Margaret Tyler facts for kids

Margaret Tyler (born around 1540, died around 1590) was an amazing Englishwoman. She was the first English woman to translate an adventure story, called a "romance," from Spanish. She was also the first woman in England to publish such a story!

Margaret Tyler also wrote about how important women's writing was. She believed that both men and women should be treated as smart people. She famously said that it's "all one for a woman to pen a story, as for a man to address his story to a woman." This means she thought women could write just as well as men.

In 1578, her translated book, The Mirrour of Princely Deedes and Knighthood, was published. Some people criticized it because they thought a story about knights and adventures was not suitable for a woman to translate. Back then, many thought women should only translate religious books. Books about love and foreign tales were seen as dangerous for young women to read. Margaret Tyler spoke out against these rules in a letter to her readers. She argued for women's right to write and translate.

Who Was Margaret Tyler?

Not much is known for sure about Margaret Tyler's life. It's even hard to know her social class or religion. The only clear facts come from a special letter she wrote. This letter was dedicated to Lord Thomas Howard.

In this letter, Margaret Tyler said she was a servant to the important Howard family. She also described herself as "middle-aged." Based on these two facts, some experts think she might have been the wife of another servant, John Tyler. He was in charge of the duke's land records. Letters from that time mention "Tyler's wife," suggesting she worked for the Howard family in the 1560s. Later, she might have worked for other families in the 1570s. A will from 1595, written by a Margaret Tyler, suggests she might have had a son named Robert and a daughter with the last name Ross.

Some experts believe Margaret Tyler was Catholic. This is because she worked for the Catholic Howard family. She might even have been born in Spain. She could have traveled to England with the Spanish ambassador, Álvaro de la Quadra. However, one expert, Maria Ferguson, thinks "Margaret Tyler" might have been a pen name for Margaret Tyrell. Margaret Tyrell was related to the Howards through marriage.

We don't know how Margaret Tyler learned Spanish. At that time, knowing Spanish was helpful for English merchants. This was because Spain had a very important economy. Daughters of merchants or servants of traveling diplomats might have learned the language.

Her Amazing Translation Work

The Mirrour of Princely Deedes and Knighthood

The publication of The Mirrour of Princely Deedes and Knighthood in 1578 was a big moment. It was Margaret Tyler's translation of a Spanish adventure story. The original was called Espejo de Príncipes y Cavalleros by Diego Ortúñez de Calahorra.

Tyler's translation stayed very close to the original Spanish story. She made only a few small changes. She often broke long sentences into shorter ones. She wanted her translation to be clear and easy to understand. Sometimes she added a few words or changed a chapter title. For example, in chapter 29, Tyler's title highlighted the hero dressing as a woman. The original Spanish title did not focus on this detail. She also added a sentence in chapter 15 that wasn't in the original.

Here's an example of how similar and different her work was: The Spanish original:

Después quel grande emperador Constantino pobló la gran ciudad de Constantinopla de los nobles ciudadanos romanos, reedificando los antiquos edificios fundados por Pausania, rey de los partos, entre todos los emperadores que después dél sucedieron en el imperio griego ninguno paresce que tanto se haya levantado, ni su nombre hiziesse tan famoso, como el grande y muy nombrado emperador Trebacio, cuyos hechos y las inmortales hazañas de los cavalleros de su tiempo quiero aquí contar, según que Artimidoro el griego en los grandes volúmines de sus corónicas lo dexó escripto, el qual dize ansí.5

Margaret Tyler's English translation:

After that the greate Emperour Constantine had peopled the Citie of Constantinople, with the race of the noble Citizens of Rome, and had reedified the auncient buildings founded by Pansanias king of the Parthes. Among all the Emperours which succeeded in that Empire of Greece, none seemed to have raysed his own name, or to have made it so famous, as the great and mightie Emperour Trebatio. Whose worthy deedes with the valiant actes of the knights of his time, I will report here, according as Artimidoro the Grecian hath left them written in the great volumes of his Cronicle.

Tyler's translation was very popular! It was so successful that a second part was quickly ordered. However, this second part was translated by a different person, Robert Parry. One expert, Tina Krontiris, thinks this was because Tyler was "too old for another laborious translating task." The full series of these Spanish adventure stories eventually came out in eight books.

Why She Wrote to Thomas Howard

In her special letter to Thomas Howard, Margaret Tyler explained why she translated the book. She said her friends encouraged her to use her talent. She felt she should not hide her skills. She also wanted to make sure her work did not seem ungrateful to the Howard family. She wrote, "Under your Honour’s protection, I shall less fear the assault of the envious." This means she felt safer from critics with his support.

Since she had worked for Thomas Howard’s family, she felt she needed to explain herself to him. His parents had already passed away. She wanted to show her thanks and loyalty to the Howard family. She wrote, "I bear to your parents while they lived, then being their servant, and now do owe unto their offspring after their decease."

Her Message to the Reader

Margaret Tyler's introduction to her book also explained why she, a woman, was translating. Some experts say that women translators often stuck very closely to the original text. This was to show they were being humble. Tyler followed this idea at first. She said that the story's ideas and style were "wholly an other man's." She claimed her part was "none therein but the translation."

But after this humble start, Tyler bravely spoke up for women's right to write. She hinted that men might have a right to "discourse in learning" (talk about serious topics). However, she never fully agreed with this idea. Instead, she strongly stated that telling stories was for both men and women. She said it was "all one" whether a story was told by a woman or a man. This was a very bold statement for her time!