Translators in search of originals

This chapter looks at the problems of translating ancient texts that have undergone centuries of textual intervention and manipulation by many different hands. Changing perceptions of the canonical status of ancient works, combined with the textual instability of such “originals,” means that translators can engage with ancient texts in a new spirit of respectful appropriation. Illustrative examples include the work of contemporary translators from Ancient Greek, Latin, Old Welsh, and Old Irish.