LO: To understand how we came to have the Bible in

English

You might think this would be a straightforward story, but it

isn’t.In fact, for some people, it was a

matter of life or death...

…literally.

ascendit autem et Ioseph a Galilaea de civitate Nazareth in Iudaeam civitatem David quae vocatur Bethleem eo quod esset de domo et familia David

ut profiteretur cum Maria desponsata sibi uxore praegnate

factum est autem cum essent ibi impleti sunt dies ut pareret

What do you think this means?

 4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

It’s actually this….

In early Tudor times, all Christians were Catholic and all church services were conducted in Latin, which was an ancient Italian language. The Bible was read aloud by the priest in Latin, and only the priest could understand it.

The monasteriesThere were monasteries and abbeys all over England, where monks and nuns lived. They devoted their lives to prayer and to producing parts of the Bible by hand.

Henry VIII was deeply religious, attending mass three times a

day.

Meanwhile, in Germany …

A monk called Martin Luther had challenged the Pope and his teachings. He insisted that people should be able to read the Bible themselves and discover what it said.

This was very controversial.

Luther felt so strongly about this that he decided to translate the Bible into German, so that ordinary people could read it.

He paved the way for what is known as the Reformation – the beginning of the Protestant church.

Back in England, Henry (remember, he’s a devout Catholic) was not impressed with Luther

Grrrrr!!

And in 1521, Henry wrote against Luther’s new ideas.

For this, the Pope called Henry, “The Defender of the Faith.”

But Luther was not alone in his beliefs

In England, a man called William Tyndale began to feel the same way. He also wanted ordinary people to be able to read the Bible for themselves.

This coincided with the invention of the

printing press, which meant that

thousands of copies of Tyndale’s New

Testament could be printed off. They

were then smuggled into

England in bales of cloth.

He sailed for Germany and there he worked on his translation of the New Testament into English.

But the English bishops were angry. All copies of Tyndale’s Bible that were found were burned…

In fact, in 1535, Tyndale himself was captured and burnt at the stake.

along with their owners.

As he died, he cried out, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!”

Problem solved? Well, a few years later, Henry had a different problem… Can you remember what?

His wife: Catherine of Aragon- Spanish (and Catholic like Henry)- had given him a daughter (Mary)- but no male heir- getting a bit old (42)

I need a plan…

Meet Henry, the new Head of the Church of England!

Goodbye, CatherineHello, Anne!

Henry decided that England was going to be Protestant, not Catholic, so that he could divorce Catherine and marry Anne.

Nobody tells me

what to do!

Now, you’re probably wondering what on earth this has to do with our Learning Objective!

LO: To understand how we came to have the Bible in English

Be patient – we’re nearly there!

Not only did Henry get rid of Catherine, he also got rid of nearly all the monasteries

I can make some

money here…

From 1536, he began to dissolve the monasteries (close them down) and took all their land and the vast amounts of silver and gold within them.

There was no way England was going back to Catholicism.

You can visit the ruins of many of these monasteries today

Henry had really changed his tune. Whereas, in the past, he had not tolerated Luther and Tyndale’s ideas, he now declared:

Ye shall discourage no man from the reading or the hearing of the Bible,

but shall expressly provoke, stir and exhort every person to read the same as that which is the very lively word of God.

So, just two years after Tyndale’s death, an English Bible was placed in every church.

So the story of how the Bible came to be in English really is a

matter of life or death...

…literally.