The princess who rewrote history - Leonora Neville

翻译人员: Ming Liu 校对人员: dai shijie

Alexios Komnenos,

拜占庭皇帝，

Byzantine emperor,

约翰二世·科穆宁，

led his army to meet the Scythian hordes

带领他的军队，

in battle.

去迎战斯基泰人。

For good luck,

为了得到好运，

he carried one of the holiest relics

他带着一件在基督教世界中

in Christendom:

最神圣的遗物之一：

the veil that had belonged

属于圣母玛利亚

to the Virgin Mary.

的面纱。

Unfortunately, it didn’t help.

然而这对他并没有帮助，

Not only was his army defeated,

他的军队不仅被击败了，

but as they fled,

并且当他们逃跑时，

the Emperor was stabbed in the buttocks.

皇帝的臀部被刺伤了。

To make matters worse, a strong wind

更糟糕的是，

made the relic too heavy to carry,

强风使得遗物太重而无法携带。

so he stashed it in some bushes

所以当他逃跑时，

as he escaped.

把它藏在了灌木丛中。

But even as he fled,

但是即使他逃跑了，

he managed to slay some Scythians

他设法杀死了一些斯基泰人，

and rescue a few comrades.

并且解救了几名队友。

At least, this is how Alexios' daughter

至少这是约翰二世的女儿安娜

Anna recounted the story,

在将近60年后

writing nearly 60 years later.

所回忆的故事。

She spent the last decade of her long life

她花费了她漫长生命中的最后十年，

creating a 500-page history

创作了五百页的历史书，

of her father’s reign called The Alexiad.

这本历史书讲述关于她父亲的统治， 书名为《约翰二世》。

Written in Greek, the book was modeled

这本书是用希腊语书写的，

after ancient Greek epics

仿照了古希腊史诗

and historical writings.

和历史书的写法。

But Anna had a different, trickier task

然而与传统的作家相比，

than the writers in these traditions:

安娜有一个不同的且更棘手的任务，

as a princess writing

作为一名

about her own family,

撰写有关于她自己家庭事迹的公主，

she had to balance her loyalty to her kin

她不得不平衡

with her obligation

她对家族的忠诚，

to portray events accurately,

与准确描述事实的义务，

navigating issues like Alexios’s

例如描述类似刺伤约翰二世的臀部

embarrassing stab to the buttocks.

这样尴尬的事情。

A lifetime of study and participation

她在她父亲的政府

in her father’s government

学习和工作了一生，

prepared Anna for this undertaking.

这使得安娜可以承担这项任务。

Anna was born in 1083,

安娜出生于1083年，

shortly after her father seized control

她是在她父亲控制罗马帝国不久以后

of the Roman Empire

出生的。

following a decade of brutal civil wars

接下来的十年是残酷的内战，

and revolts.

以及起义。

The empire was deep in decline

在皇帝掌权的时候，

when he came to power,

帝国快速衰落，

and threatened from all sides:

并受到各方的威胁；

by the Seljuk Turks in the East,

被东方的土耳其人、

the Normans in the West,

西方的诺曼人、

and Scythian raiders to the north.

以及北方的斯基泰人入侵者所威胁。

Over the course of Anna’s childhood

在安娜的童年

and adolescence,

和青春期，

Alexios fought constant military campaigns

约翰二世一直在进行军事行动

to secure the frontiers of his empire,

以保护他的帝国的边境，

even striking up an uneasy alliance

甚至打破了与十字军之间

with the Crusaders.

不稳定的联盟。

Meanwhile in Constantinople,

与此同时，在君士坦丁堡，

Anna fought her own battle.

安娜为自己而战。

She was expected to study subjects

人们期待她去学习

considered proper

那些适合拜占庭公主

for a Byzantine princess,

的课程，

like courtly etiquette and the Bible,

比如宫廷礼仪和圣经。

but preferred classical myth

但是她自己喜欢

and philosophy.

