Want to help connect Notable Bible Translator John Wycliffe 1331-1384?

Question

John Wycliffe is one of the earliest heroes of the Protestant Reformation. He was the first to translate the Bible into English, and got in trouble for doing so.

Answer 1

By coincidence, we watched a Netflix DVD on Wycliffe last night.

"Got into trouble" for (translating the Bible into English) is a very polite version of events, Sharon!

Did you know that Wycliffe's signature was recorded (along with Martin Luther earlier) in the student roll book at Wurttemberg where he went to escape the English? (The Germans had no laws against translating the Bible but the English severely punished those who tried to do it.)

HIs knowledge of many different languages was phenomenal, and his ability to write clear, accurate and poetical English prose was rivaled only by Shakespeare according to the film's producers. Most of the phrases used in the King James Bible produced later were actually coined by Wycliffe.

An hour spent in front of the telly, and now I think I'm an expert!

Comments

Thanks, Dorothy! Do you want to add this to his profile or should I? I wish I had Netflix, but I think we have that DVD at the church.

Sharon

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You certainly can add it if you like. The Wycliffe DVD is (maybe) a little too dramatic, but it certainly covers the various issues in a way that the viewer will remember. You might enjoy looking at it if you can snag a copy from the church. its worthwhile an only about an hour long.  Let me see if I can find the bibliographical citation for it. (Peter took the actual disk down to the mailbox on his way to work, but its probably still on my DYD queue. )

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Secrets of the Dead: Battle for the Bible

2007 NR Rated NR 60 minsrated 3.6 stars

This PBS investigative show examines three key figures in the translation and proliferation of the English Bible: 14th-century theologian and reformer John Wycliffe, 16th-century translator William Tyndale and Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer. Their struggles to translate the tightly guarded ancient texts into everyday language had far-reaching effects that ultimately led to the Protestant Reformation.

 

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Thank you, Dorothy! I will definitely want to get a copy of this  one. I am fascinated by Reformation History :).

 

Sharon

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I added a brother and some sources that might help put his tree together.