英国文化：英国的“四朵国花”及背后的故事

Each country in Britain has its own floral emblem.

英国的每个地区都有其代表性的花。

England - rose

英格兰—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).

英格兰之花为玫瑰。自红白玫瑰之战(1455-1485)即兰开斯特王朝(其家徽为红玫瑰)和约克王朝(其家徽为白玫瑰)两个家族之间的内战起，玫瑰就成为了英格兰代表性的花。

Scotland - thistle

苏格兰-奶蓟草

The national flower of Scotland is the thistle, a prickly-leaved(adj. 叶子多刺的)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.

苏格兰之花为奶蓟草，其叶多刺，花瓣为紫。15世纪时初视为防御的象征。此外，蓝铃花也同样被视为苏格兰之花。

Wales –daffodil

威尔士-黄水仙

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

威尔士之花为黄水仙。根据威尔士传统，人们会在圣大卫日这一天穿戴上黄水仙。此外，韭葱同样也被视为威尔士之花。

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.

对于韭葱成为威尔士之花的说法有很多种。其中之一的说法就是，在与撒克逊人交战前夕，圣大卫建议威尔士士兵在军帽处别上韭葱以此区分敌友。根据莎士比亚在《亨利五世》写道，1415年的阿金库尔战役中威尔士士兵穿戴了黄水仙。

Northern Ireland –shamrock北爱尔兰-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. 三位一体). 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.

北爱尔兰之花为苜蓿，叶为三瓣，与三叶草似。爱尔兰一民间传说讲述了帕特里克是如何运用苜蓿来解释三位一体的。帕特里克在其布道中借用了苜蓿来讲述圣父、圣子与圣灵如何共存于一体。他的信徒因此在圣帕特里克日这一天穿戴苜蓿，形成了传统。