Why did Wycliffe translate the Bible into English?
John Wycliffe, Wycliffe also spelled Wycliff, Wyclif, Wicliffe, or Wiclif, (born c. 1330, Yorkshire, England—died December 31, 1384, Lutterworth, Leicestershire), English theologian, philosopher, church reformer, and promoter of the first complete translation of the Bible into English.
Did John Wycliffe have children?
Wycliffe was born in the village of Hipswell near Richmond in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England, around the 1320s His family was long settled in Yorkshire. The family was quite large, covering considerable territory, principally centred on Wycliffe -on-Tees, about ten miles to the north of Hipswell.
Who was John Wycliffe married to?
John Wycliffe, Wycliffe also spelled Wycliff, Wyclif, Wicliffe, or Wiclif, (born c. 1330, Yorkshire, England—died December 31, 1384, Lutterworth, Leicestershire), English theologian, philosopher, church reformer, and promoter of the first complete translation of the Bible into English. He was one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation.
Was John Wycliffe martyred?
John Wycliffe was born near Richmond in the North Ridings, Yorkshire sometime in the 1820s. His family were of Saxon origins. As a young man, he moved to Oxford to study natural science, mathematics and theology. He studied at Balliol College, where …
Why was Wycliffe burned?
The word was originally associated with particular Christian fraternities who were thought to be excessively and falsely pious. In the spring of 1428 a group of churchmen dug up the bones of Wycliffe and burned them. This grisly enterprise was carried out at the instruction of Pope Martin V.
How long did Wycliffe live?
John WycliffeCopy by Thomas Kirkby of an anonymous portrait of WycliffeBornc. 1328 Hipswell, Yorkshire, Kingdom of EnglandDied31 December 1384 (aged 56) Lutterworth, Leicestershire, EnglandAlma materMerton College, Oxford6 more rows
How old is the Wycliffe Bible?
Wycliffe's Bible is the name now given to a group of Bible translations into Middle English that were made under the direction of John Wycliffe. They appeared over a period from approximately 1382 to 1395.
What year was the Wycliffe Bible made?
The Authorised Version, written in the language of the day, appeared in 1611, the first Bible produced by an authorised group of scholars.
Why was the Wycliffe Bible so important?
Wycliffe translated the Bible into English, as he believed that everyone should be able to understand it directly. Wycliffe inspired the first complete English translation of the Bible, and the Lollards, who took his views in extreme forms, added to the Wycliffe Bible commentaries such as this one in Middle English.
How long did John Wycliffe take to translate the Bible?
With the aid of his assistants, therefore, Wycliffe produced an English Bible [over a period of 13 years from 1382].May 2, 2019
How many books are in Wycliffe Bible?
77 booksThe complete text of the Wycliffe Bible, in old English. The Wycliffe Bible, as it has come to us, contains 77 books: All the books present in the current canon of the Protestant Old and New Testament, plus ten belonging to what Jerome called the Apocrypha.
Was Wycliffe martyred?
At Christmas in 1384 Wycliffe was at Mass in the church at Lutterworth on December 28th when he had a stroke and collapsed. He had suffered a previous stroke a year or two before and the second one proved fatal. He never spoke another word and died on the 31st.May 5, 2015
What is the meaning of Wycliffe?
white cliffMeaning:white cliff. Wycliffe as a boy's name is related to the Old English name Wycliff. The meaning of Wycliffe is "white cliff".
Where was the Wycliffe Bible translated?
Queen's CollegeFrom August 1380 until the summer of 1381, Wycliffe was in his rooms at Queen's College, busy with his plans for a translation of the Bible and an order of Poor Preachers who would take Bible truth to the people.
Who translated the Bible first Wycliffe or Tyndale?
reformist William TyndaleWhilst Wycliffe's Bible, as it came to be known, may have been the earliest version of the 'English' Bible, it is the translation of the Hebrew and Greek biblical texts by the 16th century scholar, translator and reformist William Tyndale which became the first printed version of the New Testament in 1525, following ...
During what years did William Tyndale live?
