WILLIAM TYNDALE: BIOGRAPHY, CONTRIBUTIONS, WORKS, PHRASES - ARTE - 2024

William Tyndale (1494 - 1536) was an academic, religious, and humanist who worked as a translator during the Renaissance. He became a martyr to English Protestantism, being recognized for his goal of translating the words of the Bible into the common language of the people.

For his famous work of translation, especially of the New Testament, he used the Greek and Hebrew versions as a source, rather than the Latin. His publications spread quickly as some of the most complete, but were prohibited by orders of the Church.

Portrait of William Tyndale, author unknown, via Wikimedia Commons

It was the precursor to the use of "Jehovah" as the name of God in Western texts, being a term that became popular among English-speaking Protestants. Thanks to the printing press, Tyndale's works had a wide echo in all strata of society.

Neither the Catholics nor the English crown were pleased with Tyndale's disobedience, especially after he published a text against Henry VIII's claims for divorce.

He never obtained a permit to translate the Bible, an act that was considered heresy and led to his death. Tyndale left a deep mark on the English language, as his work was one of the best known for centuries and influenced great authors.

Biography

Early years

William Tyndale was born around 1494 at Melksham Court, which was part of Gloucestershire.

The family members of the future translator and religious made use of two surnames, one of them was "Tyndale", with which he was known, while the other was "Hychyns".

Their ancestors are believed to have arrived in the Gloucestershire area after the Wars of the Roses. In fact, historians think he was related to Sir William Tyndale of Dean, Northumberland, and to Baron Adam of Tyndale, a lieutenant-in-chief of Henry I.

Education

Not much else is known of William Tyndale's life until he entered Oxford for his formal education. There he was part of Magdalen Hall from 1506 and received six years later as a Bachelor of Arts.

At that same time he took the position of subdeacon, that is, someone who is part of a religious order in order to provide his services at the altar.

From this point on, his training as a humanist was already developing, especially due to the inclinations that existed in the Renaissance universities for the study of the classics.

Although at Oxford they were more inclined to Latin studies, some subjects related to the Greeks were touched upon.

In 1513 he received a Master of Arts degree, an academic degree that allowed him to begin his theological studies. Tyndale did not conceive that the Holy Scriptures were not part of the academic curriculum of his specialization, this complaint was replicated by others like Martin Luther.

Tyndale thought students would be brainwashed with pagan doctrines before showing them the Bible. He believed that this delay prevented them from finding out for themselves the true meaning of the texts.

Changes

William Tyndale was a polyglot, that is, he was fluent in several languages. In addition to her native English, she spoke German, Italian, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

This was of great help to his academic life as he could go to the original sources and not just stick with contemporary translations.

It is not known exactly what were the reasons that led him to leave Oxford and move to Cambridge, whose reputation was less than his size.

Some consider that precisely what attracted him was the tranquility of that smaller environment.

He arrived at the new institution in 1517, there he probably became interested in improving his skills with Greek, which was much more accepted than at Oxford. It is also believed that Tyndale was free to develop his latent sympathy for Lutheran ideas.

He completed his studies in 1521 and although from this time on he was arousing enmity for his radical ideas, even his most fierce detractors described him as an honorable, pleasant and virtuous person.

Return to his land

Between 1521 and 1522 William Tyndale returned to Gloucestershire, where he began working for Sir John Walsh, a millionaire landowner who had great prestige and importance in the area.

In addition to serving as a chaplain on Sir Walsh's estate, Tyndale provided his sons with their academic tutoring. Some sources claim that it was Tyndale's brothers, who were influential people, who helped him get that position.

Historians have long questioned why Tyndale decided to pursue minor tasks. But it is thought that this made it easier for him to start working on translations from Greek, something that had already piqued his interest.

Quickly the name of Tyndale swept through Gloucestershire. Especially he became popular because he used to show the faithful the religious teachings directly from the Bible, he did it through fragments that he himself was in charge of translating.

However, the Church did not view such liberal approaches favorably, and Tyndale received complaints directly from John Bell, who was in charge of the Worcester diocese.

At that time no one wanted to raise any charges against the young religious, but was asked to stop his practices considered heretical.

Looking for support

William Tyndale was not discouraged that the local authorities of the Catholic Church called on him to cease his preaching from the Bible and his translations.

On the contrary, it was the impulse that led him to seek a higher approval that would allow him to realize his objective, which was to bring the word of God to the language of his people, that is, English.

Tyndale considered that the conflicts that their actions had unleashed were simply due to the fact that the clergy themselves did not know the Holy Scriptures in depth. Consequently, they proceeded to criticize his teachings without foundation.

He arrived in London in 1523, where he requested a meeting with Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall. Tyndale asked this bishop for his blessing because he thought it would be the easy way, since it was public knowledge that Tunstall was for a time drawn to the study of the Greeks.

In spite of everything, the answer that Tyndale got was negative. As time went by, he realized that although the excuses he was offered did not seem very blunt against his idea, he would not see the day when he would be granted the go-ahead to begin his work.

Translation

In 1524 William Tyndale traveled to Germany for various reasons: not only had it become the epicenter of the printing press throughout the West, but new approaches to theology were also welcome there.

