Tyndale, William

From New World Encyclopedia
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{Claimed}}{{Contracted}}
 
{{Claimed}}{{Contracted}}
−
{{epname}}
+
{{epname|Tyndale, William}}
−
{{BibleHistory}}
+
{|align="right"
−
'''William Tyndale''' (sometimes spelled '''Tindale''' or '''Tindall''') (circa 1494 - October 6, 1536) was a [[16th century]] religious reformer and [[scholar]] who translated the [[Bible]] into the [[Early Modern English]] of his day. Although numerous partial and complete English translations had been made from the [[7th century]] onward, Tyndale's was the first to take advantage of the new medium of [[printing press|print]], which allowed for its wide distribution. In 1535 Tyndale was tried for [[heresy]] and [[treason]] and then strangled and [[Execution by burning|burnt at the stake]].
+
|{{Infobox Person
 +
| name  = William Tyndale
 +
| image    = William Tyndale.jpg
 +
| caption  = Protestant reformer and Bible translator
 +
| birth_date  = ca. 1494
 +
| birth_place = Gloucestershire, England
 +
| death_date  = September 6, 1536
 +
| death_place = near Brussels, Belgium
 +
}}
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
'''William Tyndale''' (sometimes spelled '''Tindall''' or '''Tyndall''') (ca. 1494&ndash;September 6, 1536) was a [[16th century]] [[Protestant]] reformer and [[scholar]] who translated the [[Bible]] into the [[Early Modern English]] of his day. Although a number of partial and complete English translations had been made from the [[7th century]] onward, Tyndale's was the first to take advantage of the new medium of [[printing press|print]], which allowed for its wide distribution. In 1535 Tyndale was arrested, jailed in the castle of [[Vilvoorde]] outside [[Brussels]], [[Belgium]] for more than a year, tried for [[heresy]] and [[treason]] and then strangled and [[Execution by burning|burnt at the stake]] in the castle's courtyard. <ref>[http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/william-tyndale.html English Bible History] Retrieved August 18, 2007.</ref>
  
−
Much of Tyndale's work eventually found its way to the [[King James Version of the Bible|King James Version]] (or Authorised Version) of the Bible, published in 1611, which, though the work of 54 independent scholars, is based primarily on Tyndale's translations.
+
Much of Tyndale's work eventually found its way into the [[King James Version of the Bible|King James Version]] (or Authorised Version) of the Bible, published in 1611, and, though nominally the work of 54 independent scholars, is based primarily on Tyndale's translations.
  
 
==Early Life==
 
==Early Life==
−
[[Image: Bust Of William Tyndale.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Sculpted Head Of William Tyndale from [[St Dunstan-in-the-West]] Church London]]
+
William Tyndale was born around 1494, probably in one of the villages near [[Dursley]], [[Gloucestershire]]. The Tyndales were also known under the name Hychyns (Hitchins), and it was as William Hychyns that he was educated at Magdalen Hall, [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] (now part of [[Hertford College, Oxford|Hertford College]]), where he was admitted to the Degree of [[Bachelor of Arts]] in 1512, the same year he became a [[subdeacon]]. He was made [[Master of Arts (Oxbridge and Dublin)|Master of Arts]] in July 1515, three months after he had been ordained into the priesthood. The MA degree allowed him to start studying [[theology]], but the official course did not include the study of scripture. This horrified Tyndale, and he organised private groups for teaching and discussing the scriptures. He was a gifted linguist (fluent in [[French language|French]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Biblical Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[German language|German]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Latin]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and of course his native [[English language|English]]) and subsequently went to [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] (possibly studying under [[Desiderius Erasmus|Erasmus]], whose 1503 ''Enchiridion Militis Christiani'' &mdash; "Handbook of the Christian Knight" &mdash; he translated into English), where he is believed to have met [[Thomas Bilney]] and [[John Frith]].  
−
William Tyndale was born around 1494, probably in [[North Nibley]] near [[Dursley]], [[Gloucestershire]]. The Tyndales were also known under the name Hychyns (Hitchins), and it was as William Hychyns that he was educated at Magdalen Hall, [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] (now part of [[Hertford College, Oxford|Hertford College]]), where he was admitted to the Degree of [[Bachelor of Arts]] in 1512, the same year he became a sub-[[deacon]]. He was made [[Master of Arts (Oxbridge)|Master of Arts]] in July 1515, three months after he had been ordained into the priesthood. The MA degree allowed him to start studying [[theology]], but the official course did not include the study of scripture. This horrified Tyndale and he organised private groups for teaching and discussing the scriptures. He was a gifted linguist (fluent in [[French language|French]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Biblical Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[German language|German]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Latin]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and of course his native [[English language|English]]) and subsequently went to [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] (possibly studying under [[Desiderius Erasmus|Erasmus]], whose 1503 ''Enchiridion Militis Christiani'' - "Handbook of the Christian Knight" - he translated into English), where he is believed to have met [[Thomas Bilney]] and [[John Frith]]. No contemporary records survive which show Tyndale at Cambridge.
 
