Lecture 4.
Translation in
Renaissance Europe.
Translation in Renaissance
Europe.
 1. Translation
 2. Translation
France.
 3. Translation
Germany.
 4. Translation
England.
in Renaissance Italy.
in Renaissance
in Renaissance
in Renaissance
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
The Renaissance was a cultural
movement of the 14th to the 17th
centuries, beginning in Florence
and later spreading to the rest of
Europe.
It was characterized by revival of
learning based on classical sources
and gradual but widespread
educational reform.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
During this period, attitudes to classical works were
changing.
Earlier the major concern had been to pass on texts,
copying acritically, adding or removing from the
original without hesitation.
Now the emphasis was on restoring the original to
its ancient purity, removing the centuries of dust.
This new philological approach supported by
invention of printing brought about an increase in
translation output, with new principles and goals.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
Almost all the translations carried out during this
period were from Greek and Latin.
All sorts of texts were translated. The most
frequent were books on history, philosophy
and religion, together with poetry, though
there were also books on medicine, agriculture,
astrology, martial arts and mathematics.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
Although Venice dominated the printing industry
(and therefore translation), the language into
which almost all works were translated was the
vernacular of Florence, the cradle of
Humanism. There gathered a large group of lay
intellectuals with Humanist ideas who knew
Latin and often Greek.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
The translators of that time were not always
famous or prominent figures. Nevertheless, it
was their anonymous work, together with the
strong literary tradition of Florence that led to
the development of the Florentine vernacular
as the basis of the Italian national language.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
The translators of religious texts were generally
monks and priests, whereas works on science
and philosophy were translated by lay people.
The basic purpose of non-literary translation from
the classical languages into the vernacular was
to propagate the religious message or
disseminate ideas of public usefulness among
the growing number of educated people.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
The title page of the first work on
mathematics translated in Italy
by the well-known mathematician
Niccolo Tartaglia (1499-1557),
the first translator of Archimedes
and Euclid into Italian, says:
"... translated for common
convenience and usefulness. It is
so clear that every average,
uninformed and inexpert mind
will be able to understand it".
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
Pietro Marino da Foligno wrote in his preface to
the translation (1528) Palladius, a 4th century
Roman agricultural writer: "... Palladius,
worthy and ancient writer on agriculture,
translated into the vernacular, so that those
who don't know Latin may benefit, enjoy and
gain information from his work".
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
Marsilio Ficino (1433 –1499), one of
the most influential humanist
philosophers of the early Italian
Renaissance, an astrologer,
carried out the first translation of
Plato's complete existing works
into Latin.
His Florentine Academy, an attempt
to revive Plato's school, had
enormous influence on the Italian
Renaissance and the development
of European philosophy.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
The men of letters at court were often
commissioned to translate literary works by
patrons who did not know classical languages.
In the case of works for the theatre, translation
meant performance (mostly at court).
There was also a huge amount of translation of
ballads and French epic poetry, mainly for
popular use.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
Renaissance was also a dynamic
period for translation theory.
In his brief treatise "De
interpretatione recta"
(“From Straight Interpretation”)
(1420), the well-known
Humanist and historian Leonardo
Bruni (1370/74-1444) set out
rules a good translator should
follow.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
According to Bruni, the original work must be
properly understood.
The translator has to have perfect knowledge of
both the source language and the target
language, not only as regards their syntax and
vocabulary, but also their rhetorical patterns.
Bruni insisted that the author's actual style must be
reproduced, together with the rhythm of the
sentence.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
Late Renaissance was
characterized by universal
recognition of the dignity of
national languages.
Latin, however, was not discarded
by the Roman Church. The
outcome of the Council of
Trent (1545-1563) was a
fierce determination to defend
Church ideology and control
the spread of ideas with the
help of the Holy Inquisition.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
During this time printing flourished.
However, before the publication, every book was to
be approved by the religious authorities. If it
was considered unsuitable for publication, the
book was placed on a list known as the "Index of
banned books".
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
Such practice restricted the translation work.
Interestingly, many intellectuals of that period
became clergymen in order to further their
literary careers.
Most of translations during this period were literary,
especially poetry and religious. Translation of
scientific texts was minimal.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
There was a new genre in translation, namely,
travel literature, which started with publication
(between 1550 and 1590) of a large collection of
papers by Spanish and Portuguese travellers,
translated by Giovanni Battista Ramusio of
Treviso (1485-1557).
