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King Alfred

Contributions to Translation

History and Theory of Translation TP1

Sofia Oliveira nº156398

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Background

Most famous king of Wessex
First king of England (not under Viking rule)
King Alfred ruled over an expanding nation, as a result of his victories against the Vikings

Wessex

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Vikings’ attacks were some kind of divine punishment for people’s sins, in particular to the decline of learning

“Alfred considered learning and literacy to be crucial for the acquisition of wisdom and therefore necessary for men to live in accordance with God’s will. During his reign he insisted that freedmen of adequate means learn to read English, and he himself translated Latin texts into the vernacular for the benefit of his people.”

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-king-of-Wessex

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The King began to translate important books into English.
Until King Alfred policies concerning translation, the literary activity in Anglo-Saxon England was almost exclusively in Latin.

Translation of Gregory the Great’s Cura Pastoralis, 890-897

Bodleian Library – Oxford

Bodleian Library MS Hatton 20

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As well as initiating a programme of translation, the King also deemed essential to teach vernacular education, because the general education levels had declined.

“…. and also how eager the religious orders were both about teaching and learning and all those services which they should do for God and how wisdom and learning were sought from abroad here in this land, and how we now must obtain them from abroad, if we were to have them. It had declined so thoroughly in England that there were very few this side of the Humber who could understand their offices in English or even translate a single letter from Latin into English; and I think that there were not many beyond the Humber! There were so few of them that I cannot think of even a single one south of the Thames when I succeeded to the kingdom.”

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Many great cultures before his also translate important works from Latin into their languages: Hebrews, Greeks, Romans…

“Therefore it seems better to me, if it seems so to you, that we also translate certain books, those which are most needful for all people to know, that we turn those into that language which we can all understand, and bring it about, as we very easily may with God’s help, if we have the peace, that all the youth of free men who now are in England, those who have the means that they may apply themselves to it, be set to learning, while they may not be set to any other use, until the time when they can well read English writings.”

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Charlemagne

“It is possible also that he was aware of and admired the great Frankish king Charlemagne, who had at the beginning of the century revived learning in his realm.”

“Carolingian renaissance”: development of a cultural environment

His focus was in the importance of spreading a standardized Latin, more than focusing on a vernacular language.

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Pope Gregory’s Pastoral Care
Educate the bishops so they could share their knowledge and educate the people
Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, Augustine’s Soliloquies and the first fifty Psalms.

Old English prose and verse translation of Boethius's De consolatione philosophiae, mid 10^th century - second half of the 12^th century

British Library

Cotton MS Otho A VI

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King Alfred's writing and translation methods

Prosimetrum is a poetic composition that includes both verse and prose, more specifically, it is usually a text composed of alternating segments of prose and verse.

Alfred used both prose and verse, sometimes translating first into prose and then versifying from his own prose translation

Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy: The King translated the text the best way he could, sometimes word by word, others sense by sense.

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“This translation deserves to be studied in its own right, as does his rendering of Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy. In considering what is true happiness and the relation of providence to faith and of predestination to free will Alfred does not fully accept Boethius’ position but depends more on the early Fathers. In both works, additions include parallels from contemporary conditions, sometimes revealing his views on the social order and the duties of kingship.”

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-king-of-Wessex

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Seminar of advisors from outside his kingdom were responsible for translations of several other important books.

Cultural environment developed by King Alfred:

translation of important works from Latin to English

production of original works of history literature (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)

“This national chronicle, or annual record of events, was originally compiled around 890 during the reign of King Alfred the Great. It was the first attempt to give a systematic year-by-year account of English history, and it was later maintained, and added to, by generations of anonymous scribes until the middle of the 1100s.”

https://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item126532.html

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Conclusion:

During the turn of the millennium, the four major codices of Old English poetry had been written and translations from important intellectuals such as King Aelfric had been made, due to the impact of Alfred’s programme.

King Alfred, besides having been a great ruler, made an impact in the history of translation that is still being studied today.