−
 
 
−
He became chaplain in the house of Sir John Walsh at [[Little Sodbury]] in about 1521, and tutor to his children. His opinions involved him in controversy with his fellow clergymen and around 1522 he was summoned before the Chancellor of the [[Anglican Diocese of Worcester|Diocese of Worcester]] on a charge of [[heresy]]. By now he had already determined to translate the Bible into English: he was convinced that the way to God was through His word and that scripture should be available even to 'a boy that driveth the [[plough]]'.  
 
  
−
From Foxe's Book of Martyr's " 'There dwelt not far off a certain doctor, that he been chancellor to a bishop, who had been of old, familiar acquaintance with Master Tyndale, and favored him well; unto whom Master Tyndale went and opened his mind upon divers questions of the Scripture: for to him he durst be bold to disclose his heart. Unto whom the doctor said, "Do you not know that the pope is very Antichrist, whom the Scripture speaketh of? But beware what you say; for if you shall be perceived to be of that opinion, it will cost you your life."
+
He became chaplain in the house of Sir John Walsh at [[Little Sodbury]] in about 1521, and tutor to his children. His opinions involved him in controversy with his fellow clergymen, and around 1522 he was summoned before the Chancellor of the [[Anglican Diocese of Worcester|Diocese of Worcester]] on a charge of [[heresy]].  
  
−
Not long after, Master Tyndale happened to be in the company of a certain divine, recounted for a learned man, and, in communing and disputing with him, he drove him to that issue, that the said great doctor burst out into these blasphemous words, "We were better to be without God's laws than the pope's." Master Tyndale, hearing this, full of godly zeal, and not bearing that blasphemous saying, replied, "I defy the pope, and all his laws;" and added, "If God spared him life, ere many years he would cause a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scripture than he did.'"
+
Soon afterwards he already determined to translate the Bible into English: he was convinced that the way to God was through His word and that scripture should be available even to common people. [[John Foxe|Foxe]] describes an argument with a "learned" but "blasphemous" clergyman, who had asserted to Tyndale that, "We had better be without God's laws than the Pope's." In a swelling of emotion, Tyndale made his prophetic response: "I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, I will cause the boy that drives the plow in England to know more of the Scriptures than the Pope himself!" <ref>[http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sben0056/Tyndale.London.htm Lecture by Dom Henry Wansbrough OSB MA (Oxon) STL LSS] Retrieved August 18, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Martyrs/Chapter_XII Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Chap XII] Retrieved August 18, 2007.</ref>
  