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
Many classical authors were also translated; one of
the most prolific translators of works for the
theatre during this period was Lodovico Dolce,
from Venice (1508-1568).
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
A new feature of translation was the considerable
artistic effort involved. In order to refine their
literary skills, translators often competed against
the original, which was a new approach
compared to the early Renaissance period.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
Between 1563 and 1566, Virgil's
Aeneid was translated by the
famous man of letters Annibal
Caro (1507-1566). This
translation is still studied at
school today and is considered
the first great work of
translation produced in Italy.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
Being excellent from a poetic point of view, Caro's
Aeneid is, like all the works of the time, far
removed from the original.
For Caro translation meant the creation of a text
with the same value as the original, though
distant from it.
Such views of translator-poets became the norm
for poetic translation until Romanticism and are
still held today by some practitioners.
Translation in Renaissance Italy.
One work which stands out as a classic of nonliterary translation of the period is Tacitus'
Annales, translated by the Florentine scholar
Bernardo Davanzati (1529-1606).
Translation in Renaissance France.
In France, like elsewhere in Western Europe, the
Renaissance and the introduction of printing
brought about the decline of Latin tradition in
writing, rapid development of the national
language and a considerable increase in the
number of translations.
Translation in Renaissance France.
Specific terms were coined during this period to
describe the process of translation:
traduire 'to translate' was introduced by Robert
Esperre (1503-1559) on the basis of Italian
traducere,
and the humanist Etienne Dolet (1508-1546) was
responsible for introducing traduction
'translation' and traducteur 'translator'.
Translation in Renaissance France.
Dolet is a highly symbolic
figure in Western
translation theory.
Translation in Renaissance France.
The spirit of the time had changed: the CounterReformation was spreading through France and
the Church had become acutely conscious of the
dangers of humanism and began to take
systematic action against it.
Translation in Renaissance France.
Dolet was tried for heresy by the theological faculty of
the Sorbonne on the basis of his translation of
Plato's Axiochus. He was condemned for adding a
few words in one passage. These words were seen
to cast doubt on the immortality of the soul. In
1546, Dolet was burned at the stake because his
translation had been too free. His death can be
regarded as a symbolic end to a period dominated
by humanist thought.
Translation in Renaissance France.
Dolet formulated basic principles of translation in
his work La maniere de bien traduire d'une
langue en l'autre ("How to translate well from
one language into another") published in 1540.
Translation in Renaissance France.
Dolet singles out five rules for translation:
understanding the meaning of the original text,
mastering both source and target languages,
avoiding word-for-word renderings,
using the speech of ordinary people, and
employing an appropriate tone.
The fourth principle, using the speech of ordinary
people was evidently a response to the tendency
of the 16th-century scholars to introduce
neologisms and Latin structures into the
vernacular.
Translation in Renaissance France.
The 16th century saw translations of great classical
works into French. Plutarch's writings, Homer's
Iliad, some Cicero's works were translated into
French.
There were also numerous translations from Italian
during this period (Petrarch's Sonnets among
them).
Translations from other modern languages were
restricted to English and German works.
Translation in Renaissance France.
In 1549, three years after Dolet's
execution, the French poet
Joachim du Bellay (1522-1560)
published Défense et illustration
de la langue françoise, which
dealt a severe blow to
translation.
Du Bellay was a member of a group
of young poets known as the
Pléiade school.
Translation in Renaissance France.
In his pamphlet he argued that translation was not
a "noble" genre, since it did not involve
creation.
In his opinion, translation was not patriotic or
progressive, as it imported foreign works, in
particular works of Antiquity.
Translation was presented as an obstacle to
creativity in the vernacular.
Translation in Renaissance France.
Du Bellay distinguished between poetical and nonliterary texts and considered the former
untranslatable.
The translated text was seen as unable to provide
the grace and elegance of the original.
Translation in Renaissance France.
Du Bellay's criticism of poetical translation had an
impact on writers of his time, many of whom
tried to distance themselves from translation.
The translations performed by the Pléiade can be
described as a combination of literalism and
innovation, with considerable coinage of
neologisms derived from Greek and Latin.
Translation in Renaissance France.
One of the best known French
translators of the period,
Jacques Amyot (1513-1593)
introduced several Greek works
to French readers, including
Plutarch's Lives and Longus'
Daphnis and Chloe.
