Translator’s prefaces : back to the medieval christian origins of the genre (St. Jerome)

Abstract
The article deals with a new approach to the study of medieval translation tradition, namely, a cross-cultural analysis of such elements of translator’s paratext as translator’s preface. At this early stage of the research, the author singles out basic structural components and topoi of translator’s prefaces pertaining to medieval translations (e. g., a comparative evaluation of the source and target languages, the attitude to previous versions, the humility topos) and analyzes the prefaces written by St. Jerome, one of the founders of the Bible translation in the western Christian world, focusing on the typical and individual features in his Praefationis.

Keywords: paratext, translator’s preface (Praefatio), topos, narrative, St. Jerome