中世纪盛期的苏格兰文学语言

来源:经典译文    发布时间:2013-02-06    经典译文辅导视频    评论

Literature of Scotland in the High Middle Ages

There may be more medieval Scottish Gaelic literature than is often thought. Almost all medieval Gaelic literature has survived because it has been allowed to survive in Ireland, not in Scotland. The continentalisation of the Scottish monarchy and Anglicisation of the later medieval Scottish elite meant that Gaelic manuscripts would never be preserved in Scotland. Thomas Owen Clancy has recently all but proven that the Lebor Bretnach, the so-called "Irish Nennius," was written in Scotland, and probably at the monastery in Abernethy. Yet this text survives only from manuscripts preserved in Ireland. In fact, almost all pre-fourteenth century literature than can be attributed to Scotland, survives only from Ireland, England or continental Europe.

There survives a small body of medieval Scottish poetry. There seems to have been some patronage of Gaelic poetry by the later Pictish kings. In the thirteenth century, Muireadhach Albanach, Irish poet of the O'Dálaigh clan of poets wrote eulogies for the Mormaers of Lennox. He founded the Scottish dynasty of poets knows as the MacMuirichs. Muireadhach may have played a large role introducing the new "reformed" style of poetry which had been developing in Ireland in the twelfth century. Muireadhach's friend, Gille Brighde Albanach, was perhaps the most prolifically extant native Scottish poet. About 1218, Gille Brighde wrote a poem - Heading for  Damietta - on his experiences of the Fifth Crusade.

In the thirteenth century, French flourished as a literary language, and produced the Roman de Fergus, the earliest piece of non-Celtic vernacular literature to survived from Scotland. Moreover, many other stories in the Arthurian Cycle, written in French and preserved only outside Scotland, are thought by some scholars (D.D.R. Owen for instance) to have been written in Scotland.

Latin too was a literary language. Famous examples would be the Inchcolm Antiphoner, a Lament for Alan of Galloway and the Carmen de morte Sumerledi ("Song on the Death of Somerled"), a poem which exults triumphantly the victory of the citizens of Glasgow over Somailre mac Gilla Brigte. Additionally, almost all historical writing from this period was also written in Latin.

There is no extant literature in the English language in this era, although that language would experience a literary take-off in the century after this period. There is a little Norse literature from Scandinavian parts, such as the Northern Isles and the Western Isles. The famous Orkneyinga Saga however, although it pertains to the Earldom of Orkney, was written in Iceland. The Western Isles would be integrated into Scotland during this period, but the Northern Isles were ruled from Norway until the late 15th century.

实际存在的苏格兰——盖尔语文学要比想象中多很多。中世纪的盖尔语文学在爱尔兰而不是在苏格兰得以保存。苏格兰君主的欧洲大陆化和中世纪后期的苏格兰精英阶层的英格兰化使得盖尔语手稿难以在苏格兰保存。托马斯•欧文•克莱希最近证明,所谓的“爱尔兰的尼尼奥斯(8世纪威尔士僧侣,著有《历史上的不列颠》)”写于苏格兰,并且很可能是在阿伯奈斯的修道院里写成的。这篇著作因为其保存在爱尔兰的手稿才得以流传下来。实际上,几乎所有的十四世纪之前的文学作品都出自苏格兰,但它们只在爱尔兰、英格兰和欧洲大陆保存了下来。

少量的中世纪苏格兰诗歌保存了下来。这可能是后来的皮克特国王保护了盖尔语诗歌的缘故。十三世纪,“苏格兰人默多克”为雷诺克斯的莫梅尔写了挽歌。他开创了一个苏格兰诗人的时代。默多克把一种“改良”过的诗体引进了苏格兰,这种诗体是12世纪在爱尔兰发展起来的。默多克的朋友基尔布里奇•阿尔巴克是现存诗歌最多的中世纪苏格兰诗人,1218年左右,他根据自己参加第五次十字军东征的经历写成了长诗《向达米埃塔进军》。

十三世纪,法语成为文学语言,并出现了法语作品《佛古斯传奇》,它是苏格兰现存最早的非凯尔特方言作品。此外,很多用法语写成、保存在苏格兰之外的亚瑟王故事被很多学者(如D.D.R.欧文)认定为苏格兰的作品。

拉丁文同样也是文学语言。用拉丁语写成的著名作品有《为盖洛威的艾伦所作之挽歌》和《萨摩来之死》。后者歌颂了格拉斯哥市民反抗苏格兰统治者萨摩来的胜利。此外,这一时期所有的历史著作都是用拉丁语写成的。

这一时期用英语写成的作品并没有保存下来,虽然在这一时期过后,英语将作为一种文学语言兴起。一部分用挪威语写成的作品保存了下来,它们大多来自斯堪的纳维亚半岛的北岛或西岛。《奥克内伯爵世家》写于冰岛,虽然故事与奥克内伯爵的领地有关。西岛在这一时期并入了苏格兰,而北岛则要被挪威人统治到15世纪末。

 

视频学习

我考网版权与免责声明

① 凡本网注明稿件来源为"原创"的所有文字、图片和音视频稿件,版权均属本网所有。任何媒体、网站或个人转载、链接转贴或以其他方式复制发表时必须注明"稿件来源:我考网",违者本网将依法追究责任;

② 本网部分稿件来源于网络,任何单位或个人认为我考网发布的内容可能涉嫌侵犯其合法权益,应该及时向我考网书面反馈,并提供身份证明、权属证明及详细侵权情况证明,我考网在收到上述法律文件后,将会尽快移除被控侵权内容。

最近更新

社区交流

考试问答