The Heroides in Alfonso X's General Estoria
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University of Kentucky UKnowledge University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2008 THE HEROIDES IN ALFONSO X'S GENERAL ESTORIA: TRANSLATION, ADAPTATION, USE, AND INTERPRETATION OF A CLASSICAL WORK IN A THIRTEENTH-CENTURY IBERIAN HISTORY OF THE WORLD J. Javier Puerto Benito University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Benito, J. Javier Puerto, "THE HEROIDES IN ALFONSO X'S GENERAL ESTORIA: TRANSLATION, ADAPTATION, USE, AND INTERPRETATION OF A CLASSICAL WORK IN A THIRTEENTH-CENTURY IBERIAN HISTORY OF THE WORLD" (2008). University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations. 611. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/611 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION J. Javier Puerto Benito The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2008 THE HEROIDES IN ALFONSO X’S GENERAL ESTORIA: TRANSLATION, ADAPTATION, USE, AND INTERPRETATION OF A CLASSICAL WORK IN A THIRTEENTH-CENTURY IBERIAN HISTORY OF THE WORLD ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Hispanic Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By J. Javier Puerto Benito Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Aníbal Biglieri, Department of Hispanic Studies Lexington, Kentucky 2008 Copyright © J. Javier Puerto Benito 2008 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION THE HEROIDES IN ALFONSO X’S GENERAL ESTORIA: TRANSLATION, ADAPTATION, USE, AND INTERPRETATION OF A CLASSICAL WORK IN A THIRTEENTH-CENTURY IBERIAN HISTORY OF THE WORLD My dissertation analyzes the role of Ovid’s Heroides in Alfonso X’s General Estoria, a massive historical compilation in six volumes that the “Learned King” commissioned in 1272. The way in which eleven of these fictional epistles were incorporated by the Alfonsine translators sheds light on how ancient texts were perceived by medieval scholars. According to the study, King Alfonso relies on Ovid as an accurate historical source and uses the epistles of the heroines as historical documents while preserving their literary dimension. The thesis is divided into six sections. Chapter one introduces the topic of translation in relation to history and literature and argues for the use of a culture- semiotic perspective in the study of medieval translations. Chapter two looks into the General Estoria in order to frame the generic register/s to which the Heroides and Ovid belonged in Alfonso’s historic discourse. Some of these issues include literature and its historical value, and how the ancient past (in this case the times of characters in the Heroides) was used in order to investigate and interpret the concerns of the present, and form decisions about the future. Chapter three speculates on the bearing that the habitus or socio-cultural conditioning of a potential translator like Archbishop Jiménez de Rada could have had in the Alfonsine approach to translation. Chapter four analyzes the uses of and references to Ovid as a writer and his works throughout Europe in order to recreate the position both him and his works held in the socio-cultural milieu of thirteenth-century literature, history, epistolography, and rhetoric. Chapter five focuses on how the Latin text was initially adapted and segmented according to translation patterns and norms. This observational analysis of the Heroides in the GE approaches the text from the perspective of the discipline of Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS). My research does not seek to propose or refute any theories but, rather, to make a contribution to DTS in the form of an observational analysis. KEYWORDS: Alfonso X, General Estoria, Heroides, descriptive translation studies, thirteenth-century historiography. J. Javier Puerto 5/1/2008 THE HEROIDES IN ALFONSO X’S GENERAL ESTORIA: TRANSLATION, ADAPTATION, USE, AND INTERPRETATION OF A CLASSICAL WORK IN A THIRTEENTH-CENTURY IBERIAN HISTORY OF THE WORLD By J. Javier Puerto Benito Dr. Aníbal Biglieri Director of Dissertation Dr. Susan Larson Director of Graduate Studies 5/1/2008 RULES FOR THE USE OF DISSERTATIONS Unpublished dissertations submitted for the Doctor s degree and deposited in the University of Kentucky Library are as a rule open for inspection, but are to be used only with due regard to the rights of the authors. Bibliographical references may be noted, but quotations or summaries of parts may be published only with the permission