Translating and spoliating the Byzantines: the receptions and remodelings of a Komnenian novel in early modern France

The purpose of this article is to explore how and why the Byzantine twelfth-century novel Rhodanthe and Dosikles was translated into French in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The aim is to show that episodes and elements that serve a particular purpose in an original context can be employed in an entirely different way – or not at all – under different circumstances. The questions posed are thus, first, what part the French translation-adaptions of the Byzantine novel played in contemporary society; second, which concrete changes the translators made in the original story, how and if they motivated these and in what ways they affect the end result. In order to theoretically approach these questions, two translation theories are being considered: the polysystem theory by Itamar Even-Zohar and the skopos theory by Hans J. Vermeer. The conclusions of the study are first and foremost that the target text must always be considered and judged in relation to its context: time, place, culture, politics etc. Another conclusion is that the act of translation has developed and changed over time, and most probably will continue to change in the future.