Basel 1516

In 1516, Erasmus of Rotterdam's version of the New Testament, featuring the editio princeps of the Greek text, a revised Latin translation and comprehensive annotations, was published by Johann Froben in Basel. The edition proved to be of great significance for the history of scholarship and books. This volume is based on a conference held in Basel in anticipation of the first edition's forthcoming 500th anniversary. Contributions by 15 internationally acknowledged specialists provide a comprehensive overview of the latest research results on this epochal edition.

Soon after the fall of the Aztec empire in 1521, missionaries began teaching Latin to native youths in Mexico. This initiative was intended to train indigenous students for positions of leadership, but it led some of them to produce significant writings of their own in Latin, and to translate a wide range of literature, including Aesop's fables, into their native language. Aztec Latin reveals the full extent to which the first Mexican authors mastered and made use of European learning and provides a timely reassessment of what those indigenous authors really achieved.

Offering a detailed examination of various editorial interventions, this book demonstrates Erasmus of Rotterdam’s self-promotion, religious purpose, and novelty in editing St. Jerome’s letters, as well as his debt to previous and influence on subsequent editions of the Church Father.

This book assembles eighteen studies by internationally renowned scholars that epitomize the latest and best advances in research on the greatest polymath in Latin Christian antiquity, Jerome of Stridon (c.346-420) traditionally known as "Saint Jerome." It is divided into three sections which explore topics such as the underlying motivations behind Jerome's work as a hagiographer, letter-writer, theological controversialist, translator and exegete of the Bible, his linguistic competence in Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac, his relations to contemporary Jews and Judaism as well as to the Greek and Latin patristic traditions, and his reception in both the East and West in late antiquity down through the Protestant Reformation. Familiar debates are re-opened, hitherto uncharted terrain is explored, and problems old and new are posed and solved with the use of innovative methodologies. This monumental volume is an indispensable resource not only for specialists on Jerome but also for students and scholars who cultivate interests broadly in the history, religion, society, and literature of the late antique Christian world.

Erasmus was concerned not only with the mechanics of conveying the factual contents and literary qualities of the original, but also with the applicability of its moral content to Christian philosophy.

Martin Luther’s 1522 September Testament marked a watershed in Bible translation, making Scripture available to ordinary German people in their own tongue and sparking similar efforts across Europe. Building on the nascent trend of vernacular Bible translations in the early sixteenth century, Luther’s translation quickly became definitive linguistically, theologically and culturally, especially once the complete Bible was published in 1534, with production of New Testaments and Bibles in French, English and other languages keeping pace. Luther and his associates constantly revised and improved their methodology for translation and interpretation over a quarter-century of Bible publishing - efforts that helped shape Bible translation, reading and exegesis, for scholars and ordinary Christians alike, well beyond his lifetime. Martin Luther’s Bible commemorates the September Testament, exploring the Wittenberg Bible project in its context and tracing aspects of its legacy in Europe and the wider world, from the sixteenth century to the present day. Essays from a range of leading experts draw upon the 2022 Martin Luther: Bible Translator, Illustrator and Publisher International Conference held at Union Theological College, Belfast. Together, they provide critical new insights into the linguistic, hermeneutical and theological history and influence of this landmark text.