Issues in Translation Then and Now: Renaissance Theories and Translation Studies Today

The aim of the volume is to contribute to a dialogue between the various theories of translation expressed in Renaissance (and to some degree medieval) treatises, commentary, and paratexts and those that are being discussed by scholars engaged in modern translation studies. Though both Renaissance and modern translation studies are rapidly expanding fields within the humanities, there seems to have been little contact between the two groups of scholars in the past. Works on the history of translation often tend to ignore the complexity and diversity of Renaissance translation theory and practice – to the point that they often deny the existence of anything approaching a coherent or scientific translation theory prior to the nineteenth century. At the same time, current commentators on Renaissance translation theory and practice are not always completely conversant with modern theories of translation, which can often provide a different perspective by which to make judgements.