1415年的阿金庫爾戰(zhàn)役中威爾士士兵穿戴了黃水仙。

Northern Ireland –shamrock北愛爾蘭-苜蓿

The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, a three-leaved plant similar toclover. An Irish tale tells of how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity(n. 三位一體). He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

北愛爾蘭之花為苜蓿，葉為三瓣，與三葉草似。愛爾蘭一民間傳說講述了帕特里克是如何運用苜蓿來解釋三位一體的。帕特里克在其布道中借用了苜蓿來講述圣父、圣子與圣靈如何共存于一體。他的信徒因此在圣帕特里克日這一天穿戴苜蓿，形成了傳統(tǒng)。