Post on 22-Dec-2015
Lecture 4. Translation in Renaissance Europe.
Translation in Renaissance Europe.
1. Translation in Renaissance Italy. 2. Translation in Renaissance
France. 3. Translation in Renaissance
Germany. 4. Translation in Renaissance
England.
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 non-
literary 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 Counter-
Reformation 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 non-
literary 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 16th-century 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 fourth-century 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 target-
language 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 (1553-1625), 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 BassettAnne CookeQueen 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.