The Global Consequences of Mistranslation: The Adoption of the “Black but …” Formulation in Europe, 1440–1650
Abstract
:Acknowledgements
- 1. From the 1440s onwards, Europeans captured or purchased people from West Africa, and brought them to Europe as slaves [1]. For further information, see the collected volume by Earle and Lowe. My usual disclaimer applies: I am using the phrases “black” and “white,” and “black Africans” and “white Europeans,” as constructs. For a sense of the wide range of ways in which black Africans were categorised after they arrived in Europe, see [2].
- 2. On pre-Renaissance interpretations of blackness in relation to the Song of Songs, see [3], pp. 16–22.
- 3. ([5], 9, p. 180): “nigra sum sed formonsa [sic].”
- 4. For another mistranslation in the Song of Songs relating to skin colour, see [6], p. 20. Braude suggests that in the same verse the Hebrew word שחור (shahor), meaning “black and burnt,” had been incorrectly interpreted by ancient Greek, Latin and vernacular translators to be a permanent rather than a temporary black skin; he posits that this might have been “an innocent scribal error.”
- 5. This sort of opportunity is relatively rare, but unfortunately it lies outside the scope of my research. Compare [11], p. 148: “Colour terminology is another example of how complex it is to ascertain referential and associative meanings and then to convey these into another language.”
- 7. For the perceived link between blackness and deformity in Renaissance England, see [18], pp. 94–95.
- 8. I should like to thank Eva Johanna Holmberg for this reference.
- 11. Wilson, 127.
- 12. Tom Earle discovered a printed copy of Damião de Góis’ translation of the book of Ecclesiastes into Portuguese ([25], p. 43).
- 14. “Non pareciam de negro bárbaro, mas de príncipe grego criado en Athenas” ([30], p. 92).
- 15. Barros remarked that Bemoim appeared not as a “principe barbaro … mas como podia ser hum dos senhores da Europa” ([31], fols. 30v–31v).
- 17. “Aunque de color mohíno / la plática tienes blanca” ([39], pp. 75 and 92).
- 19. “[N]on era reputato come scavo negro ma come qualsivoglia persona respetata et virtuosa.”
- 21. Florence, Archivio di stato, Carte Strozziane, serie V, 47, Ricordanze verde HH, fol. 76r: “uno schiavotto nero d’anni 11 nel circha, lo quale è bellissimo quanto si possa dire”. I should like to thank Amanda Lillie for this reference.
- 22. “Este charamela era negro, mas muito discreto.” See also [48], p. 188.
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Lowe, K. The Global Consequences of Mistranslation: The Adoption of the “Black but …” Formulation in Europe, 1440–1650. Religions 2012, 3, 544-555. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel3030544
Lowe K. The Global Consequences of Mistranslation: The Adoption of the “Black but …” Formulation in Europe, 1440–1650. Religions. 2012; 3(3):544-555. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel3030544
Chicago/Turabian StyleLowe, Kate. 2012. "The Global Consequences of Mistranslation: The Adoption of the “Black but …” Formulation in Europe, 1440–1650" Religions 3, no. 3: 544-555. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel3030544
APA StyleLowe, K. (2012). The Global Consequences of Mistranslation: The Adoption of the “Black but …” Formulation in Europe, 1440–1650. Religions, 3(3), 544-555. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel3030544