Ein Sendbrief vom Dolmetschen und Frbitte der Heiligen

Martin Luther's Open Letter on Translation and the Intercession of Saints (1530) has long been considered a seminal document in German literature, translation studies, and Reformation theology one of the most influential texts for translation theory, arguing for an idiomatic rendering of biblical texts. It influenced authors and translators alike such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Walter Benjamin, Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig. This edition, commentary, and new English translation contextualises this seminal text through extensive linguistic footnotes, a history of the Oxford copies of the Sendbrief, guidance how to read the Early New High German text and an introduction which argues that the two topics of the treatise, translation and intercession of saints, are linked through the ongoing debate of that time at the Diet of Augsburg and in Nuremberg where the pamphlet was printed.

The edition is part of the Reformation Pamphlet series of the Taylor Institution Library in Oxford which aims to make the treasures of the library accessible via open access editions on https://editions.mml.ox.ac.uk/ and to bring together interdisciplinary expertise on different aspects of the historic holdings. Reformation historian Ulrich Bubenheimer identifies for the first time the addressee of the Sendbrief, linguist Howard Jones offers insights into the translation process, and Germanist Henrike Lhnemann adds the book historical perspective.

In the Open Letter on Translation Luther offers general advice on translation as well as a defence of some of the specific translation choices he made in his German New Testament. From these it becomes clear what his guiding principles were as a translator: an intimate knowledge of the source and target language, a feel for the idiom of both, and an understanding of the author's purpose. The same questions preoccupy translators today, whether they are working with sacred texts or not. The Open Letter affords us a glimpse into the translation technique of one its most successful exponents. 

The Open Letter also gives us a taste of Luther's style and method of argument. His syntax and vocabulary are plain and direct, his tone sometimes academic but more often informal, and the text is interspersed with colourful turns of phrase. His arguments are, in keeping with academic discourse at the time, a combination of appeals to reason or authority, ridicule, and invective. In the Open Letter we have Luther, at one point, analysing the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin precedents to argue against the translation, 'Mary, full of grace', and, at another, summarizing his attitude to Dr Snotty-Nose and his other detractors as follows: 'The fact is, a donkey doesn't need to do much braying: you just have to look at his ears'.

This n...