William Tyndale, (born c. 1490–94, near Gloucestershire, England—died October 6, 1536, Vilvoorde, near Brussels, Brabant), English biblical translator, humanist, and Protestant martyr.
What did John Wycliffe believe?
John Wycliffe’s ideology was often concerned with church reform. In a series of political-ecclesiastical treatises, Wycliffe expounded his view tha...
How was John Wycliffe involved with politics?
John Wycliffe was sent on a deputation by King Edward III in 1374 to discuss differences between England and Rome with papal representatives. In 13...
Why is John Wycliffe important?
John Wycliffe is widely considered one of the medieval forerunners of the Protestant Reformation. His criticism of the practices and beliefs of the...
Where was Wycliffe born?
Early life. Wycliffe was born in the village of Hipswell near Richmond in the North Riding of Yorkshire , England, around the 1320s His family was long settled in Yorkshire. The family was quite large, covering considerable territory, principally centred on Wycliffe-on-Tees, about ten miles to the north of Hipswell.
Who is John Wycliffe?
t. e. John Wycliffe ( / ˈwɪklɪf /; also spelled Wyclif, Wiclef, Wickliffe and other variants; c. 1320s – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, priest, and a seminary professor at the University of Oxford.
What did Wycliffe think of the plague?
In the light of the virulence of the plague that had subsided seven years previously, Wycliffe's studies led him to the opinion that the close of the 14th century would mark the end of the world. While other writers viewed the plague as God's judgment on sinful people, Wycliffe saw it as an indictment of an unworthy clergy. The mortality rate among the clergy had been particularly high, and those who replaced them were, in his opinion, uneducated or generally disreputable.
What did Wycliffe say about the papacy?
He said that there was no scriptural justification for the papacy.
When did Edward III die?
Edward III died on 21 June 1377, and the bull against Wycliffe did not reach England before December. Wycliffe was asked to give the king's council his opinion on whether it was lawful to withhold traditional payments to Rome, and he responded that it was.
Who was the morning star of the Reformation?
Wycliffe was accordingly characterised as the "evening star" of scholasticism and as the morning star or stella matutina of the English Reformation. An epithet first accorded to the theologian by the 16th century historian and controversialist John Bale in his Illustrium maioris britanniae scriptorum (Wesel, 1548).
What was Wycliffe's doctrine?
In the summer of 1381 Wycliffe formulated his doctrine of the Lord's Supper in twelve short sentences, and made it a duty to advocate it everywhere. Then the English hierarchy proceeded against him. The chancellor of the University of Oxford had some of the declarations pronounced heretical. When this was announced to Wycliffe, he declared that no one could change his convictions. He then appealed – not to the pope nor to the ecclesiastical authorities of the land, but to the king. He published his great confession upon the subject and also a second writing in English intended for the common people.
Where was John Wycliffe born?
Short Biography John Wycliffe. John Wycliffe was born near Richmond in the North Ridings, Yorkshire sometime in the 1820s. His family were of Saxon origins. As a young man, he moved to Oxford to study natural science, mathematics and theology. He studied at Balliol College, where he would later became the Master of Balliol.
Who was John Wycliffe?
John Wycliffe Biography. John Wycliffe (1330 -1384) was a theologian, philosopher, lay preacher and translator. John Wycliffe produced some of the first handwritten English translations of the Bible and helped to make them widely available. He was an early critic of the Papacy and the clerical basis of the Catholic church;
Who was the Morning Star of the Reformation?
Further Reading on John Wycliffe. “John Wickliffe This celebrated reformer, denominated the “Morning Star of the Reformation,…”. …When Wickliffe recovered, he set about a most important work, the translation of the Bible into English. Before this work appeared, he published a tract, wherein he showed the necessity of it.
Who were the most influential people in the Protestant Reformation?
Includes John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, Jan Hus and Desiderius Erasmus. Famous English people – Famous English men and women.
Where was John Wycliffe born?
Born in the 1320s (some sources claim in 1328) in the village of Hipswell near Richmond in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England, John was the son of Roger and Catherine Wycliffe.
