TEXT 2:
W. Caxton (1415/22-1492) prologue of his translation of Virgil's Aeneid (1490) (A History of the English Language page 195-196)
After dyverse werkes made, translated, and achieved, havyng noo werke in hande, I, sittyng in my studye where as laye many dyverse paunflettis and bookys, happened that to my hande came a lytyl booke in frenshe, whiche late was translated oute of latyn by some noble clerke of fraunce, whiche booke is named Eneydos. ... And whan I had advysed me in this sayd boke, I delybered and concluded to translate it into englysshe, and forthwyth toke a penne & ynke, and wrote a leef or tweyne, whyche I oversawe agayn to corecte it. And whan I sawe the fayr & straunge termes therin I doubted that it sholde not please some gentylmen whiche late blamed me, sayeng that in my translacyons I had over curyous termes whiche coude not be understande of comyn peple, and desired me to use olde and homely termes in my translacyons. And fayn wolde I satysfye every man, and so to doo, toke an olde boke and redde therin; and certaynly the englysshe was so rude and brood that I coude not wele understande it. And also my lorde abbot of westmynster ded do shewe to me late, certayn evydences wryton in olde englysshe, for to reduce it in-to our englysshe now usid. And certaynly it was wreton in suche wyse that it was more lyke to dutche than englysshe; I coude not reduce ne brynge it to be understonden. And certaynly our langage now used varyeth ferre from that whiche was used and spoken whan I was borne. For we englysshe men ben borne under the domynacyon of the mone, whiche is never stedfaste, but ever waverynge, wexynge ine season, and waneth & dyscreaseth another season. And that comyn englysshe that is spoken in one shyre varyeth from a nother. In so moche that in my dayes happened that certayn marchauntes were in a shippe in tamyse, for to have sayled over the see into zeland, and for lacke of wynde, thei taryed atte forlond, and wente to lande for to refreshe them. And one of theym named Sheffelde, a mercer, cam in-to an hows and axed for mete; and specyally he axyd after eggys. And the goode wyf answerde, that she coude speke no frenshe. And the marchaunt was angry, for he also coude speke no frenshe, but wolde have hadde egges, and she understode hym not. And thenne at laste a nother sayd that he wolde have eyren. Then the good wyf sayd that she understod hym wel. Loo, what sholde a man in thyse dayes now whyte, egges or eyren? Certaynly it is harde to playse every man by cause of dyversite & chaunge of langage. For in these dayes every man that is in ony reputacyon in his countre, wyll utter his commynycacyon and maters in suche maners & termes that fewe men shaall understonde theym. And som honest and grete clerkes have ben wyth me, and desired me to wryte the moste curyous termes that I could fynde. And thus bytwene playn, rude &curyous, I stande abasshed. But in my judgemente the comyn termes that be dayli used ben lyghter to be understonde than the olde and auncyent englysshe. And for as moche as this present booke is not for a rude uplondyssh maan to laboure therin, ne rede it, but onely for a clerke & a noble gentylman that feleth and understondeth in faytes of armes, in love, & in noble chyvalrye, therfor in a meane bytwene bothe I have reduced & translated this sayd booke in to our englysshe, not ouer rude ne curyous, but in suche termes as shall be understanden, by goddys grace, accordynge to my copye.
Vocabulary commented in class 7/4/09:
studye = study
bookys = books
booke = book
boke = book
frenshe = French
fraunce = France
englysshe = English
egges = eggs
eyren = eggs
eggys = eggs
Use of plural -es instead of nowadays -s and use of the ending -e in singular:
werkes = works
werke = work
hande = hand
booke = book
boke = book
frenshe = French
whiche = which
oute = out
englysshe = English
sawe = saw
lorde = lord
coude = could
speke = speak
dayes = days
bothe = both
termes = terms
copye = copy
Use of y instead of i, e, o:
sittyng = sitting
latyn = latin
whyche = which
gentylmen = gentlemen
comyn = common
theym = them
wyll = will
hym = him
Summary of the text:
W. Caxton has to translate Virgil's Aeneid into English but he's concern of which English dialect he should focus. At the beginning, he comments on how English has been changing drastically since he was borne. Geographically there was a great influence of French from the South while in the North Old English influence prevailed. As an example, W. Caxton wondered what to write in his translation, if the French egges or the Old English eyren. In conclusion, W. Caxton decides to translate the book with the French influence because it was addressed to the high class.
Academic year 2008/2009
© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
Barry Pennock Speck
© Carolina Cody Aldaz
cacodyal@alumni.uv.es
Universitat de Valčncia Press