評論
打印
It's the helmet of a hero, and when it was found, people were immediately reminded of the great Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. Until 1939, it had been taken for granted that Beowulf was essentially fantasy, set in an imaginary world of warrior splendour and great feasts. The Sutton Hoo grave ship, with its cauldrons, drinking horns and musical instruments, its highly wrought weapons and lavish skins and furs, and not least its hoard of gold and silver, was evidence that 'Beowulf', far from being just poetic invention, was a surprisingly accurate memory of a splendid, lost, pre-literate world.
這是一副英雄的頭盔，一經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn),人們便立刻聯(lián)想起偉大的盎格 魯-撒克遜史詩《貝奧武甫》。在1939年前，人們都理所當(dāng)然地認(rèn)為 《貝奧武甫》完全是虛構(gòu)的，是一個(gè)想象中的由武士的榮耀與豐美的盛宴組成的世界。但薩頓胡船葬中發(fā)現(xiàn)的大鍋、酒器、樂器、磨損嚴(yán)重的武器、大量的皮草與為數(shù)眾多的金銀財(cái)寶，都表明《貝奧武甫》絕不只是詩歌想象，而是對一個(gè)在文字出現(xiàn)之前就已存在、業(yè)已逝去的光輝世界的精確記憶。
Think for a moment of the helmet, decorated with animal motifs made out of gilded bronze and silver wire and bearing the marks of battle; now listen to the poet Seamus Heaney reading from 'Beowulf':
頭盔上裝飾著用鍍金青銅制作的動物圖案以及銀線，帶著戰(zhàn)場廝殺的痕跡。看著它，再看看《貝奧武甫》中的描述：
"To guard his head he had a glittering helmet
為了護(hù)頭他戴著閃亮的頭盔
that was due to be muddied on the mere-bottom
將來必會被水底的淤泥污染
and blurred in the upswirl. It was of beaten gold,
還會被旋風(fēng)卷得模糊 它用金箔打造
princely headgear hooped and hasped
王子般的帽子緊緊扣住
by a weapon-smith who had worked wonders
一個(gè)武器工匠創(chuàng)造的奇跡
in days gone by and adorned it with boar shapes;
飾以公豬
since then it had resisted every sword."
自此之后抵御刀劍無數(shù)
Clearly the Anglo-Saxon poet must have looked closely at something very like the Sutton Hoo helmet. Seamus Heaney was reading from his own translation of 'Beowulf' - what does the Sutton Hoo helmet mean to him now?:
很明顯，這位盎格魯-撒克遜詩人曾仔細(xì)觀察過類似薩頓胡頭盔的物品。我詢問過諾貝爾文學(xué)獎得主、桂冠詩人、《貝奧武甫》的譯者謝默斯希尼對薩頓胡頭盔的看法：
"I never thought of the helmet in relation to any historical character. In my own imagination it arrives out of the world of Beowulf, and gleams at the centre of the poem and disappears back into the mound. The way to imagine it best is when it goes into the ground with the historical king, or whoever it was buried with, then its gleam under the earth gradually disappearing.
我從不覺得這頭盔屬于哪個(gè)歷史人物。在我的想象中，它來自 《貝奧武甫》的世界，在詩章中閃耀，又消失于土丘。最好的方式是,想象它與某位歷史上的國王或別的什么人一起入葬.然后它的光亮在泥土中慢慢暗淡。
