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The research program "Theorica" did start in 2012. Its general goal is to discuss the stereotyped idea according to which the medieval period was asystematic and unable to theorization. This fifth conference specifically deals with discourses about the act of translating, in order to explore the ways in which the medieval scholars thought it useful to theorize translation.
The general idea is not to apply to medieval texts the methods used by modern traductology, but rather to understand how the medieval theoricians and practicians conceived the act of translating, and to identify different conceptions of translation at the end of the Middle Ages. How did the medieval translators conceive their task and what kind of theoretical discourse did they build in order to guide their own practices? Is it correct to speak of a "medieval traductology"? What were the functions and usefulness of translation according to medieval people? Which linguistic problems did the translation create? Does the analysis of translation practices confirm the medieval theories about translation? If not, how can we explain the differences between norms and practices?