Mirroring the “Long Reformation”: Translating Erasmus’ colloquies in early modern England

This article examines how printed English translations of Erasmus’ colloquies reflect the difference phases of the “Long Reformation” and the changing status and reputation of Erasmus within that as he shifts from being presented as proto-Reformer, to problematically orthodox, to irenic martyr. It traces how in the 1530s and 1540s, in the immediate aftermath of Henry VIII’s break from the Church of Rome, networks of evangelical translators, printers, and publishers used translations of Erasmus’ colloquies to advance their religious agenda, albeit – in those uncertain times – often hedging their confessionalism with anonymity or overt support for royal policy. These translations, accentuating the anti-clericalism of the Latin originals, set the tone for the Edwardian, Elizabethan, and Jacobean translations that followed. However, where Tudor translations habitually rely on paratext to shape readers’ response, those in the early Stuart period adapt the Erasmian text more freely, rewriting his orthodox soteriology along Calvinist lines, and – at the same time – reflecting fissures within the English Church: the opponents in the Jacobean versions are no longer simply “papists,” but also other, less-observant Protestants. After an apparent hiatus in English translations of Erasmus’ colloquies during the Civil War and interregnum, the Restoration and later seventeenth century saw a renewed boom. This final phase marks a retreat from harnessing Erasmus’ colloquies for sectarian purposes, as their translators variously promote Erasmus’ irenicism, or emphasise the literariness and literary antecedents of his colloquies. The article further explores a recurrent focus on reforming female behaviour as a necessary step towards achieving a godly commonweal.