From Ludolph of Saxony to Joan Roís de Corella: On the translation of the Quart del Cartoxà (1495)

Abstract

Published between the end of the XV and the beginning of the XVI century, the four books of Joan Roís de Corella's Lo Cartoxà, a Catalan translation of Ludolph of Saxony's monumental Vita Christi, constitute a significant milestone in the cultural panorama of Late Medieval Crown of Aragon. Regrettably, despite its importance, this translation has until quite recently received modest attention in the specialized literature. The present article presents and discusses a series of passages taken from the Quart, i.e. the fourth book of the text, in order to highlight some interesting features of Corella's work as a translator of Ludolph. To this effect, the Catalan version has been confronted with its Latin source, as well as with the main Medieval and Renaissance Romance translations of the Vita Christi. This comparative exercise confirms the observations already formulated by Albert Hauf and highlights that the Quart del Cartoxà can be considered a recreation of the Ludolphian work, given the notable freedom with which Corella often handles the source he is translating—a phenomenon not observed in the other translations considered here.