圣丹尼大教堂何以寂寥

Why St.Denis Cathedral is Neglected

巴黎的圣丹尼大教堂距离巴黎圣母院咫尺之遥,但是游人不多。巴黎圣母院傲居塞纳河中央的西岱岛上,因为雨果的小说而名满天下。圣丹尼大教堂则凝聚着法国的历史,以区区一个教堂的面积,接纳了法国12个世纪的皇家骨值;圣丹尼大教堂还是阿贝拉尔晚年的栖身之地。按说圣丹尼大教堂理应享有伦敦西敏寺和巴黎先贤祠那样在神圣和世俗空间中的崇高地位,它的相对寂寥,当有其地域和文化上的因由。

St.Denis Cathedral is not far away from Notre Dame de Paris,the center of the city,whereas it is now routinely overlooked by tourists.Notre Dame de Paris,famous for Victor Hug＇s romantic masterpiece,is located on La Cite,the center of Seine River.Yet St.Denis Cathedral holds the remains of French royalties for 12 centuries and Abelard ever lived there in his later years.The reason might lie in its location：St.Denis used to be a suburb town for working class.But it is misleading to blame the environment for the neglect of such a monumental place parallel to London＇s Westminster Abbey and Paris＇ Pantheon.Good or bad for this negligence,time will tell.