"Translating" the Origins of the Spanish Nation in Miguel de Luna's Verdadera historia del Rey don Rodrigo

Authors

  • Ana Méndez-Oliver Columbia University

Abstract

"In 1592, Miguel de Luna, official translator to King Felipe II, published a translation of a long-lost history written by an Arab historian. According to one of the prefaces of his text, Luna discovered the manuscript of Abulcaçin Tarif Abentariq....This article investigates the various types of artifices that Luna employed to frame Verdadera historia as an authentic translation and to inscribe himself in the text as a reliable translator. More particularly, I will analyze the position of (pseudo) translation in the work, and the ways in which it becomes a vehicle through which Luna, as a morisco, could present a counter-history of the proto-national legend of King Rodrigo. Furthermore, I will argue that Miguel de Luna’s position as an official translator to the court allowed him to play upon the conventions of translation in order to present an alternative history of the imagined glorious origin of the Spanish nation, one that exalted the pivotal role that Arabs played in the foundation of Spain."

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Published

2019-03-07

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Articles