中世纪文学中的触觉表述:《高文爵士与绿衣骑士》及其他文本

Haptical Representation in Medieval Literature:Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Other Texts

从早期教父时代到中世纪晚期的基督教感官文化史中,触觉长久以来都位于感官金字塔的底部,被看作对基督徒的灵魂具有最大潜在威胁的官能,并与自然元素中最沉重的"土"相连。与此同时,美德、神圣性、祝福和奇迹治愈的能力亦能通过触觉传递,触觉因而在许多神学与文学文本中被赋予积极的道德内涵。中世纪罗曼司中充满细致的感官描绘,生动地反映出人物的情感模式、社会礼仪、文化禁忌和宗教观念。本文通过细读14世纪中古英语罗曼司代表诗作《高文爵士与绿衣骑士》,并将它置于"高文"诗人其他作品的文本背景中,考察典型中世纪俗语文学中的触觉表述及其宗教与文化内涵。

Touch, associated with the heaviest element of earth, was viewed in the Middle Ages as the coarsest and most corporeal senses, posing most danger to the welfare of Christian souls. On the other hand, virtues and sanctity, as well as benediction and miraculous healing, can also be transferred by touch. The genre of medieval romance features elaborate sensual description and dynamic exploration of the abstract qualities of physical senses. The representation of haptical perception, in particular, helps to depict the protagonists＇ morality, spirituality, ideas of social propriety and taboos, courtly etiquettes and amorous adventures in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This paper will focus on the representation of tactile experience in SGGK and other works by the Gawain-Poet, relating the argument to the traditional depiction of human sensorium, and to its religious and cultural connotations in medieval vernacular literature.