Long, Lynne (1995) Well and truly translated : an exploration of the processes at work in Englishing the Bible from the seventh to the seventeenth century. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis aims to open up a new perspective an the
translation of the Bible into the vernacular. It offers the
idea that the first complete translation of the Bible into
English in the 1380's was not a sudden and short-lived
political gesture, but the natural progression of a process
which began in Anglo-Saxon times, continued through the
Middle Ages and culminated in the definitive 1611 version of
the English Bible.
It hopes to set the Englishing of the Bible into a linguistic
and literary context as well as a religious and political
one. It takes into account the problems of retrospective
assessment and the danger of attempting to impose modern
values on pre-conquest and medieval prose. The early
development of the vernacular from Bede to Aelfric begins the
study of the process of Englishing; the wealth of medieval
translations from the Conquest to Rolle continues it. The
inheritance of translation theory, the mystical tradition
and the theories of authority and authorship are discussed as
a background to the Wycliffite translation of the Bible.
The study of the progress of the vernacular at this point
becomes a study of the development of English prose and
includes an account of Pecock's works and the contemporary
perspective of Thomas More. The Humanist element comes into
sharper focus with a discussion of the rise of Greek studies
and of the effect of the redefinition of the source text in
the form of Erasmus's Greek New Testament.
William Tyndale's position as reformer and translator of the
scriptures is contrasted with that of the Wycliffites in
respect of available source texts, distribution in the form
of relatively inexpensive printed books and a literate
potential readership. The Englishing of the Bible after
Tyndale is traced through a process of editing, defining,
layering and expanding previous texts which culminated in the
production of the King James Bible of 1611.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BS The Bible
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Bible -- Translating -- Great Britain, Bible. English -- History, Bible. English (Middle English) -- History
Official Date:	April 1995
Dates:	Date Event April 1995 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Centre for Translation and Comparative Cultural Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Extent:	iii, 393 leaves
Language:	eng

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