Linguistic Diversity in Sixteenth-Century Antwerp: Exploring a Multilingual Edition of the Historia de Grisel y Mirabella

Abstract

This essay aims to explore why four multilingual editions of the Spanish sentimental romance Grisel y Mirabella were printed in Antwerp in 1556 under the French title Aurelio et Isabelle. First, it demonstrates that, in fact, only one edition was published but with various colophons. Second, this quadrilingual book is located within its possible functional contexts by discussing its intended audiences and markets. This is achieved using methods of material bibliography and historical contextualization, thus supporting the author’s conclusion that this Aurelio et Isabelle edition primarily found its audience in multilingual communities near Antwerp, but also reached destinations as far afield as Britain.