The Temporality of Music in Sir Orfeo

《奧菲歐爵士》(Sir Orfeo) 是一首十三世紀晚期至十四世紀初期的傳奇敘事詩，其中重複出現的時空特性強調出奧菲爾斯傳統中「失去」的主題。克服失去的難題顯示了在無常的世界中維持恆常的困頓—如何在娑婆的世間找尋精神的寄託所在，以解失去對於個人時空感受所造成的罣礙，體驗生命的當下？於多數奧菲爾斯版本之中，到冥界挽回尤瑞柢思 (Eurydice) 的旅程是一個重要的場景，其突顯了在無常之中對於秩序與生命延續 (continuity) 的訴求。這首詩中，不同的延續觀出現於聽覺導向的人間王國與視覺導向的精靈王國，再再顯示了維持恆常的重要性。作為重回秩序的工具，奧菲歐的豎琴為此議題提供了重要的線索。問題的重心在於音樂中協調時空的力量，也就是所謂的共時性，其中蘊涵了奧菲爾斯文本中自身與世界的關係，及其與變動時空，延續感，以及重建秩序的關聯。 奧古斯都 (St. Augustine) 的《音樂論》(De musica) 從八世紀晚期到十五世紀以來一直都是一部影響深遠的著作，為音樂中的時間經驗提供了完整的哲學分析。從奧古斯都的音樂時間觀所呈現的先驗及秩序概念出發，此論文目的在於檢視奧菲歐的豎琴中所顯示出中古時期對於無常 (temporalia) 與先驗(transcendence) 的關懷主題。此項研究在於一種經由音樂與時空所協調出的經驗感受。除了探討人類王國與精靈王國之間的辯證關係，也揭示了《奧菲歐爵士》對於存在、當下、以及人類價值 (humanity) 所表現出來的核心態度。誠如奧菲歐與野外動物們共享短暫的和諧經驗所示 (272-80)，奧古斯都的先驗及永恆觀與奧菲歐豎琴中變動的感官特性並不相符。儘管如此，他對於靈魂律動所提出的解釋，以及記憶是一種出於心智印象 (phantasiai) 的看法，為我們提供檢驗精靈王國時空感的理論基礎。 為了解釋音樂中的和諧如何經由時間經驗讓奧菲歐在變動的世界中維持恆心，此篇論文分成四個章節：第一章介紹相關主題及評論。第二章介紹 中古時期與奧菲爾斯神化相關的音樂理論背景並且闡釋奧古斯都音樂論中的時間觀。在第三章中，我將進一步分析《奧菲歐爵士》中的時空觀。奧菲歐的豎琴所帶來的和諧經驗將會以個人內在與變動外在的互動回饋機制來檢視。這樣的內外交流呈現出一種變動的先驗觀，將永恆寄託在一種有機變動中所體驗的延續感。 其同時也揭露了自身與世界互動的關鍵模式，透過精神蛻變 (metamorphosis) 和冥界之旅等面向，增進我們了解失去及無常的主題。最後，我將在第四章以豎琴的社會意義作結，解釋其對於口說傳統的文化傳承帶來什麼樣的影響，並提供其他奧菲爾斯文本一個不同的角度來觀看自身與世界的關係。Loss, the dominant theme in the Orphic tradition, is accentuated by the recurring issue of temporality in Sir Orfeo, a late thirteenth or early fourteenth century romance. The difficulty of overcoming loss posts the question of finding spiritual residence and maintaining spiritual progress in the temporal world. The underworld journey to retrieving Eurydice, as a major scene in most adaptations of the myth, signifies the quest of order and continuity through changes. Such an issue of maintaining constancy is highlighted by the different features of continuity appearing in the hearing-oriented human kingdom and the sight-oriented fairy world. Orfeo’s harping, as the means for recovery, offers a significant clue in viewing this issue. The question falls on the meditative power of music itself, i.e. the contemporal experience of sentiments, which reveals the particular self-world relationship embedded in the Orphic texts and its relation to temporality, duration, and the restoration of order. Augustine’s De musica, which had been an influential work from the late eighth century to the fifteenth century (Fitzgerald 575-76), provides an overall philosophical illustration on the experience of time in music and its relation to maintaining order. Deriving from Augustine’s idea of how the experience of time in music contributes to an understanding of transcendence and order, this thesis aims to examine the medieval concern of temporalia and transcendence manifested in Orfeo’s harping. It is a study of a relationship in space and experience of time that is negotiated through music, which explores the dialectic relationship between Orfeo’s kingdom and the fairyland, and also reveals essential attitude toward existence, presence, and humanity in Sir Orfeo. Although Augustine’s conception of timeless transcendence does not match the temporal and sensual nature of Orfeo’s harping, as seen in the temporary harmony Orfeo shares with the wild animals (272-80), his exposition on the movement of the soul, together with the explication of memory as images (i.e. phantasiai) operated in the motions of the mind, provide us a theoretical basis for examining the temporality of the fairy world. To illustrate how the harmonic order generated through the experience of time in music contributes to the maintenance of internal consistency within the temporal world, this thesis is divided into four chapters: Chapter one introduces relevant issues and literary criticism. Chapter two offers a detailed explanation of the historical background of medieval music theories, the associated allegorical readings of the Orphic texts, and Augustine’s conception of time in the experience of music. In chapter three, I further analyze the temporality of music in Sir Orfeo and distinguish two types of temporality, that of Orfeo’s court and that of the fairyland. The harmonic relationship maintained by Orfeo’s harping is examined in terms of the reciprocal interaction between the inner self and the operating world, which prescribes continuity in temporal transcendence and reveals a significant mode of self-world relationship. Such a study contributes to our understanding of the theme of loss and change in relation to spiritual metamorphosis and the underworld journey. Finally, I conclude in chapter four with the social significance of the harping in order to examine the cultural legacy of the bardic tradition. Through the examination of the mediation of music, I offer an alternative view on the self-world relationship in the Orphic texts