John Wycliffe
The King James Bible was not the first English Bible. That appeared around 1382 when John Wycliffe (1328-1384) translated Jerome’s Latin version, called the Latin Vulgate, into English.
Wycliffe gave his handwritten translation to itinerant preachers who spread it throughout England. Hand copying took ten months, so distribution was limited; it was also banned by government edict in 1409.
In 1415 Wycliffe was declared a heretic for his unlicensed translation of the Bible. His body was exhumed and burned to ashes.
Inspired by the winepress, Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440. Later he added moveable type. Reproduction speed rocketed to 240 pages per hour. In 1455 he printed the first Bible in Latin. Gutenberg’s invention spread across Europe and enormously facilitated Bible distribution to the masses.
By 1611 Gutenberg presses were widespread. This fostered rapid distribution of the King James Bible throughout the English-speaking world.
Soli Deo Gloria.
This is the fourth installment in the Story of the King James Bible series celebrating its 400th Anniversary.
Read the prequels:
1. King James Bible – The King with videos
2. King James Bible – Impact
3. King James Bible – Influence
Read the sequels:
5. King James Bible – Royal Ceremony
6. King James Bible – William Tyndale
7. King James Bible – Bible Wars
8. King James Bible – King & Bible
©William T. Pelletier, Ph.D.
“contending earnestly for the faith” (Jude 1:3)
Tuesday November 22, 2011 A.D.
Read my November 2011 newspaper column:
Marco Polo’s Dragons.
The sum of Thy word is truth, and every one of Thy righteous ordinances is everlasting. (Psalms 119:160)
