Tyndale Bible - Gospel Of John
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William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – ) was an English biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
in the years leading up to his execution. He is well known as a translator of the Bible into English, and was influenced by the works of prominent
Protestant Reformers Protestant Reformers were those theologians whose careers, works and actions brought about the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. In the context of the Reformation, Martin Luther was the first reformer (sharing his views publicly in 15 ...
such as
Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
. Luther's translation of the Christian Bible into German appeared in 1522. Tyndale's translation was the first English Bible to draw directly from Hebrew and Greek texts, the first English translation to take advantage of the printing press, the first of the new English Bibles of the Reformation, and the first English translation to use ''
Jehovah Jehovah () is a Latinization of the Hebrew , one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament. The Tetragrammaton is considered one of the seven names of God in Judais ...
'' ("Iehouah") as God's name as preferred by English Protestant Reformers. It was taken to be a direct challenge to the hegemony both of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and of those laws of England maintaining the church's position. The work of Tyndale continued to play a key role in spreading Reformation ideas across the English-speaking world and eventually across the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
. Tyndale's translation of the Bible was used for subsequent English translations, including the Great Bible and the
Bishops' Bible The Bishops' Bible is an English translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source ...
, authorized by the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
. In 1611, after seven years of work, the 47 scholars who produced the
King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
drew extensively from Tyndale's original work and other translations that descended from his. One estimate suggests that the New Testament in the King James Version is 83% Tyndale's words and the Old Testament 76%. A copy of Tyndale's ''
The Obedience of a Christian Man ''The Obedience of a Christen man, and how Christen rulers ought to govern, wherein also (if thou mark diligently) thou shalt find eyes to perceive the crafty of all .'' is a 1528 book by the English Protestant author William Tyndale. The spelling ...
'' (1528), which some claim or interpret to argue for Caesaropapism: the idea that the Monarch should control the country's church rather than the Pope, came to the hands of King
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
, providing a rationalization for breaking the Church in England from the Catholic Church in 1534. In 1530, Tyndale wrote ''The Practice of Prelates'', opposing Henry's plan to seek the annulment of his marriage on the grounds that it contravened scripture. Fleeing England, Tyndale sought refuge in the
Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
territory of the Catholic
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...
. In 1535 Tyndale was arrested, and jailed in the castle of
Vilvoorde Vilvoorde (, french: Vilvorde ; historically known as ''Filford'' in English) is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Vilvoorde proper with its two outlying quarters of Koningslo ...
(Fulford) outside
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
for over a year. In 1536 he was convicted of
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 ...
and executed by strangulation, after which his body was burnt at the stake. In 2002, Tyndale was placed 26th in the BBC's poll of the
100 Greatest Britons ''100 Greatest Britons'' is a television series that was broadcast by the BBC in 2002. It was based on a television poll conducted to determine who the British people at that time considered the greatest Britons in history. The series included in ...
.


Background

Partial English translations had been made from the 7th century onwards, but the religious foment caused by
Wycliffe's Bible Wycliffe's Bible is the name now given to a group of Bible translations into Middle English that were made under the direction of English theologian John Wycliffe. They appeared over a period from approximately 1382 to 1395. These Bible translati ...
in the late 15th century led to the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
for anyone found guilty of unlicensed possession of an English translation of the Bible, although translations were available in all other major European languages. Tyndale lived and worked during the era of
Renaissance humanism Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...
and the revival of
Biblical scholarship Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...
, which were both aided by both the Gutenberg Revolution and the ensuing democratisation of knowledge; for example, the publication of Johann Reuchlin's Hebrew grammar in 1506. Classical and
Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...
texts became widely available to the European scholarly community for the first time in centuries, as it welcomed Greek-speaking scholars, philosophers, intellectuals, and the manuscripts they carried to
Catholic Europe The Catholic Church in Europe is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See in Rome, including represented Eastern Catholic missions. Demographically, Catholics are the largest religious group in Europe. Demograp ...
as refugees following the
fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...
in 1453. Notably, Erasmus compiled, edited, and published the Koine Greek scriptures of the Christian Bible in 1516.


