Volgarizzamenti, traduzioni e fontes : rapporti storici e dialettici nella letteratura italiana medievale

The essay starts with a new typological proposal and examines some traditional statements regarding the problem of translations and related matters: the difference between Umarbeitung and Uebersetzung; the difference between “vertical” and “horizontal” vernacularisation; types of ancient prose (practical texts, medium prose, art prose). Moreover, the essay briefly re-examines the complex relationships between medieval vernacularisation and humanistic translation. In every case, it suggests some nuances and corrections to authoritative standpoints, which may have become too strict and therefore ill suited to evaluate Italian works from the XIII and XIV centuries