Who was John Wycliffe?
John Wycliffe was a 14th-century scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, priest, and educator from England. A prominent critic of the privileged status of the clergy and its members’ affinity for pomp and luxury, he was a leading dissident within the Roman Catholic priesthood and is regarded as a crucial predecessor ...
What was Wycliffe's role in the Reformation?
As a result, Wycliffe was depicted as the evening star of scholasticism and as the morning star of the English Reformation. Image Credit. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wycliffe_by_Kirby.jpg. (Balliol College [Public domain])
What did Wycliffe do in 1374?
Following his return, he started putting out his ideas in tracts and longer works.
Who translated the Bible into English?
John Wycliffe realised the need for the translation of the Bible into English quite early in his career and began working on it at some point. In 1382, his translation from the Vulgate into Middle English was completed. The fact that the project was his initiative is undeniable, as he was credited for it.
What did Wycliffe believe?
Wycliffe believed that the church had become sinful and advocated for the clergy to live in complete poverty. According to scholar Rudolph Buddensieg, Wycliffe’s work is comprised of two distinct parts. The first, composed between 1366 and 1378, revolves around a political struggle with Rome.
What happened to Wycliffe in 1377?
Throughout his life, Wycliffe had several conflicts with the church. In 1377, he was ordered to appear in front of William Courtenay, Bishop of London. In May that year, the pope dispatched five copies of a bull against Wycliffe.
Overview
Life and career
Wycliffe was born in the village of Hipswell near Richmond in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England, around the 1320s. He has conventionally been given a birth date of 1324 but Hudson and Kenny state only records "suggest he was born in the mid-1320s". Conti states that he was born "before 1330". His family was long settled in Yorkshire. The family was quite large, covering considerable territory…
Works
In keeping with Wycliffe's belief that scripture was the only authoritative reliable guide to the truth about God, he became involved in efforts to translate the Bible into English. While Wycliffe is credited, it is not possible exactly to define his part in the translation, which was based on the Vulgate. There is no doubt that it was his initiative, and that the success of the project was due to his leadership…
Doctrines
Wycliffe had come to regard the scriptures as the only reliable guide to the truth about God, and maintained that all Christians should rely on the Bible rather than on the teachings of popes and clerics. He said that there was no scriptural justification for the papacy.
Theologically, his preaching expressed a strong belief in predestination that enabled him to declare an "invisible church of the elect", made up of those predestined to be saved, rather than i…
Legacy
Wycliffe was instrumental in the development of a translation of the Bible in English, thus making it accessible to laypeople. He also had a strong influence on Jan Hus. Several institutions are named after him:
• Wycliffe Global Alliance, an alliance of organisations with the common objective of translating the Bible for every language group that needs it.
See also
• William Tyndale
• Ecclesiae Regimen
• General Prologue of the Wycliffe Bible
• Lollardy
• John Bankin
Sources
• Edgar, Robert (2008). Civilizations Past & Present. Vol. 1 (12th ed.). Pearson Education. pp. 434–35.
• Hudson, Anne; Kenny, Anthony (2004). "Wyclif, John (d. 1384)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30122. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Further reading
• Boreczky, Elemér. John Wyclif's Discourse on Dominion in Community (Leiden, Brill, 2007) (Studies in the History of Christian Traditions, 139).
• Fountain, David. John Wycliffe – The Dawn Of The Reformation (Mayflower Christian Publications, 1984) ISBN 978-0907821021.
• Hudson, Anne, and Anthony Kenny. "Wyclif , John (d. 1384)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, September 2010 accessed …
• Boreczky, Elemér. John Wyclif's Discourse on Dominion in Community (Leiden, Brill, 2007) (Studies in the History of Christian Traditions, 139).
• Fountain, David. John Wycliffe – The Dawn Of The Reformation (Mayflower Christian Publications, 1984) ISBN 978-0907821021.
• Hudson, Anne, and Anthony Kenny. "Wyclif , John (d. 1384)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, September 2010 accessed 13 October 2014 doi:10.1093/ref:o…