1524., 1525.
The New Testament In English Preparing By Tyndale, For Circulation In His Native Land; And In Two Editions From The Press By The Close Of 1525.
WE are now entering upon a war of opinion, and one of paramount importance to this kingdom, which, as far as our first translator of the Sacred Volume was concerned, lasted, without one moment’s interruption, for twelve years. It must appear singular, that no detail of such a contest, ending as it did, has ever been written. Such, however, being the fact, and such the variety of character, as well as the strange incidents involved in the struggle, without keeping rigidly to our narrative, year by year, as the subject never has been, so it never can be understood.
Tyndale, though strongly attached to his native country, having now fully resolved on going abroad, Munmouth “helped him over the sea.” We know that he sailed direct for Hamburg, and the question is, whether he did not there remain for more than a year. At all events, a period of about fifteen months, or rather two years, has to be accounted for, from January 1524;
but so much obscurity has rested upon it, owing to the mere affirmations, both of friends and foes, that it becomes necessary to call for proof, and to proceed no farther than it will carry us.
Two general assertions have been hazarded, and too long received. One is, that, upon leaving his native land, Tyndale went directly to Luther, and completed his translation in confederacy with him. The other is, that he dwelt at Wittenberg while thus engaged.
This idea of Tyndale’s immediate and intimate confederacy with Luther, and his dependence upon him, originally imported from abroad, through men who were, at the moment, under the torture of examination in England, has been repeated from Sir Thomas More and John Cochlaeus, two determined enemies, not to say John Foxe, a decided friend, down to Herbert Marsh in our own day; but it is more than time that it should be exploded. Considering that these are nothing more than assertions, it is strange that they should have prevailed with any, after Tyndale’s own
language to Sir Thomas More, who had asserted that our Translator was with Luther in Wittenberg, where he wrote his marginal glosses; and again that “the confederacy between Luther and him is a thing well known.” To this, Tyndale, in his “Answer,” replies with emphasis, “When he saith, Tyndale was confederate with Luther, that is not truth;” but, as a man traduced, gives his adversary no farther positive information.
But even independently of this pointed denial, was he even resident in Wittenberg, nay, in any part of Saxony, during this period? If not, then both assertions fall to the ground.
That he saw and conversed with Luther at some period, may be supposed, though we have not a shadow of proof; but that he had done either, or even set his foot in Saxony, before the publication of his New Testament, will very soon appear to have been impossible, in the nature of things. On the contrary, if we are to depend on the distinctly recorded testimony of the generous man with whom he resided in London; delivered, too, in very peculiar, because responsible, circumstances, and involving pecuniary transactions with Tyndale himself, which account for his support, a different place of residence must be assigned to him.
On the 14th of May, 1528, Munmouth being sent for by Sir T. More, was the same day committed to the Tower. His petition for release, on the 19th, is addressed to Wolsey and the King’s Council. Now, in this we have the following evidence, that Munmouth heard Tyndale preach four years and a half and more before at St. Dunstan’s, London; that on Tunstal’s refusal to employ him, he took him into his house for half a year; that “when he made his exchange to Hamburg,” he paid him ten pounds; that within a year after he sent from Hamburg for other ten pounds which he had left in his hands, and that thither he had sent it to him. From this, and what follows, it is evident, he remained in Hamburg throughout 1524, and that he had means of support for even a longer period.
We presume it will now be admitted, that the residence of Tyndale at Wittenberg has been nothing more than an assumption, serving powerfully, at the moment, the purpose of Sir Thomas More, his calumniator. The evidence, as yet, is distinctly in favour of Hamburg, and as for
“confederacy with Luther,” that has been pointedly denied. More had affirmed that Tyndale “was with Luther in Wittenberg;” and Tyndale replies, “that is not truth.” Indeed, these words are his emphatic answer to
all that his opponent had either of malicious purpose, or by mistake, asserted in both of his sentences, already quoted.
We, however, now know the movements of Luther better than did Sir Thomas More; and it may be worth while to enquire how he was engaged at the moment, and throughout the greater part of this year. Most
unfortunately he had just fallen out violently with Carlostadt, and taken that step which has so often been lamented since, as a memorable instance of human imbecility. It only requires to be observed, that the time of Tyndale’s sailing from London, and that of Carlostadt leaving Wittenberg, were simultaneous, or the beginning of 1524. The vexatious controversy respecting the Lord’s Supper had already commenced. Luther was posting after Carlostadt, and, by the month of August, at Jena, they were pledged antagonists, after which the latter had to seek refuge in Strasburg. The approach of any man to Luther, at this period, who was not of his opinion, would have been fatal to any advice or confederacy with him. How, as Tyndale was not at present, nor indeed ever was, a Lutheran, and since, as a scholar, he needed neither assistance nor advice, from a man with whom he could have conversed only through the medium of Latin; to send him into Saxony for such purposes, and at such a time, was equally absurd. On the contrary, if there were strong reasons for seeking no such intercourse at this moment; there were stronger still, gathered by Tyndale himself from the state of England, as already described, whether in Gloucestershire or in London, for his immediately sitting down to his work; and, instead of hastening away from Hamburg into Saxony, if we at once assume that Tyndale remained in this city throughout 1524, as Munmouth has told us, and then, in 1525, was first at Cologne, and then at Worms; we shall leave the reader to judge, as he proceeds, whether a day was left for visiting other places, except such as lay in his way, and more especially one so far distant as the usual abode of Martin Luther.
