The concept is closely linked to translatio imperii, which similarly describes the movement of imperial dominance.
[1] Translatio studii is a celebrated topos in medieval literature, most notably articulated in the prologue to Chrétien de Troyes's Cligès, composed ca.
There, Chrétien explains that Greece was first the seat of all knowledge, then it came to Rome, and now it has come to France, where, by the grace of God, it shall remain forevermore.
From there, enlightenment purportedly moved west to London, though other nations laid claim to the mantle, most notably Russia, which would involve a retrograde motion and rupture in the westerly direction.
The metaphor of translatio studii went out of fashion in the 18th century, but such English Renaissance authors as George Herbert were already predicting that learning would move next to America.
7-8) While the term translatio studii literally means in English the translation of studies, there is an implication within the concept that the transmission of learning also carried with it cultural ideals and information.
"[2] In the way that politics and social issues move circulate around the world very often in English, these same concepts traveled along the developing roads from Greece and Italy to England during Medieval times.
As religion spread from Rome to Londinium (or present day Britain) it brought with it other concepts that can still be seen in the Romance languages.
[3] In this way, it is clear that historically the significance of translatio studii concerns the transfer of ideas that hold cultural value.
Although it may be considered from various angles (e.g., history, linguistics, and literature) the concept of translatio studii is fundamentally concerned with texts.
"Reading, translating, commenting, interpreting, rewriting — all are common intertextual activities of the translatio studii.
[6] Chrétien de Troyes, a French poet of the late 12th century, writes of translatio studii in the opening of Cligès:[7] Par les livres que nous avons Les fez des anciiens savons Et del siecle qui fu jadis.