Translation in Renaissance France.
Although his translations were criticized for being
too literal, Amyot's main task was to provide
absolute clarity for the French reader.
Amyot provided glosses and definitions which did
not exist in the source text.
His translation of Longus' work is said to be better
known than Longus' original work.
Translation in Renaissance France.
Amyot proposed avoiding awkward neologisms,
indicating logical connections between
sentences and paragraphs, using a simple,
natural style and harmonious phrasing.
Amyot’s translation of Plutarch has been called by
critics as the supreme effort of the French
language to equal the languages of antiquity.
Translation in Renaissance France.
A synthesis of sixteenth-century views
on translation can be found in Michel
de Montaigne's Essays (1580-1588).
Montaigne writes about a hierarchical
relationship between languages, with
classical languages at the top and
the vernacular at the bottom.
He also differentiates between aesthetic
and informative texts and sees the
latter as being less problematic for
the translator.
Translation in Renaissance Germany.
In the 14th-15th centuries German was rapidly
developing into a literary language.
Martin Luther's translation of the Bible helped to
establish a literary form of German which was
oriented towards the vernacular rather than
Latin.
Translation in Renaissance Germany.
The translations of so-called "Viennese School" of the
14th and early 15th centuries fall into two classes,
thus continuing the medieval tradition:
on the one hand, what was called aigne dewtsch, a
scholarly source-text-oriented German which
followed Latin norms,
and on the other hand translations into German in its
current written forms, free from the limits of Latin
(this was called gemaine Teutsch).
Translation in Renaissance Germany.
Niklas von Wyle (1410-1478) was convinced of the
inherent primacy, linguistic and stylistic
superiority of Latin sources, so he translated
them into German as literally as possible.
Translation in Renaissance Germany.
The humanists Albrecht von Eyb (1420-1475) and
Heinrich Steinhoewel (1412-1482) practised
a different, more pragmatic, target-oriented
translation method.
Translation in Renaissance Germany.
Albrecht von Eyb was particularly concerned with
the intelligibility of his translations.
He adapted the language and subject matter of the
comedies of the Roman playwright Plautus to
the 15th-century German popular culture and
theatrical conventions.
Translation in Renaissance Germany.
Steinhoewel followed similar translation principles.
In his translation of Aesop he introduced
numerous proverbs, rhymed verses and
allusions to topical events.
Steinhoewel justified his interpretative method of
adaptive and recreative translation with
reference to Horace's and St. Jerome's
principles.
Translation in Renaissance Germany.
Thomas Murner (1475-1537) also followed
"naturalizing" translation method.
In his translation of Virgil's Aeneid (1515) he
makes no attempt at imitating Latin participle
constructions; antiquity is transposed to 16thcentury Germany, reflecting German customs,
traditions and ideas.
Murner was proud of having resurrected Virgil's
epic from Latin death to German life.
Translation in Renaissance England.
During the first ten years of Elizabeth I's reign
(1558-1568) four times as many translations
were produced as in the previous fifty years.
The main areas of translation were the Bible and
classical literature. Demosthenes, Homer,
Plutarch and other classical authors were
translated, often by way of an intermediate
source, e.g. Sir Thomas North's translation of
Plutarch's Lives (1579) was based on Jacques
Amyot's French translation.
Translation in Renaissance England.
Different translations of the same text were often
in competition with each other: translators often
competed trying to be the first to produce and
publish their translation of a certain classical
source text.
Translation in Renaissance England.
This period was also characterized by continuing
debates about the adequacy of the vernacular
to transmit the riches of classical learning.
Some scholars saw the task of translators as a
patriotic act to improve the cultural position of
the English nation.
Nicholas Grimald, by translating Cicero's Thre
Bokes of Duties (1556) wanted to "do likewise
for my countrimen: as Italians, Spaniardes,
Dutch-men, and other foreins have liberally
done for theyrs".
Translation in Renaissance England.
Not all texts were thought equally fit for
translation.
For example, Christopher Marlowe's translations of
Ovid were banned and burned in 1586 by order
of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
English readers had to wait until 1620 for a
complete text of Boccaccio's Decameron, and
until 1694 for the whole of Rabelais' Gargantua
and Pantagruel.
Translation in Renaissance England.
Translation was viewed as means of enriching the
English language, primarily its lexicon.