Life

Tyndale was born around 1494 in Melksham Court, Stinchcombe, a village near
Dursley Dursley is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in southern Gloucestershire, England, almost equidistant from the cities of Bristol and Gloucester. It is under the northeast flank of Stinchcombe#Stinchcombe Hill, Stinchco ...
, Gloucestershire. The Tyndale family also went by the name Hychyns (Hitchins), and it was as William Hychyns that Tyndale was enrolled at
Magdalen Hall, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colleg ...
. Tyndale's family had moved to Gloucestershire at some point in the 15th century, probably as a result of the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
. The family originated from
Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...
via
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
. Tyndale's brother Edward was receiver to the lands of Lord Berkeley, as attested to in a letter by Bishop Stokesley of London.
Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – ) was an English biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his executi ...
is recorded in two genealogies as having been the brother of Sir William Tyndale of Deane, Northumberland, and Hockwold,
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, who was knighted at the marriage of
Arthur, Prince of Wales Arthur, Prince of Wales (19/20 September 1486 – 2 April 1502), was the eldest son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York. He was Duke of Cornwall from birth, and he was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in 1489. As ...
to
Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...
. Tyndale's family was thus descended from Baron Adam de Tyndale, a
tenant-in-chief In medieval and early modern Europe, the term ''tenant-in-chief'' (or ''vassal-in-chief'') denoted a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as op ...
of
Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...
. William Tyndale's niece Margaret Tyndale was married to Protestant martyr Rowland Taylor, burnt during the Marian Persecutions.


At Oxford

Tyndale began a Bachelor of Arts degree at Magdalen Hall (later Hertford College) of Oxford University in 1506 and received his B.A. in 1512, the same year becoming a
subdeacon Subdeacon (or sub-deacon) is a minor order or ministry for men in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed between the acolyte (or reader) and the deacon in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...
. He was made
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in July 1515 and was held to be a man of virtuous disposition, leading an unblemished life. The M.A. allowed him to start studying
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, but the official course did not include the systematic study of scripture. As Tyndale later complained: He was a gifted linguist and became fluent over the years in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, Greek,
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
, Italian,
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 Spanish, in addition to English. Between 1517 and 1521, he went to the University of Cambridge. Erasmus had been the leading teacher of Greek there from August 1511 to January 1512, but not during Tyndale's time at the university. Tyndale became chaplain at the home of Sir John Walsh at
Little Sodbury Little Sodbury is an English village in South Gloucestershire, located between Chipping Sodbury, to the West, Old Sodbury to the South, Badminton, and the A46 road to the East and Horton and Hawkesbury Upton, to the north. The "manor of Sodbury" ...
in
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
and tutor to his children around 1521. His opinions proved controversial to fellow clergymen, and the next year he was summoned before John Bell, the Chancellor of the Diocese of Worcester, although no formal charges were laid at the time. After the meeting with Bell and other church leaders, Tyndale, according to
John Foxe John Foxe (1516/1517 – 18 April 1587), an English historian and martyrologist, was the author of '' Actes and Monuments'' (otherwise ''Foxe's Book of Martyrs''), telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the su ...
, had an argument with a "learned but blasphemous clergyman", who allegedly asserted: "We had better be without God's laws than the Pope's", to which Tyndale responded: "I defy the Pope and all his laws; and if God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost!" Tyndale left for London in 1523 to seek permission to translate the Bible into English. He requested help from Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall, a well-known classicist who had praised Erasmus after working together with him on a Greek New Testament. The bishop, however, declined to extend his patronage, telling Tyndale that he had no room for him in his household. Tyndale preached and studied "at his book" in London for some time, relying on the help of cloth merchant
Humphrey Monmouth Humphrey Monmouth (died 23 November 1537) was an English merchant in London who was an acquaintance of Bible translator William Tyndale. Monmouth was a wealthy member of the Drapers' Company and served as an alderman and sheriff of London from 153 ...
. During this time, he lectured widely, including at
St Dunstan-in-the-West The Guild Church of St Dunstan-in-the-West is in Fleet Street in the City of London. It is dedicated to Dunstan, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is of medieval origin, although the present building, with an octagonal ...
at
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...
in London.


