What’s the Difference Between a Castle and a Palace?城堡和宫殿有什么不同？

by Kristen Hall-Geisler 杨舟

If you hear the word “castle” or the word “palace”， you might picture the same kind of building for both： large， made of cut stones， probably with a tower or turret1. And of course， youre not totally wrong， as those are features of both palaces and castles.

However， it turns out there is a difference， and you can see it pretty clearly in these two popular buildings.

如果你听到“城堡”或“宫殿”这个词，你可能会想到两个词都是指同一种建筑：大的，用凿过的石头建成的，可能带有一座塔或塔楼。当然，你没有完全弄错，因为这些都是宫殿和城堡的特征。

然而，它们是有区别的，在这两种受欢迎的建筑里你可以很清楚地看到。

The Case for Castles

Castles were built throughout Europe and the Middle East mainly for the protection of the king and his people. Some common features of castles include：

●thick walls and heavy gates to keep enemies out

●high towers for keeping a lookout over the surrounding lands

●parapets2 or slits3 in the walls for archers4 to shoot with cover

●gatehouses for allowing allies5 instead of enemies into the castle

●moats6 for defensive7 purposes

Castles were （and sometimes still are， as in the case of Windsor Castle） places where royalty8 lives. But they were also intended as defensive seats. Say youre a king who has taken a particular area over. Now you have to hold it. So you build a castle and staff it with soldiers to protect your land and make certain it remains part of your kingdom.

城堡的情況

城堡遍布欧洲和中东，主要用以保护国王和他的人民。城堡的一些共同特征包括：

○将敌人拒之门外的厚厚的墙和沉重城门

○用于监视周围土地的高塔

○城墙上用以掩护弓箭手射击的护墙或孔隙

○允许盟友而非敌人进入城堡的门楼

○用于防御的护城河

城堡曾经是（有时仍然是）皇室的住所（如温莎城堡），但它们也被用作防御基地。假设你是一个占领了某个地区的国王，现在你必须掌握该地区，所以你建造了一座城堡，并配备了士兵来保卫你的领土，确保它一直是你王国的一部分。

The Place for Palaces

Palaces， on the other hand， have no defensive purposes. Theyre meant for showing off—big time. This is where the spoils9 of war might be displayed， along with golden thrones10， very large banquet11 halls， gold table settings and dozens—maybe even hundreds—of sumptuous12 rooms.

While kings and queens certainly live in palaces as well as castles， bishops13 and ministers14 could live in castles to show the power of their immense riches. The word comes from Palatine Hill in Rome， where the first palaces were built to display wealth.

You can see this when you look at Buckingham Palace， which is in the middle of London and built to impress visitors rather than to defend against any attacks15.

宫殿的所在

另一方面，宫殿没有防御的目的，它们是用来极度炫耀的。在宫殿中可能会有战争的战利品，还有金色的王座、非常巨大的宴会厅、金制的餐桌装饰品和几十个甚至几百个华丽的房间。

虽然国王和王后肯定住在宫殿和城堡中，而主教和大臣们可以住在城堡里展示他们巨大财富的力量。这个词源自罗马的帕拉廷山，那里最早的宫殿是为了炫富而建造的。

你在参观白金汉宫时可以看到这一点。它位于伦敦市中心，是为了给游客留下深刻印象而建，而不是为了抵御任何袭击。

（英语原文选自：science.howstuffworks.com）

【Notes】

1. turret [■] n. 塔楼;角楼 2. parapet [■] n. 矮护墙

3. slit [■] n. 狭长的切口;裂缝 4. archer [■] n. 弓箭手

5. ally [■] n. 伙伴;同盟者 6. moat [■] n. 护城河;壕沟

7. defensive [■] adj. 自卫的;防御用的 8. royalty [■] n. 皇室

9. spoil [■] n. 次品;奖品 10. throne [■] n. 王座

11. banquet [■] n. 宴会，盛宴

12. sumptuous [■] adj. 豪华的;奢侈的

13. bishop [■] n. 主教 14. minister [■] n. 大臣;牧师

15. attack [■] n. 攻击