The main character in this book is a Scottish translator who travels to Spain, so, naturally, it promised a lot. More specifically, the protagonist is Michael Scot, a monk who in the early thirteenth century served in the court of Frederick II. In this novel, Elizabeth Mac Donald reimagines the story of the real-life scholar, basing it upon the known facts and many myths about him.
The Scot, as he is often referred to, travels across Europe in a quest for knowledge, armed with his linguistic abilities. He does so at the behest of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, but his efforts make him more enemies than friends and put him at odds with the Vatican.
The novel crystallises the historic importance of languages and translation in humankind’s pursuit of knowledge and advancement. We see also the power that this meant for those who could obtain and control knowledge. So much was at stake over the candlelit activities of a learned monk.
Scot provokes scandal in his fellow Christians for working with Jewish co-translators to bring the works of Muslim scholars to Christendom. Amidst the court intrigue and power struggles that abound in the novel, there are constant schemes to discredit him.
Church and state clash as the Christian world struggles with the philosophical relationship between faith and reason.
Canon Michael’s intellectual curiosity, meanwhile, draws him to the murkier arts of astrology and alchemy, provoking even more suspicion of his character and allegiance, especially as rumours spread that he has powers beyond worldly explanation.
Mac Donald brings this mysterious character to life wonderfully, portraying him as complex, troubled and deeply human. In his thoughts and travails, there is much that those of us who have learnt languages and lived in multiple countries can relate to. At various points I found myself smiling and nodding, including when Michael meets people who aren’t sure what or where Scotland is.
Besides the well-researched period detail giving an insight into the thirteenth century, the book also has much to say that is relevant to the twenty-first, on themes such as identity, belonging, integration and more.
Of particular interest is the way the three main religions of the day – Christianity, Judaism and Islam – coexisted and interacted. We meet a Muslim who talks about fanatical Christian suicides, we see Jews having to wear yellow badges, and Michael Scot faces ostracization for donning Muslim attire. Yet despite the differences and tensions, they did cooperate in scholarship and learning – The Scot is aided at various points by both Jews and Muslims – and, perhaps most importantly, they were there. They were always there. At a time when right-wing extremists not just in Europe but globally would have you believe that the presence of Islam in the Western world is a recent phenomenon, it is healthy to remember that that is not at all the case. The persecution of Jewish people, as portrayed in the book in both Christian and Muslim territories, is also painfully reminiscent of what was to keep happening for hundreds of years to follow.
The language used by Mac Donald is also worthy of comment. Though subtle enough not to detract from the flow of the prose, there are deft reminders in certain words, phrases or syntax that the characters would not have been speaking English to each other. This is a bold move but it mostly pays off and has the double effect of also adding to the historical feel of the work.
With this strategy and some of the comments on translation, you might guess (in a good way) that the author is herself also a translator. Who else, you might wonder, would think to make translation so crucial to the plot of a novel? The result is a fascinating and entertaining read, and certainly not merely for the enjoyment of fellow translators.
Full of plotting, mystery, philosophical and existential questions, and a whisper of the supernatural, this is a novel to read by candlelight and keep going until the wax burns right down.
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A Matter of Interpretation by Elizabeth Mac Donald was published earlier this month by Fairlight Books.