THE MAKING OF THE ENGLISH BIBLE

In 1500 anyone found in possession of a bible in English risked being burned at the stake. But soon pioneers like Tyndale and Coverdale would begin to provide printed English Bibles and a reluctant Henry VIII was persuaded by Thomas Cromwell for a copy of the Bible to be placed in every parish church. Further changes followed in the reign of Elizabeth I until a new project was envisaged by James I and between 1604 and 1611 work went ahead on the production of the Authorised Version. Though it has become one of the glories of the English language its initial acceptance was, at best, lukewarm and Puritans were suspicious. But it became the Bible until more accurate translations began to appear in the late 19^th and 20^th centuries. This course will explore the tangled story of the emergence of the Bible in English.