Rhetoric, Hermeneutics, and Translation in the Middle Ages: Academic Traditions and Vernacular Texts (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature) [Hardcover]

Rita Copeland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 22, 1991 | ISBN-10: 0521385172 | ISBN-13: 978-0521385176

This is the first book to consider the rise of translation as part of a broader history of critical discourses from classical Rome to the late Middle Ages, and sheds light on its crucial role in the development of vernacular European culture.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is an extremely valuable book, thought-provoking for anyone interested in the medieval manners of text-production." James J. Murphy, Manuscripta

"...an excellent account of the development of translation and rhetoric and their relation to literature up to the fifteenth century....essential reading for anybody interested in medieval vernacular translation. Its marshalling of evidence is comprehensive, and it zeroes in on what is important. It also gives a clear story about what went on and about the literary forces under which the techniques described developed....Ultimately the major value of the book lies in the questions it poses, for it has that most important characteristic of any book that claims to be innovative: the courage to ask questions, to answer them by carefully gathered evidence, and in so doing to shake established theories and habits of thought." L. G. Kelly, Allegorica

"Rita Copeland is an extraordinary thinker. In an interpretative tour de force, she does nothing less in [this book] than to demonstrate and explain the cultural circumstances in which a concept of literary originality arose....it is a book that must be read, and by a large public. It is so learned, so compelling, and so challenging that it will surely become required reading, not only for medievalists, classicists, and historians of rhetoric (its most obvious audiences), but for linguists, philosophers, translators, and, indeed, for all who are interested in the ideological and practical foundations of the very practices in which we engage." Rhetoric Society Quarterly

"...exciting to read....[Copeland] is clearly well-read in theory, and she plies the complicating analytical perspectives of recent theorists (especially Roman Jakobson's now-canonical metaphor/metonomy opposition and the hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Ricoeur) with a good deal of suppleness....She is clearly a formidable authority on the traditions she explores....Ph.D. students in medieval studies, and generally anyone looking for research topics in the field, would do well to comb her book carefully, as she generates exciting avenues for scholarly exploration on every page....[M]edieval literature and criticism will be transformed by Rita Copeland." Douglas Robinson, Canadian Review of Comparative Literature

Book Description

This first book to consider the rise of translation as part of a broader history of critical discourses from classical Rome to the late Middle Ages sheds light on the crucial role of translation in the development of vernacular European culture.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 309 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (February 22, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521385172
• ISBN-13: 978-0521385176
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,420,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.