John Trevisa and the English Polychronicon / Jane Beal, Ph.D.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beal, Jane.

Series:

Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies (Series)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Trevisa, John, -1402.

Trevisa, John.

Higden, Ranulf, -1364. Polychronicon.

Higden, Ranulf.

Literature, Medieval--Translations--History and criticism.

Literature, Medieval.

Literature, Medieval--Translations.

English literature--Middle English, 1100-1500--History and criticism.

English literature.

Physical Description:

pages cm.

Place of Publication:

Tempe : Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2012.

Summary:

In this new academic monograph, Jane Beal examines the rhetorical strategies John Trevisa used to establish has authority and justify his translation of Ranulf Higden's Latin Polychronicon into English. She pays particular attention to the translator's use of paratextual material, which includes two prefaces-"A Dialogue between the Lord in the Clerk on Translation" and a prefatory letter of dedication to Trevisa's patron, Lord Thomas Berkeley-and numerous intertextual notes. By considering the reception history of key manuscripts and later printed editions of the English Polychronicon, Beal also demonstrates the wider significance of Trevisa's translation. While the Constitutions of Arundel in 1409 denied English readers a complete Bible in English, Trevisa's translation of the universal history given in the Polychronicon provided English readers with fundamental and accessible biblical paraphrases. In addition to shedding new light on Trevisa's remarkable translation, this book will cause scholars of medieval literature, history, and theology to think differently about the impact of translation on late-medieval culture. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction: Authority and translation in late medieval England

John Trevisa: life, works, historical contexts

Translating history: the tower of Babel, tongues of fire and the tasks of the translator

Translating tradition: Trevisa's canon of Christian translators and translations

Translating truth: vernacular preaching, English bibles and Trevisa's audience

Translating authority: the philosopher and the saint

Translating culture: manuscripts, printed editions, and early modern materia

Conclusion: The purpose of John Trevisa's rhetorical strategies.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9780866984850

0866984852

OCLC:

822971460