Translation and Adaptation in Medieval Wales: the cases of Chwedyl Iarlles y Ffynnon and Cân Rolant.

CORDO RUSSO, LUCIANA

Bangor, Wales

Congreso; Translation in Non-State Cultures: Perspectives from Wales; 2012

AHRC Project "Translation in Non-State Cultures", Bangor University

This paper will focus mainly on studying two cases of transposition of Old French material into Middle Welsh: on the one hand, we will examine the Welsh Arthurian tale Chwedyl Iarlles y Ffynnon, a Welsh version of the twelfth-century roman courtois Le chevalier au Lion, composed by Chrétien de Troyes; on the other hand, we will discuss Cân Rolant, a known direct translation of La chanson de Roland. The study reveals that Chwedyl Iarlles y Ffynnon is not a mere translation of the French roman; at least not one in the modern sense. Some details, however, suggest that the Welsh redactor was following the French text, especially when we consider the tale within the broad European context, the growing popularity of Chrétien?s stories, and the ongoing French influence on Wales, of which we have ample evidence. It definitely implies a cultural appropriation of the French source and, therefore, a rewriting according to Welsh literary tradition, context and expectations from the audience. In this way we can interpret the Welsh tale from the standpoint of medieval translation since contemporary evidence, although scarce, tend to point to this notion of molding the source in order to adapt it to the translator?s own purposes and conventions. Regarding Cân Rolant, it is noticeable how the Welsh translator tried to follow his source closely. This may be due to his unfamiliarity with Carolingian material. However, the text has been through a process of abrevatio (some episodes are missing, other are abbreviated), and certain changes have been introduced in passages that would have no meaning for a Welsh audience (such as the value system or matters attached to Frankish identity). A contrastive analysis of these two cases of translatio medievalis will reveal differences in style and technique of translation that will shed light on the methodology of translation in Medieval Wales.