William Tyndale Biography

William Tyndale, an English scholar and theologian, is renowned for his groundbreaking translation of the Bible into English. Educated at Oxford and Cambridge University, Tyndale became a strong advocate for church reform and firmly believed in the importance of allowing people to read the Bible in their own language. Despite facing opposition from church authorities, Tyndale persevered and completed the translation of the New Testament into English. His work was smuggled into England and denounced by the Roman Catholic authorities, leading to his arrest and eventual execution for heresy. However, Tyndale’s legacy lived on, as his translations formed the basis for subsequent English versions of the Bible and greatly influenced the development of the English language.

Quick Facts

  • Also Known As: William Tindall, William Tynsdale, William Tindill, William Tyndall
  • Died At Age: 42
  • Died on: October 6, 1536
  • Place of Death: Vilvoorde
  • Cause of Death: Execution
  • Education: University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Magdalen College, Oxford, Hertford College, Oxford

Childhood & Early Life

William Tyndale was born around 1494 in Melksham Court, Stinchcombe, a village near Dursley, Gloucestershire, England. His family also went by the name Hychyns and may have migrated to Gloucestershire during the ‘War of the Roses’.

In 1506, William was enrolled at Magdalen College School at the Oxford University and completed his B.A. in 1512. After obtaining his Master of Arts degree in 1515, Tyndale studied theology and subsequently became fluent in several languages including French, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish. While studying theology, he often criticized the idea that one had to study so long before actually being allowed to study the Bible. During his college years, he also sought to create Bible study groups with friends having similar interest.

Later Years

Between 1517 and 1521, he went to the University of Cambridge and served as professor of Greek. While at Cambridge, he became further convinced that the Bible alone should determine the practices and doctrines of the church, and that every follower should be able to read the Bible in his own language.

Tyndale was quite keen to translate the New Testament into English as he believed this would help common public understand scripture directly without the filter of the church. He also claimed that the Bible did not support the church’s view that they were the body of Christ on earth.

In 1521, he left Cambridge and became the chaplain at the home of Sir John Walsh, at Little Sodbury. Shortly after, he was criticized by fellow churchmen for his radical viewpoints and therefore in 1523, he left for London in the hope of translating the Bible into English.

In London, he was unable to obtain approval to translate the Bible into English and the church authorities in England prevented him from doing so. For the next couple of months, Tyndale preached in London while receiving financial support from a wealthy London cloth merchant, Humphrey Monmouth.

After struggling to receive any support or assistance to fulfill his objective, he left England and went to Germany in 1524. In Germany, after short stopovers in Hamburg and Wittenberg, he finally settled down at Cologne.

In July 1525, Tyndale completed the New Testament translation which was subsequently published at Cologne and later at Worms, after suppression of Catholic authorities. The following year, its first copies reached England where they were soon condemned as heretical and burnt in public at St. Paul’s Cross.

In 1530, he wrote the Practice of Prelates, a treatise which criticized the annulment of Henry VIII’s marriage. When the English King found out about it, he became furious and ordered Tyndale’s arrest.

Thereafter, Tyndale went in hiding for several years and was later arrested from Antwerp, Belgium. Subsequently, he was convicted of heresy and sentenced to death.

Within several years of his death, upon the directives of King Henry VIII, a number of English translations of the Bible were published which were heavily based on Tyndale’s original translations.

Major Works

William Tyndale is most remembered for his greatest work of translating the Bible into English language so as to enable the common public to read the Holy Scriptures. While performing the translation, he also introduced new phrases and words into the English translations which proved to be quite popular. His work later formed the major part of important Bible translations, most notably the Authorized Version, or King James Bible.

Personal Life & Legacy

After several years of hiding, Tyndale was betrayed by his friend, Henry Philips, and handed over to the imperial authorities in Belgium in 1535. Subsequently, he was convicted on a charge of heresy and his body was burnt at the stake on October 6, 1536, near Brussels, Brabant.

With his translation of the Bible the first to be printed in English, Tyndale’s remarkable work became the basis for most of the subsequent English translations.

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