10-7 10月26日——免租典礼日（在线收听）

October 26--Quit Rent Ceremony

Proof that the Middle Ages was a time of boisterous¹ wit, quit rent ceremonies entail² the payment of symbolic or token³ “rents” -- instead of real money -- for pieces of real estate⁴. Medieval landlords perfected the practice as a way of “giving” land to friends or to those who had done them favors. But by demanding annual compensation in the form of peppercorns⁵ or roses or pork pies, the landlord was able to keep at least nominal⁶ title to the land.

London has for over seven hundred years been involved in a pair of annual quit rent ceremonies. The city solicitor⁷ still dutifully “pays” these to the queen’s remembrancer⁸ every October 26 at the Law Courts in the Strand. One of these began in 1211 when King John granted the city some moorland⁹ near Shropshire. In exchange for the land, the king demanded the annual payment of two knives. One of these had to be sharp enough to cut through hazelwood, the other so dull that it would, King John stipulated¹⁰, “bend in green cheese.” Because of the hazelwood reference, this payment is called the Faggot¹¹ Service.

注释：

1. boisterous [5bCistErEs] a. 喧闹的，尽情的

2. entail [in5teil] vt. 使人承担，使成为必要

3. token [5tEukEn] a. 作为标志的，象征性的

4. real estate 不动产，房地产

5. peppercorn [5pepEkC:n] n. 胡椒粒

6. nominal [5nCminl] a. 名义上的，有名无实的

7. solicitor [sE5lisitE] n. [英]（承办案件起诉、辩护及其他法律事务的）初级律师

8. remembrancer [ri5membrEnsE] n.（英国）王室的债款收取官

9. moorland [5mJElEnd] n. [主英] 高沼地

10. stipulate [5stipjuleit] vt. 规定，（作为条件）讲定

11. faggot [5fA^Et] n. 柴把，柴捆

10月26日——免租典礼日

中世纪是喧闹、风趣的时代，“免租典礼”即为证明。这个“典礼”要求房地产使用人交付的不是金钱而是象征性的“租金”。那时有一些地主以此办法将土地“赠予”朋友或曾帮助过他们的人。但是，他们通过以索取胡椒粒、玫瑰花或者肉馅饼作为每年租金的办法，至少可以保留名义上对土地的所有权。

700多年来，伦敦每年都要举行两次免租典礼活动。每年10月26日，在斯特兰德大街的法院里，市法律官仍然尽职地向女王的债款收取官“交税”。其中的一次活动始于1211年，那年英王约翰将什罗普郡附近的一些高沼地转让给伦敦市。为此，国王要求伦敦市每年交纳两把刀子作为回报。其中一把必须非常锋利，足以砍断榛木，另一把则必须钝得会“在绿干酪中弯曲”。由于牵涉到榛木，这一活动又称为“柴捆仪式”。