Vorlage

A vorlage (from the German for prototype or template) is a prior version or manifestation of a text under consideration. It may refer to such a version of a text itself, a particular manuscript of the text, or a more complex manifestation of the text (e.g., a group of copies, or a group of excerpts). Thus, the original-language version of a text which a translator then works into a translation is called the vorlage of that translation. For example, the Luther Bible is a translation of the Textus Receptus. So in this case the Textus Receptus is the vorlage of the Luther Bible.