Why would a Jewish rabbi translate a Bible for Christians? Why were children used to bring down Amerindian civilization? This work answers these questions and uses them to discuss some of the most complex issues in contemporary Translation Studies and Cultural Studies. Identifying cultural intermediaries as members of medieval frontier society, it traces the stages by which that society has assisted the creation of Hispanic cultures. Individual case studies go from the 12th-century Christian, Islamic, and Jewish exchanges right through to the not unrelated complexity of late 20th century translation schools in Spain, mining a history rich in anecdote and paradox. Further aspects trace key concepts and practices such as the disputation, the medieval hierarchy of languages, the nationalist mistrust of intermediaries, the effects of decolonization on development ideology, and the difficulties of training students for globalizating markets.