In Europe

Tyndale left England for continental Europe, perhaps at
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
, in the spring of 1524, possibly traveling on to
Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...
. There is an entry in the matriculation registers of the University of Wittenberg of the name "Guillelmus Daltici ex Anglia", and this has been taken to be a Latinisation of "William Tyndale from England". He began translating the New Testament at this time, possibly in Wittenberg, completing it in 1525 with assistance from Observant Friar William Roy. In 1525 the publication of the work by Peter Quentell in
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
was interrupted by the impact of anti-
Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
. A full edition of the New Testament was produced in 1526 by printer
Peter Schöffer the Younger Peter Schöffer the Younger (–1547) was a German printer, the son of Peter Schöffer, a former apprentice of Johannes Gutenberg, and a grandson of Gutenberg's financier Johann Fust. He first worked in Mainz, where he set up his first workshop. ...
in
Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...
, a
free imperial city In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
then in the process of adopting Lutheranism. More copies were soon printed in
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
. It was smuggled from continental Europe into England and
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. The translation was condemned in October 1526 by Bishop Tunstall, who issued warnings to booksellers and had copies burned in public. Marius notes that the "spectacle of the scriptures being put to the torch... provoked controversy even amongst the faithful."
Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figur ...
condemned Tyndale as a heretic, first stated in open court in January 1529. From an entry in George Spalatin's diary for 11 August 1526, Tyndale remained at Worms for about a year. It is not clear exactly when he moved to Antwerp. Here he stayed at the house of Thomas Poyntz. The colophon to Tyndale's translation of
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
and the title pages of several pamphlets from this time purported to have been printed by
Hans Lufft Hans Lufft (1495–1584) was a German printer and publisher, commonly called "the Bible Printer," because in 1534 he printed at Wittenberg the first complete edition of Luther's Bible, in two Folio volumes with woodcut illustrations by Lucas Cran ...
at
Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...
, but this is a false address. Lufft, the printer of Luther's books, never had a printing press at Marburg. Following the hostile reception of his work by Tunstall, Wolsey, and Thomas More in England, Tyndale retreated into hiding in Hamburg and continued working. He revised his New Testament and began translating the Old Testament and writing various treatises.


Opposition to Henry VIII's annulment

In 1530, he wrote ''The Practice of Prelates'', opposing Henry VIII's desire to secure the
annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within Law, secular and Religious law, religious legal systems for declaring a marriage Void (law), null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually ex post facto law, retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is c ...
of his marriage to
Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...
in favour of
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
, on the grounds that it was unscriptural and that it was a plot by
Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figur ...
to get Henry entangled in the papal courts of
Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...
. The king's wrath was aimed at Tyndale. Henry asked Emperor Charles V to have the writer apprehended and returned to England under the terms of the
Treaty of Cambrai The Treaty of Cambrai is also known as the Paz de las Damas or Paix des Dames (Ladies' Peace). On August 3, 1529, this agreement ended a war between the French king Francis I and the Spanish Habsburg emperor Charles V. The treaty temporarily c ...
; however, the emperor responded that formal evidence was required before extradition. Tyndale developed his case in ''An Answer unto Sir Thomas More's Dialogue''.


Betrayal and death

Eventually, Tyndale was betrayed by Henry Phillips to authorities representing the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
. He was seized in
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
in 1535, and held in the castle of Vilvoorde (Filford) near
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. Some suspect that Phillips was hired by Bishop Stokesley to gain Tyndale's confidence and then betray him. He was tried on a charge of heresy in 1536 and was found guilty and condemned to be burned to death, despite
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...
's intercession on his behalf. Tyndale "was strangled to death while tied at the stake, and then his dead body was burned". His final words, spoken "at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice", were reported as "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes." The traditional date of commemoration is 6 October, but records of Tyndale's imprisonment suggest that the actual date of his execution might have been some weeks earlier. Foxe gives 6 October as the date of commemoration (left-hand date column), but gives no date of death (right-hand date column). Biographer David Daniell states his date of death only as "one of the first days of October 1536". Within four years, four
English translations of the Bible Partial Bible translations into languages of the English people can be traced back to the late 7th century, including translations into Old and Middle English. More than 100 complete translations into English have been written. In the United S ...
were published in England at the king's behest, including Henry's official Great Bible. All were based on Tyndale's work.


