Summer camp for Bibliophiles

Prefer your books the old-fashioned way? Here's a USA-based Summer Camp that is sure to interest anyone interested in the history of books and printing. No e-books allowed!

Neil L. Inglis
Editor, TSJ

Anniversary of Thomas Cromwell's execution

On the day after the anniversary of Thomas Cromwell's execution, it is high time to reappraise this much misunderstood figure.

This History Files posting is of great interest. The knotted rope incident (featured in "Six Wives", where TC is portrayed by the very wonderful Wolf Morris) turns out to be bogus.

Readers of this blog will undoubtedly wish to consult other articles on this site.

Neil L. Inglis, Editor, TSJ

Upcoming symposium on the KJB

Society members may wish to know about the upcoming symposium on the 400th anniversary of the KJB, to be held at Gresham College, on 26 September. Speakers include Dr Christopher de Hamel.

Talks to be presented will include the following:

The Bishop's Bible
Dumbing Down or Sharpening Up? - The Church's abandonment of the KJV
Ancient and Modern: Ongoing Translations of the Bible.

Neil Inglis, Editor, TSJ

Stop Press! TSJ40 e-Issue - out now online!

A sneak preview of this summer's forthcoming issue of The Tyndale Society Journal (full printed edition to be published and mailed out to Society Members across the world over the next few weeks).

Wyclif and The Lollards on Radio 4

This week, Melvyn Bragg tackles the topic of Wyclif and the Lollards on Radio 4's 'In our Time'...

To listen in via iPlayer - click here.

John Wyclif - one of the most important thinkers of the Middle Ages - was the medieval philosopher and theologian who in the fourteenth century instigated the first complete English translation of the Bible.

Bragg is joined in his ruminations by programme regulars Sir Anthony Kenny (Philosopher and former Master of Balliol College, Oxford), Anne Hudson (Emeritus Professor of Medieval English at the University of Oxford) and Rob Lutton (Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Nottingham).

To access Bragg's earlier programme on Fox's Book of Martyrs (featuring Diarmaid MacCulloch, Justin Champion and Elizabeth Evenden) click here.

Priceless prayerbooks at Katherine Parr's Manor

Biblical book-lovers will be beating a path to Cambridge this summer, as medieval manor Elton Hall throws open the doors to its amazing library...

Home to the Proby family since the 1660s, the Hall houses a magnificent collection of early English Bibles and associated works.

Highlights on display will include: Tyndale’s New Testament and Pentateuch, both of 1534 and a manuscript of the Wycliffite New Testament, written and illuminated in London in the 1420s.

First editions of all of the major English translations of the Bible throughout the 16th-century will also be on show, including Coverdale’s Bible of 1535 and a copy of the Great Bible of 1539.

Elton's Royal connections are also referenced, with a vellum prayer book once owned by Katherine Parr, containing several notes in the hand of Henry VIII as well as a Latin Book of Hours bearing her signature.

The exhibition - curated by Liam Sims of Cambridge University Library will be open on Wednesdays and Thursdays 2-5pm from now until the end of July, plus Sunday opening - in addition - during August.

For full details, visit the Hall's website here, or contact the Hall via email at: office@eltonhall.com

'Grammy' says Tyndale's Got Talent...

This week's Gramophone magazine - bible of the classical music world - celebrates the influence of the KJB on composers down the ages.

To read the full article click here.

Also on a musical theme, tomorrow (Saturday 28th May) the Revd Richard Coles discusses 'The Music of the King James Bible' on BBC Radio 3.

Coles tracks the trail of the King James translation from madrigals to missionaries and from Handel to hip-hop.

The broadcast begins at 2:15pm, or you can listen over the coming week via iPlayer.

TSJ Editor to lecture on Michael Servetus in Baltimore

I will be speaking on Michael Servetus, pioneering Spanish medical researcher and doomed theologian, at the Fortfest 2011 seminar next weekend (May 14-15) in Baltimore MD under the auspices of the International Fortean Organization (INFO). I'll be taking some copies of the TSJ with me and look forward to drawing parallels between Servetus and his approximate contemporary, William Tyndale.