古典神话以及哲学。

To access this material, she had to learn

为了获得这类资料，

to read and speak Ancient Greek,

她不得不晚上偷偷地学习

by studying secretly at night.

古希腊语的阅读和口语。

Eventually her parents realized

最终她的父母意识到，

how serious she was,

她是认真的，

and provided her with tutors.

并为她提供了老师。

Anna expanded her studies

安娜将她的学习

to classical literature, rhetoric,

扩展到了古典文学、修辞学、

history, philosophy, mathematics,

历史、哲学、数学、

astronomy, and medicine.

天文学和医学。

One scholar even complained

一位学者甚至抱怨

that her constant requests

她一直在要求

for more Aristotle commentaries

更多亚里士多德的评论，

were wearing out his eyes.

并且从未停止过。

At age fifteen,

十五岁的时候，

Anna married Nikephoros Bryennios

安娜与尼基弗鲁斯·布林尼乌斯结婚，

to quell old conflicts

以平息他们家族之间的

between their families

旧曾经的冲突，

and strengthen Alexios’s reign.

并加强约翰二世的统治。

Fortunately, Anna and Nikephoros ended up

幸运的是，安娜和尼基弗鲁斯最终

sharing many intellectual interests,

有着许多知识方面的共同兴趣，

hosting and debating

比如讨论

the leading scholars of the day.

当时的一些主要学者的观点。

Meanwhile, Alexios’s military excursions

与此同时，约翰二世的军事行动

began to pay off,

开始有了起色，

restoring many of the empire’s

收复了许多

former territories.

帝国曾经的领土。

As her father aged,

随着她父亲的老去，

Anna and her husband helped her parents

安娜和她的丈夫

with their imperial duties.

帮助她的父母管理国家。

During this time,

在这期间，

Anna reportedly advocated for

安娜主张

just treatment of the people

合理对待

in their disputes with the government.

人民与政府的纠纷。

After Alexios’s death,

在约翰二世死后，

Anna’s brother John ascended to the throne

安娜的兄弟约翰登上了王位，

and Anna turned back

安娜转身

to philosophy and scholarship.

投入到哲学的研究中。

Her husband had written a history

她的丈夫写了一本历史书

arguing that his grandfather

评论他的祖父，

would have made a better emperor

他说他的祖父与约翰二世相比

than Alexios,

会成为一个更好的皇帝。

but Anna disagreed.

但安娜不同意，

She began working on the Alexiad,

她开始撰写《约翰二世》，

which made the case for her father's

研究她的父亲

merits as emperor.

作为一名君主的优点。

Spanning the late 11th and early 12th

《约翰二世》叙述了在拜占庭历史

centuries of Byzantine history,

拜占庭历史中，

the Alexiad recounts

11世纪末和12世纪初之际，

the tumultuous events of Alexios’s reign,

约翰二世统治时期的动荡事件，

and Anna’s own reactions to those events,

以及安娜自己对这些事件的反应。

like bursting into tears at the thought

例如一想起她父母和丈夫的死去

of the deaths of her parents and husband.

就流出的泪水。

She may have included these emotional passages

她也许在这些情感性充满感情的文章中，

in hopes that they would make her writing

加入了希望，

more palatable to a society

希望社会可以接受

that believed women shouldn't

女性也可以

write about battles and empires.

记录战争和帝国统治。

While her loyalty to her father

尽管她对她父亲的忠诚

was evident in her favorable account

在她对他统治的描述中很明显，

of his reign, she also included criticism

她同时也加入了她自己的

and her opinions of events.

批评和看法。

In the centuries after her death,

在她去世后的几个世纪中，

Anna’s Alexiad was copied over and over,

安娜的著作《约翰二世》被 一遍又一遍地重新印刷，

and remains an invaluable

并且在当今

eyewitness account

仍然是有关约翰二世的统治的

of Alexios’s reign today.

无价的资料。

And through her epic historical narrative,

通过她对历史的史诗般的描述，

Anna Komnene secured

安娜·科穆宁得以保证

her own place in history.

她在历史中独一无二的地位。