By J.K. Rowling Originally published on

on Aug 10th 2015

J.K.罗琳 原载于 2015年8月10日

The sword of Gryffindor was made a thousand years ago by goblins, the magical world’s most skilled metalworkers, and is therefore enchanted.

格兰芬多之剑是在一千年前由妖精制造的，妖精是魔法世界最熟练的金属工人，因此被施了魔法。

Fashioned from pure silver, it is inset with rubies, the stone that represents Gryffindor in the hour-glasses that count the house points at Hogwarts.

它由纯银制成，镶嵌着红宝石，红宝石代表着格兰芬多，镶嵌在计算霍格沃茨积分的沙漏里。

Godric Gryffindor’s name is engraved just beneath the hilt.

戈德里克·格兰芬多的名字就刻在剑柄下方。

The sword was made to Godric Gryffindor’s specifications by Ragnuk the First, finest of the goblin silversmiths, and therefore King (in goblin culture, the ruler does not work less than the others, but more skillfully). When it was finished, Ragnuk coveted it so much that he pretended that Gryffindor had stolen it from him, and sent minions to steal it back. Gryffindor defended himself with his wand, but did not kill his attackers. Instead he sent them back to their king bewitched, to deliver the threat that if he ever tried to steal from Gryffindor again, Gryffindor would unsheathe the sword against them all.

这把剑是由地精中最优秀的银匠拉古努克一世按照戈德里克·格兰芬多的规格制造的，因此是国王（在地精文化中，统治者的工作并不比其他人少，而是更熟练）。完成后，拉格努克对它垂涎已久，于是假装格兰芬多从他那里偷走了它，并派爪牙去把它偷回来。格兰芬多用魔杖自卫，但没有杀死攻击他的人。相反，他把他们送回被施了魔法的国王那里，威胁说，如果他再想偷格兰芬多的东西，格兰芬多就会拔出剑来对付他们。

The goblin king took the threat seriously and left Gryffindor in possession of his rightful property, but remained resentful until he died. This was the foundation for the false legend of Gryffindor’s theft that persists, in some sections of the goblin community, to this day.

地精国王严肃地对待了这个威胁，并让格兰芬多占有了他应得的财产，但一直怨恨到死。这是格兰芬多偷窃的虚假传说的基础，在哥布林社区的一些部分，持续到今天。

The question of why a wizard would need a sword, though often asked, is easily answered. In the days before the International Statute of Secrecy, when wizards mingled freely with Muggles, they would use swords to defend themselves just as often as wands. Indeed, it was considered unsporting to use a wand against a Muggle sword (which is not to say it was never done). Many gifted wizards were also accomplished duellists in the conventional sense, Gryffindor among them.

关于巫师为什么需要剑的问题，虽然经常被问到，但很容易回答。在《国际保密法》颁布之前的日子里，当巫师们自由地与麻瓜们打成一片时，他们会像使用魔杖一样频繁地使用剑来自卫。事实上，用魔杖对付麻瓜的剑被认为是不道德的（这并不是说它从来没有做过）。许多天才巫师都是传统意义上的决斗能手，格兰芬多就是其中之一。

There have been many enchanted swords in folklore. The Sword of Nuadu, part of the four legendary treasures of Tuatha Dé Danann, was invincible when drawn. Gryffindor’s sword owes something to the legend of Excalibur, the sword of King Arthur, which in some legends must be drawn from a stone by the rightful king. The idea of fitness to carry the sword is echoed in the sword of Gryffindor’s return to worthy members of its true owner’s house.

在民间传说中有很多被施了魔法的剑。努阿杜之剑，是传说中的图阿塔·迪·达南四件宝物的一部分，拔出来就无敌了。格兰芬多的剑在某种程度上要归功于亚瑟王之剑——王者之剑的传说，在某些传说中，这把剑必须由合法的国王从石头中拔出。格兰芬多回到真正主人家的值得尊敬的成员手中的那把剑，与健身的理念遥相呼应。

J.K. Rowling’s thoughts

J.K.罗琳的思想

There is a further allusion to Excalibur emerging from the lake when Harry must dive into a frozen forest pool to retrieve the sword in Deathly Hallows (though the location of the sword was really due to a spiteful impulse of Snape’s to place it there), for in other versions of the legend, Excalibur was given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake, and was returned to the lake when he died.

在《死亡圣器》中，哈利必须潜入一个冰冻的森林池塘去取回宝剑（尽管宝剑的位置其实是因为斯内普恶意的冲动才把它放在那里的）。因为在其他版本的传说中，王者之剑是由湖之女神赐给亚瑟的，在他死后被归还给了湖中。

Within the magical world, physical possession is not necessarily a guarantee of ownership. This concept applies to the three Deathly Hallows, and also to Gryffindor’s sword.

在魔法世界里，身体的占有并不一定是所有权的保证。这个概念适用于三个死亡圣器，也适用于格兰芬多的剑。

I am interested in what happens when cultural beliefs collide. In the Harry Potter books, the most militant of the goblin race consider all goblin-made objects to be theirs by right, although a specific object might be made over to a wizard for his life-span upon a payment of gold. Witches and wizards, like Muggles, believe that once payment has been made, the object belongs to them and their descendants or legatees in perpetuity. This is a clash of values without a solution, because each side has a different concept of what is right. It therefore presents Harry with a difficult moral dilemma when Griphook demands the sword as payment for his services in Deathly Hallows.

我感兴趣的是当文化信仰发生冲突时会发生什么。在“哈利波特”的书中，最激进的妖精种族认为所有的妖精制造的物品都是他们的，尽管一个特定的物品可能会被交给一个巫师，在他的一生中，他会得到一笔金币。巫婆和巫师，就像麻瓜一样，相信一旦付款，物品就属于他们和他们的后代或遗属。这是一种没有解决办法的价值观冲突，因为每一方对什么是正确的都有不同的概念。因此，它给哈利一个艰难的道德困境，当格里福克要求剑作为他在死亡圣器服务的报酬。