William Tyndale: Greater than Shakespeare
Your word is a light on my path.
Key words
- The Protestant Reformation: the end of Roman Catholic rule
The Reformation was a major movement in 16th-century Europe.
- Purgatory: the place to which Roman Catholics believe that the spirits of dead people go and suffer for the evil acts that they did while they were alive, before they are able to go to heaven
It is their belief that he is in purgatory.
- Clergy: religious leaders, especially Christian priests, ministers, etc.
We were surprised when he announced he wanted to join the clergy.
- Disillusioned: unhappy because of discovering the truth about someone that you respected
All of the teachers are thoroughly disillusioned with their colleague.
- Heretic: someone who has beliefs that are against a particular religion
Roman Catholics labeled people who translated the Bible as heretics.
Read the article to find the answers
- Which languages was William Tyndale fluent in?
- Which version of the Bible did the Roman Catholics use?
- How were Bibles made before the invention of the Gutenberg printing press?
- Why was William Tyndale killed?
A disillusioned priest
William Tyndale was educated at both Oxford and Cambridge, where he became fluent in Greek, Latin and Hebrew. He worked as a priest in England but became disillusioned with the Church's beliefs and traditions. Influenced by Martin Luther, he began to study the Bible more closely and became convinced that it should be accessible to all people, not just the clergy.
The Bible was not widely available in England at that time. The Church used the Latin Vulgate, which most people couldn't read because they didn't know Latin. Also, before the invention of the printing press, books were copied by hand, which was a slow and expensive process. The Bible was therefore rare and expensive, and only the wealthiest people could afford to own a copy.