Traducteurs et traductions imprimées à la cour anglaise de la reine Henriette Marie (1625-1642)
At the English Court of Queen consort Henrietta Maria (1625–1642), translation was used as a political tool, partly to impose the queen’s linguistic, cultural and Catholic heritage on Calvinist England. Her court was a veritable hub of imported literature, as well as French and Catholic culture. During the reign of her husband, Charles I, the queen’s patronage attracted male and female translators who sought her protection by publishing English versions of literary genres that were trending in France at the time (such as pastorals, dévot literature, or plays). However, the place of translation in the literary activity that made her court so remarkable has never been systematically studied. The purpose of this project is therefore to offer a comprehensive analysis of the role played by translators and translation in the literary culture of Henrietta Maria’s English Court. In this thesis, translation is defined as a practice instigating cultural, political and social ties in the transnational history linking England and France.  My research draws on scholarship pertaining to the cultural and ideological aspects of translation in Stuart Court culture and builds on recent studies on the intersection between translation and print in early modern Europe. I study patterns of patronage, literary production, and text circulation; then I probe the political, social, religious, and print networks involved in the production of translations associated with the Queen’s court and extending well beyond its social or geographical boundaries. Specifically, I examine early 17th-century English and French court culture, the place of translation within this culture, and the impact of print culture and material history on the selection and circulation of translated texts. By studying the cultural and literary history from the perspective of materiality and agency, I recreate the political, cultural and ideological networks that operated between Great Britain and continental Europe. This article thesis begins with two chapters written in French in which I specify the context and chosen approach, and which are followed by four case studies written in English. Through an analysis of translations that are printed outside of Great Britain, the case study in chapter 3 highlights the significance of transnational cultural networks in early modern England and helps us understand the production and circulation of printed translations in 17th-century Europe. Chapter 4 consists of an exploration of the concepts of agency and patronage in translation history and culminates with the case of Thomas Hawkins, a translating agent with ties to the queen’s court and continental Jesuit Colleges. The fifth chapter addresses the role of women and Catholic recusant literature at the court of Henrietta Maria. In it, I investigate the participation of women in the creation and distribution of translations, notably as patrons, translators, and printers. In the final chapter, I explore transnational networks of cultural exchange between England and Europe with, as a starting point, a Catholic treatise written by French author Jean Puget de la Serre, which was printed in Brussels though dedicated to Henrietta Maria and Charles I. Together, these chapters offer a comprehensive analysis of the role played by translators and translation in the literary culture of Henrietta Maria’s English Court. The thesis is followed by the corpus of translations linked to the English Court of Queen Henrietta Maria and printed between 1625 and 1642 that I have established. The corpus continues to expand as I pursue this research, and currently comprises 78 titles. The approach I have selected for this project is both top-down and bottom-up: I use macrohistoric analysis methods to investigate power structures, institutions, and patronage; then, to establish a comprehensive overview of the roles of translators at the queen’s Court, I analyze paratexts, texts, and the correspondence of translators in printed books. The synergy between these approaches lends originality to the project and ensures an accurate representation of the actions of translating agents at the English Court of Henrietta Maria. My work contributes to research in translation history by providing some much needed insight into early modern translators, their practices, and the networks in which they were involved.
Queen Henrietta Maria translation history print culture early modern England transnational literatures agency of translators