''Translatio studii'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "transfer of learning") is a

historiographical Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...

concept, originating in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

,Carol Ann Newsom and Brennan W. Breed, ''Daniel: A Commentary'', Westminster John Knox Press, 2014, p. 89. in which history is viewed as a linear succession of transfers of knowledge or learning from one geographical place and time to another. The concept is closely linked to ''

translatio imperii ''Translatio imperii'' (Latin for "transfer of rule") is a historiographical concept that originated from the Middle Ages, in which history is viewed as a linear succession of transfers of an ''imperium'' that invests supreme power in a singular r ...

'', which similarly describes the movement of imperial dominance. Both terms are thought to have their origins in the second chapter of the

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

(verses 39–40).

History of the concept

''Translatio studii'' is a celebrated

topos In mathematics, a topos (, ; plural topoi or , or toposes) is a category that behaves like the category of sheaves of sets on a topological space (or more generally: on a site). Topoi behave much like the category of sets and possess a notion ...

medieval literature Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of t ...

, most notably articulated in the prologue to

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ''E ...

's ''

Cligès ''Cligès'' (also ''Cligés'') is a poem by the medieval French poet Chrétien de Troyes, dating from around 1176. It is the second of his five Arthurian romances; ''Erec and Enide'', ''Cligès'', ''Yvain'', ''Lancelot'' and ''Perceval''. The p ...

'', composed ca. 1170. There, Chrétien explains that

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

was first the seat of all knowledge, then it came to Rome, and now it has come to France, where, by the grace of God, it shall remain forever more. In the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

and later, historians saw the metaphorical light of learning as moving much as the light of the sun did: westward. According to this notion, the first center of learning was Eden, followed by

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, and

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

. From there, the light of learning moved westward to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, and then west to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. After Rome, learning moved west to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. From there, enlightenment purportedly moved west to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, though other nations laid claim to the mantle, most notably

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, which would involve a retrograde motion and rupture in the westerly direction. The

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

of ''translatio studii'' went out of fashion in the 18th century, but such English Renaissance authors as

George Herbert George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devoti ...

were already predicting that learning would move next to America. A pessimistic corollary metaphor is the ''translatio stultitiae'' transfer of stupidity" As learning moves west, as the earth turns and light falls ever westward, so night follows and claims the places learning has departed from. The metaphor of the ''translatio stultitiae'' informs

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

's ''

Dunciad ''The Dunciad'' is a landmark, mock-heroic, narrative poem by Alexander Pope published in three different versions at different times from 1728 to 1743. The poem celebrates a goddess Dulness and the progress of her chosen agents as they bring ...

,'' and particularly book IV of the ''Greater Dunciad'' of 1741, which opens with the

nihilistic Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning of life, meaning. The term was pop ...

invocation:

Yet, yet a moment, one dim Ray of Light Indulge, dread Chaos, and eternal Night!" (''B'' IV 1-2) .. Suspend a while your Force inertly strong, Then take at once the Poet, and the Song. (ibid. 7-8)

Etymology

While the term ''translatio studii'' literally means in English the translation of studies, there is an implication within the concept that the transmission of learning also carried with it cultural ideals and information. That being said, there is a lot more to ''translatio studii'' than the simple movement of common concepts from the Mediterranean westward. According to Karlheinz Stierle, English is what we might consider the current language of this sort of transmission, but "what English is today...Latin was in the first centuries after Christ." In the way that politics and social issues move circulate around the world very often in English, these same concepts traveled along the developing roads from Greece and Italy to England during Medieval times. As religion spread from Rome to

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cross ...

(or present day Britain) it brought with it other concepts that can still be seen in the Romance languages. An interesting example of this is the term "translatio" itself. In Ancient times ''translatio'' in Latin meant both ''translation'' and ''transfer''. As time went on, ''translatio'' was designated to only mean transmission and ''traductio'' took on the meaning of what we know as translation. This carried over to the developing Romance languages as time went on. The words ''translation'' in French and ''traslazione'' in Italian mean the displacement of physical objects, and these languages still use other words to mean "translation" in the English sense. In this way, it is clear that historically the significance of ''translatio studii'' concerns the transfer of ideas that hold cultural value.

''Translatio imperii''

Translatio imperii ''Translatio imperii'' (Latin for "transfer of rule") is a historiographical concept that originated from the Middle Ages, in which history is viewed as a linear succession of transfers of an ''imperium'' that invests supreme power in a singular r ...

