A Translation Telenovela: Ideological Translations of Pedro Mexía’s Early Modern Works

Through past investigation and an ORCA-funded research trip to the Newberry Library in Chicago, we have examined the ideological aspects of translations of the Silva de varia lección (1540) and the Historia imperial y cesárea (1545), highly influential books by the Spanish humanist Pedro Mexía (1497-1551), which have received little scholarly attention in recent times. Most notable for introducing historical and scientific knowledge to a vernacular readership, the texts achieved this impact since Mexía wrote them in Spanish as opposed to Latin, the academic language of his era. While the Silva and the Historia gained widespread fame, leading to their translation into various languages shortly after their initial publication, Mexía also filled his texts with ideological propaganda to win the favor of the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Spain (r. 1519-1556). English translators during the reigns of Elizabeth I (r. 1558-1603) and James I (r. 1603-1625), however, tended to exclude this propagandistic material from their translations. We conjecture that the ideological context in which these translators worked influenced their translations. Based on our research thus far, we have concluded that the omission of phrases, passages, and even entire chapters from English translations of Mexía’s works likely indicates translators’ efforts to reflect their national ideology in their translations for English readers. The armed conflicts between Spain and England under Elizabeth’s reign followed by efforts to achieve peace under James may have impacted translators, whose works should therefore be analyzed in connection to their historical context. Continuing this study, this thesis focuses on the omissions and other changes introduced by English translators of the Silva and the Historia during the vastly different societal landscapes of Spain and England in the 16th and 17th centuries.