universities and study centers, where translations took place. Besides the study and translation of philosophical and scientific works from Arabic, Greek, Hebrew and other languages from Europe and the Mediterranean basin, translations were made from literature works and orally transmuted legends and traditions from native languages in the New World. Translations from Spanish The particular aspects of Spanish Humanism in the Renaissance did much to shape the Spanish attitude towards literary translation. In this period the English language acquired a great number of Spanish words. English lexicographers began to accumulate lists of Spanish words, beginning with John Thorius in 1590, and for the next two centuries this interest for the Spanish language facilitated translation into the two languages as well as the mutual borrowing of words. In the New World, translations were made specially of those books deemed appropriate for the propagation of the Christian Doctrine in far away lands, predominantly in America and Asia. Criticism Most of the issues that arose from undertaking such enormous and varied amount of translations during this period are reflected in the Don Quijote de la Mancha of Miguel de Cervantes, where he attributes the authorship of his book to a variety of characters and translators, some with Moorish names, some Spanish, and some from other parts of Europe. Cervantes also expresses his opinion on the translation process, offering a rather despairing metaphor for the end result of translations, which is frequently cited by contemporary theoreticians and translating experts: According to Cervantes, translations (with the exception of those made between Greek and Latin), are like looking at Flemish tapestry by its reverse side, where although the main figures can be discerned, they are obscured by the loose threads and lack the clarity of the front side. See also Spanish Golden Age Toledo School of Translators Latin translations of the 12th century References Child, Jack. Introduction to Spanish Translation. Lanham: University Press of America, 1992. de la Cuesta, Leonel. Lecciones Preliminares de Traductología. Miami: Ediciones Guayacán, 1987. Nida, Eugene A. Language, Structure and Translation. Stanford: Stanford University Press,1975. Notes External links Robert of Ketton's Qu'ran, as edited by Bibliander —(1550 revised edition) El Quijote y la traducción— • Spanish Golden Age . Spanish language . .