“AS IT WAS IN ENGLAND IN THE EARLY 16TH CENTURY”: THE ENGLISH THEME IN S. VOLCHKOV’S COLLECTION OF FABLES

Abstract

The article analyzes the translation of Roger L’Estrange’s collection of fables (“Fables of Aesop and Other Eminent Mythologists”), which was done by Sergei Volchkov, secretary of the Academy of Sciences, and published by him in 1747 under the title “Aesop’s Fables with Moral Lessons and Notes by Roger Letrange”. The article compares the final edition of the translation of the fables with Roger L’Estrange’s original work. In a number of cases, Volchkov’s source for the translation is also cited – the German edition of the English collection «Esopi Fabeln mit Herrn Roger L’Estrange Lehren und Anmerckungen aus dem Englischen übersetzt» (1714). Some of the L’Estrange’s fables contain a number of political allusions that are directly related to his biography. For example, they mention Cromwell, The Popish Plot, an attack on the Whig party, etc. When translating, Volchkov sought to convey the general essence of the certain plot lines in order to adapt the collection for a wide readership. In this regard, a separate topic touched upon in the article is the study of the peculiarities of the Russian translator’s work with foreign text, thanks to which it is possible to trace the origin of the changes that appear in the process of preparing the publication for printing.