To return, therefore, to our history. Tyndale had now entered, with great vigor, on two of the most important years of his existence; and if, when his productions are once discovered in England, it shall come out in evidence, that, in that time, he had translated and printed first an edition of the gospel of Matthew, then another of the gospel of Mark, with two editions of the New Testament; this will demonstrate, that neither his residence, nor his labours, have ever yet been understood.
At the moment of Tyndale’s arrival in Hamburg, it is not unworthy of remark, that he had found the city in a state of great excitement, but, at the same time, one by no means unfavourable to the commencement of his design. Nor was this excitement of recent origin. In 1523, the burghers had already agreed, in a body, to oppose the usurpations, the taxes, and the excommunications of the Chapter, while they were divided in their opinions respecting points of belief and ceremonies. One party, and that supported by the Senate, were for reforming both, A Franciscan friar, named Kempe, newly come from Rostoc, bad been requested to preach the gospel in its purity, and was now so engaged; with better success than Henry Zuphten, who had been burnt alive at Mehldorf, by a decree of the official at Hamburg.
But if Tyndale, in 1524, abode in this city, had he the benefit of any assistance, or did he meet with an amanuensis there? With regard to the first enquiry, he himself informs us, that he “had no man to counterfeit (i.e.
imitate), neither was holpen with English of any that had interpreted the same, or such like thing in the Scripture before time.” As for an
amanuensis, and one who was also able to compare the text with him when translated; he seems to have had first one, and then another, who remained in his service for a considerable time. The first of these, we cannot name, though hc was highly esteemed by our translator; the second was William Roye, a friar observant of the Franciscan order at Greenwich, “a man,”
says Tyndale, in his “Parable of the Wicked Mammon,” “somewhat crafty, when he cometh unto new acquaintance, and before he be thorough
known. Nevertheless, I suffered all things till that was ended, which I could not do alone without one, both to write, and to help me to compare the texts together. When that was ended, I took my leave, and bade him farewell for our two lives, and, as men say, a day longer. After we were departed, he went to Argentine (Strasburg). A year after that came one Jerome, a brother of Greenwich also, through Worms to Argentine-which Jerome, I warned of Roye’s boldness, and exhorted him to beware of him, and to walk quietly, and with all patience and long suffering, according as we have Christ and his apostles for an ensample, which thing he also promised me.”
With regard to the progress actually made during this year, or how much Tyndale may, if not must, have accomplished in Hamburg, there has never been any distinct information. This, however, may be accounted for from the fact never having been before known, that previously to the publication
of his New Testament; whether in quarto, with glosses, or in octavo, without them; Tyndale had printed an edition of Matthew, as well as of Mark, by themselves, although not a single copy has ever yet been
identified. In the eager search for the Scriptures, with a view to their being destroyed, they may have been sometimes given up, to save a Testament;
but there can be no question that we have here before us Tyndale’s earliest effort for the benefit of his country.
After John Foxe had printed his loose statement in his Acts and Monuments, when he came to publish Tyndale’s works, in 1573, he
glances at this fact, though no attention has ever been paid to his words. In his life of Fryth, talking no more of Saxony, he has said-“William Tyndale first placed himself in Germany, and there did first translate the Gospel of St. Matthew into English, and after, the whole New Testament,” &c. His mention of Matthew, by itself, certainly appears to imply some distinction;
but the real state of the case was this-that Tyndale not only “first
translated Matthew,” but printed it, and the Gospel of Mark also. Both of these we shall find to be most bitterly denounced in the beginning of 1527, after having been read; and as a publication, not only separate from the New Testament with its prologue, but as printed previously.
It is worthy of notice, that Munmouth, in his memorial to Wolsey and the Council, who had been in possession of the earliest New Testament, distinctly confesses that he had “received a little treatise,” which Tyndale had sent to him, “when he sent for his money,” in 1524. This, at least, shows that he had been busily engaged in the city where he had first landed. But if this was not the well-known tract, which was ere long to produce such effect, entitled, the “Supplication of Beggars,” by Mr. Fish, it may have been these gospels, or one of them.