−
With a sense of  vocation, he left for London in 1523 to seek permission and other help from the Church. In particular he hoped for support from Bishop [[Cuthbert Tunstall]], a well-known classicist whom [[Erasmus]] had praised after working with him on a Greek New Testament, but the bishop, like many highly-placed churchmen, was uncomfortable with the idea of the Bible in the vernacular and told Tyndale he had no room for him in the Bishop's Palace. Tyndale preached and studied "at his book" (Foxe) in London for some time, relying on the help of a cloth merchant, Humphrey Monmouth. He then left England under a [[pseudonym]] and landed at [[Hamburg]] in 1524 with the work he had done so far on his translation of the New Testament. He is said to have visited Luther at [[Wittenberg]], though there is no evidence for this, and in the following year completed his translation, with assistance from [[Franciscan|Observant friar]] William Roy.
+
Tyndale left for London in 1523 to seek permission to translate the Bible into English and to request other help from the Church. In particular he hoped for support from Bishop [[Cuthbert Tunstall]], a well-known classicist whom [[Erasmus]] had praised after working with him on a Greek New Testament, but the bishop, like many highly-placed churchmen, was uncomfortable with the idea of the Bible in the vernacular and told Tyndale he had no room for him in the Bishop's Palace. Tyndale preached and studied "at his book" in London for some time, relying on the help of a cloth merchant, Humphrey Monmouth. He then left England under a [[pseudonym]] and landed at [[Hamburg]] in 1524 with the work he had done so far on his translation of the New Testament, and in the following year completed his translation, with assistance from [[Franciscan|Observant friar]] William Roy.
  
−
In 1525 publication of his work by Peter Quentell in [[Cologne]] was interrupted by anti-Lutheran influence, and it was not until 1526 that a full edition of the New Testament was produced by the printer Peter Schoeffer in [[Worms, Germany|Worms]], a safe city for church reformers. More copies were soon being printed in [[Antwerp]]. The book was smuggled into England and Scotland, and was condemned  in October 1526 by Tunstall, who issued warnings to booksellers and had copies burned in public.  
+
In 1525 publication of his work by Peter Quentell in [[Cologne]] was interrupted by anti-Lutheran influence, and it was not until 1526 that a full edition of the New Testament was produced by the printer Peter Schoeffer in [[Worms, Germany|Worms]], a safe city for church reformers. More copies were soon being printed in [[Antwerp]]. The book was smuggled into England and Scotland, and was condemned  in October 1526 by Tunstall, who issued warnings to booksellers and had copies burned in public.
  
 
Following the publication of the New Testament, [[Thomas Cardinal Wolsey|Cardinal Wolsey]] condemned Tyndale as a heretic and demanded his arrest.
 
Following the publication of the New Testament, [[Thomas Cardinal Wolsey|Cardinal Wolsey]] condemned Tyndale as a heretic and demanded his arrest.
 +
[[Image:Bust Of William Tyndale.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Sculpted Head Of William Tyndale from [[St Dunstan-in-the-West]] Church London]]
 +
Tyndale went into hiding, possibly for a time in Hamburg, and carried on working. He revised his New Testament and began translating the [[Old Testament]] and writing various treatises. In 1530 he wrote ''The Practyse of Prelates'', which seemed to move him briefly to the Catholic side through its opposition to [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]'s divorce. This resulted in the king's wrath being directed at him: he asked the emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] to have Tyndale seized and returned to England.
  
−
Tyndale went into hiding, possibly for a time in [[Hamburg]], and carried on working. He revised his New Testament and began translating the [[Old Testament]] and writing various treatises. In 1530 he wrote ''The Practyse of Prelates'', which seemed to move him briefly to the Catholic side through its opposition to [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]'s divorce. This resulted in the king's wrath being directed at him: he asked the emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] to have Tyndale seized and returned to England.  
+
Eventually, he was betrayed to the [[authorities]]. He was kidnapped in [[Antwerp]] in 1535, betrayed by Henry Phillips, and held in the castle of [[Vilvoorde]] near [[Brussels]].
  