Theological views

Tyndale seems to have come out of the
Lollard Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic ...
tradition, which was strong in Gloucestershire. Tyndale denounced the practice of
prayer to saints Intercession of the Saints is a Christian doctrine held by the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. The practice of praying through saints can be found in Christian writings from the 3rd century onward. The 4th-century Apos ...
. He also rejected the then-
orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
view that the scriptures could be interpreted only by approved clergy. While his views were influenced by Luther, Tyndale also deliberately distanced himself from the German reformer on several key theological points, adopting a symbolical interpretation of the
Lord's Supper The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...
in opposition to Luther's doctrine of the
real presence of Christ in the Eucharist The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way. There are a number of Christian denomina ...
.


Printed works

Although best known for his translation of the Bible, Tyndale was also an active writer and translator. As well as his focus on how religion should be lived, he had a focus on political issues.


Legacy


Impact on the English language

In translating the Bible, Tyndale introduced new words into the English language; many were subsequently used in the King James Bible, such as ''
Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...
'' (as the name for the Jewish holiday, Pesach or Pesah) and scapegoat. Coinage of the word '' atonement'' (a concatenation of the words 'At One' to describe Christ's work of restoring a good relationship—a reconciliation—between God and people) is also sometimes ascribed to Tyndale. However, the word was probably in use by at least 1513, before Tyndale's translation. Tyndale also introduced the term ''
mercy seat According to the Hebrew Bible, the ''kaporet'' ( ''kapōreṯ'') or mercy seat was the gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant, with two cherubim beaten out of the ends to cover and create the space into which Yahweh was said to appear. This ...
'' into English, literally translating Luther's German ''Gnadenstuhl''. . As well as individual words, Tyndale also coined such familiar phrases as: * ''my brother's keeper'' * ''knock and it shall be opened unto you'' * ''a moment in time'' * ''fashion not yourselves to the world'' * ''seek and ye shall find'' * ''ask and it shall be given you'' * ''judge not that ye be not judged'' * ''the word of God which liveth and lasteth forever'' * ''let there be light'' * ''
the powers that be In idiomatic English, "the powers that be" (sometimes initialized as TPTB) is a phrase used to refer to those individuals or groups who collectively hold authority over a particular domain. Within this phrase, the word ''be'' is an archaic vari ...
'' * ''the salt of the earth'' * ''a law unto themselves'' * ''it came to pass'' * ''the signs of the times'' * ''filthy lucre'' * ''the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak'' (which is like Luther's translation of Matthew 26,41: ''der Geist ist willig, aber das Fleisch ist schwach'';
Wycliffe Wycliffe (and other similar spellings) may refer to: People *John Wycliffe (and other spellings) (c.1320s – 1384), English theologian and Bible translator * Wycliffe (name), includes a list of other people with the name Places * Wycliffe, Count ...
for example translated it with: ''for the spirit is ready, but the flesh is sick''.) * ''live, move and have our being''


Controversy over new words and phrases

The hierarchy of the Catholic Church did not approve of some of the words and phrases introduced by Tyndale, such as "overseer", where it would have been understood as "bishop", "elder" for "priest", and "love" rather than "charity". Tyndale, citing Erasmus, contended that the Greek New Testament did not support the traditional readings. More controversially, Tyndale translated the Greek ''ekklesia'' ( el, εκκλησία), (literally "called out ones") as "congregation" rather than "church". It has been asserted this translation choice "was a direct threat to the Church's ancient – but so Tyndale here made clear, non-scriptural – claim to be the body of Christ on earth. To change these words was to strip the Church hierarchy of its pretensions to be Christ's terrestrial representative, and to award this honor to individual worshipers who made up each congregation." Tyndale was accused of translation errors. Thomas More commented that searching for errors in the Tyndale Bible was similar to searching for water in the sea and charged Tyndale's translation of ''The Obedience of a Christian Man'' with having about a thousand false translations. Bishop Tunstall of London declared that there were upwards of 2,000 errors in Tyndale's Bible, having already in 1523 denied Tyndale the permission required under the Constitutions of Oxford (1409), which were still in force, to translate the Bible into English. In response to allegations of inaccuracies in his translation in the New Testament, Tyndale in the ''Prologue'' to his 1525 translation wrote that he never intentionally altered or misrepresented any of the Bible but that he had sought to "interpret the sense of the scripture and the meaning of the spirit." While translating, Tyndale followed Erasmus's 1522 Greek edition of the New Testament. In his preface to his 1534 New Testament ("WT unto the Reader"), he not only goes into some detail about the Greek tenses but also points out that there is often a Hebrew idiom underlying the Greek. The Tyndale Society adduces much further evidence to show that his translations were made directly from the original Hebrew and Greek sources he had at his disposal. For example, the Prolegomena in Mombert's ''William Tyndale's Five Books of Moses'' show that Tyndale's
Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...
is a translation of the Hebrew original. His translation also drew on the Latin
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 u ...
and Luther's 1521 September Testament. Of the first (1526) edition of Tyndale's New Testament, only three copies survive. The only complete copy is part of the Bible Collection of Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart. The copy of the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
is almost complete, lacking only the title page and list of contents. Another rarity is Tyndale's Pentateuch, of which only nine remain.


