Translation ad spiritum. Euripides’ Orestes and Nicholas Grimald’s Archipropheta (1548)

Jackson, Lucy C.M.M.

Abstract

One of two surviving plays by the English sixteenth-century scholar and poet Nicholas Grimald tells the story of John the Baptist’s last days. In many ways this play, the Archipropheta (published in Cologne in 1548), adheres to the trends of Latin drama of the time, drawing on the plays of Plautus and Terence for structure, metre, and tone and taking a well-known biblical story as its focus. What has escaped the notice of scholars so far, however, is the way Grimald’s drama takes inspiration from, and translates ad spiritum, certain aspects of ancient Greek tragedy and one play in particular - Euripides’ Orestes. In this paper I explore the Hellenic attributes of Grimald’s tragedy and show how the Archipropheta would provide a vehicle for Greek tragedy, in subtle and subterranean ways, to haunt the Latin drama of the sixteenth century.

Citation

Jackson, L. C. (2023). Translation ad spiritum. Euripides’ Orestes and Nicholas Grimald’s Archipropheta (1548). In G. Di Martino, C. Dudouyt, & L. C. Jackson (Eds.), Translating Ancient Greek Drama in Early Modern Europe: Theory and Practice (15th–16th Centuries) (207-226). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110719185-012

• Online Publication Date: May 22, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Nov 4, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: May 23, 2024
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Pages: 207-226
• Series Title: Trends in Classics - Pathways of Reception
• Series Number: 5
• Book Title: Translating Ancient Greek Drama in Early Modern Europe: Theory and Practice (15th–16th Centuries)
• Chapter Number: 11
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110719185-012
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1648896