纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 066圣荆棘之匣（5）

 

"To have a relic¹ particularly connected with the Passion of Christ was the best thing you could have. But there were also relics² of the saints, particularly the martyrs³. I think they provoked a lot of envy, especially the French collections. The rivalry⁴ in England - 'We want to have a better relic than they have because we are a better nation than they are.' They're subject to all kinds of external influences. Like everything else, it can be part of commerce, can't it? Politics, commerce, exchange - yes, this is certainly all round the relics."

In this complex economy of influence, a thorn from the Crown became the ultimate French royal gift. In the late fourteenth century one was awarded to a powerful French prince, Jean, Duc de Berry. Looking at the Reliquary, we can be absolutely confident that it belonged to Jean de Berry - it's got his coat-of-arms enamelled on to it. But it also sums up many of his preoccupations. He commissioned some of the greatest religious art of the period, and he was a passionate⁵ collector of relics - he had the marriage ring of the Virgin⁶, a cup used at the Wedding at Cana, a fragment of the Burning Bush and a complete body of one of the Holy Innocents, the children murdered by Herod. He was also an enthusiastic builder of castles and so, appropriately, the base of our Reliquary is a castle made out of solid gold.

This Holy Thorn Reliquary is without question one of the supreme⁷ achievements of medieval European metalwork, but sadly there is no way of knowing if it was in fact the greatest thing in Jean de Berry's collection. The bulk of his goldsmith's work was broken up and melted down within months of his death, when the English occupied Paris after the battle of Agincourt in 1415. The fact that this Reliquary survives tells us that he must have given it away before his death.

与耶稣受难相关的圣物是一个人能拥有的最好的东西，同样的物品还有圣徒的圣物，尤其是殉难者的。我深深感到它们教人忌妒，尤其是法国的系列收藏。在英国出现了严重的对抗情绪：“我们应该拥有更珍贵的圣物，因为我们的国家更伟大。”外界的一切纷扰都会对它们产生影响。它们和别的物品一样，也能成为商品。政治、商业、交易，无疑时刻围绕着圣物。

在受政治影响的复杂的经济体系中，来自荆棘冠的刺成了法兰西最贵重的王室礼物。十四世纪末期，其中一根落到了大权在握的法兰西王子贝里公爵手中。我们确信如今保存在大英博物馆的这个圣物匣曾属于他。匣上饰有他的盾形纹章，并汇集了他所关注的众多事物：他曾委托艺术家创作了几件当时最伟大的宗教艺术品，?也热衷收藏各种圣物。他拥有号称属于圣母马利亚的结婚戒指，曾在迦南的婚礼上使用的酒杯，天主现身时燃烧的荆棘的残片以及一具完整的圣婴遗骸—一那是被希律王杀害的儿童中的一个。他也热衷修建城堡，圣物匣便相当于一座纯金城堡。这个圣荆棘匣一定是中世纪欧洲金属加工业的顶级成就之一，但可惜的是，我们并不清楚它能否算是贝里公爵的藏品中最为非凡的。一四一五年，法国在阿金库尔战役中败给英国人的那年，公爵去世，不过数月，大批曾经属于他的黄金制品被重铸。

这件圣物匣得以幸存，表明他在死前把它赠送给了别人。

 

1 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

2 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

3 martyrs   

n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情）

参考例句：

• the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者
• They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

5 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

6 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。