纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 067正信凯旋圣像（1）

 

067：EPISODE 67 - Icon¹ of the Triumph of Orthodoxy 正信凯旋圣像

Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy (painted in the late fourteenth century), from Istanbul

What does a great empire do when it's faced with imminent² invasion and destruction? It can re-arm at home and seek allies abroad, but more cunningly it can revisit its history to forge a myth that will unite the people and carry them through to victory. A myth that will demonstrate to everyone that their country has been specially³ chosen by God and by history to uphold justice and righteousness.

History re-imagined can be a very powerful weapon. When the Christian⁴ Byzantine Empire faced obliteration⁵ at the hands of the Ottoman Turks around 1400, it turned to its past, found an event that proclaimed its unique and divinely ordained⁶ purpose, and turned that into a national myth. The Byzantines promoted their myth in the most public media at their disposal - they established a new religious feast-day, and they commissioned a religious icon to mark it.

"This icon is a document of a political event. I felt immediately that it was similar to the evening news." (Bill Viola)

"This debate about images just rolls in Christianity. Sometimes the image lovers win, sometimes the image haters win." (Diarmaid MacCulloch)

正信凯旋圣像

带蛋彩画与金箔的木板，来自土耳其君士坦丁堡（今伊斯坦布尔）公元一三五o年至公元一四o0年

一个大国面临迫在眉睫的入侵与破坏时会采取什么行动？可以对内组织武装，向外寻求盟国，但更妙的方式是重访历史并创造一个神话，以团结民众走向胜利。

这个神话应该让所有国民相信，他们的国家被历史特别挑选出来维护正义与公平。

一九一四年的法国和一九四年的英国都采用过这一方式。在这种情况下，对历史的重新理解可以成为强大的武器。公元一千四百年前后，当奥斯曼土耳其帝国即将把信仰基督教的拜占庭帝国从地图上抹去时，后者也开始回溯自己的历史，找出了一个可以表明自己存在的独特意义以及上天赋予其神圣权力的事件，再将其打造成国人皆知的神话。他们所选用的传播方式是影响最广泛且最为得心应手的一种：订立一个新的宗教节日，并委托绘制一幅新的宗教圣像画。

1 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

2 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

3 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。

4 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。

5 obliteration   

n.涂去，删除；管腔闭合

参考例句：

• The policy is obliteration, openly acknowledged. 政策是彻底毁灭，公开承认的政策。 来自演讲部分
• "Obliteration is not a justifiable act of war" “彻底消灭并不是有理的战争行为” 来自演讲部分

6 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句