'' often served as a precedent or coordinate to ''translatio studii''. A transferral of rule assisted a transferral of culture, and vice versa: "The transferal of power also conveys the phoenix-like reestablishment of culture - as fictionalized in and transmitted by literature - which establishes each new imperial power as the new stronghold of the culturally elite." As it is concerned with the progress of learning, ''translatio studii'' provides an overview of intellectual heritage. Although it may be considered from various angles (e.g., history, linguistics, and literature) the concept of ''translatio studii'' is fundamentally concerned with texts. "Reading, translating, commenting, interpreting, rewriting — all are common intertextual activities of the ''translatio studii''." ''Translatio studii'' is based on the assumption that human learning and the potential for human learning originated in

from whence it spread westward to

and then

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, a French poet of the late 12th century, writes of ''translatio studii'' in the opening of

Ancient Greece to Rome: theatre

All Roman comedy stems from Greek New Comedy but rewritten in Latin with slight adjustments to local taste and the long, narrow stage of Roman theatre. It keeps the characteristics of conventional situations from domestic life and stock character-masks that were traditional in the Greek model. Roman theatre in turn influenced theatre of the

. "The nine Greek-style tragedies of

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

(c. 4 B.C.E. -65 C.E.) are especially noteworthy, partly because they were to have a more profound influence on Renaissance tragedians than their Greek originals." Conventions commonly associated with Renaissance tragedies, most popularly

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, that are owed to Seneca, are revenge tragedies, structure of five acts, use of elaborate speeches, soliloquies, and

asides An aside is a dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience. By convention, the audience is to realize that the character's speech is unheard by the other characters on stage. It may be addressed to the audience expressly (in charac ...

, violence and horror performed on stage (as opposed to Greek tragedies in which all such actions occurred off stage), and an interest in the human condition, morality of nobility, and the supernatural, specifically with its human connection. Rome also used the Greek language as a model on which to aid the expansion of their power and secure a language for their empire. According to L. G. Kelly, author of ''The True Interpreter: A History of Translation Theory and Practice in the West'' (1979), "Western Europe owes its civilization to its translators."

Anglo-Norman: ''cortoisie'' and ''romanz''

''Cortoisie'' is a synthesis of the superiority of French knighthood and learning. As a new distinction of the French knight, ''cortoisie'' implies not only a new style of communication and mastery of language, but a new style of communicative attitude, especially when regarding women. From ''cortoisie'' comes courtly love, a highly disciplined, self-denying, and respectful social form. Ideally, in this form, the knight honors his lady as something sacred. This new ideal of love called for a new ideal of language, according to Chrétien, and so, translations from old, dead Latin into French, or ''romanz'', began. It is this language that replaces Latin as a new and lasting period of high culture, and, in so doing, becomes the real language or medium of ''translatio studii''.Budick, Sanford, and Wolfgang Isen, eds. The Translatability of Cultures: Figurations of the Space Between. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1996. Google Books.

Notes

References

* Bratu, Cristian. "Translatio, autorité et affirmation de soi chez Gaimar, Wace et Benoît de Sainte-Maure." The Medieval Chronicle 8 (2013): 135-164. * Budick, Sanford, and Wolfgang Isen, eds. The Translatability of Cultures: Figurations of the Space Between. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1996. Google Books. * Carron, Jean-Claude. "Imitation and Intertextuality in the Renaissance." New Literary History, Volume 19, No. 3. (1988): 565-579. Print. * Curtius, Ernst Robert. European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages. "Princeton University Press." Princeton, New Jersey. 1990. Print. * Gertz, Sunhee Kim. "Translatio studii et imperii: Sir Gawain as literary critic." Semiotica, Volume 63, Issue 1-2. (2009): 185-204. Print. * Hornblower, and Spawforth, eds. "Translation." The Oxford Classical Dictionary. 3rd ed. 2003. Print * K. Sarah-Jane Murray, "Reading Plato, Writing Romance," in From Plato to Lancelot (Syracuse University Press, 2008) * Reis, Levilson C. "''Clergie'', Clerkly ''Studium'', and the Medieval Literary History of Chrétien de Troyes's Romances." ''Modern Language Review'', Volume 106, Part 3. (2011): 682–696. * Rothstein, Marian. "Etymology, Genealogy, and the Immutability of Origins." Renaissance Quarterly, Volume 43, No.2. (1990): 332-347. Print. * Wise, Jennifer, and Craig S. Walker, eds. The Broadview Anthology of Drama: Plays from the Western Theatre. Vol. 1. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2003. Print. {{DEFAULTSORT:Translatio Studii Historiography Historiography of the Middle Ages Latin words and phrases