Impact on English Bibles

The translators of the
Revised Standard Version The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1952 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. This translation itself is a revision of the Ameri ...
in the 1940s noted that Tyndale's translation, including the 1537 Matthew Bible, inspired the translations that followed: The Great Bible of 1539; the
Geneva Bible The Geneva Bible is one of the most historically significant translations of the Bible into English, preceding the King James Version by 51 years. It was the primary Bible of 16th-century English Protestantism and was used by William Shakespear ...
of 1560; the
Bishops' Bible The Bishops' Bible is an English translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source ...
of 1568; the Douay-Rheims Bible of 1582–1609; and the King James Version of 1611, of which the RSV translators noted: "It he KJVkept felicitous phrases and apt expressions, from whatever source, which had stood the test of public usage. It owed most, especially in the New Testament, to Tyndale". Brian Moynahan writes: "A complete analysis of the Authorised Version, known down the generations as 'the AV' or 'the King James', was made in 1998. It shows that Tyndale's words account for 84% of the New Testament and for 75.8% of the Old Testament books that he translated." Joan Bridgman comments on the ''Contemporary Review'' that, "He yndaleis the mainly unrecognized translator of the most influential book in the world. Although the Authorised King James Version is ostensibly the production of a learned committee of churchmen, it is mostly cribbed from Tyndale with some reworking of his translation." Many of the English versions since then have drawn inspiration from Tyndale, such as the Revised Standard Version, the New American Standard Bible, and the
English Standard Version The English Standard Version (ESV) is an English translation of the Bible. Published in 2001 by Crossway, the ESV was "created by a team of more than 100 leading evangelical scholars and pastors." The ESV relies on recently published critic ...
. Even the paraphrases like the
Living Bible The Living Bible (TLB or LB) is a personal paraphrase, not a translation, of the Bible in English by Kenneth N. Taylor and first published in 1971. Taylor used the American Standard Version of 1901 as his base text. Origin In a 1979 interview ...
have been inspired by the same desire to make the Bible understandable to Tyndale's proverbial plowboy.
George Steiner Francis George Steiner, FBA (April 23, 1929 – February 3, 2020) was a Franco-American literary critic, essayist, philosopher, novelist, and educator. He wrote extensively about the relationship between language, literature and society, and the ...
in his book on translation '' After Babel'' refers to "the influence of the genius of Tyndale, the greatest of English Bible translators." He has also appeared as a character in two plays dealing with the King James Bible, Howard Brenton's ''
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
'' (2010) and David Edgar's ''
Written on the Heart ''Written on the Heart'' is a 2011 play by the British playwright David Edgar. It was premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre from 27 October 2011 to 10 March 2012, to mark the four-hundredth anniversary of the King James B ...
'' (2011).


