The interpreter in the sacramental confession in the Catholic Church, with special attention to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spain

Abstract

Within the context of the history of interpreting and focusing on Catholic Europe, with special attention to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spain, this paper looks at linguistic mediation between a penitent and his confessor who do not speak the same language. After outlining the evolution of the sacrament of penance up to the regulations arising from the Council of Trent, the ecclesiastical provisions that established the degree of intervention of interpreters in the sacramental confession are presented. Evidence of its implementation in several multilingual groups (pilgrims and crusaders, Spanish soldiers, the Moriscos, Euskera speakers, Europeans living in Spanish territory, and indigenous Canary islanders), as well as in the concurrence of sacramental confession and the making of the will is then provided. This is an initial approach to an area of traductology still to be explored, which opens new lines of research.