Translating the Cantigas — an impossible task?

The Stirling Maxwell Centre's seminar series begun in the 1980s as a regular opportunity for knowledge exchange of the Glasgow Emblem Group. In time we changed our name to Stirling Maxwell Centre Seminar Series to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of our work.The seminar series is a learned group of regular public seminars and workshops. We host speakers and world renowned experts on subjects pertinent to the Centre’s remit, from the Medieval period to the twenty-first century. Subjects range from emblems, comics, cinema, cartoons, History of the Book, History of Art, Philology, Cultural History, History of Architecture, Shakespearean theatre, Early Modern Festivals, 3D architectural reconstruction, and many more. Our programme of events and activities reflects our research culture and our international reach.Our seminars and workshops are open to scholars, students, and (unless specified) to general public alike. Attendance is free to all, though attendees from the general public should inform the venue (usually the Main Library Admissions desk) or the Deputy Director of the Centre of their intention of attending the seminar in question.

Stirling Maxwell Centre

Scholar and translator Richard Zenith discusses his 1995 translation of Galician-Portuguese 'cantigas', challenges and (possible) solutions.

Sir Alexander Stone Building, room 204

The Galician-Portuguese cantigas (songs), dating back to the 13th-century, provide a fascinating window into love, morality, politics, and religiosity in medieval Iberia. They are notoriously difficult to translate. Richard Zenith, who published 113 Galician-Portuguese Troubadour Poems: a Bilingual Anthology in 1995, has just brought out a deeply revised and somewhat expanded anthology titled Cantigas: Galician-Portuguese Troubadour Poems. He will read a few of his translations and discuss what makes these poems so fascinating as well as why they’re so challenging to render into English.B﻿ibliography:R﻿ichard Zenith, 113 Galician-Portuguese Troubadour Poems: a Bilingual Anthology 	(Manchester: Carcanet, 1995). University of Glasgow Library: <a href="https://eleanor.lib.gla.ac.uk/record=b2629237" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Hispanic T36.E6 ZEN</a>R﻿ichard Zenith, Cantigas: Galician-Portuguese Troubadour Poems (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2022). University of Glasgow Library <a href="https://eleanor.lib.gla.ac.uk/record=b3916322" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">e-book</a>.Image credits: Cancioneiro da Ajuda (National Library of Portugal, 13th century), fl. 15r © Cantigas Medievais Galego Portuguesas [<a href="http://cantigas.fcsh.unl.pt" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">online database</a>].[ALT TEXT: image of a medieval manuscript, in velum, which has a yellowish background; on the top right of the image is an illuminure of two medieval troubadours sitting on a stool (the one on the right plays a harp, the one on the left appears to be singing). The manuscript also has some text lines of medieval Galician-Portuguese songs.]

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Translating the Cantigas — an impossible task?

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