Flora Ross Amos’s Early Theories of Translation surveys the changing ideas about the art of translation from the Middle Ages through the early modern period in England. Amos examines how translators understood their task, from medieval renderings of scripture and classical texts to the great Tudor and Elizabethan translations. She draws on the prefaces and statements of translators themselves to trace evolving attitudes toward fidelity, freedom, and the purpose of carrying works from one language into another.
The book is a pioneering contribution to the history of translation, illuminating the medieval and Renaissance debates that shaped English literary culture. Amos shows how translators wrestled with questions still familiar today: whether to follow the letter or the spirit, and how to serve both author and reader. Students of literature, linguistics, and medieval scholarship will find it valuable.