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forty centuries of ink-第14章

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Runic Inscription。 Few of their Temples were

cover'd; and the largest observ'd by Wormius (at

Kialernes in Island) was 120 foot in length; and 60

in breadth。



〃The next Monument of Age is their Edda

Islandorum; the meaning of which Appellation they

that publish the Book hardly pretend to understand。

As far as I can give the Reader any satisfaction;

he is to。 know that Island was first inhabited (in

the year 874) by a Colony of Norwegians; who

brought hither the Traditions of their Forefathers;

in certain metrical Composures; which (as is usual

with Men transplanted into a Foreign Land) were

here more zealously and carefully preserv'd and

kept in memory than by the Men of Norway themselves。

About 240 years after this (A。 D。 1114)

their History began to be written by one Saemund;

surnam'd Frode or the wise; who (in nine years'

travel through Italy; Germany and England) had

amass'd together a mighty Collection of Historical

Treatises。 With these he return'd full fraught into

Island; where he also drew up an account of

the affairs of his own Country。 Many of his

Works are now said to be lost: But there is still an

Edda; consisting of several Odes (whence I suspect

its Name is derived) written by many several hands;

and at different times; which bears his Name。

The Book is a Collection of Mythological Fables;

relating to the ancient State and Behaviour of the

Great Woden and his followers; in terms poetical

and adapted to the Service of those that were employ'd

in the composure of their old Rhymes and Sonnets。



〃There is likewise extant a couple of Norwegian

Histories of good Authentic Credit; which explains

a great many particulars relating to the Exploits of

the Danish Kings in Great Britain; which our own

Historians have either wholly omitted or very

darkly recorded。 The former of these was written

soon after the year 1130; by one Theodoric a Monk;

who acknowledges his whole Fabrick to be built

upon Tradition; and that the old Northern History

is no where now to be had save only ab Islendingorum

antiquis Carminibus。



〃 'Tis a very discouraging Censure which Sir

William Temple passes upon all the Accounts given

us of the Affairs of this Island; before the Romans

came and Invaded it。 The Tales (says he) we have

of what pass'd before Caesar's Time; of Brute and

his Trojans; of many Adventures and Successions;

are cover'd with the Rust of Time; or Involv'd in

the Vanity of Fables or pretended Traditions;

which seem to all Men obscure or uncertain; but to

be forged at pleasure by the Wit or Folly of their

first Authors; and not to be regarded。 And again;

I know few ancient Authors upon this Subject (of

the British History) worth the pains of perusal; and

of Dividing or Refining so little Gold out of so much

course Oar; or from so much Dross。 But some

other Inferiour People may think this worth their

pains; since all Men are not born to be Ambassadors:

And; accordingly; we are told of a very Eminent

Antiquary who has thought fit to give his

Labours in this kind the Title of Aurum; ex Stercore。

There's a deal of Servile Drudgery requir'd

to the Discovery of these riches; and such as every

Body will not stoop to: for few Statesmen and

Courtiers (as one is lately said to have observ'd in

his own Case) care for travelling in Ireland; or

Wales; purely to learn the Language。



〃A diligent Enquirer into our old British Antiquities

would rather observe (with Industrious Leland)

that the poor Britains; being harass'd by

those Roman Conquerours with continual Wars;

