William Tyndale
WILLIAM TYNDALE
William Tyndale was born near the border of Wales and brought up in the University of Oxford, where he studied languages, the liberal arts, and the scriptures. After further study at Cambridge, he became the tutor of the children of Lord Welch, a nobleman of Gloucestershire.
Abbots, deans, archdeacons, and other well-educated men often visited Lord Welch to discuss the works of Luther and Erasmus, as well as questions of scripture. Whenever he disagreed with their positions—which was often—Tyndale never hesitated to defend his opinion with scripture. One evening Lord and Lady Welch returned from a dinner and told Tyndale about the discussion that had taken place there. Tyndale began to explain that what they’d heard was wrong but was cut short by Lady Welch. “There was a doctor there who could afford to spend a hundred pounds. Another could easily spend two hundred, and the third, three hundred. Why should we believe you instead of them?”
At the time, Tyndale was translating Erasmus’s Manual of a Christian Soldier. When it was done, he gave a copy to Lord and Lady Welch. Once they read the book, they entertained the churchmen far less frequently.
Soon the area priests began to complain about Tyndale in the pubs and other places, saying his works were heresy and adding to what he said to make their accusations appear true. Tyndale was called before the bishop’s chancellor, threatened, and charged with many things, but he was allowed to leave unharmed.
After this, Tyndale decided he’d better leave the area, so he traveled to London, hoping to secure a place with Cuthbert Tonstal, the bishop of London. When he was unable to do that, he left for Germany.
Tyndale, partly through the influence of John Frith, had decided that the people needed to be able to read scripture for themselves instead of trusting the church to explain it to them honestly and fully. He believed that the corruption of the church was tolerated only because people didn’t know any better—and the church wasn’t about to teach them any better, or its excesses and privileges would be in danger.
In 1526, Tyndale published his English translation of the New Testament and began on the Old Testament, adding prologues to each book. In addition, he published The Wicked Mammon and The Practise of Prelates, sending copies to England.
After traveling to Germany and Saxony, where he met with Luther and other learned men, he finally settled in Antwerp, The Netherlands.
When his books—especially the New Testament—began to be widely read in England, the bishops and prelates of the church did everything in their power to condemn them and point out their “errors.” In 1527, they convinced the king to ban all Tyndale’s works in England.
Meanwhile, Cuthbert Tonstal, the bishop of London, worked with Sir Thomas More to find a way to keep the translations out of the public’s hands. He became acquainted with Augustine Packington, an English merchant who secretly supported Tyndale, and Packington promised the bishop that he would deliver every copy of the translation’s next edition, if the bishop supplied the funds for the purchase. When the bishop agreed, Packington explained the deal to Tyndale. Soon the bishop of London had his books, Packington his praise, and Tyndale all the money, part of which he promptly used to print a new edition that he shipped into the country. The rest of the money supported Tyndale for a while.
Tonstal publicly burned all the copies he had bought, an act that offended the people so much that the church promised that it would provide its own error-free translation. Nothing was done to fulfill this promise. In fact, in May 1530, the church declared that such a translation was unnecessary, which immediately increased the sale of Tyndale’s work.
Tyndale was eventually captured by the emperor in Antwerp, his books were all seized, and he was imprisoned for a year and a half before being condemned under the emperor’s decree of Augsburg. He was tied to the stake, strangled, and burned in Vilvorden in 1536, dying with these words: “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes!”