−
Eventually, he was betrayed to the [[authorities]]. He was arrested in [[Antwerp]] in 1535 and held in the castle of [[Vilvoorde]] near [[Brussels]].
+
He was tried on a charge of heresy in 1536 and condemned to the stake, despite [[Thomas Cromwell]]'s intercession on his behalf. Tyndale was strangled and his body burned at the stake on 6 September 1536. His final words reportedly were, "Oh Lord, open the King of England's eyes." <ref>[http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/william-tyndale.html The Betrayal and Death of William Tyndale] Retrieved August 18, 2007.</ref>
−
 
 
−
From Foxe's Book of Martyr's : Master Tyndale, remaining in prison, was proffered an advocate and a procurator; the which he refused, saying that he would make answer for himself. He had so preached to them who had him in charge, and such as was there conversant with him in the Castle that they reported of him, that if he were not a good Christian man, they knew not whom they might take to be one.
 
−
 
 
−
He was tried on a charge of heresy in 1536 and condemned to the stake, despite [[Thomas Cromwell]]'s attempted intercession on his behalf. He was mercifully strangled, and his dead body was burnt, on 6 October 1536. His final words reportedly were: "Oh Lord, open the King of England's eyes."
 
  
 
==Tyndale's legacy==  
 
==Tyndale's legacy==  
−
 
 
In translating the Bible, Tyndale introduced new words into the [[English language]]:  
 
In translating the Bible, Tyndale introduced new words into the [[English language]]:  
 
*''[[Jehovah]]'' (from a transliterated [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] construction in the [[Old Testament]]; composed from the [[tetragrammaton]] YHWH and the vowels of [[Names of God in Judaism#Other names of God|adonai]]: YaHoWaH)
 
*''[[Jehovah]]'' (from a transliterated [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] construction in the [[Old Testament]]; composed from the [[tetragrammaton]] YHWH and the vowels of [[Names of God in Judaism#Other names of God|adonai]]: YaHoWaH)
Line 44: Line 50:
 
*''the salt of the earth''
 
*''the salt of the earth''
 
*''a law unto themselves''
 
*''a law unto themselves''
 +
*''filthy lucre''
 +
*''it came to pass''
 +
*''gave up the ghost''
  
−
Some of the new words and phrases introduced by Tyndale did not sit well with the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, using words like Overseer rather than Bishop and Elder rather than Priest. Tyndale contended that the Greek New Testament did not support the traditional Roman Catholic readings.
+
Some of the new words and phrases introduced by Tyndale did not sit well with the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, using words like 'Overseer' rather than 'Bishop' and 'Elder' rather than 'Priest',  and (very controversially), 'congregation' rather than 'Church' and 'love' rather than 'charity'. Tyndale contended (with [[Erasmus]]) that the Greek New Testament did not support the traditional Roman Catholic readings.
  
−
Contention from Roman Catholics came from real or perceived errors in translation. St. Thomas More commented that searching for errors in the Tyndale Bible was similar to searching for water in the sea. This reflected the vast theological difference between the two men. Thomas More remained Roman Catholic in orientation, whilst Tyndale was persuaded of a Lutheran reading of Scripture. Tyndale contended that the Greek New Testament did not support the traditional Roman Catholic readings. Also, Protestant Bishop Tunstall of London declared that there were upwards of 2,000 errors in Tyndale's Bible.
+
Contention from Roman Catholics came from real or perceived errors in translation. [[Thomas More]] commented that searching for errors in the Tyndale Bible was similar to searching for water in the sea. Bishop [[Cuthbert Tunstall]] of London declared that there were upwards of 2,000 errors in Tyndale's Bible.  Tunstall in 1523 had denied Tyndale the permission required under the Constitutions of Oxford (1409), that were still in force, to translate the Bible into English,  and forced him into exile.
  
−
It has been argued that Tyndale's place in history has not yet been sufficiently recognised as a translator of the Scriptures, as an apostle of liberty, and as a chief promoter of the [[English Reformation|Reformation in England]]. His influence has been frequently under-valued.
+
In response to allegations of inaccuracies in his translation in the New Testament, Tyndale wrote that he never intentionally altered or misrepresented any of the Bible in his translation, and would never do so.
  
