William Tyndale

Biblical translator

William Tyndale (1494 – ), English biblical scholar and translator of the New Testament into English.

The story so far…

Week 2: At Austin Friars / Visitation

Thomas Cromwell keeps a copy of Tyndale’s English bible locked in a chest. It is a pirated copy from Antwerp, where the translator lives in exile and in fear for his life. Vernacular translations are banned in England and are considered heretical.

Week 4: An Occult History of Britain (Part 2)

The church in England is trying to stem the tide of heretical texts, buying up pamphlets and burning them. Thomas More says the fugitive Tyndale has been spotted in Hamburg, and he tries to get Cromwell to admit to reading one of the forbidden Bibles. Cromwell is too clever for that. Another of Tyndale’s friends, Humphrey Monmouth, escapes prosecution after being forewarned of a raid on his house. The warning came from Cromwell, who was told it by the cardinal.

Week 17: The Map of Christendom (Part 2) / To Wolf Hall

Tyndale has been betrayed in Antwerp. Cromwell thinks More knows who. More says, “Tyndale’s devil will desert now. The Emperor will burn him. And the king will not lift a finger to save him, because Tyndale would not support his new marriage.”