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Le Livre de Boece de Consolation: Translation as Literature Glynnis M. Cropp Of few medieval works other than the Consolatio Philosophiae is there such clear evidence that Latin text and translations shared continuity of existence. The number of manuscripts containing the Consolatio, the number of translations and the number of commentaries all attest wide interest in the work from the tenth tofifteenthcenturies. Le Livre de Boece de Consolacion, an anonymous verseprose translation undertaken before 1362, is contained in over 60 extant manuscripts. It is really a revised version of the earlier verse-prose translation Boeces: De Consolacion dating from c.1330. B y about 1380 glosses translated from a long version of the Guillaume de Conches Latin commentary were incorporated in Le Livre de Boece, considerably increasing its length and showing its didactic purpose for the general reader. Some manuscripts contain Latin text and French translation on facing pages. Far from claiming independence from the original, Le Livre de Boece is thus presented as a means of illuminating its 1 Boeces: De Consolacion: Edition critique d'apres le manuscrit 'Paris, Bibl. fr.1096', Variantes, Notes et Glossaires, ed. by J. Keith'Atkinson, Beihefte zur Z fur romanische Philologie, 277 (Tubingen: Max Niemeyer, 1996). 2 Glynnis M. Cropp meaning through use of the vernacular and explanation of the text. The prologue states that the translation does not aim to convey the literal meaning of the Latin text, but one can ask to what extent it retains the literary quality and style. B o m of suffering and imprisonment, the Consolatio is a work of autobiography, philosophy, and imaginative literature. Philosophical thought is brought to bear on the problems of an actual life, and the power and charm of poetry soothe and heal the pain, and in places open up cosmic vistas. The prologue of the glossed version of Le Livre de Boece is an amalgam of four prologues: the opening four sentences written by Jean de Meun for his prose translation, with the translation he added of William of Aragon's Latin prologue, to which were joined in Le Livre de Boece further prologues from the Guillaume de Conches commentary tradition. All but the opening lines and a sentence at the end of Jean de Meun's prologue were therefore originally composed with reference to the Latin text. Just the same, the prologue of Le Livre de Boece contains certain principles pertaining to the literary character and style of the works, which w e shall examine in reference to the translation. Louis Kelly has stated that there are three broad criteria on which to judge relevance oftranslation style:firstly,that style conforms to matter, secondly that style suits readership, and thirdly that style reflects author. The prologue of Le Livre de Boece contains principles fitting all three criteria: firstly, the purpose is in the two forms of discourse, which are distinguished by the absence or presence of rhyme, to express reasons in prose and to soothe feelings in verse. This alternation combines consoling reasons and reasonable pleasures by expression Glynnis M. Cropp, 'Les Manuscrits du Livre de Boece de Consolacion', Revue d'Histoire des Textes, 12-13 (1982-83), 263-352; id., 'Le Livre de Boece de Consolacion: from translation to glossed text', in The Medieval Boethius: Studies in the vernacular translations of 'De Consolatione Philosophiae', ed. by A. J. Minnis (Cambridge: Brew 1987), pp. 63-88; id., 'The Medieval French Tradition', in Boethius in the Middle Ages: Latin and vernacular traditions of the 'Consolatio Philosophiae', ed. by Maarten J. M. Hoenen and Lodi Nauta (Leiden, New York, Koln: Brill, 1997), pp 243-265 (pp 249-255). Glynnis M. Cropp, 'Le Prologue de Jean de Meun et Le Livre de Boece de Consolacion' Romania, 103 (1982), 278-298 (pp. 279-80, 291-93). Cf. Roberto Crespo, 'II prologo alia traduzione della Consolatio Philosophiae di Jean de Meun e i l commento di Guglielmo d'Aragona', in Romanitas et Christianitas. Studio J. H. Wasznik (Amsterda 1973), pp. 55-70. Louis Kelly, The True Interpreter: A History of Translation Theory and Practice in t West (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1979), p. 179. Le Livre de Boece de Consolacion: Translation as Literature 3 in the...

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