The English Boccaccio: Translations and Receptions
Lead Research Organisation:
CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
Department Name: School of Modern Languages
Abstract
Context:
This highly interdisciplinary project will explore the reception of the medieval Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio in anglophone literary culture, looking at English translations of his works from the medieval period to the present day. Much work has been done on the influence of Boccaccio and his works on the literature of the English-speaking world, but to date, the question of the material presence of his works in English translation has been almost totally neglected.
Drawing on the disciplines of book history, translation studies, and comparative literature, I investigate the history of the 'English' Boccaccio, as presented to his English readerships by various translators. In focusing my study on the 'book' rather than simply the translated 'text', I explore the various ways in which Boccaccio has been mediated to his anglophone readerships over the centuries: not only by the translated text itself, but also by paratextual devices such as titles, dedications, illustrations and book jackets.
This enables the creation of a historical overview of the ways in which the foreign, medieval, and sometimes licentious source text can be incorporated into the target culture. Boccaccio's changing place in English literary culture thus provides a valuable insight into historical reading and publishing practice, as well as a history of taste.
Some work was done on the general area of Boccaccio in English translation in the 1930s-1950s, and the proceedings of a 1970 conference on the subject were published. , However, this work is now seriously outdated and there is an urgent need to revisit this subject in the light of recent discoveries and theoretical developments in the fields of book history and translation studies. At the same time, the subject of intercultural transmissions between Italy and the English-speaking world has been the subject of several major studies in recent years, and this monograph will make an important contribution to the field in terms both of the knowledge and understanding of Boccaccio's reception outside Italy.
Aims:
1. To examine the penetration of Boccaccio's works in English translation into English literary culture through a study of manuscripts, print, and digital editions.
2. To use the Boccaccio translations to draw conclusions about the historical readerships and publishing practice for imported Italian texts in the English-speaking world.
3. To assess how the material evidence compares with the conventional narratives of the 'Italian influence' on English literature.
Objectives:
1. To complete a monograph study on the history of Boccaccio in English translation entitled The English Boccaccio: Translations and Receptions.
2. To complete an article, 'The History of the Decameron in English', invited for publication in Studi sul Boccaccio.
3. To complete an up-to-date bibliography of English translations of Boccaccio, invited for publication in Studi sul Boccaccio.
Potential Applications and Benefits:
The monograph will be the first study of its kind to combine book history and translation theory in a cultural history of one author. As such it will make a major contribution to the knowledge and understanding of Boccaccio's reception in the anglophone world, a subject which is of obvious interest to scholars in Italian and English Studies, as well as those working in the broader fields of book history and translation studies. The article will be published in the world's leading Boccaccio journal, and as such is directed at an expert Italianist audience. The bibliography will primarily benefit Boccaccio specialists and those working on the Italian presence in English literature, but will also serve as a model for those undertaking similar projects for other authors in translation. My work will also be disseminated at international conferences targeted at the Italian Studies and book history audiences.
This highly interdisciplinary project will explore the reception of the medieval Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio in anglophone literary culture, looking at English translations of his works from the medieval period to the present day. Much work has been done on the influence of Boccaccio and his works on the literature of the English-speaking world, but to date, the question of the material presence of his works in English translation has been almost totally neglected.
Drawing on the disciplines of book history, translation studies, and comparative literature, I investigate the history of the 'English' Boccaccio, as presented to his English readerships by various translators. In focusing my study on the 'book' rather than simply the translated 'text', I explore the various ways in which Boccaccio has been mediated to his anglophone readerships over the centuries: not only by the translated text itself, but also by paratextual devices such as titles, dedications, illustrations and book jackets.
This enables the creation of a historical overview of the ways in which the foreign, medieval, and sometimes licentious source text can be incorporated into the target culture. Boccaccio's changing place in English literary culture thus provides a valuable insight into historical reading and publishing practice, as well as a history of taste.
Some work was done on the general area of Boccaccio in English translation in the 1930s-1950s, and the proceedings of a 1970 conference on the subject were published. , However, this work is now seriously outdated and there is an urgent need to revisit this subject in the light of recent discoveries and theoretical developments in the fields of book history and translation studies. At the same time, the subject of intercultural transmissions between Italy and the English-speaking world has been the subject of several major studies in recent years, and this monograph will make an important contribution to the field in terms both of the knowledge and understanding of Boccaccio's reception outside Italy.
Aims:
1. To examine the penetration of Boccaccio's works in English translation into English literary culture through a study of manuscripts, print, and digital editions.
2. To use the Boccaccio translations to draw conclusions about the historical readerships and publishing practice for imported Italian texts in the English-speaking world.
3. To assess how the material evidence compares with the conventional narratives of the 'Italian influence' on English literature.
Objectives:
1. To complete a monograph study on the history of Boccaccio in English translation entitled The English Boccaccio: Translations and Receptions.
2. To complete an article, 'The History of the Decameron in English', invited for publication in Studi sul Boccaccio.
3. To complete an up-to-date bibliography of English translations of Boccaccio, invited for publication in Studi sul Boccaccio.
Potential Applications and Benefits:
The monograph will be the first study of its kind to combine book history and translation theory in a cultural history of one author. As such it will make a major contribution to the knowledge and understanding of Boccaccio's reception in the anglophone world, a subject which is of obvious interest to scholars in Italian and English Studies, as well as those working in the broader fields of book history and translation studies. The article will be published in the world's leading Boccaccio journal, and as such is directed at an expert Italianist audience. The bibliography will primarily benefit Boccaccio specialists and those working on the Italian presence in English literature, but will also serve as a model for those undertaking similar projects for other authors in translation. My work will also be disseminated at international conferences targeted at the Italian Studies and book history audiences.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Guyda Armstrong (Principal Investigator) |