湖南信息职业技术学院-保卫部工作总结

Knighthoods
An ancient tradition
骑士 一种古老的传统

A Knighthoods are one of the oldest and most prestigious forms of
honouring individual citizens in the United Kingdom. Although initially
conferred upon members of the armed forces solely on the basis of their
performance in combat, the award now recognises all contributions to
national life. Some of the most notable knighthoods of recent times have
been bestowed on musicians or entertainers such as Sir Elton John and Sir
Paul McCartney, and the fields of finance, industry and education are also
represented. Citizens of non- Commonwealth
1
countries are eligible for
an 'honorary' knighthood for which they are not permitted to use the titles
'Sir' or 'Dame.' Perceived to be a British tradition, the legacy of
knighthoods actually dates back to ancient Rome, from where it spread
throughout a number of European countries in the Middle Ages and
acquired certain features. A would-be knight had to undergo strict
military instruction from a young age, which included spending time as
an assistant (known as an esquire) to an existing knight, and participating
in battle. He had to learn how to equip his knight for battle, and to help
him with putting on the heavy and cumbersome armour of the time. He
was responsible for keeping this armour in good condition, polishing and
cleaning it. He also had to demonstrate chivalrous behaviour such as
generosity, selflessness, fearlessness and skill in battle. Finally, the
potential knight also required the financial means to purchase horses,
weapons and armour for himself, and then make himself available to
serve the ruling monarch for a minimum period each year.

在英国，骑士 是授予国民荣誉最古老、最具声望的形式之一。起
初，此项荣誉仅针对在战斗中表现出色的军人；如今， 它的范围已扩
至任何一个对国家有巨大贡献的人。近来，一些最高骑士勋章被授予
给音乐家和艺 人，比如艾尔顿.约翰爵士和保罗.麦卡特尼爵士。此外，
在金融、工业、教育领域，也不乏代表之人。 非英联邦国家国民有资
格被授予“荣誉”骑士勋章，但不得使用“爵士”或“夫人”头衔。
骑士 虽被认为是一种英国传统，事实上，其历史可追溯到古罗马，并
在中世纪由罗马传至许多欧洲国家，并形 成了它的一些特色。一个骑
士必须从年轻时候就开始经受严格的军事命令。其中包括作为骑士的
助手（即骑士扈从），以及参加战斗。他必须学习如何给他的骑士为
战斗治装，并帮助他穿上符合时宜的 沉重累赘的甲胄。同时，他也必
须保证甲胄的光泽和清洁。除此之外，他还必须要有一些表现武士精

神的行为，比如慷慨大方、无私奉献，以及在战斗中的有勇有谋。最
后，一个潜在的 骑士还必须学会用金融的手段自购马匹、武器和甲胄，
以便能够每年都为统治君主效力。

B In modern times, the process is very different. Instead of relying on
formalised military training or political patronage, a nominations system
is used. This way, a person's name can be put forward for a knighthood
by any institution such as a school or business, or even just a fellow
member of society. After this, an advisory panel, acting on behalf of the
sovereign, deliberates and selects the future knights and dames from the
pool of applications. Those selected are contacted discreetly before
announcements are made to ensure that they wish to accept the honour.
现代时期，这个过程有了很大的不同。一套新的提名机制代替了以往只能依靠正规军事训练和政治举荐获得骑士称号的惯例。在此制
度中，一个人可以通过任何一个 机构——学校、企业，甚至是社会中
一个单独的成员——举荐获取骑士勋章。然后，一个顾问小组将作为
最高代表从众多申请名单中商议并选出为来骑士或夫人。在公告发布
之前，这些被选中的人都是 秘密联系的，以便确认他们是否愿意接受
这一荣誉。

C In rare cases, knighthoods can be revoked through a process
known as forfeiture. This most often occurs when the recipient is
convicted of a criminal offense. Terry Lewis, a police officer in
Queensland, Australia, was stripped of his knighthood after being
implicated in a string of illegal activities that included accepting
$$700,000 worth of bribes from bookmakers and casinos, and forging the
signature of an Australian politician on a police document in 1981. Lewis
has repeatedly protested his innocence and suggested that he was falsely
accused of these crimes, but his appeals failed in court. In a more serious
incident, British art historian and intelligence officer, Anthony Blunt, lost
his knighthood after it was discovered that he was working as a double
agent and handing confidential material over to the Soviet Union.
在极少数的情况下，骑士头衔可以通过撤销程 序而被剥夺。通
常，这种情况只有在接受者被控告犯罪的时候才会发生。Terry Lewis，澳大利亚昆士兰的一个警察，就被剥夺了骑士荣誉称号。其原因是他
涉嫌受贿赌场数额高达70万美 元的一系列非法活动，并于1981年在
一份警方文件上伪造一澳大利亚警察签名。Lewis多次抗议 说他本人
无罪，并表示这些都是虚假罪名，然而在法庭上他的上诉失败了。在
一次更为严重的事 件中，波芳斯.布伦特，英国美术史学家和情报工

作者（间谍），也因扮演双重间谍角色 ，并向苏联人提供机密情报被
撤销了爵位。

D Knighthoods have also been forfeited for reasons of incompetence
rather than outright illegality or treason. Having been knighted for
'services to banking' in 2004, CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Fred
Goodwin, presided over a 24-billion- pound loss at the bank just four
years later. Although retaining a 16-million- pound pension, to which he
was legally entitled, Goodwin had his knighthood annulled as the Queen's
advisory panel deemed him 'the chief decision maker at the time:
Scandals such as these have contributed to spirited debates regarding the
role and relevance of knighthoods in 21st-century society.
除了明确的非法和背叛行为之外，爵士荣誉也可由于能力的不
胜任而被撤销。2004年，Fred Goodwin被授予'services to banking'爵
士头衔，担任苏格兰皇家银行首 席执行官一职，四年后，该银行在他
的管理之下遭受了240亿英镑的损失。尽管他争取到了1600万 英镑
的补助金，并声称这些资金合法，但还是被撤销了公爵一职。因为女
王的顾问小组认为他是 当时的主要决策者却没有负起责任——像这
样的恶性事件已经引起了关于骑士在21世纪社会中所扮演的 角色以
及其实用性的激烈讨论。

1 The Commonwealth：an international association consisting of the
UK together with states that were previously part of the British
Empire and dependencies.
英联邦（由联合王国及原所辖的自治省和属地组成的联邦）

2
Dame：a title given to a woman as a special honor because of
important service or work that she has done. (BRIT)

夫人，女士：出于对国家的个人功绩或贡献的承认，而由最高统治者授予非
世袭头衔的妇女。