Memorials

A memorial to Tyndale stands in Vilvoorde, Flanders, where he was executed. It was erected in 1913 by Friends of the Trinitarian Bible Society of London and the Belgian Bible Society. There is also a small William Tyndale Museum in the town, attached to the Protestant church. A bronze statue by Sir
Joseph Boehm Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Baronet, (6 July 1834 – 12 December 1890) was an Austrian-born British medallist and sculptor, best known for the " Jubilee head" of Queen Victoria on coinage, and the statue of the Duke of Wellington at Hyde Par ...
commemorating the life and work of Tyndale was erected in Victoria Embankment Gardens on the Thames Embankment, London, in 1884. It shows his right hand on an open Bible, which is itself resting on an early printing press. A life-sized bronze statue of a seated William Tyndale at work on his translation by Lawrence Holofcener (2000) was placed in the
Millennium Square, Bristol Millennium Square is a location in the centre of Bristol, England. It was built as part of the At Bristol development, and has become a popular public area. Attractions Millennium Square is home to a BBC Big Screen and a large water feature. ...
, United Kingdom. The
Tyndale Monument Tyndale Monument The Tyndale Monument is a tower built on a hill at North Nibley, Gloucestershire, England. It was built in honour of William Tyndale, an early translator of the New Testament into English, who was born nearby. It is a Grade II* l ...
was built in 1866 on a hill above his supposed birthplace, North Nibley, Gloucestershire. A stained-glass window commemorating Tyndale was made in 1911 for the
British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The Soc ...
by
James Powell and Sons The firm of James Powell and Sons, also known as Whitefriars Glass, were London-based English glassmakers, leadlighters and stained glass window manufacturers. As ''Whitefriars Glass'', the company existed from the 17th century, but became well ...
. In 1994, after the Society had moved their offices from London to Swindon, the window was reinstalled in the chapel of Hertford College in Oxford. Tyndale was at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, which became Hertford College in 1874. The window depicts a full-length portrait of Tyndale, a cameo of a printing shop in action, some words of Tyndale, the opening words of Genesis in Hebrew, the opening words of John's Gospel in Greek, and the names of other pioneering Bible translators. The portrait is based on the oil painting that hangs in the college's dining hall. A stained glass window by Arnold Robinson in Tyndale Baptist Church,
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 ...
, also commemorates the life of Tyndale. Several colleges, schools and study centres have been named in his honour, including Tyndale House (Cambridge),
Tyndale University Tyndale University is a Canadian private interdenominational evangelical Christian university in Toronto, Ontario, which offers undergraduate and graduate programs. Tyndale students come from over 40 different Christian denominations.CfAbout T ...
(Toronto), the Tyndale-Carey Graduate School affiliated to the
Bible College of New Zealand Laidlaw College (previously known as the Bible College of New Zealand) is the largest theological college in New Zealand. The college offers tertiary courses in biblical, theological, historical and pastoral studies, as well as professional d ...
,
William Tyndale College William Tyndale College was a private nondenominational Christian college located in Farmington Hills, Michigan, United States. Named after 16th-century Protestant scholar William Tyndale, the college was founded as the Detroit Bible Institute ...
(Farmington Hills, Michigan), and
Tyndale Theological Seminary Tyndale Theological Seminary is an American private Christian seminary with its campus in Hurst, Texas. It has chosen not to seek state accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (suc ...
(Shreveport, Louisiana, and Fort Worth, Texas), the independent
Tyndale Theological Seminary Tyndale Theological Seminary is an American private Christian seminary with its campus in Hurst, Texas. It has chosen not to seek state accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (suc ...
in Badhoevedorp, near Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Tyndale Christian School in South Australia and Tyndale Park Christian School in New Zealand. An American Christian publishing house, also called
Tyndale House Tyndale House is a Christian publisher in Carol Stream, Illinois. History Tyndale was founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor in order to publish his paraphrase of the Epistles, which he had composed while commuting to work at Moody Press in C ...
, was named after Tyndale. There is an Anglican communion setting in memoriam William Tyndale,
The Tyndale Service
'' by David Mitchell.


Liturgical commemoration

By tradition Tyndale's death is commemorated on
6 October Events Pre-1600 *105 BC – Cimbrian War: Defeat at the Battle of Arausio accelerates the Marian reforms of the Roman army of the mid-Republic. *69 BC – Third Mithridatic War: The military of the Roman Republic subdue Armenia. *AD ...
. There are commemorations on this date in the church calendars of members of the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
, initially as one of the "days of optional devotion" in the American Book of Common Prayer (1979), and a "black-letter day" in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
's Alternative Service Book. The Common Worship that came into use in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
in 2000 provides a collect proper to
6 October Events Pre-1600 *105 BC – Cimbrian War: Defeat at the Battle of Arausio accelerates the Marian reforms of the Roman army of the mid-Republic. *69 BC – Third Mithridatic War: The military of the Roman Republic subdue Armenia. *AD ...
(
Lesser Festival Lesser Festivals are a type of observance in the Anglican Communion, including the Church of England, considered to be less significant than a Principal Feast, Principal Holy Day, or Festival, but more significant than a Commemoration. Whereas Princ ...
), beginning with the words: Tyndale is honored in the
Calendar of saints The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
as a translator and martyr the same day.


