Contents of Faith in Transfer

This open-access volume explores translations of catechisms produced during the Early Modern period (1450–1800), a type of text now increasingly recognised as pivotal for understanding cultural translation.

Bringing together case studies from across Europe’s ‘peripheries’ (with a particular focus on the ‘Celtic fringe’ and the Baltic-speaking regions) and from areas affected by European colonial expansion (such as Greenland, Central America, and India), the volume reveals how Christian denominations—Catholic as well as Protestant—adapted catechisms for diverse audiences.

Translation in this genre often entailed far more than linguistic transfer: ‘translators’ became ‘redactors’ and ‘authors’, reshaping texts to suit new cultural and theological contexts. The audiences of the catechism translations presented include members of the same or a different Christian denomination as well as non-Christian mono- or polytheistic communities with or without elaborate literacy.

The multiform strategies of translation or adaptation therefore chosen provide not only important linguistic data, but also fascinating insights into complex processes of accommodation. The creativity of the translators contributed to the shaping of written registers, language standardisation, lexical innovations, and even the introduction of literacy.