Bibles of the English Reformation: The Wycliffe Bible

In my previous post, I went briefly over the English versions of the Bible from the Reformation eras. This post is the beginning of my series of posts on each of the main English versions of the Bible.

 For the previous one thousand years, St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate, had been used almost exclusively in the west. The Roman Catholic Church was leary of Vernacular translations, although not entirely opposed to it. Many of the Catholic hierarchy felt that Bibles used by the people, in the common language, would make heresy more easily spreadable by people not going to the church for it's interpretation of the Scriptures. The Protestants believed this was an excuse of the Roman Catholic Popes and Bishops to keep people dependent upon the church, and especially on indulgences for salvation.  The ushering debate of Papacy vrs. Church Council, and the Church vrs. Scripture Alone, would be only foreshadows of the things to come.

 The Crusades to the Holy Land had been essentially over by the fourteenth century. The knowledge of Latin exclusively alone had faded through the Crusades however. Crusaders came back to Europe with knowledge of many things unknown to Western Christians, one of them being other languages. As new languages spread, the dependency on Latin likewise began to decline in the West.
John Wycliffe was not the first person to translate parts of the Bible into English. In fact, it is still debated how much he actually contributed to the Wycliffe Bible. What is certain, is the English Reformer John Wycliffe laid the foundations for the English Reformation in England.
 I first read a biography of John Wycliffe in my mid teens. My views have Wycliffe have went a little up and down over the years, but I have always considered him quite interesting.
 John Wycliffe was an Oxford scholar. Having Sympathy for the poor, Wycliffe's followers were mostly poor themselves, although some noble knights did also join his cause. Wycliffe held to the doctrine of Apostolic Poverty, and attacked the Roman Catholic Church for it's excessive property and money. Wycliffe felt he was follower of St. Augustine. One of his most important beliefs, shared also by his followers, was that the Bible should be in the vernacular, or common language for men to read.  As many of Wycliffe's works were later burnt, much of his theology is left obscure and unclear to modern readers. Frequently, this English reformer sided with the royalty of England over the church hierarchy. While this last point may sound surprising to many modern evangelical protestants, the fact is that Protestants historically supported Monarchy and Church states much like Roman Catholic.  Wycliffe died in exile for his alleged heresies, though his influence upon the English Reformation, would come to great influence with a certain scholar by the name of William Tyndale.

 Wycliffe's followers were known as the Lollards. Some of these groups opposed all forms of war, especially Crusades { check out The Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards by John Purvey}. The Lollards were not a unified movement theologically speaking, they attracted large amounts of different people. The coming Peasant Revolt against King Richard II, was supported by some Lollards, and hence Wycliffe was later blamed for initiating this rebellion. As might be expected,  some of the beliefs of the Lollards were exaggerated of what Wycliffe had actually taught.
 Geoffrey Chaucer was a student of John Wycliffe. To this day, it is still debated where Chaucer theologically stood. On one hand, The Canterbury Tales certainly mocks abuse in the Catholic Church, but on the other, no document has ever shown Chaucer to not be a Roman Catholic. Whatever Chaucer's beliefs, he was greatly influenced by Wycliffe.
 With all that as in introduction, I want to say a little bit about The Wycliffe Bible. 

 The Wycliffe Bible was the first complete English Bible, itself being produced by the Lollards. This landmark in English Literature, was translated from the Latin Vulgate into English.  Many scholars believe Wycliffe had nothing to do with the translation however, which was completed largely by Nicholas of Hereford. A later second edition was written by John of Purvey, which was more radical than the first by it's further attempts to break with Rome. The Lollards incorporated more than a thousand words previously not found in English from Latin. The King James Version of the Bible would be heavily influenced by The Wycliffe Bible.


 For God louede so the world, that he yaf his oon bigetun sone, that ech man that belieuth in him perische not, but havbe everlasting liif. - John 3: 16, The Wycliffe Bible. 


 On a different subject, Wycliffe not only influenced the best selling book in history, The King James Version of the Bible, he influenced the father of English Literature, Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales.

Further Sources : https://thirdmill.org/answers/answer.asp file=47891, http://catholicencyclopedia.newadvent.com/cathen/09333a.htm,  English Literature by Benjamin W. Griffith, Medieval Christianity: A New History by Kevin Madigan,