2. 考研
  3. Just off the west coast of present-day Scotland, lies the small island of Iona (艾奥纳岛) , a grassy promontory with white sandy bea

Just off the west coast of present-day Scotland, lies the small island of Iona (艾奥纳岛) , a grassy promontory with white sandy bea

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问题    Just off the west coast of present-day Scotland, lies the small island of Iona (艾奥纳岛) , a grassy promontory with white sandy beaches, rising up out of the North Sea. Today it is a place of quiet contemplation, relatively undisturbed by the tour groups or visiting school children wandering among its enchanted ruins. Even for those who know, it is easy to forget that twelve centuries ago, these idyllic shores were the scenes of unimaginable violence.
   The monastery of Iona is the symbolic heart of Scottish Christianity, one of the oldest and most important religious centers in Western Europe. It was founded by the Irish monk Columba in the sixth century and became the focal point for the spread of the faith throughout Scotland.
   In the early centuries, the monks came to seek seclusion among the " desert" of the Atlantic O-cean, and built simple beehive-shaped stone huts where they could concentrate on their prayers and vows of poverty and obedience. Over time, however, the small community became a major pilgrimage site, and a great medieval center of learning. It developed into a training school for monks with special rooms for the copying of manuscripts called scriptoriums (抄写室) that produced works of art famous throughout Europe. Chief among these was the Book of Kells, an illuminated collection of the four gospels that was described by its Irish contemporaries as "the most precious object in the western world".
   In addition to its religious treasures, Iona also boasted an unrivaled collection of royal tombs. Most of the early Scottish kings, including the two made famous by Shakespeare—Macbeth and his victim Duncan—were interred in the monastery’s crypt.
   For centuries, the island was an oasis of peace, protected by the faith of its inhabitants and the vast ocean surrounding it. In 794, however, a ripple of fear penetrated the tranquility. Rumors reached the monks of terrible raids to the east, sister monasteries devastated by strange northern pagans. Early the next year, while the monks were celebrating a holy day, ships with prows carved to resemble serpents and dragons slipped onto the beach below the main abbey.
   Leaping onto the white sand of a shoreline, which would later bear the name "Martyr’s Bay" in memory of the slain, the raiders headed for the buildings, cutting down the monks they found along the way. Smashing open the doors, they killed anyone who tried to resist, drenching the stone floors of the chapel with blood. Anything that looked valuable was seized, including rich vestments which were ripped off of the bodies of the dead or dying.
   As the surviving monks fled in all directions, the attackers set fire to the great abbey and then raced down to the beach with their considerable loot. Seemingly in the blink of an eye they were gone. Left behind were bloody corpses, burning buildings, and a shattered community.
   Virtually the only thing left intact was the high cross of St. Martin’s, one of a dozen or so large carved monoliths that had dotted the landscape. In the side facing away from the devastated church was carved the biblical figure of Abraham with his sword raised high—as if in warning of the terrible events that had just unfolded.
   The raids on the British Isles were only the beginning of a great hammer blow that fell on an unprepared Europe. The broken bodies and the blackened shells of buildings in places like Iona would be all too common in the centuries to come.
   The suddenness of the violence left many occupants of Europe disoriented and anxious. The shock and despair can still be felt in the words of Alcuin (阿尔昆) , an Anglo-Saxon monk writing from Charlemagne’s imperial capital of Aachen after one of the first raids.
   " ...never before in Britain has such a terror appeared as this we have now suffered at the hands of the heathen.
   The fact that the word "Viking" (维京) still conjures up that image of blond-haired barbarians leaping off of dragon ships to plunder a monastery—is a testament to the trauma inflicted on Western Christendom during the three hundred years of the Viking Age. It is burned into our collective memory.
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答案 在距今天苏格兰西海岸不远处的海面上，矗立着一座名叫艾奥纳的小岛。那是从北海中升起的一个岬角，岛上绿草如茵，沙滩如银。如今，这里是个静心冥想的好地方，虽然有着充满魔幻色彩的废墟，却很少受到游客或是淘气孩童的侵扰。即便是知道这座小岛的人也很容易忘记，1200年前，这个田园般的海岸边发生过令人难以想象的暴行。 艾奥纳修道院是苏格兰基督教的核心象征，是西欧最古老、最重要的宗教中心之一。6世纪时，爱尔兰修道士科伦巴建立了这所修道院，从此这里便成了基督教在苏格兰传播教义的中心。 最初几个世纪，修道士纷纷来到大西洋这边的“荒原”隐居，在这里用石头搭建起一座座简陋的蜂窝状小屋。他们在这些石屋中专心祷告，立誓要节俭、顺从。然而，随着时间的推移，这个小小的聚居地逐渐变成了重要的朝圣之地，成了中世纪时重要的学术中心。这里发展成了培训修道士的学校，并且设有专门用来抄录典籍的缮写室，产生了许多享誉欧洲的经典作品。其中最著名的当属《凯尔经》。这部书由四部福音书组成，被当时的爱尔兰人誉为“西方世界的无上珍宝”。 除了宗教典藏外，艾奥纳小岛上还有无数王室墓地。苏格兰早期的国王大多葬在这座修道院的地下墓室中，包括因莎士比亚而为人们所熟知的麦克白和被其杀害的邓肯国王。 几个世纪以来，在海岛居民虔诚信仰的庇佑下，再加上四面环海的地理位置，小岛一直是片祥和的乐土。然而794年，这种祥和宁静的氛围被逐渐蔓延的恐慌所打破。修道士听闻一群来自北方的陌生异教徒袭击了东海岸的姐妹修道院。次年年初，当修道士们正在为一个神圣的节日欢庆时，一艘艘船头刻着类似龙蛇图案的船只悄悄驶入了主修道院南面的海岸。 入侵者跳上岸边的白沙滩，冲向各处的建筑，砍杀沿途遇到的所有修道士。他们砸开大门，杀掉任何试图抵抗的人，鲜血染红了教堂的石板。看上去值钱的物品被洗劫一空，连那些已死和垂死之人身上的精美法衣也被扒去。为纪念那些遇害的修道士，这片白色的海岸后来被称为“殉道湾”。 幸免于难的修道士四处逃散，入侵者则趁机放火烧毁了艾奥纳大教堂，然后带着他们掠夺而来的丰富“战利品”冲向海岸。似乎只是一眨眼的工夫，他们便消失了。只留下血淋淋的尸体、烧毁的建筑和支离破碎的家园。 岛上原本分布着12个由巨石雕成的十字架，最后只有一个得以完整地保存下来。《圣经》人物亚伯拉罕的雕像与疮痍满目的教堂遥遥相望。他高举利剑，似乎在预警刚刚发生的惨剧。 然而，袭击不列颠群岛只是个开始，一把巨锤正重重地砸向毫无防备的欧洲大陆。艾奥纳岛上那种身首异处、断壁残垣的景象，在接下来的几个世纪里几乎随处可见。 突如其来的暴行令许多欧洲人感到茫然失措、焦虑不安。从阿尔昆的记载中，我们依然能感受到当时人们的惶恐与绝望。阿尔昆是盎格鲁一撒克逊时期的一名修道士，居于查理曼大帝统治下的法兰克王国的都城亚琛。他写道：“……不列颠此前从未出现过如此恐怖之事，在异教徒的魔掌中我们吃尽了苦头。” 时至今日，每当提起“维京”一词，许多欧洲人的脑海中仍会浮现一群金发碧眼的野蛮人争先跳下船，在修道院烧杀抢掠的画面。这足以证明历时300年的“维京时代”给西方基督教国家带来了无比深重的苦难。这种创伤已烙印在我们集体记忆的深处。
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