17th century Italian book - Column directions?

RebelKimberly

RebelKimberly

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Hi Researchers,

I'm translating (and trying to read) 17th century Italian books I've sourced for my research and I've come across one that I think has a different approach to direction of column reading. However, as my translations are rough, being done initially through Google Translate, I'm not certain of the disjointedness being caused by the translation or the actual columns.

Would any of you know if there were books in the 17th century being written that were two columns, and being broken up over two pages, where the first page left column continued on the next page, left column, versus the first page, second column?

If so, then firstly, Hallelujah (I'm not entirely crazy), and secondly, what is the prescribed method for reading said book - i.e. does the column on the left keep going on the left til the end of the book and starts again at the first page right column (aach - madness!) or rather are there small, almost imperceivable breaks I should be looking for?

Thanks so much for your assistance!
 
benbenberi

benbenberi

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I've no experience with Italian books, but a great deal with French. And I think... you probably just need to experiment with your particular volume to see how it makes sense.

More specific: what kind of book is it? Manuscript or print? Is there a continuous narrative/text, or is it chunky? Does the content in one column have any direct relationship to the content in the column next to it? There are a lot of different things that could be going on here. No universal rule applies. (But it's unlikely the left column continues to the end and the text then starts pages back in the right column, unless there's something explicitly called out to suggest it.)
 
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Murffy

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RebelKimberly said:
Hi Researchers,

I'm translating (and trying to read) 17th century Italian books I've sourced for my research and I've come across one that I think has a different approach to direction of column reading. However, as my translations are rough, being done initially through Google Translate, I'm not certain of the disjointedness being caused by the translation or the actual columns.

Would any of you know if there were books in the 17th century being written that were two columns, and being broken up over two pages, where the first page left column continued on the next page, left column, versus the first page, second column?

If so, then firstly, Hallelujah (I'm not entirely crazy), and secondly, what is the prescribed method for reading said book - i.e. does the column on the left keep going on the left til the end of the book and starts again at the first page right column (aach - madness!) or rather are there small, almost imperceivable breaks I should be looking for?

Thanks so much for your assistance!
Click to expand...

I have no idea about your question but I do know a translator/scholar of Italian literature (Renaissance). I pinged her. If you PM me, I can give you her email.
 
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RebelKimberly

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Hi Benbenberi,

Thanks so very much for your reply. I really appreciate your insights very much - and wish I could tell you more. Unfortunately, it's still kind of early in this book (it's taking me FOREVER to translate just a few pages) and so I haven't been able to discern how the puzzle pieces fit. :)

It is an actual book; a legal summary and opinions of a murder trial - so there are quotes, with references/citations, etc. But given where the breaks are in the original book, I'm unable thus far to discern the congruity of the paragraphs.

I think you make a good point in that I should just carry on and see if further pages seem to give more light on how the columns take shape. I just LOVE the wealth of knowledge and community here!

Thanks a bunch!
Kimberly

- - - Updated - - -

You Murffy, are a scholar and a star! :) Thanks a bunch! I've PMd you on the same.
 
benbenberi

benbenberi

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With a legal book, one possibility is that the main text is in one column, while the other includes commentary, references, and that sort of thing. If the font is not uniform, that's an important clue! Also if there are Latin inclusions, or abbreviated text that might function as a shorthand reference to long running or well known legal arguments or precedents. (I've seen French legal docs where the main text is sometimes a paragraph or just a few words in the middle of the page, surrounded by layer upon layer of nested commentary etc.) I don't know anything about the specifics of Italian jurisprudence, but to the extent that the legal tradition of the particular place in question derives from Roman law (as the law of southern France did), any individual case may be just the visible tip of a very large iceberg.
 
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