are sources for translation theory. At the start of the dialogue, when alluding to the Tower of Babel, Trevisa presents two solutions to the challenge of "translingual" communication: translation and a universal language, Latin. The Dialogue and the Epistle are both regarded as forms of "direct dissemination" of information about translation. By translating the Dialogue, Trevisa serves as an intermediary, or "mene," for not only those readers who cannot read Latin but also those who can read both Latin and Middle English (and therefore evaluate the quality of the translation). His theories regarding translation were in accordance with the aims of the early Christian Church, which emphasized ""serving" the source text" and preserving original meaning. During this time period, translation was a necessary means to developing the corpus of secular English literature. It was also a time at which "translator's anxiety about the function of translation [was] pervasive," which resulted in the use of simpler language and which was recommended by the lord in the Dialogue. Trevisa engages in interpolation when translating unfamiliar Latin terms in the Polychronicon, and he provides his reasoning for doing so in the Dialogue. References External links "Dialogue between a Lord and a Clerk upon Translation", 1903 translation, via Project Gutenberg Illuminated Manuscript, British Library, MS 24194, 1405 Dialogues 1387 books Translation publications