Paper short abstract:

The paper reflects on the challenges and chances of exhibiting books and manuscripts from the medieval and early modern periods that were originally intended for missionary and religious educational purposes. Re-semantisation of the materiality of religions is discussed as a process of translation.

Paper long abstract:

The paper presents some thoughts on the experience of exhibiting books and images originally created in the context of religious missions and education. In 2021, I was involved in two exhibitions which focused on early modern translation cultures and were funded by a nation-wide priority program of the German Research Council. I curated the exhibition "Translated Religion: In a Forest of True Words" at Leipzig University Library. The second exhibition, "Translation is Power: Secrets, Gifts, Stories in the Early Modern Period", is a virtual exhibition (https://uebersetzenistmacht.de) and the result of a collaborative effort. The paper focuses on the challenges and chances encountered in the process of curating and exhibiting these two exhibitions. As a starting point I will reflect on the major challenges experienced by the medieval and early modern translators themselves: Translating in order to spread one's own religion requires bridging the often considerable gaps between source and target languages. The original language may even be extinct and knowledge of it is hazy. In some religious traditions, a particular language or register is reserved for holy scripture, and adherents may regard the translation of their holy book into a vernacular as reprehensible. Another challenge to the translators is posed by the wide range of writing systems and alphabets used to represent the languages involved. Translation is not limited to the written word, for religious images are also changed when they are transposed into a new context. All these have to be considered and 'translated' for the exhibition visitors. The paper also reflects on both risks and opportunities when presenting such materials. Viewing and experiencing materials from diverse, and often adverse, religions might lead to a re-consideration of the role of language and literature in religious encounters.