The challenges of double translation (Old Icelandic-Latin-Old Icelandic) in medieval Iceland

Beskrivelse

In medieval Iceland, several works were written in Latin about vernacular subjects and then later translated into Old Icelandic. In most cases the Latin originals are now lost, while many of the translations have been preserved in some form or other. Almost all of these texts were hagiographical or quasi-hagiographical and closely aligned with a tradition of writing developed within the Roman Church, so that native subjects had to be redressed and given expression within a highly formalised ecclesiastical discourse; in turn, later, when the Latin was translated into Old Icelandic, a certain restoration was needed, into the vernacular, this too a formalised and traditional discourse in its own manner. In some cases, the restoration did not prove as easy as one would think for the translators, and I shall show examples where it failed miserably. I shall focus on untranslatables (which are sometimes glossed with the vernacular word), proper names, titles and verbatim citations, and how these fare in the process of double translation. Fragments only of Icelandic-Latin texts now remain, while extensive vernacular translations of locally produced Latin texts have survived. By carefully studying the Latin fragments that have survived, and comparing them to their vernacular renderings, certain translational figures begin to emerge (this will be illustrated by examples), which may help us to understand the processes at work, and even – although this is necessarily risky – aid us in restoring elements of lost Latin originals via an informed reading of their translations.

Periode	4 apr. 2019
Begivenhedstitel	Seminar on Latin-Norse Translation
Begivenhedstype	Konference
Placering	Oslo, NorgeVis på kort