−
From Foxe's Book of Martyr's : As touching his translation of the New Testament, because his enemies did so much carp at it, pretending it to be full of heresies, he wrote to John Frith, as followeth, "I call God to record against the day we shall appear before our Lord Jesus, that I never altered one syllable of God's Word against my conscience, nor would do this day, if all that is in earth, whether it be honor, pleasure, or riches, might be given me."
+
While translating, Tyndale controversially followed [[Erasmus]]' (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 is a translation of the Hebrew original.
  
−
Almost all histories assume that Tyndale translated from the [[Vulgate]] and [[Martin Luther]]. The Tyndale Society adduces considerable evidence to suggest 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'' suggest that Tyndale's Pentateuch is a translation of the Hebrew original.
+
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]] is almost complete,  lacking only the title page and list of contents.
  
−
Of the first edition of Tyndale's bible, only three copies survive. The only complete copy is part of the Bible Collection of [[Württembergische Landesbibliothek]], Stuttgart.
+
===Tyndale's Long-Term Impact on the English Bible===
 +
{{BibleHistory}}
 +
The men who translated the [[Revised Standard Version]] in the 1940s noted that Tyndale's translation inspired the great translations to follow, including the [[Great Bible]] of 1539, the [[Geneva Bible]] of 1560, the [[Bishops' Bible]] of 1568, the [[Douay-Rheims Bible]] of 1582&ndash;1609, and the [[King James Version]] of 1611, of which the RSV translators noted: "It [the KJV] kept 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."
  
−
[[Tyndale University College and Seminary]], a Christian university college and seminary in Toronto, is named after William Tyndale.
+
Many of the great 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]]. Even the paraphrases like the [[Living Bible]] and the [[New Living Translation]] have been inspired by the same desire to make the Bible understandable to Tyndale's proverbial ploughboy.
  
 
==Memorials==
 
==Memorials==
−
 
+
A bronze statue by Sir [[Joseph Boehm]] commemorating the life and work of Tyndale was erected in Victoria Embankment Gardens on the [[Thames Embankment]], [[London]] in 1884. It shows the reformer's right hand on an open Bible, which in turn is resting on an early printing press.
−
A bronze statue by Sir [[Joseph Boehm]] commemorating the life and work of Tyndale was erected In Victoria Embankment Gardens on the [[Thames Embankment]], [[London]] in 1884. It shows the reformer's right hand on an open Bible, which in turn is resting on an early printing press.
 
 
   
 
   
 
There is also a memorial tower, the [[Tyndale Monument]], erected in 1866 and prominent for miles around, on a hill above his birthplace of [[North Nibley]].
 
There is also a memorial tower, the [[Tyndale Monument]], erected in 1866 and prominent for miles around, on a hill above his birthplace of [[North Nibley]].
Line 67: Line 77:
 
The site in Vilvoorde, Belgium (15 minutes north of Brussels by train) where Tyndale was burned is also marked by a memorial.  It was erected in 1913 by Friends of the Trinitarian Bible Society of London and the Belgium Bible Society.
 
The site in Vilvoorde, Belgium (15 minutes north of Brussels by train) where Tyndale was burned is also marked by a memorial.  It was erected in 1913 by Friends of the Trinitarian Bible Society of London and the Belgium Bible Society.
  
−
== References ==
+
He is commemorated in the [[Calendar of Saints (Lutheran)|Calendar of Saints]] of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] as a translator and martyr on October 6.
−
*Adapted from J.I. Mombert, "[http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc12/htm/ii.xv.x.htm Tyndale, William]," in Philip Schaff, Johann Jakob Herzog, et al, eds., ''The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge,'' New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1904, reprinted online by the [http://www.ccel.org/ Christian Classics Ethereal Library]. Additional references are available there.
+
 
−
*David Daniell, ''William Tyndale'', [[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]], Oxford University Press, 2004
+
[[Tyndale University College and Seminary]], a Christian university college and seminary in Toronto, is named after William Tyndale.
 +
 
