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Translation of Female References in the Old English Heptateuch

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2022

Abstract

The paper presents the work in progress about the Old English translation of the first book of the Old Testament - Genesis. The research focuses on the referencing of the Old Testament female characters in the Latin text of Vulgate and compares them to their translational equivalents in Old English in two manuscripts London, British Library, Cotton Claudius B. iv (B) and Cambridge, University Library, Ii I.33 since (C).

The main contribution of the paper is that it notices the tendency of the manuscript B to shift the focus from the female characters to male characters in some instances. It attempts to answer the question in what instances this shift occurs and what might be the motivation of the translator/the scribe for such a shift.