The Great Bible of 1539 was the first authorised edition of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

in English, authorised by King

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

to be read aloud in the church services of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. The Great Bible was prepared by

Myles Coverdale Myles Coverdale, first name also spelt Miles (1488 – 20 January 1569), was an English ecclesiastical reformer chiefly known as a Bible translator, preacher and, briefly, Bishop of Exeter (1551–1553). In 1535, Coverdale produced the first ...

, working under commission of Thomas, Lord Cromwell, Secretary to Henry VIII and

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

. In 1538, Cromwell directed the clergy to provide "one book of the Bible of the largest volume in English, and the same set up in some convenient place within the said church that ye have care of, whereas your parishioners may most commodiously resort to the same and read it." The Great Bible includes much from the ''

Tyndale Bible The Tyndale Bible generally refers to the body of biblical translations by William Tyndale into Early Modern English, made . Tyndale's Bible is credited with being the first Bible translation in the English language to work directly from Hebre ...

'', with the objectionable features revised. As the ''Tyndale Bible'' was incomplete, Coverdale translated the remaining books of the Old Testament and

Apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

translations, rather than working from the original

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

texts. Although called the Great Bible because of its large size, it is known by several other names as well: the King's Bible, because the

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

authorized and permitted it; the Cromwell Bible, since Thomas Cromwell directed its publication; Whitchurch's Bible after its first English printer; the Chained Bible, since it was chained to prevent removal from the church. It has less accurately been termed Cranmer's Bible, since although

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry ...

was not responsible for the translation, a

preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a '' foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often close ...

by him appeared in the second edition..

Sources and history

The Tyndale New Testament had been published in 1525, followed by his English version of the Pentateuch in 1530; but both employed vocabulary, and appended notes, that were unacceptable to English churchmen, and to the King. Tyndale's books were banned by royal proclamation in 1530, and Henry then held out the promise of an officially authorised English Bible being prepared by learned and catholic scholars. In 1534,

sought to advance the King's project by press-ganging ten diocesan bishops to collaborate on an English New Testament, but most delivered their draft portions late, inadequately, or not at all. By 1537 Cranmer was saying that the proposed Bishops' Bible would not be completed until the day after Doomsday. The King was becoming impatient with the slow progress, especially in view of his conviction that the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...

had been substantially exacerbated due to the rebels' exploitation of popular religious ignorance. With the bishops showing no signs of completing their task, Cromwell obtained official approval for 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 able ...

as an interim measure in 1537, the year of its publication under the pseudonym "Thomas Matthew", actually John Rogers. Cromwell had helped to fund the printing of this version. The Matthew Bible combined the New Testament of

William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – ) was an English biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his execu ...

, and as much of the Old Testament as Tyndale had been able to translate before being put to death the prior year for "heresy." Coverdale’s translation of the Bible from the Latin into English and Matthew’s translation of the Bible using much of Tyndale's work were each licensed for printing by Henry VIII, but neither was fully accepted by the Church. By 1538, it became compulsory for all churches to own a Bible in accordance with

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...

’s Injunctions. Coverdale based the Great Bible on Tyndale's work, but removed the features objectionable to the bishops. He translated the remaining books of the Old Testament using mostly the

and

translations. Coverdale's failure to translate from the original

, and

texts gave impetus to the ''

Bishops' Bible The Bishops' Bible is an English translation of the Bible which was produced under the authority of the established Church of England in 1568. It was substantially revised in 1572, and the 1602 edition was prescribed as the base text for the King ...

''. The Great Bible's New Testament revision is chiefly distinguished from Tyndale's source version by the interpolation of numerous phrases and sentences found only in the Vulgate. For example, here is the Great Bible's version of (as given in ''The New Testament Octapla''): The non-italicised portions are taken over from Tyndale without change, but the italicised words, which are not found in the Greek text translated by Tyndale, have been added from the Latin. (The added sentence can also be found, with minor verbal differences, in the Douai-Rheims New Testament.) These inclusions appear to have been done to make the Great Bible more palatable to conservative English churchmen, many of whom considered the Vulgate to be the only legitimate Bible. The

psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

in the

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

of 1662 continue to be taken from the Great Bible rather than the King James Bible. In 1568, the Great Bible was superseded as the authorised version of the Anglican Church by the

. The last of over 30 editions of the Great Bible appeared in 1569.

