Англиялық тілмаш және лингвист Артур Голдинг

16th century English linguist and translator

Arthur Golding (c. 1536May 1606) was an English translator of more than 30 works from Latin into English. While primarily remembered today for his translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses because of its influence on William Shakespeare's works, in his own time he was most famous for his translation of Caesar's Commentaries, and his translations of the sermons of John Calvin were important in spreading the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation.

Arthur Golding was born in East Anglia, before 25 May 1535/36, the second son of John Golding of Belchamp St Paul and Halstead, Essex, an auditor of the Exchequer, and his second wife, Ursula (d. c. 1564), daughter and co heir of William Merston of Horton in Surrey, in a family of eleven children (four from John Golding's first wife, Elizabeth). In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Golding family had prospered in the cloth trade, and by marrying heiresses had become fairly wealthy and respectable by the time of Arthur's birth, probably in London. When Golding was 11, his father died. In 1548, his half sister Margery, by John's first wife, became the second wife of John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford, and, by 1552, his brother Henry was steward for his brother in law's household. Another sister Dorothy married Edmund Docwra MP of Crookham, Berkshire, and was mother of the soldier and statesman Henry Docwra, 1st Baron Docwra of Culmore. By 1549, Arthur was in the service of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, then Lord Protector. He matriculated as a fellow commoner at Jesus College, Cambridge in 1552. Henry was elected to Parliament in 1558, probably because of Oxford's influence, and from the later 1550s, Arthur worked on a translation of Pompeius Trogus that he planned to dedicate to Oxford. But Oxford died in August 1562, and his son Edward, the 17th earl, became a ward in the house of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, in The Strand. Cecil appears to have employed Golding as his nephew's receiver for several years, for two of his dedications are dated from Cecil House,

Most of Golding's work consists of prose translations that were from Latin and French texts. A Calvinist, he translated contemporary Protestant leaders: Heinrich Bullinger, William, Prince of Orange, Theodore Beza, and Philippe de Mornay. He translated also Leonardo Bruni's History of the War Against the Goths, Froissart's Chronicles in Sleidan's epitome, and Aesop's fables. is an important aspect of his writing. During his time it was more uncommon to translate works that reflect pagan society, such as works by Ovid. Golding, however, did not allow conformity to sway his work. Ovid's Metamorphoses, for example, does not mention Christian symbols; in fact, it was written before Christ's time. What makes Arthur Golding an influential and important character to study is his desire to pull Christian symbolism from the text and write in such a way as to make the work accessible to his peers. Undoubtedly, Golding spent time translating works by Calvin that would further his reputation as a decent Puritan, but by challenging the authority that condemns so called "pagan" texts such as the Metamorphoses, Golding forged a path for subsequent writers. Golding's influence upon Shakespeare's knowledge of Ovid cannot be diminished. Without Golding's translation, common knowledge of the ancient text would not have been understood in the same clear light. In essence, Golding's contribution to English literature was his translation of the Metamorphoses because not only does he create an accessible work for many to understand, but he also translates in such a way as to infuse the work with Christian theology.