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John Wycliffe and the first English Bible
c. 1328–1384; Wycliffe Bible c. 1382· Person· People
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
Oxford scholar and priest who attacked church wealth and papal power and inspired the first complete Bible in English.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
John Wycliffe taught at Oxford. He argued that scripture is the church's highest authority, that the clergy should give up property, and that the pope had no special power from God. He also denied transubstantiation. His followers, notably Nicholas of Hereford and probably John Purvey, translated the whole Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English around 1382–1395. His lay preachers were nicknamed 'Lollards'. Protected by powerful nobles, Wycliffe died of a stroke in 1384.
Why it matters
Called the 'Morning Star of the Reformation', he inspired Jan Hus in Bohemia and anticipated many of Luther's ideas by over a century.
Life, legacy and sources
His Latin works survive, and about 250 manuscripts of the Wycliffe Bible remain, despite a 1409 ban on unlicensed translations. The Council of Constance condemned him in 1415; his bones were dug up and burned in 1428.
Questions and debates
How much of the translation Wycliffe did himself is unknown; most scholars credit his followers, with an early, very literal version later revised into smoother English.
Inside this (1)
Connections (4)
▸Jerome's Latin Vulgate was the source text for John Wycliffe and the first English BibleHistorical record
The connection
Wycliffe's circle, like most English clergy, worked in Latin rather than Hebrew or Greek, so they translated the Bible from Jerome's Vulgate. The early version followed the Latin word order so closely it was hard to read; a later revision turned it into smoother English.
When and where
Oxford and Lutterworth, England, about 1382–1395; translators included Nicholas of Hereford and probably John Purvey.
Historical evidence
The text follows Vulgate readings and word order, and the later version's General Prologue describes the translators' method.
Questions and debates
Wycliffe's personal role and the translators' identities remain uncertain; scholars debate how much he directed the project.
▸John Wycliffe and the first English Bible attacked the wealth and power of The papacy: the popes and medieval ChristendomHistorical record
The connection
Wycliffe argued that sinful clergy lose their right to property and power, that the pope is not head of the church by divine right, and that the true church is the company of the saved. After rival popes appeared in 1378 he called the papacy Antichrist. Pope Gregory XI condemned 19 of his propositions in 1377.
When and where
Oxford, 1370s–1384; Gregory XI's bulls of May 1377; the Blackfriars Council in London condemned his teachings in 1382.
Historical evidence
His Latin treatises, such as On Civil Dominion (1376), and the papal bulls condemning him survive.
Questions and debates
Historians debate how much English politics, including John of Gaunt's protection and quarrels over papal taxes, mattered compared with theology.
▸John Wycliffe and the first English Bible inspired Jan HusHistorical record
The connection
After Richard II of England married Anne of Bohemia in 1382, Czech students went to Oxford and brought Wycliffe's writings home. Hus read and defended them in Prague, adopting Wycliffe's ideas on church corruption and the true church, though not all his teaching.
When and where
Prague, about 1398–1415; Archbishop Zbyněk had Wycliffe's books burned there in 1410.
Historical evidence
Copies of Wycliffe's works made in Hus's own hand in 1398 survive, and his On the Church borrows heavily from Wycliffe's text.
Questions and debates
Scholars debate whether Hus was essentially Wycliffe's disciple, as the Council of Constance judged, or an independent Czech reformer who borrowed selectively.
▸John Wycliffe and the first English Bible paved the way for William Tyndale's English New TestamentHistorical record
The connection
Wycliffe's Bible proved demand for scripture in English and led church authorities to ban unlicensed translations in 1409. Tyndale, over a century later, defied that ban; unlike Wycliffe's team he translated from Greek and Hebrew rather than Latin, and used the printing press.
When and where
England: Wycliffe Bible about 1382–1395; Archbishop Arundel's Constitutions, 1409; Tyndale refused support in London, 1523.
Historical evidence
The 1409 ban is documented, and Thomas More's attack on Tyndale (1529) also discusses the older English Bibles.
Questions and debates
Whether Tyndale used Wycliffe's version at all is unclear; most scholars think his translation was largely independent.