The Transferable Power of Polemic: Antoine Arnauld's Arrainment of the whole societie of Jesuites in Fraunce (1594) and Anti-Jesuit Sentiment in France and England

This article argues that the translation of Arnauld's Plaidoyé as the English Arrainment is a dynamic example of cultural transfer in which translation occurs because it confirms the prejudices of the audience for which it is translated. The speed with which Arnauld's polemic was translated illustrates the interest of the English establishment in a text which extolled monarchical authority and castigated those privileging religious loyalty over the duty owed to the monarch. The article examines the ways in which the process of translation fundamentally changes meanings and understandings because of the differing context in which the translated text appears. Arnauld's polemic was primarily intended to support a fragile monarchy against a powerful religious institution. However, in England, its appearance may have served instead to inflame anti-Jesuit sentiment, thus contributing to a very hostile environment for Jesuits in England.