ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the intersections of editing, translation, and reception in the decades around 1600, as the growing interest in Italian culture sparked a demand for translations of Italian works into German. An understanding of the Italian model allows for a closer assessment of the fit between the original and the target languages. Sara Dumont summarizes the sharp differences between Italian and German poetry as follows: German poetry used strong accented metres in lines of usually four or eight syllables, and its concerns were those of hunting, drinking, springtime, courtly love and the narration of stories. Given the complexity of Italian versification, it is not surprising that the earliest German translations of Italian songs were by native Italians active in Germany. The profusion of translations and adaptations of Italian texts may be connected with contemporary German efforts to overtake foreign influences, in an attempt to forge a national identity amidst growing regional and transnational conflict.
