During the Middle English period (1150-1475), the English language was undergoing significant development, becoming the dominant language of England. This period also marked an era of increased efforts to make the Bible accessible to the common people in their native tongue. Though often overshadowed by later translations, some complete Bibles circulated in England before John Wycliffe's monumental work. These Bibles, largely in Latin, were precious—costing between 30 to 37 pounds, which was a substantial amount when you consider that it only took 25 pounds to construct the two towers of the London Bridge in 1240.
So then, before John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English in the 14th century, there were several notable partial or full translations and versions of the Bible available, though most were in Latin or early forms of English. Below are some key examples:
1. Old Latin (Vetus Latina)
Before the Latin Vulgate, the Old Latin translation was used in the early Western church. This version of the Bible existed in various forms, used by early Christian communities in the Roman Empire, especially before Jerome’s standardized Latin Vulgate.
2. Latin Vulgate
The Latin Vulgate, translated by St. Jerome in the late 4th century, became the dominant Bible version in Western Europe. This was the version from which many early English translations, including Wycliffe's, were derived.
3. Caedmon (7th Century)
Caedmon was a poet in the Anglo-Saxon period who created paraphrases of parts of the Bible, but not direct translations. He translated parts of Genesis and other portions of Scripture into poetic, Anglo-Saxon verse, giving early English speakers access to biblical stories in their own language.
4. Aldhelm (639-709)
Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne, created poetic versions of the Psalms in Anglo-Saxon. Although not a complete Bible, his work was one of the earliest known efforts to bring portions of the Bible into the vernacular.
5. Bede (672-735)
The Venerable Bede, often considered the “Father of English History,” reportedly translated the Gospel of Johninto Old English shortly before his death. Although this text has not survived, his translation was one of the earliest known attempts to make the Bible available in the English language.
6. Egbert of Lindisfarne (d. 766)
Egbert is known to have translated selections from the Gospels into Old English in the mid-8th century, marking another early attempt to bring Scripture into the vernacular for the Anglo-Saxon people.
7. King Alfred the Great (848-899)
King Alfred the Great, known for his promotion of education and literacy, is believed to have translated parts of the Bible, including the Ten Commandments, the Psalms, and portions of other books, into Old English as part of his wider efforts to make religious and legal texts more accessible to his people.
8. Aldred (10th Century)
In the 10th century, Aldred, a bishop, made a gloss translation (a running translation or explanation in the margins) of the Latin Vulgate Gospels into Old English. This was one of the earliest attempts to create an English translation of the Gospels, albeit in a marginal form.
9. Aelfric (950–1010)
Aelfric, an abbot and prolific writer, translated portions of the Old Testament, including the Hexateuch (the first six books of the Bible: Genesis through Joshua) into Old English, along with some Psalms and the Book of Job. His translations, however, were paraphrased and intended for teaching purposes rather than complete Bible translations.
10. Orm (12th Century)
The Ormulum, written by a monk named Orm, was a paraphrase of the Gospels and Acts, composed in Middle English around 1150. Though it wasn’t a word-for-word translation, it provided significant portions of the New Testament in verse form and helped prepare the ground for later English translations.
11. The Lindisfarne Gospels (late 7th century)
While originally written in Latin, Aldred’s gloss (mentioned above) was added in Old English between the lines of the Latin text in the 10th century. This was a word-for-word interlinear translation and one of the earliest English renderings of the Gospels.
12. The Rushworth Gospels (10th Century)
Another 10th-century manuscript that included Old English translations of the Latin Gospels. Like the Lindisfarne Gospels, this was a gloss translation.
Before Wycliffe’s translation, these efforts—fragmentary as they were—represented a significant tradition of trying to make portions of Scripture available to the people in their own language. However, they were usually incomplete and limited to certain books or sections of the Bible, with most still relying heavily on the Latin Vulgate or Old Latin. Wycliffe’s complete English Bible, despite being a daughter translation of the Latin, was the first full translation of Scripture into English designed for the common people and marked a turning point in the history of English Bible translation.
John Wycliffe: The First Complete English Bible
John Wycliffe (c. 1320-1384) stands out as one of the most influential figures in Middle English Bible translation. Although he was not a Hebrew or Greek scholar, Wycliffe initiated the first complete translation of the Bible into English from the Latin Vulgate, the commonly used version of the Bible at that time, and the Old Latin. His work was a "daughter translation," meaning it was not translated directly from the original languages but from the Latin texts that were available to him.
