试论中世纪法国王室的“圣德尼崇拜”

On the Royal Cult of Saint Denis in the Medieval France

在宗教氛围浓郁的中世纪西欧,几乎每个社会群体都拥有自己的守护神(庇护圣徒),法国王室亦不例外,它也常年沐浴在其守护神圣德尼(Saint Denis)的圣光之下。通过对"圣德尼崇拜"发展历程的考察可以看出,这一崇拜的确立虽非一帆风顺,但在法兰西王权和圣德尼修院的合作经营下,圣徒德尼终究成为法兰西君主的守护神、国家的守护神以及王权象征物的守护神。正是在"圣德尼崇拜"这一官方意识形态的辅佑下,法兰西民族国家开始形成,法兰西王权开始走向绝对化。然而,绝对化的法兰西王权最终灰飞烟灭,隆崇的圣德尼修院最终亦败落凋零。

The religious atmosphere was very strong in the medieval Europe, and almost every social group would choose a saint as its patron. Likewise the French royal house enjoyed the full protection from its patron Saint Denis. From the historical evidence, one can see that the establishment of the cult of Saint Denis was not very easy. However, owing to the close cooperation between the French royal house and the abbey of Saint-Denis, this saint eventually became the patron of the French kings, the French kingdom, and the French regalia. As an official ideology in the medieval France, this cult helped the formation of the French nation-state and the appearance of the royal absolutism there. However, both the French royal absolutism and the cult of Saint Denis dramatically met their ends after a period of glory.