 +
== Notes ==
 +
<references/>
 +
 
 +
==References==
 +
* Bobrick, Benson. ''Wide as the waters: the story of the English Bible and the revolution it inspired''. New York: Simon & Schuster 2001. ISBN 9780684847474
 +
* Daniell, David. ''William Tyndale: a biography''. New Haven: Yale University Press 1994. ISBN 9780300061321
 +
* Tyndale, William, and David Daniell. ''Tyndale's New Testament''. New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Press 1989. ISBN 9780300044195
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
−
* [http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/tyndale/ Tyndale Bible online] Retrieved August 18, 2007.  
+
*[http://www.tyndale.org/TSJ/25/arblaster.html The date of Tyndale’s execution] Retrieved August 18, 2007.
−
* [http://www.tyndale.org/ Tyndale Society homepage] Retrieved August 18, 2007
+
*[http://www.tyndale.com/ Tyndale House Publishers] Retrieved August 18, 2007.
−
* [http://www.williamtyndale.com/ William Tyndale memorial site - a Protestant view] Retrieved August 18, 2007.
+
*[http://www.evangelicalbible.com/why.htm#history Tyndale's Legacy on Modern English Bible Translation-including English Bible Schematic] Retrieved August 18, 2007.
−
* {{gutenberg author| id=Tyndale+William | name=William Tyndale}} Retrieved August 18, 2007.
+
*[http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_bible/index.html Documentary about Tyndale] Retrieved August 18, 2007.
−
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5888281 Find A Grave Entry] Retrieved August 18, 2007.
+
*[http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/podmoiragoff.html Talk on the Tyndale New Testament by British Library curator] Retrieved August 18, 2007.
−
* [http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/william-tyndale.html William Tyndale] Retrieved August 18, 2007.*[http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Biographies/1840_Always_Singing_One_NoteA_Vernacular_Bible/ Why William Tyndale Lived and Died] Retrieved August 18, 2007
+
*[http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/tyndale/ Tyndale Bible online] Retrieved August 18, 2007.  
−
* [http://www.tyndale.ca Canadian Christian education institute named after William Tyndale] Retrieved August 18, 2007
+
*[http://www.tyndale.org/ Tyndale Society homepage] Retrieved August 18, 2007
 +
*[http://www.williamtyndale.com/ William Tyndale memorial site - a Protestant view] Retrieved August 18, 2007.
 +
*{{gutenberg author| id=Tyndale+William | name=William Tyndale}} Retrieved August 18, 2007.
 +
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5888281 Find A Grave Entry] Retrieved August 18, 2007.
 +
*[http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/william-tyndale.html William Tyndale] Retrieved August 18, 2007.
 +
*[http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Biographies/1840_Always_Singing_One_NoteA_Vernacular_Bible/ Why William Tyndale Lived and Died] Retrieved August 18, 2007
 +
*[http://www.tyndale.ca Canadian Christian education institute named after William Tyndale] Retrieved August 18, 2007
  
 
[[Category:History and biography]]
 
[[Category:History and biography]]
 
[[Category:Biography]]
 
[[Category:Biography]]
 
[[Category:Philosophy and religion]]
 
[[Category:Philosophy and religion]]
−
{{credit|100661314}}
+
{{credit|151045876}}

Revision as of 16:57, 18 August 2007

William Tyndale
William Tyndale.jpg
Protestant reformer and Bible translator
Bornca. 1494
Gloucestershire, England
DiedSeptember 6, 1536
near Brussels, Belgium

William Tyndale (sometimes spelled Tindall or Tyndall) (ca. 1494–September 6, 1536) was a 16th century Protestant reformer and scholar who translated the Bible into the Early Modern English of his day. Although a number of partial and complete English translations had been made from the 7th century onward, Tyndale's was the first to take advantage of the new medium of print, which allowed for its wide distribution. In 1535 Tyndale was arrested, jailed in the castle of Vilvoorde outside Brussels, Belgium for more than a year, tried for heresy and treason and then strangled and burnt at the stake in the castle's courtyard. [1]

Much of Tyndale's work eventually found its way into the King James Version (or Authorised Version) of the Bible, published in 1611, and, though nominally the work of 54 independent scholars, is based primarily on Tyndale's translations.

