Murray State University
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Global Language/Spanish Translation and Interpretation
Minor
Nonprofit Leadership Studies
Institution 23-24
Murray State University
KY House District #
5
KY Senate District #
1
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Robert (Moses) Fritz, PhD
Department
Dept. of Global Languages and Theatre Arts
Abstract
Spanish humanist Pedro Mexía (1497-1551) wrote two highly influential texts in the sixteenth century, the Silva de varia lección (1540) and the Historia imperial y cesárea (1545), which were, notably, written in Spanish, a vernacular language, as opposed to Latin, the academic language of the age. As these books presented previously inaccessible scientific and historical knowledge to the common person, they were soon translated into several languages, achieving widespread fame and influence. However, the texts have been mostly forgotten and have seen little study in recent times. Nevertheless, the Silva and the Historia can help us better understand the politics of translation in the Early Modern Era: these books feature overtly ideological content, clearly praising the Catholic emperor Charles V (r. 1519-1556), as Mexía hoped to earn a position in his service. The societal conditions in other countries of the time, however, likely pressured foreign translators to alter Mexía’s bias to better fit their own national ideologies. This project explored the changes made by such translators and the potential motivations for their choices. Through continued research and a trip to the Newberry Library in Chicago, where otherwise inaccessible copies of Mexía’s texts are held, we compared translations of these works in several languages, discussing the ideological factors behind decisions made by the translators to alter or omit particular passages. Specifically, these findings compared the ideological contexts of Counter Reformation, Imperial Spain with Protestant England under the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I as shown through the translations of the Silva and the Historia during that period.
Included in
Cultural History Commons, European History Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Language Interpretation and Translation Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons, Political History Commons, Social History Commons, Spanish Literature Commons, Translation Studies Commons
Pedro Mexía and the Politics of Translation in the Early Modern World
Spanish humanist Pedro Mexía (1497-1551) wrote two highly influential texts in the sixteenth century, the Silva de varia lección (1540) and the Historia imperial y cesárea (1545), which were, notably, written in Spanish, a vernacular language, as opposed to Latin, the academic language of the age. As these books presented previously inaccessible scientific and historical knowledge to the common person, they were soon translated into several languages, achieving widespread fame and influence. However, the texts have been mostly forgotten and have seen little study in recent times. Nevertheless, the Silva and the Historia can help us better understand the politics of translation in the Early Modern Era: these books feature overtly ideological content, clearly praising the Catholic emperor Charles V (r. 1519-1556), as Mexía hoped to earn a position in his service. The societal conditions in other countries of the time, however, likely pressured foreign translators to alter Mexía’s bias to better fit their own national ideologies. This project explored the changes made by such translators and the potential motivations for their choices. Through continued research and a trip to the Newberry Library in Chicago, where otherwise inaccessible copies of Mexía’s texts are held, we compared translations of these works in several languages, discussing the ideological factors behind decisions made by the translators to alter or omit particular passages. Specifically, these findings compared the ideological contexts of Counter Reformation, Imperial Spain with Protestant England under the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I as shown through the translations of the Silva and the Historia during that period.