University Press Copublishing Division / University of Delaware Press
Pages: 362
Trim: 6½ x 9½
978-1-61149-052-7 • Hardback • July 2011 • $133.00 • (£102.00)
978-1-61149-053-4 • eBook • April 2011 • $126.00 • (£97.00)
Bruce O'Brien is an author, editor, and medieval historian who has published widely on English medieval culture. He is professor of history at the University of Mary Washington, a visiting fellow at the Institute of Historical Research in London, and was a visiting fellow at Harvard Law School. He is also chair of the literary board of the Early English Laws project, a collaborative effort by the Institute of Historical Research and King's College London to publish online new editions, translations, and commentaries on all English legal texts up to the Magna Carta.
Chapter 1 List of Figures and Maps
Chapter 2 Preface
Chapter 3 Abbreviations
Chapter 4 Introduction
Chapter 5 Language and Translation in the Middle Ages
Chapter 6 Language Contact in Conquered England
Chapter 7 Motives
Chapter 8 Methods: Practical Matters
Chapter 9 Methods: Translators' Choices
Chapter 10 Final Observations
Chapter 11 Appendix: Principal and Representative Translations
Chapter 12 Works Cited
Chapter 13 Index
In this thoughtful and thought-provoking work, Bruce R. O’Brien reviews evidence of translation practices in England, mainly involving English, Latin, and French, over four centuries, from the height of the first wave of Viking invasions to the aftermath of what he calls the Angevin Conquest of 1154. ... The real strength of this book, however, lies not in broad conclusions but in the many intelligent, astute, and original insights the author provides about the work of translating in medieval England. O’Brien clearly draws heavily on his own experience as an editor and translator of legal texts from the period, and it makes him a particularly skillful commentator on the subject. This will be a very important book for anyone interested in translation, languages, and cultural interaction in the medieval period.
— American Historical Review
Reversing Babel is a helpful, even necessary, book and deserves a wide audience. The synthesis it presents is the product of an eye-watering quantity of reading across a mind-numbing number of disciplines. ... Reversing Babel is an admirable achievement, and deserves a large readership.
— English Historical Review