Early Life

William Tyndale was born around 1494, probably in one of the villages near Dursley, Gloucestershire. The Tyndales were also known under the name Hychyns (Hitchins), and it was as William Hychyns that he was educated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford (now part of Hertford College), where he was admitted to the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1512, the same year he became a subdeacon. He was made Master of Arts in July 1515, three months after he had been ordained into the priesthood. The MA degree allowed him to start studying theology, but the official course did not include the study of scripture. This horrified Tyndale, and he organised private groups for teaching and discussing the scriptures. He was a gifted linguist (fluent in French, Greek, Hebrew, German, Italian, Latin, Spanish and of course his native English) and subsequently went to Cambridge (possibly studying under Erasmus, whose 1503 Enchiridion Militis Christiani — "Handbook of the Christian Knight" — he translated into English), where he is believed to have met Thomas Bilney and John Frith.

He became chaplain in the house of Sir John Walsh at Little Sodbury in about 1521, and tutor to his children. His opinions involved him in controversy with his fellow clergymen, and around 1522 he was summoned before the Chancellor of the Diocese of Worcester on a charge of heresy.

Soon afterwards he already determined to translate the Bible into English: he was convinced that the way to God was through His word and that scripture should be available even to common people. Foxe describes an argument with a "learned" but "blasphemous" clergyman, who had asserted to Tyndale that, "We had better be without God's laws than the Pope's." In a swelling of emotion, Tyndale made his prophetic response: "I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, I will cause the boy that drives the plow in England to know more of the Scriptures than the Pope himself!" [2][3]

Tyndale left for London in 1523 to seek permission to translate the Bible into English and to request other help from the Church. In particular he hoped for support from Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall, a well-known classicist whom Erasmus had praised after working with him on a Greek New Testament, but the bishop, like many highly-placed churchmen, was uncomfortable with the idea of the Bible in the vernacular and told Tyndale he had no room for him in the Bishop's Palace. Tyndale preached and studied "at his book" in London for some time, relying on the help of a cloth merchant, Humphrey Monmouth. He then left England under a pseudonym and landed at Hamburg in 1524 with the work he had done so far on his translation of the New Testament, and in the following year completed his translation, with assistance from Observant friar William Roy.

In 1525 publication of his work by Peter Quentell in Cologne was interrupted by anti-Lutheran influence, and it was not until 1526 that a full edition of the New Testament was produced by the printer Peter Schoeffer in Worms, a safe city for church reformers. More copies were soon being printed in Antwerp. The book was smuggled into England and Scotland, and was condemned in October 1526 by Tunstall, who issued warnings to booksellers and had copies burned in public.

Following the publication of the New Testament, Cardinal Wolsey condemned Tyndale as a heretic and demanded his arrest.

Sculpted Head Of William Tyndale from St Dunstan-in-the-West Church London

Tyndale went into hiding, possibly for a time in Hamburg, and carried on working. He revised his New Testament and began translating the Old Testament and writing various treatises. In 1530 he wrote The Practyse of Prelates, which seemed to move him briefly to the Catholic side through its opposition to Henry VIII's divorce. This resulted in the king's wrath being directed at him: he asked the emperor Charles V to have Tyndale seized and returned to England.

Eventually, he was betrayed to the authorities. He was kidnapped in Antwerp in 1535, betrayed by Henry Phillips, and held in the castle of Vilvoorde near Brussels.