Wycliffe's goal was radical for his time: he believed that the common Englishman should have direct access to the Word of God in his own language. John Wycliffe did not intend to "dumb the Bible down" to the level of the common man. In fact, his desire was quite the opposite. Wycliffe believed that the common people should have access to the Word of God in their own language so they could read and understand it for themselves. His goal was to elevate the knowledge of the people by providing them with Scripture, not to lower the Bible's content to fit their level of understanding.
Wycliffe held that the Bible should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their education or social standing. He believed that true knowledge and wisdom came from personal engagement with Scripture and that the Word of God had the power to enlighten and guide ordinary people just as effectively as it did scholars or clergy. This belief led to his work on translating the Bible into English from the Latin Vulgate, making it the first complete English Bible intended for widespread use.
His vision was rooted in the idea that every believer should have the opportunity to understand the teachings of the Bible directly, rather than relying solely on the interpretations and explanations provided by the clergy. This was a revolutionary idea at the time, and many of Wycliffe's contemporaries thought he was radical for wanting to put the Scriptures into the hands of laypeople. They argued that the common people were not capable of understanding such profound texts, but Wycliffe believed that the spiritual enlightenment of individuals was more important than maintaining control over religious knowledge.
Most of Wycliffe's Old Testament translation work is believed to have been done by his close associate, Nicholas Hereford, while Wycliffe focused on the New Testament. The original Wycliffe Bible was a manuscript Bible, painstakingly hand-copied, as the printing press had yet to be invented. Despite this, many well-known phrases in the King James Version can be traced back to Wycliffe's work, including passages like:
"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye?" (Matthew 7:3-5)
"Narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life." (Matthew 7:14)
"For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." (1 Corinthians 2:10)
These phrases from Wycliffe’s translation laid the groundwork for the language and style that would later characterize the KJV, influencing English Bible translations for centuries to come.
John Purvey: The Reviser and Refiner
Hereford's work was interrupted in 1382 when he was excommunicated and imprisoned for his involvement in the translation project, as well as for his support of Wycliffe's reformist views. As a result, the translation was left unfinished, and the remaining work was likely completed by other members of Wycliffe's circle, including John Purvey.
Wycliffe's translation, while groundbreaking, did not remain in its original form for long. His secretary and follower, John Purvey, undertook the task of revising and refining the translation, resulting in what is known today as the Wycliffe Bible Revision. Purvey’s revision made the language more readable and the text more organized, significantly improving its clarity and accessibility. His work was so impactful that the majority of the 170 extant manuscripts of the Wycliffe Bible that survive today are based on Purvey’s revision, rather than Wycliffe’s original.
Purvey's efforts helped ensure that the Wycliffe Bible would not only be remembered as a historic milestone but also as a widely used and influential text that laid the foundation for future translations into English.
The Legacy of Middle English Bible Translations
The Middle English period set the stage for a profound transformation in how people accessed the Bible. Though Wycliffe's work is often seen as the starting point of English Bible translation, it's crucial to remember that it built upon a rich tradition of existing texts and translations. The courage and conviction of figures like Wycliffe and Purvey broke through the barriers of elitism in religious knowledge, making Scripture available to all who could read English. Their legacy is not just in the pages of their translations but in the very spirit of making God's Word accessible to every soul, regardless of social or educational standing.
Wycliffe faced significant opposition and condemnation during his lifetime for his teachings and efforts to translate the Bible into English. His work and influence provoked strong reactions from the Catholic Church. Several years after his death, Wycliffe's teachings and Bible translation were declared heretical at the Council of Constance (1414–1418). In 1428, by order of Pope Martin V, Wycliffe's remains were exhumed, his bones were burned, and the ashes were scattered in the River Swift as a symbolic act of condemnation. This posthumous punishment demonstrated the Church's hostility towards his ideas and efforts, even though he himself escaped martyrdom during his lifetime.
There is a famous quote attributed to the historian Thomas Fuller regarding the scattering of John Wycliffe's ashes, which beautifully captures the symbolism of his influence. Fuller wrote in his work The Church History of Britain (1655):
"They burnt his bones to ashes and cast them into the Swift, a neighbouring brook running hard by. Thus this brook hath conveyed his ashes into Avon, Avon into Severn, Severn into the narrow seas, they into the main ocean. And thus the ashes of Wycliffe are the emblem of his doctrine, which now is dispersed all the world over."
This quote suggests that despite the Church's attempt to silence Wycliffe by burning his remains and scattering his ashes, his teachings and the impact of his work would continue to spread throughout the world like the waters carrying his ashes to the sea. It symbolizes the unstoppable nature of the Word of God reaching the people, much like the influence of Wycliffe's efforts in making the Bible accessible to the common man.
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