Works about Tyndale

The first biographical film about Tyndale, titled ''William Tindale'', was released in 1937.
Arnold Wathen Robinson Arnold Wathen Robinson RWA, FMGP (1888–1955) was an English stained-glass artist. Although Robinson's family, on the paternal and maternal side were involved in local government, he sought a career as a stained-glass artist. During World ...
depicted Tyndale's life in stained glass windows for the Tyndale Baptist Church ca. 1955. The 1975 novel ''The Hawk that Dare Not Hunt by Day'' by
Scott O'Dell Scott O'Dell (May 23, 1898 – October 15, 1989) was an American writer of 26 novels for young people, along with three novels for adults and four nonfiction books. He wrote historical fiction, primarily, including several children's novels ...
fictionalizes Tyndale and the smuggling of his Bible into England. The film ''God's Outlaw: The Story of William Tyndale'', was released in 1986. The 1998 film ''Stephen's Test of Faith'' includes a long scene with Tyndale, how he translated the Bible, and how he was put to death. A cartoon film about his life, titled ''Torchlighters: The William Tyndale Story'', was released ca. 2005. The documentary film, ''William Tyndale: Man with a Mission'', was released ca. 2005. The movie included an interview with David Daniell. In 2007, the 2-hour Channel 4 documentary, ''The Bible Revolution'', presented by Rod Liddle, details the roles of historically significant English Reformers John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, and
Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry' ...
. The "Battle for the Bible" (2007) episode of the
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
'' Secrets of the Dead'' series, narrated by
Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywoo ...
, features Tyndale's story and legacy and includes historical context. This film is an abbreviated and revised version of the PBS/Channel 4 version. In 2011, BYUtv produced a documentary miniseries, ''Fires of Faith'', on the creation of the King James Bible, which focused heavily on Tyndale's life. In 2013, BBC Two aired a 60-minute documentary ''The Most Dangerous Man in Tudor England'', written and presented by
Melvyn Bragg Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, (born 6 October 1939), is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is best known for his work with ITV as editor and presenter of ''The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010), and for the BBC Radio 4 documenta ...
. Another known documentary is the film ''William Tyndale: His Life, His Legacy''.


Tyndale's pronunciation

Tyndale was writing at the beginning of the Early Modern English period. His pronunciation must have differed in its
phonology Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
from that of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
at the end of the period. In 2013 linguist David Crystal made a
transcription Transcription refers to the process of converting sounds (voice, music etc.) into letters or musical notes, or producing a copy of something in another medium, including: Genetics * Transcription (biology), the copying of DNA into RNA, the fir ...
and a
sound recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording te ...
of Tyndale's translation of the whole of the
Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...
in what he believes to be the pronunciation of the day, using the term "original pronunciation". The recording has been published by
The British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
on two compact discs with an introductory essay by Crystal..


See also

* Luther Bible * Textus Receptus


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * . * * * . * . * , * * * * * * * . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * . * * * * * * * * . * * . * * Attribution: *


Further reading

* * . The online version corrects the name of Tyndale's Antwerp landlord as "Thomas Pointz" vice the "Henry Pointz" indicated in the print. * *


External links

* * . * * . *
The Tyndale Society
* * *
William Tyndale's Bible
* https://tyndalebible.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyndale, William 1490s births 1536 deaths 15th-century Christian biblical scholars 16th-century Christian biblical scholars 16th-century English clergy 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests 16th-century English translators Alumni of Magdalen Hall, Oxford Anglican saints British translation scholars Deaths by strangulation English biblical scholars English people martyred elsewhere Executed people from Gloucestershire People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar People educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford People educated at Katharine Lady Berkeley's School People executed for heresy People from Stroud District People from Vilvoorde Translators of the Bible into English Year of birth unknown