MP Takes Tyndale to the Tower...

This coming Thursday night Tyndale is set to be the talk of the Tower...

MP Frank Dobson and Moira Goff, curator of the British Library will both lecture on the revolutionary contribution of Tyndale's 1526 translation.

This Historic Royal Palaces event - 'Let there be Lyghte' - will begin with a drinks reception at 6:30pm at the Tower of London's Education Centre and will conclude at 8pm after questions.

All Tyndale Society Members and friends are warmly invited to attend.

Cost: £12 / £10 HRP Members. To book online visit: HRP Online Booking or to book by phone telephone Historic Royal Palaces on 0844 482 7799 (£2 transaction charge for all telephone bookings).

Everything you ever wanted to ask King James...

On Tuesday 26th April, London's Banqueting House is offering 'An Audience With King James...'

'The year is 1625... James I, son of Mary, Queen of Scots, is granting an audience in his recently completed Banqueting House...

'A firm believer in the divine right to rule, and consequently often in dispute with Parliament, James is a man of firm opinions...

'A pretentious academic but an able theologian, James ordered a new translation of the Bible - which came to be known as The King James Version.'

Whatever your thoughts of the King, this event is billed as your chance to ask everything you ever wanted to know. Audience members will be asked to pen their questions, which will be put to King James by HRP's resident experts.

Following a drinks reception, the event's Past Pleasures Costumed Interpreter will explain how he created his James persona. Full event 6:30pm - 8pm. Ticket only.

All Tyndale Society Members and friends are warmly invited to attend.

Cost: £12 / £10 HRP Members. To book online visit: HRP Online Booking or to book by phone telephone Historic Royal Palaces on 0844 482 7799 (£2 transaction charge for all telephone bookings).

Globe's Easter 'Bible Marathon' - Special Offer

This Easter, London's Globe Theatre is set to stage an Epic recital of the King James Bible to open their summer season.

The event - spread across 55 hours over seven days - is in celebration of the long oral tradition of Tyndale's great masterpiece of translation.

Audience members are invited to listen for as long as they wish during each session (considerate re-admittance and late entry permitted).

Members and Friends of The Tyndale Society can benefit from a special offer in association with The Telegraph newspaper - and pay just £12.50 for a ticket, cushion, hot drink and cake (usual price £17). To access this offer, book via the Globe's online ticketing service here or via phone on 020 7401 9919, quoting the reference: pcdtelegraph

See Henry Hitchings' write up in The Evening Standard.

The full timetable of performances is as follows:

Monday 18 April

6pm – Midnight: Joshua to 1 Samuel
This session covers Joshua through to 1 Samuel and sees the crossing into the Promised Land. Covering the great conquests of Joshua, this section of the Bible includes tales of brutal battles and the falling of the walls of Jericho. Two of the Bible’s most famous stories are included in this session, the tales of Samson and Delilah and David and Goliath.
Book tickets for this session now >>

Tuesday 19 April

6pm – Midnight: 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings
This session features 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings and as the names suggest details the tumultuous reigns of the Kings of Israel and Judea, including Saul, David and Soloman. The history of the Ark of the Covenant features heavily in this section of the Bible. If you ever wanted to know the origins of the term Jezebel, be sure to listen out for the story of King Ahab and Jezebel.
Book tickets for this session now >>

Wednesday 20 April

6pm – Midnight: 1 Chronicles to Nehemiah
In 1 and 2 Chronicles the story from Genesis up to Kings is retold so if you’ve missed anything so far now is your chance to catch up. Ezra and Nehemiah deal with the re-building of the city of Jerusalem following the Babylonian destruction.
Book tickets for this session now >>

Thursday 21 April

6pm – Midnight: Esther, Job and Psalms
This session features the book of Psalms containing 150 beautifully written hymns, psalms and prayers covering the whole range of human emotions from joy to anger, from hope to despair. Many famous verses have roots in the psalms including, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’, ‘The Rivers of Babylon’, ‘Handel’s Messiah’. The book of Job explores the problem of sufferance in an unjust world, where God appears not to care about the fate of the just.
Book tickets for this session now >>