He probably came to Wittenberg and registered at the local university, where he began working on the translation of the New Testament into common English. At that time a friar named William Roy served as his assistant according to contemporary sources.

He finished his work at the end of the following year and had obtained the opportunity to have the copies reproduced in Cologne, but the growing rejection of Lutheranism frustrated the publication.

This forced Tyndale to move to Worms, a free city of the Empire in which the ideas of Luther were quickly permeating. There the Tyndale New Testament edition by Peter Shöffer was produced in 1526.

Impact

In other cities reproductions were also made and these reached Great Britain. By October of the same year they were published, they were already in the hands of Tunstall, who had refused to consent to their production a couple of years ago.

Not only did the Church, especially Tunstall, dislike it, but Tunstall also organized public burning of the Tyndale texts. In addition, he sent letters to the book sellers to stop distributing those copies.

Cardinal Wolsey proceeded to trial William Tyndale in 1529 in which his work was found to constitute heresy. From then on, the most important religious representatives of England condemned his translations.

Last years

In view of the rejection that had been generated around him, Tyndale decided to take refuge in Hamburg and there he began to work on the translation of the Old Testament. She also translated other treatises and made some of her own texts.

What motivated the definitive rupture between the English and Tyndale was mainly the text in which he expressed his rejection of Henry VIII's claims to divorce Catherine of Aragon.

At that time, the King of England himself requested Charles V, his wife's nephew and Holy Roman Emperor, to capture Tyndale and hand him over to proceed to punish his heresies. However, that did not happen.

Curiously, Tyndale's work The Obedience of the Christian Man was what inspired Henry VIII to separate from Rome, since he suggested that the leader of the local Church should be the monarch and not the pope.

Despite everything, Tyndale was captured in Antwerp in 1535 as a man named Henry Phillips betrayed him and handed him over to the imperial authorities. Following this a trial was held at Vilvoorde in 1536, in which he was accused of a heretic and found guilty of the charges.

Death

William Tyndale died on October 6, 1536, in Vilvoorde. He was strangled while tied to the stake and then they proceeded to burn his corpse.

The exact date of his death is not known, however, he was assigned October 6 to carry out commemorations in honor of the martyrdom that he had to suffer on account of his faith and his interest in spreading the word of God among the people.

Contributions

William Tyndale's main contribution was in the area of ​​linguistics. He was not the first to translate the Bible into English, since between 1382 and 1395 the work known as the Wycliffe Bible was created.

Great changes in the language and literacy of the population occurred since the invention of the printing press. That is why Tyndale's translation reached further and in less time, in addition to a much larger group.

Although the translation of the entire Bible could not be completed, Tyndale's work was included in Mathew's Bible, published with the approval of Henry VIII in 1537, just one year after the translator's death.

Appearing in the King James Bible, published in 1611, most of the New Testament (80%) and some fragments of the Old were faithful copies of Tyndale's work. That edition of the Bible was one of the most relevant texts for English vocabulary, syntax, and grammar.

In addition to being one of the books that shaped modern English, the King James Bible inspired the works of many Anglo-Saxon authors, and so did one of its major contributors: William Tyndale.

Plays

- New Testament Translation, 1526 - Worms.

- Prologue to Paul's Epistle to the Romans, 1526.

- The parable of the wicked Mammon, 1527 - Antwerp.

- The obedience of the Christian man, 1528 - Antwerp.

- Translation of the Pentateuch, 1530 - Antwerp.

- The Practice of the Prelates, 1530 - Antwerp.

- A reply to the dialogue of Sir Thomas More, 1531.

- Erasmus translation: Enchiridion militis Christiani, 1533.

- Revised New Testament Translation, 1534 - Antwerp.

- A path to the Holy Scriptures, c. 1536.

- Matthew's bible (author of most of the New Testament translation), 1537 - Hamburg.

Phrases

- “I challenge the Pope and all his laws. If God grants me life, in not many years I will make the boy who drives the plow know more about the Scriptures than you. "

- "Lord, open the eyes of the King of England."

- "I have perceived from experience, how it was impossible to establish any truth in the laity, except if the Scripture was presented before their eyes, in their mother tongue, so that they could see the process, order and meaning of the text."

- "I have never altered a syllable of the Word of God against my conscience, nor would I do so today, even if everything that is on Earth were given to me, be it honor, pleasures or riches."

He was also in charge of coining in his translations some popular expressions within the English language such as:

- "Twinkling of an eye" / "In a blink": Very fast.

- "S eek and you shall find" / "Seek and you will find": The effort will be rewarded.

- "The salt of the earth" / "The salt of the earth": A very honest and kind person.

- “I t came to pass” / “It happened”.

References

1. En.wikipedia.org. (2020). William Tyndale. Available at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki.
2. Daniell, D. (2001). William Tyndale. New Haven: Yale Nota Bene.
3. Encyclopedia Britannica. (2020). William Tyndale - English scholar. Available at: britannica.com.
4. Mozley, J. (1937). William Tyndale. New York: Macmillan Co.
5. Jones, S. (2004). William Tyndale - A Lasting Influence - Bible.org. Bible.org. Available at: bible.org.