Sixteenth-Century English Printers and the Nature of the Translated Title Page

• In Event: Printed Translations and Their Paratexts in Early Modern England I

Abstract

Early modern titles and title-pages combine textual and visual features to serve as a threshold into the text they precede while also playing an important marketing role. Since the title itself but also the type, mise-en-page and design chosen for the title-page convey meaning, influence the work’s reception, and require culture-based knowledge in the receptor, one would expect to find differences between the source text and its translation, for the latter had to appeal to a new readership in a new culture, language, and often time-frame. To date, however, this subject remains virtually unexplored. This paper will discuss the translations of titles and compare the source and translation title-pages from a multi-modal point of view in a selection of works printed in the early sixteenth century by Richard Pynson, in mid-century by William Copland, and in the final two decades by John Wolfe and his successor John Windet.

Author

• Brenda M. Hosington, Université de Montréal and University of Warwick