Good Friday 22 April

9am – 4pm: Proverbs to Lamentations
This session includes the book of Proverbs often referred to as wisdom literature. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings. Also included in this session is the book of Song of Songs the most erotic piece of literature in the Bible filled with poems of love and lovers.
Book tickets for this session now >>

4.30pm – Midnight: Ezekiel to the end of the Old Testament
Fourteen of the Bible’s books are covered in this session that makes up the final section of the Old Testament from Ezekiel through to Malachi. These books contain some remarkable imagery of angels and fantastic visions of the future from the prophets. Some of the Bible’s most famous lines and poems are contained in these books.This session also contains the stories of Daniel in the lion’s den, the madness of King Nebuchadnezzar and Jonah and the Whale.
Book tickets for this session now >>

Easter Sunday 24 April

9am – 12.30pm : Matthew and Mark
The New Testament begins with the Gospels of Matthew and Mark and the life of Christ from the story of the nativity to the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. These gospels include the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus walking on water, the Feeding of the four thousand, Christ foretelling his death, the last judgement, betrayal and agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter’s denial and the deliverance to Pilate.
Book tickets for this session now >>

1pm – 5pm: Luke and John
The gospels of Luke and John include more about the genealogy of Christ and John the Baptist. Christ’s miracles featured here include, the widow’s son raised from the dead, the healing of ten lepers and the transfiguration. The calling of the Disciples and the choosing of the Apostles is recounted in these books. One of the Bible’s best known parables, The Prodigal Son also features here.
Book tickets for this session now >>

Easter Monday 25 April

10am – 2.30pm: Acts to 2 Corinthians
This session of the Bible gives an account of the ascension of Christ through to the earliest churches being formed, and spreading the word of the Apostles. Paul’s letters to the Romans and Corinthians contain beautifully written language with phrases such as ‘Though I speak with the tongues of Men and Angels’, ‘Through a glass darkly’ and ‘The thorn in the flesh’. This session includes the story of the conversion of Saul (into Paul) on the road to Damascus.
Book tickets for this session now >>

3pm – 7.30pm: Galatians to the end of the New Testament
The final session contains the instructive letters of Paul and Peter with famous passages such as ‘Love thy Neighbour as thy love thyself’ and ‘The love of money is the root of all evil’. Peter’s letters are considered one of the finest pieces of writing in the New Testament. They take stories from the Old Testament, such as Noah, and Sodom and Gomorrah, to contextualise the teachings. The explosive finale of the Bible recital comes in the book of Revelation. It is an apocalypse. Revelation brings together the worlds of heaven, earth, and hell in a final confrontation between the forces of good and evil.
Book tickets for this session now >>

Praise for Tyndale from an unexpected source

Militant unbeliever, controversialist, and essayist Chris Hitchens warmly praises Tyndale in Vanity Fair (alluding to the faint possibility of a family connection between himself and WT).

Another perfect illustration of the timeless universality of Tyndale's work.

Read the full story HERE.

Hitch's adversaries in the USA will seize upon this story as evidence that Hitch is preparing to meet his maker. We shall see...

Neil Inglis

Invitation - Tyndale in Blackheath - 3rd April

This Sunday, 3rd April, Tyndale Society Members David and Sue Smith are to present a special evening of Words and Music in honour of William Tyndale.

The evening - which will begin at 6:30pm at The Church of the Ascension, Blackheath - will include a reading from Howard Brenton's acclaimed play, Anne Boleyn - winner of 'Best New Play' for Shakespeare's Globe Theatre at the 2011 Whatsonstage.com awards.

All members and friends of the Society will be warmly welcomed.

Tyndale in Pennsylvania...

All stateside Members and Friends of The Tyndale Society are warmly invited to attend a lecture to be given on May 8th by eminent English Tyndale scholar Philip Arthur.

The event will begin at 3pm on May 8th, 2011 at London Grove Meeting House, 500 West Street Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348.