Printing

Myles Coverdale and Richard Grafton went over to Paris and put the work into the hands of the French printer, François Regnault at the University of Paris, with the countenance of Bonner, then (Bishop Elect of Hereford and) British Ambassador at Paris. There was constant fear of the Inquisition. Coverdale packed off a large quantity of the finished work through Bonner to Cromwell, and just when this was done, the officers of the Inquisition came on the scene. Coverdale and Grafton made their escape. A large quantity of the printed sheets were sold as waste paper to a haberdasher, who resold them to Cromwell's agents, and they were, in due course, sent over to London. Cromwell bought the type and presses from Regnault and secured the services of his compositors. The first edition was a run of 2,500 copies that were begun in

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in 1539. Much of the printing – in fact 60 percent – was done at Paris, and after some misadventures where the printed sheets were seized by the French authorities on grounds of heresy (since relations between England and France were somewhat troubled at this time), the remaining 40 percent of the publication was completed in London in April 1539.
Two luxurious editions were printed to showcase for presentation. One edition was produced for King Henry VIII and the other for Thomas Cromwell. Each was printed on parchment rather than on paper. The woodcut illustrations of these editions, moreover, were then exquisitely painted by hand to look like illuminations. Today, the copy that was owned by King Henry VIII is held by the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

in London, England. Thomas Cromwell's edition is today held by the Old Library at St John’s College in Cambridge, England.
It went through six subsequent revisions between 1540 and 1541. The second edition of 1540 included a preface by

, Archbishop of Canterbury, recommending the reading of the scriptures. (Cranmer’s preface was also included in the front of the Bishops' Bible.) Seven editions of the Great Bible were published in quick succession. 1. 1539, April – Printed in Paris and London by Richard Grafton & Edward Whitchurch.
2. 1540, April – Printed in London by Richard Grafton & Edward Whitchurch, includes Archbishop Thomas Cranmer's preface, and the Apocryphal Books were interspersed among the Canonical Books of the Old Testament.
3. 1540, July – Printed in London by Richard Grafton & Edward Whitchurch, includes Archbishop Cranmer's preface with Cromwell's shield defaced on the title page
4. 1540, November — Printed in London by Richard Grafton & Edward Whitchurch, with the title page of 1541, and includes Archbishop Cranmer's preface..
5. 1541, May – Printed in London by Edward Whitchurch, includes Archbishop Cranmer's preface.
6. 1541, November – Printed in London by Edward Whitchurch, includes Archbishop Cranmer's preface.
7. 1541, December – Printed in London by Edward Whitchurch, includes Archbishop Cranmer's preface.

More than 9,000 copies of the Great Bible were printed by 1541. 8. 1549, ________ – Printed in London by Edward Whitchurch. 9. "In 1568, the Great Bible was superseded as the authorised version of the Anglican Church by the Bishops’ Bible. The last of over 30 editions of the Great Bible appeared in 1569." A version of Cranmer's Great Bible can be found included in the English Hexapla, produced by Samuel Baxter & Sons in 1841. However copies of this work are fairly rare. The most available reprinting of the Great Bible's New Testament (minus its marginal notes) can be found in the second column of the ''New Testament Octapla'' edited by Luther Weigle, chairman of the translation committee that produced the Revised Standard Version.

Language

The language of the Great Bible marks the advent of Early Modern English. Moreover, this variant of English is pre-Elizabethan. The text, which was regularly read in the parish churches, helped to standardise and stabilise the language across England. Some of the readings of the First Authorised Version of the Bible differ from the more familiar 1611 edition, the Third Authorised Version. For example, the commandment against adultery in the Great Bible reads, "Thou shalt not breake wedlocke."

Illustrations

The woodcut illustrations in the earlier editions of the Great Byble in Englyshe evidence a lack of projective geometry in their designs. Though this Bible falls into the Renaissance period of Bible production in the early years of the Protestant Reformation of church theology and religious practice, the artwork used in the Great Byble more closely resembles the charm of the woodcut illustrations found in Biblia Pauperum from the medieval period. The woodcut designs appear in the 1545 edition of ''Le Premier secondvolume de la Bible en francoiz nouvellement hystoriee, reveue & corrigee oultre les precedentes impressions'' published in Paris by Guillaume Le Bret, and now held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Réserve des livres rares, A-282. " The style employed by the French woodcutter appears to have been influenced by the Venetian engraver Giovanni Andrea Valvassori, who in 1511 produced the block print picture bible ''Opera nova contemplativa''. The commonality among the woodcut illustrations is the charm from a lack of sophistication and depth perception associated with the Renaissance and its impact on transforming art.

Aftermath

The later years of Henry VIII indeed were marked by serious reaction. In 1542 Convocation with the royal consent made an attempt thwarted by Cranmer to Latinise the English version and to make it in reality what the Catholic version of Rheims subsequently became. In the following year Parliament which then practically meant the King and two or three members of the Privy Council restricted the use of the English Bible to certain social classes that excluded nine tenths of the population and three years later it prohibited the use of everything but the Great Bible. It was probably at this time that there took place the great destruction of all previous work on the English Bible which has rendered examples of that work so scarce. Even Tunstall and

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

were anxious to escape from their responsibility in lending their names to the Great Bible. In the midst of this reaction Henry VIII died January 28, 1547.The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Volume 2, Edited by James Orr, Chicago: 1915, page 949.

References

External links

* . * .
The Great Bible of 1540 in PDF @ Internet ArchiveThe Great Bible OnlineThe Great Bible of 1541 Turn the Page Facsimile
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