The First Printed English Bibles
THE FIRST PRINTED ENGLISH BIBLES
The first complete English Bible appeared in 1535. This was the work of Miles Coverdale (1488–1569), who based his work largely on existing translations. Coverdale was no great linguist, and was dependent on “five sundry interpreters.” One of these is easily identified as the most important influence: Coverdale is clearly dependent on Tyndale's translation of the New Testament and Pentateuch.
Coverdale also consulted two Latin translations of the Bible—the Vulgate (whose errors had been so pitilessly pointed out by Erasmus two decades earlier), and a more recent Latin translation undertaken by the Italian Dominican scholar Sancte Pagnini in 1528. The remaining “sundry interpreters” that Coverdale consulted were Luther's German translation of the Bible, and a variant of this, translated into the Swiss-German dialect of the Zurich region in Switzerland. One of the less felicitous aspects of this use of German translations is that Coverdale seems to have been given to minting new English words that are obviously literal representations of the original German—such as “unoutspeakable” (a clumsy English rendering of the German term unaussprechlich).
In one sense, Coverdale's translation is to be treated with some caution. It is not really a “translation” in itself, and is best viewed as a compilation of other people's translations—supremely those of Tyndale—without the sustained critical engagement with the original Greek and especially the Hebrew texts, which one has a right to expect in such a work. Rather than translating the Hebrew and Greek texts directly by himself, Coverdale appears simply to have put together an amalgam of existing translations according to his own personal preferences.
Yet despite this weakness, the work had one immense strength. It was the first complete English Bible to be published, and thus constitutes a landmark on the road to the King James Bible. The translation is rumored to have found favor with Anne Boleyn, known for her Protestant sympathies. As Henry VIII had divorced Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne, her preferences in this matter of Bible translations had no small influence on Henry. Coverdale's translation began to gain the ascendancy. The ground had been laid for an official English Bible, to be sanctioned by royal authority.
Perhaps Thomas Cromwell—a powerful force in the struggle for an authorized English Bible—had hopes that Henry VIII might have given Coverdale's version this coveted status. However, when Anne Boleyn fell from favor and was executed in 1536, Coverdale's translation lost the appeal it once had for Henry. Realizing that Henry would not consent to authorize Coverdale's Bible, Cromwell took another approach. He would encourage a new translation, free from any associations with the unfortunate Anne Boleyn, and wait for an opportune moment to persuade Henry of its merits.
He would not have to wait long. The English printer and entrepreneur Richard Grafton had been busy for some years working on the production of an English Bible. The text was edited by John Rogers, an associate of Tyndale's. The work, published in 1537, is often known as “Matthew's Bible,” from the pseudonym adopted by Rogers to protect his identity. The translation was produced and printed in Antwerp, from where it would be exported to England. Although Matthew's Bible was based partly on Coverdale's work, it is clear that the most important influence was the translations of Tyndale, including some Old Testament material that Tyndale had translated but never managed to publish, and which had remained in Antwerp after his execution. In addition to the text of the Bible, the work included marginal notes based upon the French biblical translation of Pierre-Robert Olivétan (c. 1506–38).
Grafton kept both Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer informed of the progress of the work, aware that the influence of these senior figures was such that they might be able to secure Henry's active support for the project. By August 4, 1537, Cranmer had secured an advance copy of the work, and was favorably impressed with what he read. He sent the copy on to Cromwell, expressing the hope that it might gain the royal favor. Whether by accident or design, Cranmer seems to have caught Henry VIII in an unusually good mood. On August 13, Cranmer wrote again to Cromwell, this time expressing his delight and thanks that the Bible had been presented to the king, and had received a favorable reception. The Bible had been given royal approval, and was authorized for general sale. Henceforth, the title page of the Bible bore the words “Set forth with the king's most gracious licence.” Given the extent of the dependence of this version upon Coverdale's, the royal license was subsequently extended to include later printings of Coverdale's Bible.
1546 Portrait of Thomas Cranmer by Gerl ach Flicke (active 1545–58)
Pressure now began to develop for an English Bible to be placed in every parish church in England. In part, this reflected a growing consensus that, as a matter of principle, the people of England should be allowed to hear the Bible read to them in their own language. Yet another unstated concern may be discerned as lurking in the background. The most effective way of countering the influence of potentially seditious unauthorized translations was to flood the country with reliable and safe translations, and insist that these be read out loud during regular public worship. On September 3, 1538, an injunction, published in the name of the king, charged the clergy of the church as follows:
That ye shall provide, on this side of the feast of All Saints next coming, one book of the whole Bible of the largest volume in English, and the same set up in some convenient place within the said church that ye have cure of, whereas your parishioners may most commodiously resort to the same and read it. The charges of which book shall be rateably borne between you, the parson and the parishioners aforesaid, that is to say, the one half by you and the other half by them.
The king may have authorized the use of such a Bible; he was most emphatically not prepared to pay for it.
The reference to the “largest volume” immediately suggested that Matthew's Bible was the text of choice for this purpose. Coverdale's translation took the form of a quarto edition, which was too small to be used properly on most church lecterns. Matthew's Bible was published in the larger folio edition, ideally suited for church use. Its future seemed assured; Grafton would surely become a rich man. Henry might have authorized the book; it remained, however, the product of private enterprise and entrepreneurship.