On the other hand, translation was seen as a
powerful instrument in moral, political and
social instruction of new readers, above all,
middle class, who were not educated in classical
languages.
One of the aims of translating in Elizabethan
England was to give Englishmen proper
examples of social and political behaviour.
Translation in Renaissance England.
Plutarch's Lives of prominent Greeks and Romans
was regarded as an arsenal of examples to be
followed.
Among the readers of the English translation by Sir
Thomas North was William Shakespeare, who
used it when writing his three great Roman
plays: Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and
Coriolanus.
Translation in Renaissance England.
Humanist prose writer, diplomat,
scholar and translator
Thomas Elyot (1490-1546)
greatly contributed to
popularizing the classics by
his versions of Plato and
Plutarch. He also translated
works of Galen and other
ancient physicians.
Translation in Renaissance England.
His Dictionary (1538) was the first book published
in English under such title.
It gave an English equivalent for each Latin word
included. It helped to establish English as the
language of learned and practical discourse.
Translation in Renaissance England.
In the preface to his translation of St. Cyprian’s fourthcentury A sweet and Devout Sermon (1534) Elyot wrote:
I have translated this little book: not
superstitiously following the letter, which is
verily elegant, and therefore the harder to
translate into our language, but keeping the
sentence and intent of the Author.
Translation in Renaissance England.
George Chapman (1559/60–1634) is best known
for his translations of Homer. He published the
complete translations of the Iliad (1611), the
Odyssey (1614–15) and Homeric ‘Hymns’
(1616).
Translation in Renaissance England.
Chapman insisted on non-literalism and argued
that only poetic talent and inspiration can help
in the translation of poetry.
Chapman translated directly from the original, with
errors due to ignorance or haste.
He justified his ‘varietie of new wordes’, writing: "If
‘my countrey language were an usurer, he
would thank me for enriching him’.
Translation in Renaissance England.
Writing for the new readers who had little
knowledge of the societies in which the source
texts had been created affected translation
strategies.
The primary obstacle faced by translators of that
time was the inability of the English language
and culture to express the cultural diversity of
the source texts.
Translation in Renaissance England.
Translators could either expand the targetlanguage stock of words by means of
borrowings, or look within the target culture for
equivalents or near-equivalents that would
express foreign cultural phenomena.
A preference for the second option resulted in a
significant naturalization of source texts.
Translation in Renaissance England.
In his translation of Plutarch, North translates the
phenomenon 'gladiatorial combats' which was
not familiar to the English reader as follows:
"the cruell fight of fensers at vnrebated
swordes“.
Translation in Renaissance England.
During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance,
translation was seen as one of the few areas of
writing open to women.
In England, women were restricted to the
translation of religious texts only.
Translation in Renaissance England.
In 1603, John Florio (15531625), the English
translator of Montaigne and
author of an influential
Italian-English dictionary,
commented on the link
between translation and
the status of women:
since translations are always
defective, they must be
female.
Translation in Renaissance England.
Most translations made by women during the
Renaissance are more literal – literalism gave a
kind of protection as it allowed the translator to
decline all personal responsibility.
Translation in Renaissance England.
Prominent women translators of the sixteenth
century:
Mary Bassett
Anne Cooke
Queen Elizabeth
Mary Sidney the Countess of Pembroke (the sister
of Sir Philip Sidney),
and a middle-class woman, Margaret Tyler.
Translation in Renaissance England.
The English princesses, both Mary and Elizabeth,
made translations as New Year’s gifts, which
showed off their accomplishments. Mary Tudor’s
translation of the Prayer of St Thomas Aquinas,
made from Latin when she was twelve, still
survives, and so do translations by Elizabeth I.
Translation in Renaissance England.
It is common for women translators of that time
to present their translations as a private
exercise, assuring the reader that they were not
trying to show off in an inappropriate,
unfeminine manner.
Translation in Renaissance England.
Margaret Tyler, who lived in the 2nd half of the 16th
century, was an exception among women
translators of her time.
She translated a Spanish romance A Mirrour of
Princely Deedes and Knighthood (1578) in a
nonliteral manner and in the preface defended her
work and introduced positive images of women of
action, at the time when it was not considered
proper for women to be active.
Chivalry romances came into fashion as a result of
her work and continued to be translated from
Spanish into English during the next centuries.