Translation, Early Printing, and Gender in England, 1484-1535

The introduction of printing to England at the beginning of the early modern period intersected with an ongoing interest in matters concerning the querelle des femmes. One result was the production of fourteen translations from Latin and French, twelve of medieval and two of humanist origin. Discussing all fourteen translations, this article proposes an overview of the varying ways in which translation, publishing, and gender were closely intertwined. The source texts, spanning almost four hundred years, varied in provenance, style, and genre and appealed to different audiences. The translating methods used are equally varied, but all owe something to what Sheila Delany calls "the literature of sexual politics.