He was tried on a charge of heresy in 1536 and condemned to the stake, despite Thomas Cromwell's intercession on his behalf. Tyndale was strangled and his body burned at the stake on 6 September 1536. His final words reportedly were, "Oh Lord, open the King of England's eyes." [4]

Tyndale's legacy

In translating the Bible, Tyndale introduced new words into the English language:

  • Jehovah (from a transliterated Hebrew construction in the Old Testament; composed from the tetragrammaton YHWH and the vowels of adonai: YaHoWaH)
  • Passover (as the name for the Jewish holiday, Pesach or Pesah),
  • Atonement (= at + onement), which goes beyond mere "reconciliation" to mean "to unite" or "to cover," which springs from the Hebrew kippur, the Old Testament version of kippur being the covering of doorposts with blood, or "Day of Atonement."
  • scapegoat (the goat that bears the sins and iniquities of the people in Leviticus Chapter 16)

He also coined such familiar phrases as:

  • let there be light
  • the powers that be
  • my brother's keeper
  • the salt of the earth
  • a law unto themselves
  • filthy lucre
  • it came to pass
  • gave up the ghost

Some of the new words and phrases introduced by Tyndale did not sit well with the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, using words like 'Overseer' rather than 'Bishop' and 'Elder' rather than 'Priest', and (very controversially), 'congregation' rather than 'Church' and 'love' rather than 'charity'. Tyndale contended (with Erasmus) that the Greek New Testament did not support the traditional Roman Catholic readings.

Contention from Roman Catholics came from real or perceived errors in translation. Thomas More commented that searching for errors in the Tyndale Bible was similar to searching for water in the sea. Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall of London declared that there were upwards of 2,000 errors in Tyndale's Bible. Tunstall in 1523 had denied Tyndale the permission required under the Constitutions of Oxford (1409), that were still in force, to translate the Bible into English, and forced him into exile.

In response to allegations of inaccuracies in his translation in the New Testament, Tyndale wrote that he never intentionally altered or misrepresented any of the Bible in his translation, and would never do so.

While translating, Tyndale controversially followed Erasmus' (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 is a translation of the Hebrew original.

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 is almost complete, lacking only the title page and list of contents.

Tyndale's Long-Term Impact on the English Bible

Template:BibleHistory The men who translated the Revised Standard Version in the 1940s noted that Tyndale's translation inspired the great translations to follow, including the Great Bible of 1539, the Geneva Bible of 1560, the Bishops' Bible of 1568, the Douay-Rheims Bible of 1582–1609, and the King James Version of 1611, of which the RSV translators noted: "It [the KJV] kept 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."

Many of the great 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. Even the paraphrases like the Living Bible and the New Living Translation have been inspired by the same desire to make the Bible understandable to Tyndale's proverbial ploughboy.

Memorials

A bronze statue by Sir Joseph Boehm commemorating the life and work of Tyndale was erected in Victoria Embankment Gardens on the Thames Embankment, London in 1884. It shows the reformer's right hand on an open Bible, which in turn is resting on an early printing press.

There is also a memorial tower, the Tyndale Monument, erected in 1866 and prominent for miles around, on a hill above his birthplace of North Nibley.

The site in Vilvoorde, Belgium (15 minutes north of Brussels by train) where Tyndale was burned is also marked by a memorial. It was erected in 1913 by Friends of the Trinitarian Bible Society of London and the Belgium Bible Society.

He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as a translator and martyr on October 6.

Tyndale University College and Seminary, a Christian university college and seminary in Toronto, is named after William Tyndale.

Notes

  1. ↑ English Bible History Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  2. ↑ Lecture by Dom Henry Wansbrough OSB MA (Oxon) STL LSS Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  3. ↑ Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Chap XII Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  4. ↑ The Betrayal and Death of William Tyndale Retrieved August 18, 2007.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Bobrick, Benson. Wide as the waters: the story of the English Bible and the revolution it inspired. New York: Simon & Schuster 2001. ISBN 9780684847474
  • Daniell, David. William Tyndale: a biography. New Haven: Yale University Press 1994. ISBN 9780300061321
  • Tyndale, William, and David Daniell. Tyndale's New Testament. New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Press 1989. ISBN 9780300044195

External links

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

Retrieved from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=William_Tyndale&oldid=414366

Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Copyright Logo
Powered by MediaWiki