c. 1997 Religion News Service
WASHINGTON _ The nation’s capital, a city of tributes and memorials to soldiers and statesmen, presidents and politicians. And this summer, to a Bible translator, too.
The extraordinary life story of William Tyndale (1494-1536) and the evidence of his persistence in creating the first printed English translation of the New Testament are told in the exhibit”Let There Be Light: William Tyndale and the Making of the English Bible,”now on display at the Library of Congress through Sept. 6.”By integrating history, theology and literature, this exhibition tells the history of English-language Bibles and the remarkable story of the life and work of English priest William Tyndale,”said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.
Some Washington tourists have made the exhibit a specific travel destination. John Kemlo, tour guide for Christian Heritage Studies, brought a group of 10 high school students from Olympia, Wash.”George Washington said, `To rule well you must rule with God and the Bible,'”Kemlo said.”Our roots are in the word of God. We want these students to see that this (Bible) is the root we want to build good government on.” Inga Nagel of Lancaster, Calif., a high school American history teacher, had another view of the exhibit’s importance. She said the ancient pages prove that”if you try to suppress people and control knowledge, it will backfire. Eventually, free will triumphs.” Besides Tyndale’s translations, the exhibit is augmented by books and documents from the Library of Congress and the British Library, including King Henry VIII’s 1521″Advocacy of the Seven Sacraments Against Martin Luther,”the 1553 edition of Martin Luther’s New Testament and the 1610 edition of John Foxe’s”Actes and Monumentes”(“Foxe’s Book of Martyrs”), which includes a chronicle of Tyndale’s life.
While Tyndale did not completely accomplish his goal of translating the entire Bible from Greek and Hebrew into everyday English, his work eventually reached the world through the King James (Authorized) Version of 1611 with little change. (A recent computer analysis by a Brigham Young University graduate student determined that 83 percent of the King James Version New Testament”is Tyndale exactly.”) Many common phrases were included from Tyndale’s vernacular version, including”the powers that be,””the salt of the earth”and”eat, drink and be merry.” Tyndale not only gave his life to the Bible, he gave his life for the Bible. And his achievements and martyrdom can be understood only in the context of the laws and traditions of his time.
Tyndale, a Catholic priest, teacher and humanist, continued the work of John Wycliffe, the English religious reformer, and John Huss, the leader of the Czech reform movement who was burned at the stake.
In Tyndale’s youth, the Bible in Roman Catholic England was the Latin Vulgate (“common version”) translated by Jerome in the fourth century. It was incomprehensible to most English citizens, especially the poor and uneducated, and for nearly 1,000 years any attempts to correct or clarify parts of the text were usually branded as heresy.
Tyndale first began his translation in England. Dogged by church and civil authorities who were upholding the 15th-century Oxford Council ban on translating or reading the Bible in English, Tyndale fled to the continent in 1524 where he worked in several German cities and finally in Antwerp, Belgium.
Tyndale completed his 706-page New Testament translation in Cologne but only 10 sheets were printed before officials shut down the printer. This”Cologne Fragment”is part of the exhibit.
Tyndale then fled to Worms, where in 1526 printer Peter Schoeffer, who helped Johann Gutenberg print the Gutenburg Bible, printed 3,000 to 6,000 Bibles for Tyndale. They were shipped in bales of cloth down the Rhine River and smuggled into England. Copies discovered in England were burned. Tyndale, working on faith, probably never knew if his work was getting through.
Tyndale next went to Antwerp, where he translated five books of the Old Testament and revised his New Testament between 1528 and 1534. By this time Tyndale was branded a heretic by the Roman Catholic Church, King Henry VIII and English authorities. Sir Thomas More, who also tormented Luther, denounced Tyndale as a”beast”and a”hell-hound.” One of history’s ironies in this period involves Tyndale and Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII who was convicted of adultery and beheaded five months before Tyndale was killed. Although the two never met, a copy of Tyndale’s New Testament was found in her possession. The ornate, pocket-size volume, on display in the exhibit, is identified by the words”Anna Regina Anglia”written in her hand. While it is only conjecture, her possible support of Tyndale would have given her enemies in Henry’s court more ammunition for her execution.
Tyndale was betrayed by Henry Phillips, who was paid to befriend him, in May 1535, and spent 16 months in a cell in the castle of Vilvoorde outside Brussels. He was found guilty of heresy, and, on Oct. 6, 1536, strangled and burned at the stake. The exhibit reports that his last words were said to have been,”Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.” The exhibit also includes poignant traces of Tyndale’s life. In one letter from his prison cell, Tyndale requests a light, some warm stockings and his Hebrew materials.
It is not known if this request was granted.
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