Into English and Welsh
Parts of the Bible had been translated into English from as early as Anglo-Saxon times. But it wasn’t until the late 14th century that the entire Bible was available in English.
Over the years, some key people and some key versions of the Bible in English and Welsh were produced.
The Wycliffe Bible
The Tyndale Bible
The Great Bible
The Geneva Bible
The Bishops’ Bible
The William Morgan Bible
The Douai-Rheims Bible
The King James Version
The Wycliffe Bible
John Wycliffe is seen by many as the first to translate the entire Bible into English. He probably only translated some of it, with scholars Nicholas Hereford and John Trevisa doing the rest. However, John Wycliffe is acknowledged as the mastermind behind the operation.
John Wycliffe was a priest and a noted scholar from Oxford University. He wanted radical reform of the Church and believed that people should consult the Bible rather than Church leaders for instruction.
The Wycliffe Bible began to circulate between 1380 and 1390.
The Tyndale Bible
William Tyndale was a priest, a distinguished Oxford scholar and a Church reformer. He also strongly believed everyone should be able to read the Bible.
When refused permission by the Bishop of London to translate and print a new English Bible, Tyndale moved to Germany. In 1525 he produced a translation of the New Testament and 6,000 copies were smuggled into England, hidden inside bales of wool and wine casks with false bottoms.
Tyndale also began to translate the Old Testament but never managed to finish it as, in 1536, he was arrested and executed for heresy.
The Great Bible
Miles Coverdale had joined his friend William Tyndale in what is now Belgium to help in his translation work. After Tyndale’s death, Coverdale finished off the project by producing a new English translation in 1535.
Based largely on Tyndale’s version, it was also available in Latin and German.
Coverdale cleverly dedicated it to King Henry VIII, who had warmed to the idea of a Bible in English and gave permission for Coverdale’s translation to be circulated across England.
In 1538 Coverdale edited and printed a new version which had deleted previous controversial notes. This became known as the Great Bible.
The Geneva Bible
William Whittingham was a refugee who escaped persecution under Mary I (reigned 1553-1558) by fleeing to Geneva in Switzerland. He was a main contributor to a complete revision of the Bible published in 1560 which became known as the Geneva Bible.
This was the first English Bible printed in Roman type with verse divisions. Because of its style, it became the most popular English Bible for more than 70 years.
The Bishops’ Bible
Because the Geneva Bible was quite a radical translation, it was a problem for many people in the Church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew Parker, decided to carry out a revision of the text.
Working as editor-in-chief, the Archbishop led a team of bishops and biblical scholars to produce the Bishops’ Bible, which was published in 1568. It was never as popular as the Geneva Bible.
The William Morgan Bible
It wasn’t until the 16th century that the entire Bible was translated into Welsh. Welsh bishop William Morgan completed it in 1588 and it was later revised in 1620.
Many argue that his translation significantly helped Welsh in its struggle to survive by becoming a source of unity among Welsh-speakers and the bedrock of Welsh literature.
In 1800 a Welsh teenager, Mary Jones, saved up for six years and walked 25 miles to buy a copy of the William Morgan Bible.
The Douai-Rheims Bible
The Douai-Rheims translation was part of the Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation and the demand for authentic English Bibles. It was produced in stages, with the New Testament being translated in 1582 at a French training college for priests in Rheims.
This was followed by the Old Testament being converted at a similar college in Douai in 1609.
The complete edition, with notes to help readers, was substantially revised in 1782 and became the standard Bible for English Catholics for hundreds of years.
The King James Version
The King James Version was issued in 1611 and aimed to settle the argument about whether the Geneva Bible or the Bishops’ Bible was best.
King James I ordered the translation and 54 scholars worked on the project. It became the most popular English Bible for hundreds of years and has exerted a significant influence on English language and literature.