could neither have leisure nor thought for the

penning of a Regular History: and that afterwards

their Back…Friends; the Saxons; were (for a good

while) an Illiterate Generation; and minded nothing

but Killing and taking Possession。 So that

'tis a wonder that even so much remains of the

Story of those Times as the sorry Fragments of

Gildas; who appears to have written in such a

Consternation; that what he has left us looks more

like the Declamation of an Orator; hired to expose

the miserable Wretches; than any Historical Account

of their Sufferings。〃



Palgrave asserts that reading and writing were no

longer mysteries after the pagan age; but were still

acquirements almost wholly confined to the clergy。



The word 〃clericus〃 or 〃clerk;〃 became synonymous

with penman; the sense in which it is still most

usually employed。 If a man could write; or even

read; his knowledge was considered as proof presumptive

that he was in holy orders。 If kings and great

men had occasion to authenticate any document; they

subscribed the 〃sign〃 of the cross opposite to the place

where the 〃clerk〃 had written their name。 Hence

we say; to sign a deed or a letter。



Books (MSS。) were extremely rare amongst the

Scandinavian and northern nations。 Before their

communication with the Latin missionaries; wood appears

to have been the material upon which their

runes were chiefly written: and the verb 〃write;〃

which is derived from a Teutonic root; signifying to

scratch or tear; is one of the testimonies of the usage。

Their poems were graven upon small staves or rods;

one line upon each face of the rod; and the Old English

word 〃stave;〃 as applied to a stanza; is probably

a relic of the practice; which; in the early ages; prevailed

in the West。 Vellum or parchment afterwards

supplied the place of these materials。 Real paper;

manufactured from the pellicle of the Egyptian reed

or papyras; was still used occasionally in Italy; but

it was seldom exported to the countries beyond the

Alps; and the elaborate preparation of the vellum;

upon which much greater care was bestowed than in

the modern manufacture; rendered it a costly article;

so much so; that a painstaking clerk could find it

worth his while to erase the writing of an old book;

in order to use the blank pages for another manuscript。

The books thus rewritten were called 〃codices rescripti;〃

or 〃palimpsests。〃 The evanescent traces of

the first layer of characters may occasionally be

discerned beneath the more recent text which has been

imposed upon them。



In Ireland; first known as the Isle of Saints; was

founded in the seventh century a great school of

learning which included writing and illuminating;

which passed to the English by way of the monasteries

created by Irish monks in Scotland。 Their earliest

existing MSS。 are said to belong to that period。 In

the Irish scriptoriums (rooms or cells for writing) of

the Benedictine monasteries where they were prepared;

so particular were the monks that the scribes were

forbidden to use artificial light for fear of injuring the

manuscripts。



Most interesting and entertaining are the observations

of Falconer Madan; a modern scholar of some

repute。 Of the history of writing in ink during the

〃Dark Ages〃 he says:



〃In the seventh and eighth centuries we find the

first tendency to form national hands; resulting in

the Merovingian or Frankish hand; the Lombardic

of Italy; and the Visigothic of Spain。 These are

the first difficult bands which we encounter; and

when we remember that the object of writing is to

be clear and distinct; and that the test of a good

style is that it seizes on the essential points in

which letters differ; and puts aside the flourishes

and ornaments which disguise the simple form; we

shall see how much a strong influence was needed

to prevent writing from becoming obscure and degraded。

That influence was found in Charles the Great。



〃In the field of writing it has been granted to no

person but Charles the Great to influence profoundly

the history of the alphabet。 With rare

insight and rarer taste he discountenanced the prevalent

Merovingian hand; and substituted in eclectic

hand; known as the Carolingian Minuscule; which

way still be regarded as a model of clearness and

elegance。 The chief instrument in this reform was

Alcuin of York; whom Charles placed; partly for

this purpose; at the head of the School of Tours in

A。 D。 796。 The selection of an Englishman for

the post naturally leads us to inquire what hands

were then used in England; and what amount of

English influence the Carolingian Minuscule; the

foundation of our modern styles; exhibits。



〃If we gaze in wonder on the personal influence

of Charles the Great in reforming handwriting; we

shall be still more struck by the spectacle presented

to us by Ireland in the sixth; seventh and eighth

centuries。 It is the great marvel in the history of

writing。 Modern historians have at last appreciated

the blaze of life; religions; literary; and artistic;

which was kindled in the 'Isle of Saints' within

a century after St。 Patrick's coming (about A。 D。

450); how the enthusiasm kindled by Christianity

in the Celtic nature so far transcended the limits of

the island; and indeed of Great Britain; that Irish

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