Some Observations on the First Middle English Translation of the Revelation of John
Parole chiave:
Apocalisse, medio inglese, TraduttologiaAbstract
La Rivelazione di Giovanni rappresenta uno dei testi più popolari dell'Europa medievale. Questa popolarità, indubbiamente alimentata da timori e aspettative legati all'anno mille, si riflette non solo nella presenza di temi millenaristici nella letteratura contemporanea, ma anche e soprattutto in una tradizione manoscritta estremamente ricca, sia in latino che nelle lingue volgari. L'Inghilterra medievale non fa eccezione, se non per il fatto che le prime traduzioni sono in anglo-normanno, e le prime copie in inglese medio non sono disponibili prima della metà del XIV secolo. L'opera più significativa a tal riguardo è certamente la cosiddetta traduzione di Wycliffe, che si discosta dal modello anglo-normanno. Tuttavia, essa non sarebbe stata possibile senza essere preceduta da vari tentativi, di cui abbiamo ancora testimonianza. Questo articolo si focalizza sulla prima traduzione che ci è stata tramandata, cercando di mettere in luce le pratiche traduttive impiegate in termini di scelte sintattiche, lessicali e morfologiche. Infatti, sebbene si tratti di una traduzione molto aderente alla versione anglo-normanna, mostra strategie interessanti per adattare il testo alla lingua dell'Inglese medio, al fine di rendere con successo il messaggio apocalittico.
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