The princess who rewrote history - Leonora Neville

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

Alexios Komnenos,

拜占庭皇帝阿歷克塞一世，

Byzantine emperor,

led his army to meet the Scythian hordes

領導他的軍隊在戰役中

迎戰一群塞西亞人。

in battle.

For good luck,

為了帶來好運，他會帶著

he carried one of the holiest relics

基督教界最神聖的聖物之一：

in Christendom:

the veil that had belonged

曾經屬於聖母瑪利亞的面紗。

to the Virgin Mary.

Unfortunately, it didn’t help.

不幸的是，它沒有幫上忙。

Not only was his army defeated,

不但他的軍隊被擊敗，

but as they fled,

在逃亡時，

the Emperor was stabbed in the buttocks.

這位皇帝的屁股還被刺傷。

To make matters worse, a strong wind

更糟的是，一陣強風

made the relic too heavy to carry,

讓這聖物變得太重無法攜帶，

so he stashed it in some bushes

所以他在逃亡過程中把它

as he escaped.

藏暱在樹叢中。

But even as he fled,

但即使他是在逃，

he managed to slay some Scythians

他仍然殺死了一些塞西亞人，

and rescue a few comrades.

並拯救了幾個夥伴。

At least, this is how Alexios' daughter

至少，阿歷克塞的女兒安娜

在近六十年後寫下這個故事時

Anna recounted the story,

writing nearly 60 years later.

是這樣講述的。

She spent the last decade of her long life

她長壽人生中的最後十年，

creating a 500-page history

她寫了一本五百頁的書，叫做

of her father’s reign called The Alexiad.

《阿歷克塞傳》， 內容是她父親統治的歷史。

Written in Greek, the book was modeled

這本書是用希臘文寫的，

after ancient Greek epics

並以古希臘史詩 和歷史文學作品當作典範。

and historical writings.

But Anna had a different, trickier task

但安娜和這些傳統的作家不同，

than the writers in these traditions:

她有個更棘手的任務：

as a princess writing

身為一名為自己的家人 撰寫歷史的公主，

about her own family,

she had to balance her loyalty to her kin

她得要在對家族的忠誠

和她精確描述事件的義務 之間找到平衡，

with her obligation

to portray events accurately,

navigating issues like Alexios’s

引導各種議題，像是阿歷克塞

embarrassing stab to the buttocks.

屁股被刺傷的難堪事件。

A lifetime of study and participation

安娜一生都在研究 和參與她父親的治理，

in her father’s government

prepared Anna for this undertaking.

讓她準備好可以來寫這本書。

Anna was born in 1083,

安娜生於 1083 年，

shortly after her father seized control

她出生前不久，她父親才剛 取得羅馬帝國的控制權，

of the Roman Empire

following a decade of brutal civil wars

在這之前則是長達十年的 殘酷內戰以及叛亂。

and revolts.

The empire was deep in decline

他掌權時，帝國正在嚴重衰敗中，

when he came to power,

and threatened from all sides:

且受到各方威脅：

by the Seljuk Turks in the East,

東邊有塞爾柱帝國，

the Normans in the West,

西邊有諾曼第人，

and Scythian raiders to the north.

北邊有塞西亞的掠奪者。

Over the course of Anna’s childhood

在安娜的童年和青少女時期，

and adolescence,

Alexios fought constant military campaigns

阿歷克塞常常會發動軍事戰役

to secure the frontiers of his empire,

來確保他的帝國的邊界安全，

even striking up an uneasy alliance

甚至和十字軍結盟，

with the Crusaders.

這是件很不容易的事。

Meanwhile in Constantinople,

同時，在君士坦丁堡，

Anna fought her own battle.

安娜也有自己的仗要打。

She was expected to study subjects

她被期望要去學習

considered proper

拜占庭公主應該要學習的科目，

for a Byzantine princess,

like courtly etiquette and the Bible,

比如宮廷禮儀和聖經，

but preferred classical myth

但她偏愛的是古典神話和哲學。

and philosophy.

