John Purvey (c. 1354 – c. 1414) was an English theologian, reformer, and disciple of

John Wycliffe John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of O ...

. He was born around 1354 in Lathbury, near

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. It is separated ...

in the county of Buckinghamshire, England. He was a great scholar, permitted to enter all priestly ranks on 13 March 1377, or 1378. It has been assumed by scholars that Purvey became acquainted with Wycliffe's ideas in Oxford. In around 1382, Purvey lived with Wycliffe at

Lutterworth Lutterworth is a market town and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The town is located in southern Leicestershire, close to the borders with Warwickshire and Northamptonshire. It is located north of Rugby ...

, Leicestershire, along with

Nicholas of Hereford Nicholas fHereford (died in 1420) was an English Bible translator, Lollard, reformer on the side of John Wycliffe, Fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford and Chancellor of the University of Oxford in 1382. He was a Doctor of Theology, which he ...

and John Aston, and became one of Wycliffe's disciples. Wycliffe's disciples were called Lollards; a name perhaps derived the medieval Dutch word meaning "to mutter". This reflected the Dutch's views on worship through their reading of the Scripture. The most important group of Lollards were a group of knights who were a part of the king's court. Sir William Neville, Sir John Montague and Sir William Beachamp were a part of this group and had the support of the Black Prince and his younger brother

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

, reflecting the tradition of noble anticlericalism. At Lutterworth, Purvey, with Wycliffe's concurrence, revised the 1382 English translation of the Bible, originally done by Wycliffe and Nicholas of Hereford. The primary purpose of the revision was to make the translation more accessible as well as comprehensible. The 1382 translation was a verbatim rendering of the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels us ...

and had little consideration for the differences between the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, making the version confusing. Purvey described his time translating with Wycliffe; he said that each worked on their manuscripts at opposite ends of a table with an inkwell shared in the middle. Purvey worked separately from Wycliffe, never writing a word for him despite Wycliffe's palsied arm. They were in the midst of this undertaking when Wycliffe died in 1384. From Lutterworth, Purvey then moved to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, a city that was well known at the time for its sympathies of Wycliffe and his followers. Meanwhile in 1387, Purvey, Hereford, Aston, Parker, and Swynderby were banned from preaching by Henry Wakefield, the bishop of Worcester, and were then amalgamated at a college unlicensed and dismissed by law from practising preaching. Purvey finished his revised version of the Bible in 1388. He then ignored the ban and later admitted to preaching across the country. In the infamous prologue to his version of the Bible, he unravels the method of " a poor catiff lettid fro prehying" and discusses the meaning and renders it "myche travile, with diverse felawis and helperis." He also delves in the ideas how a labourer at Scripture hath "nede to live a clene life, and with good livyng and great traviel" meaning to come to "trewe understanding of holi wit." It has been said that Purvey's translation was free from bias and was so widely accepted that it was owned by obedient churchmen and bishops alike. Purvey, as one of the poor preachers whom Wycliffe had organised before his death, continued to spread Wycliffe's views. In 1388, a commission was sent to all bishops to watch for heretical writings by Purvey and Wycliffe's disciples. Ultimately, Purvey was accused of preaching

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

. Archbishop Arundel investigated Purvey's teachings and found several counts of heresy including the invalidity of wrongful excommunication, and the ineffectuality of papal law. He was imprisoned in 1390. Nonetheless he continued to write various works, including commentaries, sermons and treatises condemning what he perceived to be the corruptions of the Catholic Church. By 1401, he was brought before convocation and, unable to face death by burning, like that of

William Sawtrey William Sawtrey, also known as William Salter (died March 1401) was an English Roman Catholic priest and Lollard martyr. He was executed for heresy. Sawtrey was born in Norfolk, England. He was a follower of John Wycliffe, the leader of an early ...

, he recanted at

St Paul's Cross St Paul's Cross (alternative spellings – "Powles Crosse") was a preaching cross and open-air pulpit in the grounds of Old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London. It was the most important public pulpit in Tudor and early Stuart England, and man ...

in London and returned to orthodoxy. He confessed on 6 March 1401 and revoked his heresies. Afterwards Purvey was left alone, and by the end of 1401 he was inducted to the vicarage of

West Hythe West Hythe is a hamlet near Palmarsh in Kent, England, and a few miles west of the cinque port town of Hythe . Location Modern settlement is mostly on the plain south of the Royal Military Canal, and immediately north and north-west of Palmarsh ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

. But like other followers of Wycliffe who had recanted, he was ill at ease at his betrayal. In 1403, he resigned from his parish, and for the next eighteen years he preached wherever he could. In 1407, Purvey was named as a participant in the Oldcastle rebellion in Derbyshire and Warwickshire. He was arrested by 12 January and was held at

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, th ...

in London. He died of natural causes on 16 May 1414.

References

Sources

* Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000. Web. 21 October 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Purvey, John English theologians Lollards 1361 births 1429 deaths 14th-century English Roman Catholic priests 15th-century English Roman Catholic priests English male non-fiction writers

See also

References

Sources