Richard Taverner (1505 – 14 July 1575) was an English author and religious reformer. He is best known for his Bible translation, commonly known as Taverner's Bible but originally titled The Most Sacred Bible. This holy scripture, containing the Old and New Testament, was translated into English and newly recognised with great diligence after Rychard Taverner's most faithful exemplars.

Life and works

Taverner was born at Brisley (about 20 miles northwest of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

). He studied at Corpus Christi College and

Cardinal College Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, later earning at an MA at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He entered the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

to study law in 1534. Later, under

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

's direction, Taverner became actively engaged in producing works designed to encourage the

Reformation in England The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church. These events we ...

, which included the publication of his translation of the Bible in 1539 and a commentary published in 1540 with

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

's approval. Taverner's Bible was largely a revision of the

Matthew Bible ''The Matthew Bible'', also known as ''Matthew's Version'', was first published in 1537 by John Rogers, under the pseudonym "Thomas Matthew". It combined the New Testament of William Tyndale, and as much of the Old Testament as he had been abl ...

. Taverner brought strong

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

scholarship to the task, but his

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

was not as good as his Greek, so that the revisions of the New Testament are considered better than those of the Old. In 1539, Taverner published ''Proverbs or Adages by

Desiderius Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

Gathered out of the Chiliades and Englished'', which was reprinted several times. Cromwell's fall (and subsequent execution) in 1540 ended Taverner's literary output and endangered his position. On 2 December 1541, he was sent to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

by Henry VIII for failing to pass on a report that

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...

was pregnant with the King's child after their divorce. Soon after, he was released again. He submitted to the King and was restored to royal favour. In 1544, he both served in the French campaign and acquired the manor of Wood Eaton in Oxfordshire and a house at

Norbiton Norbiton is an area within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. It lies approximately east of Kingston upon Thames town centre, and from Charing Cross. Its main landmarks include Kingston Hospital, Kingsmeadow football stad ...

, Surrey. Under

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

, when preachers were scarce, Taverner obtained a licence as a lay preacher. He was also listed as the Member of Parliament for Liverpool in 1547. Though an ardent supporter of the Reformation, Taverner had no intention of becoming a martyr. When Queen Mary came to the throne in 1553, he welcomed her with ''An Oration Gratulatory''. After losing his position at court, he quietly disappeared from public life during her reign. Upon the accession of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

in 1558, he addressed a congratulatory epistle to her, refused a knighthood she offered him, and preached regularly at St. Mary's Church, Oxford. He served as Justice of the Peace for Oxfordshire from 1558 until his death and was appointed

High Sheriff of Oxfordshire The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much older ...

for 1569–70. Richard Taverner died on 14 July 1575 and was buried in the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

of the church at Wood Eaton near Oxford.

Family

The eldest of Richard's younger brothers, Roger Taverner (d. 1572), was a surveyor and writer, and Richard's second son Peter, who established himself at Hexton, Hertfordshire, fathered

John Taverner John Taverner ( – 18 October 1545) was an English composer and organist, regarded as one of the most important English composers of his era. He is best-known for ''Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas'' and ''The Western Wynde Mass'', and ''Missa Coro ...

(1584–1638), an Anglican clergyman. Anthony Wood, a great-grandson, was an antiquarian.

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taverner, Richard 1500s births 1575 deaths Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Liverpool Translators of the Bible into English 16th-century English translators High sheriffs of Oxfordshire English MPs 1547–1552 People from Brisley People from South Oxfordshire District