William Tyndale holds the distinction of having produced the first widely disseminated translation of the Bible into English. Tyndale's lifelong commitment to making scripture available in the language of the people exerted a significant influence on the development of English prose and the evolution of English Protestant devotion. While scholars in virtually every European country had produced vernacular translations by the beginning of the sixteenth century, England alone lacked such a translation because ecclesiastical authorities had explicitly denied the laity access to the Bible in the English language. The original scriptural languages of Koine Greek and Hebrew were little known in England at this time, but Tyndale mastered these languages in order to translate the New Testament in…
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Citation: King, John N., Mark Rankin. "William Tyndale". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 April 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4494, accessed 24 November 2024.]
