Spain’s influence on and importance in early modern England is an unjustly neglected and marginalised aspect of the period, whose landscape is still dominated by France and Italy.

These pages provide two valuable on-line resources for anyone with an interest in the critical contribution made by Spain to the culture, thought and history of Renaissance England, through the varied and substantial traffic in its cultural goods. These resources aim to promote and support research that enhances our understanding of European history and how early modern England fits into it.

The Translations Database provides a complete bibliography of Spanish-English translations from the early modern period. It also includes transcriptions from preliminaries and dedications, and as much information as possible on the figures involved in the commissioning, production, sale and consumption of these translated Spanish texts.

The Minsheu Dictionary offers for the first time an on-line, fully searchable, digitised version of one of the earliest bilingual English-Spanish dictionaries.

The political, cultural and historical importance of language learning, translators and vernacular translation is gaining increasing recognition, not solely from the perspective of historical linguistics and the historical study of translation, but also as a crucial element of the transactions between the states of early modern Europe. The translator occupied a critical role in the assimilation, confrontation and negotiation of international relations and national identities. In this sense, it is not only the translations in themselves which are of interest here, but also the sponsors, patrons, printers and translators engaged in the dissemination of Spanish cultural goods. Translation activity was an integral part of diplomatic and political relations.

We welcome feedback, comments, or suggestions on how to improve this section of the site, please email a.samson@ucl.ac.uk.