A moral fabletalk / Arthur Golding -- From The subtle histories and fables of Aesop / William Caxton -- From The fabulous tales of Aesop the Phrygian / Richard Smith -- From Aesop's fables translated grammatically / John Brinsley -- From The fables of Aesop and Aesopics / John Ogilby.
Summary:
"This volume brings together five translations of Aesopian fables that range from the beginning to the end of the English Renaissance. At the centre of the volume is an edition of the entirety of Arthur Goldings manuscript translation of emblematic fables, A Morall Fabletalke (c. 1580s). By situating Goldings text alongside William Caxtons early printed translation from French (1485), Richard Smiths English version of Robert Henrysons Middle Scots Moral Fabillis (1577), John Brinsleys grammar school translation (1617), and John Ogilbys politicized fables translated at the end of the English Civil War (1651), this book shows the wide-ranging forms and functions of the fable during this period. Because Renaissance fables were not only textual but also visual, the edition includes the original images (woodcuts and engravings) designed to accompany the fables. The variety of fable translation practices included in this volume expands our understanding of literary translation in the early modern period. Likewise, the diversity of what gets counted as a fable, as the introduction shows, has implications both for the history of the Aesopian fable, and for the history of reading and thinking about fiction in the English Renaissance"--Back cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.