Chap. ii. History. the Books in The reception of the books in England answered to these anticipations. They were eagerly bought, and as eagerly proscribed and sought out for destruction. Sir Reception of T. More fiercely attacked the translation as ignorant, England. dishonest and heretical'. In the autumn Tunstall and Warham issued mandates for the collection and surrender of copies. Tunstall attacked it in a Sermon at Paul's Cross, and professed to have found 3000 errors in it: 'and truly,' writes one who heard him, 'my 'heart lamented greatly to hear a great man preach'ing against [the New Testament], which shewed forth 'certain things that he noted for hideous errors to be 'in it, that I, yea, and not I, but likewise did many 'other, think to be none3.' The attack of Tunstall appears to have been the result of a deliberation of the Cardinal and the bishops. In a preface added to the English translation of tinus under 'Sunday after St Laurence's Day, 1526,' given in Schelhorn, Aman. Liter. IV. 431 (ed. 1730). The enumeration of languages is 'Hebraicæ, Græcæ, Latinæ, Italicæ, Hispanicæ, Britannica, Gallica. The passage is falsely quoted in the life of Tyndale prefixed to the edition of Park. Soc. with 'Dutch' (i. e. German) for French' (p. xxx. n.). The error is important, for if the printed reading be correct, it is unlikely that Tyndale had spent a long time at Wittenberg with Luther. > 1 His great charge was the disregard of 'ecclesiastical terms,' 'church, priest, charity, grace, confess, penance,' for which Tyndale substituted congregation, elder, love, favour, knowledge, repentance.' Tyndale's reply is full of interest. A similar charge against the translation was made by R. Ridley (uncle of N. Ridley). Writing in Feb. 1527 to the chaplain of Archbp. Warham 3 Foxe, Acts and Monuments, v.213. Chap. ii. The translation condemned. The spread of the translation. 1 Henry VIII's answer to Luther's letter of 1525 it is said in the name of the king that he had 'with the 'deliberate advice of......Thomas lord Cardinal..............and 'other reverend fathers of the spirituality determined ......[Tyndale's] untrue translations to be burnt, with 'further sharp correction and punishment against the 'keepers and readers of the same...... Roye, in his Brief Dialogue, gives an account of the discussion which issued in this condemnation, and represents at least the popular opinion as to the parts played by the several actors. The betrayal of the New Testament is compared with the betrayal of Christ. The part of Judas is assigned to Standish, bishop of St Asaph. The Cardinal 'spake the words of Pilate, saying, I find no fault 'therein.' But the argument of 'bishop Caiaphas "[Tunstall] prevailed, who pleaded that it was better 'that the Gospel be condemned than their estate con'temned;' and so the Cardinal and all the bishops decided that the book should be burnt. The decision being once made was vigorously carried out. Copies of the New Testament were bought up and burnt in Antwerp and London and Oxford'. Diplomacy was invoked to restrain the printers. But all was in vain. The tide was fairly flowing and it could not be checked. A formidable popular organization was ready in England to welcome the books and to spread them. Numerous agents were employed 1 The preface is given at length by The passages are printed in full ... 3 nuper cum summa ejus laude et gloria auditum est majestatem suam sacrum Bibliæ codicem, qui ad per vertendum pias fidelium simplicium mentes a perfidis abominandæ sectæ Lutheranæ sectatoribus vernaculo sermone depravatus et ad ejus regnum delatus fuerat justissime comburi fecisse (Campeggio to Wolsey, Nov. 2, 1526. Arber, p. 49). Compare also Anderson, I. p. 214, Arber, pp. 49 ff., and below pp. 39, 42. both in importing them from Holland and in circulating them. There is even something quaintly human in the spirit of the trader which shewed itself in this sacred work. One John Tyball came with a friend to London (1526) to buy one of Tyndale's New Testaments. After giving some proof of their sincerity they shewed 'the Friar Barnes of certain old books 'that they had, as of the four Evangelists and cer'tain epistles of Peter and Paul in English, which 'books the said Friar did little regard, and made a 'twit of it and said "a point for them! for they be ""not to be regarded toward the new printed Testa""ment in English; for it is of more cleaner English." 'And then the said Friar Barnes delivered to them the 'said New Testament in English...and after...did liken 'the New Testament in Latin to “a cymbal tinkling and ""brass sounding." Thus by 1530 swiftly and silently six editions, of which three were surreptitious, were dispersed, and Tyndale could feel that so far his work was substantially indestructible. He had anticipated its immediate fate. In burning the New Testament,' he wrote soon after the book reached England (1527), 'they did 'none other thing than I looked for; no more shall they 'do if they burn me also, if it be God's will it shall so 'be. Nevertheless in translating the New Testament 'I did my duty and so do I now...". Yet so fierce and systematic was the persecution both now and afterwards, that of these six editions, numbering perhaps > 15,000 copies, there remains of the first one fragment only, which was found about thirty years ago, attached to another tract; of the second, one copy, wanting the 1 Deposition of John Tyball, 3 At present in the Grenville LiStrype's Memorials, 1. 131, App. 55. brary in the British Museum. See 2 Preface to Parable of the Wicked p. 30, n. 2. Mammon, I. p. 44. Chap. ii. External History. Chap. ii. The New Testament at Cambridge and London. title-page, and another very imperfect'; and of the others, two or three copies, which are not however satisfactorily identified". Two characteristic incidents will be sufficient to shew the strength and weakness of the popular movement to which the origin and circulation of the translation was due. The Eastern Counties, which took an active part on the popular side in the barons' war and in the great revolution, seem to have been most ready to welcome the New English Testament. Nearly all the places out of London mentioned in direct connexion with the first circulation of the books lie in this district, as Norwich, Bury, Colchester. And Cambridge, which had enjoyed the teaching of Erasmus, was early and deeply leavened by the 'new learning.' Bilney, Latimer, and Barnes, men of distinction in the University and not young students, were its representatives. Their position made them bold. On Christmas Eve, 1525, Barnes preached a sermon in which he criticised among other things the luxury of Wolsey. This personal attack gave force to the accusation against him, which after a little delay was laid before the Cardinal. A messenger came early in February of the next year to search for heretical books, but his visit was anticipated by 1 The first which is in the Library of the Baptist College at Bristol, has been reproduced in facsimile by Mr Fry: the second is in the Library of St Paul's, London. The Bristol copy has richly illuminated capitals, and was evidently designed for a wealthy purchaser. Marginal references are also added, perhaps by the illuminator, which are generally but not always identical with those in the edition of 1534. A very few notes in Latin and English were added by an early hand, but they are of no special interest. 2 Of these three editions one was printed by Endhoven, and the two others by Ruremonde, but all at Antwerp: Anderson, I. 129-133; 163-165. The Dutch copy in the Library of Emm. Coll. Cambridge, as Dr Cotton points out, is Coverdale's and not Tyndale's version. It is very probable that other editions existed of which no trace has yet been discovered. private information. The books were placed carefully 1 An abstract of the depositions of these men (Feb. 8, 1526) is given by Brewer, Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., No. 1962. 2 This took place Feb. 11, 1526. The narrative is given by Foxe, Acts and Monuments, V. 414 ff. See De maus' Life of Latimer, pp. 49 ff. 3 The crucifix, that is, towards Chap. ii. |