纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 066圣荆棘之匣（1）

 

066：EPISODE 66 - Holy Thorn Reliquary

第六十六集：圣荆棘髑遗物箱

Holy Thorn Reliquary (made around 1370), from Paris

I'm in Paris, and I'm in what was one of the greatest museums of medieval Europe. Although it doesn't look like a museum - it's a two-storey gothic building, with soaring architecture and spectacular stained glass. It's the Sainte Chapelle, the palace church of the kings of France, built in the 1240s to house what were then the most precious objects in the world. And supreme¹ amongst those objects was without question the Crown of Thorns, placed on Christ's head before the crucifixion - and a relic² of the utmost sanctity. For medieval Christendom the key purpose of life in this world was to secure salvation³ in the next, and relics⁴ of the saints offered a direct line to heaven. No relics were more powerful than those associated with the suffering of Christ himself - or more valuable. This amazing church, created to exhibit the king's collection of relics, cost 40,000 livres to build; the Crown of Thorns alone cost the king over three times that amount. It was probably the most valuable thing in Europe. The most precious gift that the king of France could make was a single thorn, detached from the Crown, and the object in this programme is one of those thorns, and the reliquary made to house it.

"It's not just an object, it's got the devotion of centuries behind it. It looks like a window into another world, which I think is what it is." (Sister Benedicta Ward)

圣荆棘之匣

黄金、珠宝与珐琅打造的圣物匣，来自法国巴黎

公元一三五o年至公元一四o年

我在巴黎，我在中世纪欧洲最伟大的博物馆之一。虽然它看起来不像博物馆，但它是一座两层哥特式建筑，有高耸的建筑和壮观的彩色玻璃。这是圣夏贝尔，法国国王的宫殿教堂，建于1240年代，用来存放当时世界上最珍贵的物品。毫无疑问，在这些物品中最高的是荆棘王冠，它在十字架前被放在基督的头上，是一件极其神圣的遗物。对于中世纪的基督教世界来说，这个世界上生活的主要目的是在下一个世界里获得救赎，圣人的遗物为天堂提供了一条直接的道路。没有任何遗物比那些与基督本人的苦难相关的遗物更强大，或者更珍贵。这座令人惊叹的教堂是为了展示国王收藏的文物而建造的，耗资40000里弗；光是荆棘之冠，国王就花了三倍多的钱。这可能是欧洲最有价值的东西。法国国王能做的最珍贵的礼物是一根与王冠分离的刺，而这个节目中的对象就是其中一根刺，以及用来存放它的圣物箱。

1 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。

2 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。

3 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

4 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。