Erasmus, was contemporary with Martin Luther,
William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale.
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| Martin Luther |
Martin Luther was not of the same mindset
as Erasmus, and separated himself very verbally from the Catholic Church. As such, the 95 Thesis that he tacked to the
Chapel door of the University of Wittenburg and copy of which he sent to the Archbishop
Albrecht of Mainz set about a course of events that sent on an adventure of
peril and discovery. Luther translated the Greek-Latin New Testament and the
Pentateuch into German. In discussing the development of the English Bible, not
many stop to consider that William Tyndale worked with Luther in translating
the New Testament into English. Tyndale was fluent in eight languages. The reason for Latin being the predominant
language in the European countries, is that it was originally spoken in Ancient Rome. It, along with most European
languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language,
originating in the Italian peninsula. The
extensive use of elements from vernacular speech by the earliest authors and
inscriptions of the Roman Republic make it clear that the original, unwritten
language of the Roman Monarchy was an only partially deducible colloquial form,
the predecessor to what was called Vulgar Latin. By the late Roman Republic, a
standard, literate form had arisen from the speech of “the educated,” which is now
referred to as Classical Latin. Vulgar Latin was the more rapidly changing
colloquial language spoken throughout the empire reaching both Spain and
England. Latin slowly changed with the Decline of the Roman Empire, as
education and wealth became ever scarcer. The consequent Medieval Latin,
influenced by various Germanic and proto-Romance languages until purged by
Renaissance scholars, was used as the language of international communication,
scholarship and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be
supplanted by vernacular languages of the regions.
Thus, the first major leap for the translation
of the Bible from its original languages was into Latin, which is why Wycliffe’s
translation came from this source. By the time that Martin Luther and William
Tyndale come onto the scene, Latin as a segregate text was being purged. The
appeal of Biblical translators replaced it with more formally correct versions
supported by the scholars of the rising universities, who attempted, through
scholarship, to discover what the classical language had been. Thus the appeal
to the original Greek or Hebrew began, because it was found (as it is with many
shifts in language) that words going from one to the other often do not carry
the same exact meaning. Yet, it is admirable that they made the attempt, and in
doing so tried to the best of their ability to stay true to the original text. The
problem still exists though, that you can see bias coming through in certain
places.
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| Page from the Tyndale Bible |
Tyndale
began a Bachelor of Arts degree at Magdalen Hall (later Cambridge University)
of Oxford University in 1506 and received his B.A. in 1512; the same year becoming a sub-deacon.
He was made Master of Arts in July 1515 and was held to be a man of virtuous
disposition, leading an unblemished life.
The MA allowed him to start studying theology, but the official course did not
include the study of scripture. He was a gifted linguist, over the years
becoming fluent in French, Greek, Hebrew, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish,
in addition to his native English. Between 1517 and 1521, he went to the
University of Cambridge. He became
chaplain to the house of Sir John Walsh at Little Sodbury and tutor to his
children in about 1521. His opinions proved controversial to fellow clergymen,
and around 1522 he was called before John Bell, the Chancellor of the Diocese
of Worcester, though no formal charges were laid. It was soon after though that
Tyndale determined to translate the Bible into English, convinced that the way
to God was through His word and that scripture should be available even to
common people. He left England for Germany where he completed translating the
English New Testament from the original Greek language in 1525. Cardinal Wolsey
condemned Tyndale as a heretic, being first mentioned in open court as a
heretic in January 1529. In 1530, he
wrote The Practyse of Prelates, opposing Henry VIII's planned divorce from
Catherine of Aragon, in favor of Anne Boleyn, on the grounds that it was
unscriptural. As such the King’s wrath was incurred. Tyndale during the next
several years had finished translation of Pentateuch, and nine other Old
Testament books.
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| William Tyndale |
Tyndale was betrayed by Henry Phillips to the imperial
authorities and seized in Antwerp in 1535. He was held in the castle of
Vilvoorde near Brussels and was tried on a charge of heresy in 1536 being condemned
to death, despite Thomas Cromwell's intercession on his behalf. Tyndale was strangled to death while tied at
the stake, and then his dead body was burned. His last words were reported to
be “Oh Lord, open the King of England's
eyes!”
Jim
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