Painted with squirrel-hair brushes on vellum or parchment by monks, nuns, and urban craftspeople, these bizarre images populate the margins of the most prized books from the Middle Ages.

這些怪異圖片由僧侶、修女和城市匠人用松鼠毛筆描繪在牛皮紙上，中世紀名著的頁邊上都可見它們的蹤跡。

Their illustrations often tell a second story as rich as the text itself.

他們的插畫往往訴說著另一個和書本內容一樣饒富趣味的故事。

Some images appear in many different illuminated manuscripts, and often reinforce the religious content of the books they decorated.

一些插畫出現在多份不同的泥金裝飾手抄本中，而且通常用於強調該書的宗教意涵。

For example, a porcupine picking up fruit on its spines could represent the devil stealing the fruits of faith, or Christ taking up the sins of mankind.

舉例來說，「一隻豪豬用自己的刺拾起果實」可能代表「惡魔奪去信實的果子」，或是「基督除去人類的罪惡」。

Medieval lore stated that a hunter could only capture a unicorn when it lay its horn in the lap of a virgin, so a unicorn could symbolize either sexual temptation or Christ being captured by his enemies.

中世紀傳說表示：「只有在獨角獸將角放置於處女的大腿上時，獵人才能獵捕牠」，所以「獨角獸」可能象徵了「性誘惑」或是「基督受敵人虜獲」。

Rabbits, meanwhile, could represent human's lustful natures and could redeem themselves through attempts to make sacred music despite their failings.

另一方面，「兔子」則可以象徵「人類的肉慾」，但能夠透過神聖音樂獲得救贖，即便已然墮落。

All of these references would have been familiar to medieval Europeans from other art forms and oral tradition, though some have grown more mysterious over the centuries.

基於日常接觸的其他藝術作品和口傳故事，中世紀歐洲人或許都對這些象徵不陌生，雖然其中一些在幾世紀後變得更加神秘。

Today, no one can say for sure what the common motif of a knight fighting a snail means— or why the knight so often appears to be losing.

在今日，沒人說得準「騎士和蝸牛搏鬥」的普遍意涵是什麼，或為什麼騎士往往打輸蝸牛。

The snail might be a symbol of the inevitability of death, which defeats even the strongest knights.

「蝸牛」或許代表了「死亡的必然性」，即便是最強的騎士也無法打敗。

Or it could represent humility, and a knight's need to vanquish his own pride.

或者它可能代表「謙遜」以及「身為騎士必當剷除自傲」這個道理。

Many illuminated manuscripts were copies of religious or classical texts, and the bookmakers incorporated their own ideas and opinions in illustrations.

許多泥金裝飾手抄本都是抄寫自宗教和經典著作，製作這本書的人會將他們自己的想法和意見加到插畫裡。

The butt tuba, for example, was likely shorthand to express disapproval with – or add an ironic spin to – the action in the text.

屁股號角呢，舉例來說，有可能是隨手速記來表達對於故事中某舉止的不苟同，或是用來添加諷刺意味。

Illuminations could also be used to make subversive political commentary.

手抄本也能用來對政治做出顛覆性評論。

The text of the "Smithfield Decretals" details the Church's laws and punishments for lawbreakers.

《史密斯菲爾德法令》詳細記載了教會針對違法者的法條和懲罰。

But the margins show a fox being hanged by geese, a possible allusion to the common people turning on their powerful oppressors.

但頁邊畫了一隻狐狸被鵝吊死，或許暗示了老百姓推翻強大的壓迫者。

In the "Chronica Majora," Matthew Paris summarized a scandal of his day, in which the Welsh prince Griffin plummeted to his death from the tower of London.

在《英國編年史》中，馬修．派瑞斯概述了他們那時代的一條醜聞：威爾士王子格林從倫敦塔上墜落而死。

Some believed the prince fell, Paris wrote, while others thought he was pushed.

派瑞斯寫道，一些人相信王子是不小心跌落的，有些人則認為他是被推下去的。

He added his own take in the margins, which show the prince falling to his death while trying to escape on a rope made of bed-sheets.

他在頁邊畫了自己的看法：王子試圖用床單繩逃出高塔時墜落致死。

Some margins told stories of a more personal nature.

一些頁邊插畫則訴說了比較私人的一面。

"The Luttrell Psalter," a book of psalms and prayers commissioned by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, shows a young woman having her hair done, while a young man catches a bird in a net.

《魯垂詩集》，一本由傑佛瑞．魯垂爵士所委製的聖詩和祈禱文集，描繪了一名年輕女子編著頭髮，身邊有一位年輕男子用網抓鳥。

The shaved patch on his head is growing out, indicating that he is a clergyman neglecting his duties.

他頭上理掉的頭髮又長出來了，意味著他是一個怠忽職守的教士。

This alludes to a family scandal where a young cleric ran away with Sir Geoffrey's daughter Elizabeth.

這在影射一起家族醜聞：一位年輕的牧師和傑佛瑞爵士的女兒伊莉莎白私奔。

The family's personal spiritual advisor likely painted it into the book to remind his clients of their failings and encourage their spiritual development.

該家族的私人精神導師畫了這幅插畫，或許是為了提醒他的委託人勿忘過往的缺失，並鼓勵他們進一步增進靈性修養。

Some artists even painted themselves into the manuscripts.

一些藝術家甚至會將自己畫進手稿。

The opening image of Christine de Pisan's collected works shows de Pisan presenting the book to the Queen of France.

克里斯蒂娜．德．皮桑的作品合集開場插畫描繪了她將那本書獻給法國皇后。

The queen was so impressed by de Pisan's previous work that she commissioned her own copy.

皇后被德．皮桑過去的作品大為驚艷，於是委託她特別製作一份。

Such royal patronage enabled her to establish her own publishing house in Paris.

皇家贊助使她得以在巴黎創立自己的出版社。

The tradition of illuminated manuscripts lasted for over a thousand years.

泥金裝飾手抄本的這種傳統持續了超過一千年。

The books were created by individuals or teams for uses as wide-ranging as private prayer aids, service books in churches, textbooks, and protective talismans to take into battle.

書本由個人或是團體製作，用途廣泛，提供給私人禱告時用、當做教會的祈禱書、教科書，或是給戰士當做護身符帶上戰場。

Across all this variation, those tricky little drawings in the margins are a unique window into the minds of medieval artists.

這些巧妙的頁邊小插圖各有變異，它們成為獨特的窗口，讓我們得以一窺中世紀藝術家的想法。