Abstract

J. L. Borges’s interest in and understanding of the Old English dialogues featuring King Solomon and the pagan Saturn have hitherto received little academic attention. This article will explore Borges’s engagement with these texts and in doing so aims at contributing to recent scholarship concerning the author’s lifetime fascination with the medieval literatures of northern Europe. Particular attention will be given to Borges’s annotated translation of one of the Solomonic dialogues published in the journal of the National Library of Argentina in 1961, La Biblioteca, under the title “Un diálogo anglosajón del siglo XI”. Borges’s reasons for selecting the text as well as the Old English sources used in this translation will be explored alongside his passion towards the subject of the translated passage.