Did Jakub Wujek Know English? Cover Image

Czy Jakub Wujek znał angielski?
Did Jakub Wujek Know English?

The 1593 New Testament and the English Source of Its Paratext

Author(s): Tadeusz Rubik
Subject(s): Studies of Literature
Published by: Instytut Badań Literackich Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Jakub Wujek; Wujek’s translation fo the Bible; connections between Polish and British Catolics

Summary/Abstract: A deeply rooted literary conviction is that Jakub Wujek was the author of paratext of his translation of the New Testament (1593), Psalter (1594) and the entire Bible (1599). The latest research points at the problem raised as early as in 1989 by David Frick of dependence of a great part of the New Testament paratext edition (also in fragments which seem to be literal translation) on an English, Catholic source. The matter poses the question if Jakub Wujek knew English or if he took advantage of someone’s help. The present paper describes the degree of dependency of the two texts’ paratext and analyses the connections between Polish and British Catholics. As based on the prefaces to the editions of Wujek’s translation, it proves that no convincing evidence can point at Wujek as at a translator of the New Testament paratext. The author of the paper also analyses the possible research courses and perspectives which result from discerning the problem, and signals the necessity of verification the current state of art.

  • Issue Year: 2018
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 235-250
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Polish