爱尔兰僧侣与加洛林文艺复兴

Irish Monks and the Carolingian Renaissance

8世纪中后期起,为实现帝国版图内的文化重建,使教会能够完成整合社会文化的职责,加洛林王朝统治者加大了在教士阶层普及读写知识和古典文化教育的力度。加洛林统治者这一举措,在书面拉丁文的复兴、古典文献的收集与保存、修道院学校和图书馆的建设等方面取得了显著成效,因而被称为"加洛林文艺复兴"。在这当中,爱尔兰僧侣凭借其深厚的宗教修养和高度的古典学术水平,在相当大的时间和空间范围内,在当时几乎所有的文化领域中,都作出了突出而卓越的贡献。他们协助法兰克人重建教育制度,修订《圣经》、教父作品和宗教礼仪,研习几乎失传的拉丁和希腊学术,并且创造出现代印刷字体的前身——加洛林小写体。爱尔兰僧侣之所以能在"加洛林文艺复兴"时期独领风骚,与爱尔兰本土深厚的学术传统、爱尔兰僧侣在欧洲大陆建立的修道院体系以及加洛林时期法兰克人的知识水平和文化需求密切相关。

From the late eighth century, the Carolingian rulers staged a cuhural reconstruction program aimed at sociocultural integration of the empire. Education of the clergy was their chief priority, in the hope of enabling their Church responsibilities. This cultural revival, known as the “Carolingian Renaissance”, witnessed the standardization of classical Latin, the collection and preservation of classical literature and the construction of monastic schools and libraries. Among foreign scholars, Irish monks contributed most prominently and durably in virtue of their excellent religious and classical knowledge and their achievements in re-establishing the educational system, revision of the Scriptures, patristic literature and liturgy, and the invention of the Caroline Miniscule. The fact that Irish culture had a considerable influence on the Carolingian Continent could be explained by the following reasons： firstly, Ireland nourished a brilliant culture and educational tradition. Secondly, Irish missionaries built a great number of Irish monasteries on the Continent in the seventh century. Finally, the Francs had to depend on foreign scholars to implement their cultural policy.