Translational Traditions and Imaginaries: A Comparative History of Petrarch’s Canzoniere in French and English

The main objective of the project is to offer a comparative study of early modern translations of Petrarch’s Canzoniere in English and French, as well as examining their impact on their respective ‘translation traditions’. First, I aim to clarify the features of European Petrarchism by focussing on its translational origins in two of the most influential European languages and cultures of the time (besides Italian). My second goal is to establish, from a comparative perspective, the place of Petrarch’s Canzoniere in the ‘culture of translation’ of early modern British Isles and France, in other words, all the modes and conceptions of translation in these linguistic spaces. My third objective is to identify the impact of early modern ‘translational imaginaries’ of Petrarch’s Canzoniere (that is to say, conceptions and representations of Petrarchan poetry in translated texts) in subsequent centuries, thus tracing their ramifications in these two interlinked literary cultures. The University of Montreal (UdeM) is the ideal environment to achieve this ambitious outcome and to improve my skills in translations studies during the first two years of the Fellowship. My supervisor Prof. Marie-Alice Belle, and the research team directed by her, ‘Trajectories of Translation in Early Modern Britain, 1473-1660: Routes, Mediations, Networks’, will provide me with crucial expertise in the study of paratexual materials and cultural networks involved in translation exchanges between France and the British Isles. During the last year, Prof. Venturi, in collaboration with his interdisciplinary research group ‘Textual Traditions and Communities in Early Modern Europe’ at the University of Oslo (UiO), will bring his philological expertise to the project and, under his supervision, I will be able to explore other aspects of the European reception and interpretation of the Canzoniere, including the commentary traditions and circulations of editions with paratexts.