To access this material, she had to learn

為了使用這些素材，

她得要學習讀和說古希臘文，

to read and speak Ancient Greek,

by studying secretly at night.

做法是在晚上偷偷學習。

Eventually her parents realized

最終，她的父母 了解到她有多認真，

how serious she was,

and provided her with tutors.

而提供她私人教師。

Anna expanded her studies

安娜將她的學習領域

to classical literature, rhetoric,

擴展到古典文學、修辭學、

history, philosophy, mathematics,

歷史、哲學、數學、

astronomy, and medicine.

天文學，和醫學。

One scholar even complained

甚至有一位學者抱怨

that her constant requests

她經常要求更多亞里斯多德評論，

for more Aristotle commentaries

were wearing out his eyes.

都快把他搞瞎了。

At age fifteen,

安娜在十五歲時，嫁給了 尼基弗魯斯布林尼烏斯，

Anna married Nikephoros Bryennios

to quell old conflicts

以平息她的家人 和強化阿歷克塞統治之間

between their families

and strengthen Alexios’s reign.

存在已久的衝突。

Fortunately, Anna and Nikephoros ended up

幸運的是，安娜和尼基弗魯斯

sharing many intellectual interests,

有很多共同的知識興趣，

hosting and debating

他們會招待當時的 重要學者並與他們辯論。

the leading scholars of the day.

Meanwhile, Alexios’s military excursions

同時，阿歷克塞的軍隊旅行

began to pay off,

開始有成果，

restoring many of the empire’s

恢復了許多以前屬於帝國的領土。

former territories.

As her father aged,

當安娜的父親年邁，

Anna and her husband helped her parents

她和她先生協助她的父母

with their imperial duties.

處理帝國的事務。

During this time,

據說在這段時間，安娜支持

Anna reportedly advocated for

just treatment of the people

在人民和政府有爭執時，

in their disputes with the government.

給予人民公正的待遇。

After Alexios’s death,

在阿歷克塞過世後，

Anna’s brother John ascended to the throne

安娜的弟弟約翰登上王位，

and Anna turned back

安娜則回去研究哲學和做學問。

to philosophy and scholarship.

Her husband had written a history

她先生所寫的歷史中

arguing that his grandfather

指出他的祖父

would have made a better emperor

本來可以成為 比阿歷克塞更好的皇帝，

than Alexios,

but Anna disagreed.

但安娜不同意。

She began working on the Alexiad,

她開始寫《阿歷克塞傳》，

which made the case for her father's

提出論據，說明她父親 身為皇帝的優點。

merits as emperor.

Spanning the late 11th and early 12th

《阿歷克塞傳》時間 橫跨拜占庭歷史的

centuries of Byzantine history,

十一世紀末期和十二世紀初期，

the Alexiad recounts

the tumultuous events of Alexios’s reign,

記述了阿歷克塞 治理期間的混亂事件

and Anna’s own reactions to those events,

以及安娜自己對那些事件的反應，

like bursting into tears at the thought

比如一想到她父母和先生的死亡，

of the deaths of her parents and husband.

就會大哭出來。

She may have included these emotional passages

她在書中納入這些情緒性的段落，

in hopes that they would make her writing

可能是希望讓她的作品

more palatable to a society

能更符合當時社會的口味，

that believed women shouldn't

因為社會相信女性不應該 寫關於戰役和皇帝的內容。

write about battles and empires.

While her loyalty to her father

她對她父親的忠誠很明顯呈現在

was evident in her favorable account

她對他的治理多是做好的描述，

of his reign, she also included criticism

但她也寫了些批評 和她對於事件的意見。

and her opinions of events.

In the centuries after her death,

在安娜過世後的幾個世紀，

Anna’s Alexiad was copied over and over,

她的《阿歷克塞傳》一再被複製，

and remains an invaluable

至今，都還是本無價的書，

eyewitness account

of Alexios’s reign today.

對於阿歷克塞的統治 做了見證性的描述。

And through her epic historical narrative,

透過她史詩級的歷史敘事，

Anna Komnene secured

安娜科穆寧娜也在

her own place in history.

歷史上穩固了她自己的地位。