All enquiries: Helen Martin.

Cinderella moment for 400yr old Wiltshire Bible

Amateur historians in Wiltshire got a happy surprise recently when their researches unearthed a previously unknown 1611 copy of the King James Bible which had hitherto been sitting unnoticed on a shelf...

The Bible was brought to light by residents researching the history of St Laurence Church in Hilmarton, near Calne.

Geoff Procter, a member of the parochial church council, said that they had read about a 'fine chained Bible in a glass case' at the church. They then made the link with a Bible that had been sitting on a shelf at the church for a number of years.

There are fewer than 200 original printings of the King James version known to exist, and it is believed that the rediscovered Bible is one of the few remaining editions printed in 1611.

The residents now plan to display the discovery in a special glass case - partly for security and to protect it for future generations but also because the history books say it was kept in one.

Read More...

Great & Manifold Blessings in Cambridge...

To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible, a special exhibition has opened at Cambridge University Library.

Currently on show are several rare Tyndale items including a little-known-about 1553 copy of Tyndale's New Testament.

The new exhibition 'Great and Manifold Blessings' tells the story of the genesis of the KJV, tracing back through the 'patchwork of the many versions produced, chiefly outside England, in the preceding century'.

The show will be open until 18th June (closed 22-25 April).

Opening hours: 9am-6pm Monday-Friday, 9am-4:30pm Saturday.
Admission: Free of charge
Location: See map here.

Brian Buxton

Message from Tyndale Society member Kaoru Yamazaki in Tokyo

I have experienced quakes but never on this level in my life.

It was a really scary experience! There are still lots of small aftershocks.

I feel as if I have travel sickness.

All train and subway services were stopped and it took a couple hours to get home by walking.

And mobile phones did not work at all, so it was a really long time before
finding out about my husband, Yuji, and other family members' safety.
But Thanks to God, we are all safe.

Today we went to Tesco to get bottled drinks and biscuits for emergency.
Nobody knows what is going to happen but I hope I don't have to eat these
foods and we can soon get back to a normal situation.

Just let you know that I am fine and in safety now.

Tyndale on TV...

Thanks to BBC Religion & Ethics insider Al Rodgers, for his tip-off about a new 'Tyndale' TV programme to be broadcast this coming weekend.

The show - Melvyn Bragg's 'The King James Bible: the Book that Changed the World' will air on Saturday March 12th on BBC2 at 8pm.

"Von Bismark said the defining feature of modern history was that the Americans spoke English. It was an English which largely stemmed from the Bible. In both cases, British and American, the King James Bible version swept round the globe in school assemblies, far flung churches, remotely stationed battalions... it was the Book of the community of English speaking peoples.

New words - we use them still: "scapegoat", "let there be light", "the powers that be", "my brother's keeper", "filthy lucre", "fight the good fight", "sick unto death", "flowing with milk and honey", "the apple of his eye", "a man after his own heart", "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak", "signs of the times", "ye of little faith", "eat drink and be merry", "broken hearted", "clear eyed". And hundreds more: "fishermen", "landlady", "sea-shore", "stumbling block", "taskmaster", "two-edged", "viper", "zealous" and even "Jehovah" and "Passover" come into English through Tyndale. "Beautiful", a word which has meant only human beauty, was greatly widened by Tyndale, as were many others..."

BBC researchers originally contacted The Tyndale Society last autumn to investigate and verify details of Tyndale's dramatic part in the KJV's story.

Tyndale & the Whole Bible in English - Wotton

The 400th Anniversary of the KJV has certainly stirred up a lot of new interest in Tyndale's life and work!

Thanks to the many groups who have already contacted us to request special Tyndale lectures over 2011 - we are always keen to help spread the word about the life and colossal achievement of the man who gave us our English Bible...

In the third of our March lecture listings, Tyndale Society Trustee David Green will be lecturing for Wotton Civic Society on Friday 11th March.

The lecture and audio-visual presentation will begin at the Civic Centre, Wotton-Under-Edge at 7:30pm. (For exact location see reference 8 on the town's map - accessible here).

