Public evening lecture by Regina Toepfer in the framework of the exhibition ‘Übersetzte Religionen’ (‘Translated Religions’) at the Leipzig University Library, moderated by Katja Triplett. In the Middle Ages and the Early Modern age, Ovid’s Metamorphoses presented readers with daunting challenges. His myths about the beginnings of the world differ from the Biblical stories of creation and Christian moral values in conspicuous respects. The lecture will provide insights into how German translators dealt with these provocations by omitting awkward passages or rewriting them to conform to the norms of their time. Translations containing interpretations of this kind often reveal more about the literary and cultural context of the target readership than about the original text and can thus serve as key anthropological texts. The lecture will be available online via Youtube.

Bericht/Report: Regina Toepfer