纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 066圣荆棘之匣（4）

 

There's no way now of proving that this was a thorn that actually pierced the head of Christ, but we can say with confidence that it's a type of buckthorn that still grows around Jerusalem, and the first mention of the Crown of Thorns as a relic¹ is in Jerusalem, around 400. It was later taken from the Holy Land to Constantinople, the Christian² capital of the eastern Roman Empire, where it was kept and venerated³ for centuries. But shortly after 1200, the impecunious⁴ emperor pawned⁵ the Crown to the Venetians for a mammoth⁶ sum. This shocked the crusader king of France, Louis IX, but it also gave him an opportunity. He paid off the debt, and redeemed⁷ the relic. So, although Louis as a crusader didn't conquer the Holy Land - the site of Christ's suffering - he did the next best thing, he acquired the Crown of Thorns. So great was its power in medieval people's eyes, that through it Louis was linked directly to Christ himself. To house his incomparable relic, Louis built not just a reliquary, but a whole church. He called it his holy chapel⁸ - the Sainte Chapelle.

The stained-glass windows of the Sainte Chapelle leave us in no doubt that Paris and the kingdom of France were to be permanently⁹ transformed by the arrival of the Crown of Thorns. St Louis is shown paired with Solomon, the Sainte Chapelle is his temple, and Paris has become Jerusalem. When the Crown arrived, it was described as being on deposit with the king of France until the day of judgement, when Christ would return to collect it and the kingdom of France would become the kingdom of Heaven. When this chapel was completed and dedicated¹⁰ in 1248, the archbishop proclaimed: "Just as the Lord Jesus Christ chose the Holy Land for the display of the mysteries of his redemption, so he has specially¹¹ chosen our France for the more devoted¹² veneration¹³ of the triumph of his Passion." The Crown of Thorns has played a long and fascinating part in the international politics of piety¹⁴. It allowed St Louis to claim for France a unique status among the kingdoms of Europe, and every French ruler since St Louis has wanted to follow his example. Here's the historian Sister Benedicta Ward¹⁵:

这件物品对跪在它前面的信徒产生的影响力之大，再怎么形容都不为过。这根原本毫无价值的荆棘刺出的鲜血可以拯救不朽的灵魂，让世间的任何宝物都黯然失色，无论是它下方的蓝宝石底座，保护它的水晶，还是环绕在它周围的红宝石与珍珠。这是用黄金与珠宝打造的布道，能助人反思，得到最深的抚慰。

我们无从证明这根荆棘是否曾刺穿耶稣的头部，但确信它出自一种至今仍生长在耶路撒冷附近、叫作鼠李的植物的枝条。在公元四百年的耶路撒冷，有人首次提出荆棘冠应被视为圣物。后来它从圣地来到东罗马帝国的基督教都城君士坦丁堡，在当地被珍藏了数个世纪。公元一千二百年后不久，穷困的国王将它抵押给了威尼斯人，换回一笔巨款。此事震惊了国王的表兄，时为法国国王、十字军首领的路易九世，但也带给了他一个难得的机会。路易九世付清了国王的欠款，赎回了荆棘冠。作为十字军的首领，他虽然未能占领耶酥的受难地圣城耶路撒冷，但至少得到了荆棘冠。荆棘冠在信众心中无比神圣，路易九世因此在他们眼中直接与耶酥本身相连。为了珍藏这件举世无双的圣物，路易九世不仅打造了一个圣物匣，还修建了一座教堂，他称之为圣礼拜堂。

圣礼拜堂的彩绘玻璃花窗让我们深信，荆棘冠的到来彻底改变了巴黎与法兰西王国。路易九世本人也在一二九七年被封圣，成了与所罗门平起平坐的圣路易。圣礼拜堂成了他的圣殿，巴黎成了耶路撒冷。荆棘冠送达之日，有人宣称它将由法兰西国王一直保存至最终审判日耶酥前来取回它为止，法兰西王国也将成为上帝的王国。一二四八年教堂落成时，主教宣布道：“正如耶稣基督选择圣城向我们展示他救赎的神迹，他也特别挑选了法国，作为对他受难的荣光更为虔诚的崇拜之地。”荆棘冠在国际宗教政治中长期扮演着重要角色一它使得圣路易宣布法国在欧洲诸国中具有独一无二的地位，之后的历任法国君主竞相效仿他的这一做法。

历史学家本尼迪克塔·沃德修女认为这不仅仅是一种宗教上的追求：

 

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 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 venerated   

敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My father venerated General Eisenhower. 我父亲十分敬仰艾森豪威尔将军。
• He used the sacraments and venerated the saints. 他行使圣事，崇拜圣人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

4 impecunious   

adj.不名一文的，贫穷的

参考例句：

• He is impecunious,does not know anyone who can lend mony.他身无分文，也不认识任何可以借钱的人。
• They are independent,impecunious and able to tolerate all degrees of discomfort.他们独立自主，囊中羞涩，并且能够忍受各种不便。

5 pawned   

v.典当，抵押( pawn的过去式和过去分词 )；以（某事物）担保

参考例句：

• He pawned his gold watch to pay the rent. 他抵当了金表用以交租。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has redeemed her pawned jewellery. 她赎回了当掉的珠宝。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

7 redeemed   

adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She has redeemed her pawned jewellery. 她赎回了当掉的珠宝。
• He redeemed his watch from the pawnbroker's. 他从当铺赎回手表。

8 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

9 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

10 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

11 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

12 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

13 veneration   

n.尊敬，崇拜

参考例句：

• I acquired lasting respect for tradition and veneration for the past.我开始对传统和历史产生了持久的敬慕。
• My father venerated General Eisenhower.我父亲十分敬仰艾森豪威尔将军。

14 piety   

n.虔诚，虔敬

参考例句：

• They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。
• Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。

15 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。