All Tyndale Society Members and Friends are warmly welcomed to attend.

Tyndale Hope in Hampstead - 2nd March, 7:30pm

All Members and Friends are invited to attend a public lecture on William Tyndale to be given by Professor Andrew Hope in the Crypt of the Parish Church of St John, Church Row, Hamsptead, London NW3.

This evening event will begin at 7:30pm on 2nd March 2010.

(Nearest Tube: Hampstead)

Tyndale meeets Newton in Grantham - 29th March

US Secretary of The Tyndale Society and Newton expert Helen Martin will be visiting the UK in March to give a talk on The Classical Education of Sir Isaac Newton.

The lecture Event will be held at Newton's old school - The King's School in Grantham - on 29th March with a reception from 6.30pm onwards.

All Tyndale Society Members and Friends are warmly invited to attend.

Tickets cost £7.50 (£6 concessions) including wine and cheese and are available in advance from Sarah Brown at The King's School (numbers strictly limited to 120 people - so book well ahead!)

Poetic Translation in 'The Word Exchange'

Of interest to all students of the history of the English language 'The Word Exchange' is a new Norton compendium of 123 Anglo-Saxon poems which sit alongside modern English translations rendered by a line-up of 70 contemporary greats including Seamus Heaney (who also provides the foreword) and Paul Muldoon.

Read more in this Washington Post review.

Neil L. Inglis
Editor, TSJ

Tributes to Dorothy Daniell...

David Daniell and his family send sincere thanks to Tyndale Society Members and friends for the many tributes to David's late wife Dorothy which they have received after her sad death in November.

Dorothy was an expert in dance and art therapy and worked for over thirty years in the field of psychotherapy - latterly providing deeply caring support to trauma sufferers at the Refugee Therapy Centre.

She always gave David her utmost support throughout her career, and had a strong and thoughtful faith.

Keith Salway of The Tyndale Society wrote of her: 'It was a great privilege to have known Dorothy and I have no doubt at all that her contribution to the lives of many is built already as an enduring and living memorial.'

A full obituary is to be published in TSJ No.40.

Tyndale's Million Pound Bible...

Hear the inside story of the book the British Library calls "the most important printed book in the English language" - this rare surviving copy of Tyndale's 1526 New Testament...

The British Library's copy of this Bible - one of only two to survive intact from the original Worms print run of 3,000 - is thought to have belonged to a wealthy merchant - and is beautifully illuminated throughout.

The book was acquired in 1994 for a sum in excess of one million pounds, and since then has been a star attraction of the collection.

Click our podcast link below to follow the story of this powerful and beautiful work, as curator Moira Goff explores what was so different - and dangerous - about this ground-breaking - pocket-sized - translation.

You can zoom in for a closer look and also read more about this sacred text on the British Library's website - as well as access turn-the-pages online texts of other collection treasures such as the Lindisfare Gospels, the Luttrell Psalter and the Lisbon Bible.

Ramona Garcia

Tyndale on the Moon!

Tyndale's translations - as embodied in the form of the KJV - have carried the English Bible across the globe - but did you know his words had even made it into outer space?

Astronaut and author Jeff Williams - veteran of a combined 362 days in space after a trio of successful launches - will speak at Dunham Bible Museum in Houston, Texas on Wednesday 9th February about science, space, spirituality and the Book NASA took to the moon...

There is also a collection of rare 16th, 17th and 18th Century Bibles on show as part of a special exhibition to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the KJV.

For full details visit the Museum's website.

John Hellstern

Crystal Radio - on Tyndale, Idiom and the KJV

Today on New York's WNYC public radio 'Begat' author Dr David Crystal speaks to station host Brian Lehrer about the impact of Tyndale's idiom - 'as popularised in the King James Bible'.

For his latest research project, Crystal counted the number of current idioms which can be traced back to the King James Bible. Answer: 257 - as compared with only 100 in the whole of Shakespeare...

But few of the 257 originated 'by committee'...

To find out more, listen to the broadcast by clicking on the podcast icon below.