of the author, and with the usual scholarly acknowledgements. Extensive copying or publication of the dissertation in whole or in part also requires the consent of the Dean of the Graduate School of the University of Kentucky. A library that borrows this dissertation for use by its patrons is expected to secure the signature of each user. Name Date DISSERTATION J. Javier Puerto Benito The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2008 THE HEROIDES IN ALFONSO X’S GENERAL ESTORIA: TRANSLATION, ADAPTATION, USE, AND INTERPRETATION OF A CLASSICAL WORK IN A THIRTEENTH-CENTURY IBERIAN HISTORY OF THE WORLD DISSERTATION A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Hispanic Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By J. Javier Puerto Benito Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Aníbal Biglieri, Department of Hispanic Studies Lexington, Kentucky 2008 Copyright © J. Javier Puerto Benito 2008 Familia ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The following dissertation benefited from the insights, direction, and support of my Dissertation Chair, Professor Aníbal Biglieri. I am also grateful to professors Ana Rueda, Susan Larson, and Terence Tunberg for their willingness to participate in this project. Their useful comments and suggestions have been of great help. Professors Francie Chassen-López, and Diana Niebylski have helped me during my stay at the University of Kentucky. Thanks also to Google Corp., Yahoo Corp., and Sun Microsystems whose free software was the only source of finance for this project. My thanks also to Wes Blevins, Judy Fugate, Brent Sebastian, and Norah Warren for their support and assistance. My friends Aline De Boeck, Natalie Glover, Alexis Manning, Viviana Mena, Sladana Bec, Joyce Vélez, John Donahue, Sophia Jannace, Roberta Magnani, Darrell DeRosset, Nadina Olmedo, Natalia Andrés, Judith Paredes, J.F. Nieto, and my teachers Srta. Aniceta, Manuel Alonso, Henar Carrera, Mercedes Sahuquillo, Pedro Lázaro, Brian Dendle, and Enrico Santí have all inspired me with their dedication and helped me with their assistance and encouragement. A special thanks to my socii Jason Allen, Keith Allen, and Luciano Cruz. Finally, I owe Gillian more than I could ever hope to thank. Her presence fills my life with meaning and purpose: her intimate beauty and kindness, as well as her respect and companionship are the only equivalent expression of the love she inspires in me. Vaya por mis hermanos, padres, abuelos y demás parientes y penates. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................. iv List of Files ......................................................................................................................... viii Editorial, Authorial, and Transcription Notes .................................................................. ix List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................ x CHAPTER 1: HISTORY, TRANSLATION AND LITERATURE: WHAT CAN TRANSLATIONS TELL US ABOUT THE PAST? ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction: Translations and Literature ............................................................... 1 1.1.1 Ovid and His Translators/Translations ............................................................... 2 1.1.2 Descriptive Translation Studies: An Approach to Translation .......................... 3 1.1.3 Purpose and Methodology: Focusing on the ‘How’ of Translation ................... 6 1.2 What’s in a Text? Translation Studies and Its Relation to Literature .................... 8 1.2.1 Let There Be Culture: The “Cultural Turn,” the Text, and Its Circumstance ... 9 1.2.2 So Culture It Is, or Is It Not? From the Source Text, to the Target Text, and Back to Translation .............................................................................................. 10 1.2.3 Polysystems Theory: A New Approach for a New Focus in Translation Studies ... 12 1.2.4 Current Trends in Translation Studies: Where Are We Now? ......................... 14 1.3 Medieval Cultural Traffic: Translations as the Agents of Cultural Change ......... 16 1.3.1 Norms and the Hypothetical Translator ........................................................... 16 1.3.2 Norms, Conventions and Translations: What to Translate .............................. 19 1.3.3 Who Translates? The Five Assumptions about Translation and the Translator’s Visibility .........................................................................................