We do not, however, farther anticipate. The fact of both gospels having been printed, and styled emphatically, “the first print,” is certain; and we simply add, that the place where they were printed, we have been led to believe, must have been Hamburg. Of this there will be farther evidence.
Were it now possible to relate, in full detail, the history of the printing of the two first editions of our New Testament in the English language, it would unquestionably form one of the most striking illustrations of the superintending providence of God over his own Word; and only exceeded by its introduction into England and Scotland, immediately after being
printed. The account, however, even as far as it may be traced, cannot fail to interest all those who desire to mark the hand of the Supreme Being, in by far the greatest gift which He has ever bestowed on Britain.
It has been usual to represent the first edition of Tyndale’s Blew Testament as printed at Antwerp in the year 1526, and so dismiss the subject. We shall have occasion to show that, though not printed under his eye, this was the third edition; and that the history of the two first editions, printed in 1525, by Tyndale himself, elsewhere, has never yet been properly understood.
Indeed, so defective have the statements hitherto been, that although two editions were distinctly denounced, both by the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1526; no one had thought, till very lately, of either enquiring after the missing book, or even allowing the quarto edition with glosses, to have then existed. Every particular circumstance,
therefore, which can be properly authenticated, respecting these two first productions of Tyndale’s own hand, the source of so many subsequent editions both abroad and at home, ought to be recorded; and more especially, since so diligent was the “secret search” after them, and so frequent the flames which consumed them, that, of the octavo impression, only one copy of the sacred text remains complete, one other imperfect, and of the quarto, nothing more than a venerable fragment. This last, however, happily includes his original prologue entire, or the very first sheets thrown off at the Cologne press.
We proceed, therefore, to give a general statement of the movements of Tyndale, explaining it more fully, and confirming it afterwards. Having left the place of his abode, which we have assumed to be Hamburg, he arrived at Cologne on the Rhine, in the end of April or beginning of May 1525, perhaps earlier, accompanied by his amanuensis William Roye. He
commenced his labours by committing to the press his New Testament, in the form of a quarto volume, Not only was the entire sacred text then translated, but his prologue, extending to fourteen pages, was composed before he began to print. This appears to be evident, not merely from the language of the prologue itself, but from its commencing with sign A ij, and the letters running on regularly through the sacred text.
The printers, however, had only proceeded as far as the tenth sheet, or letter K, when an alarm was raised, the authorities of the place informed, and the work interdicted. Tyndale and Roye contrived to secure the sheets printed off, and sailing up the Rhine to Worms, where much greater liberty
could at this time be enjoyed, they proceeded with their undertaking. This interruption, though felt to be most grievous at the moment, as Tyndale afterwards obscurely hinted; far from damping, only inflamed his zeal, and the remarkable result was, that two editions were accomplished by him, in the same period in which very probably he had contemplated only one.
These statements, however, admit of ample confirmation, and, on account of the confusion which has hitherto prevailed, they demand it.
In the illustration of historical truth, except attention be paid to all that the chief opponents have written, we must occasionally be unable to recount the facts as they occurred. Invaluable information may be drawn from an enemy, and if his statements can be authenticated, they often fill up a chasm, and explain matters which otherwise must have remained in
oblivion. Besides, in all instances where an opponent could have no motive to falsify, his narration of facts should be the more respected. We have a striking illustration of these remarks now before us.
Perhaps the most virulent enemy to the Word of God being translated into any vernacular tongue, who ever breathed, was John Cochlaeus. He at least rose above all his contemporaries of the sixteenth century, and with an unwearied perseverance, worthy of a better cause, he not only strove to prevent the diffusion of the Scriptures, and longed to strangle every attempt at their translation in the very birth, but even gloried in his enmity to all such proceedings. We are indebted to this opponent for statements, curious and minute, of the accuracy of which there will be no reason to doubt, before we come to the close of this narrative.
Certainly, at the moment, nothing must have been more lamented, than that the most inveterate living opponent on the Continent should come, nay, be driven into Cologne, soon after Tyndale had commenced at press! How much more so, when it turned out that Cochlaeus was shut up to the necessity of remaining there throughout the rest of the year 1525! Such, however, was the fact; but what was the result? Why that, whether we ascribe it to his opposition or not, there were, as already stated, two editions of the New Testament printed, instead of one.
According to Cochlaeus, the “two English apostates,” as he styles Tyndale and Roye, first contemplated an edition of six thousand copies, but for prudential reasons, they began with three thousand. He tells us, that Pomeranus had already sent forward his letter to the saints in England, and
that Luther himself had written his conciliatory letter to Henry VIII. Now this letter, we know, was dated the 1st of September, 1525. He then adds, that it had been anticipated, this English New Testament in quarto would soon follow; but that the Lutherans, overjoyed, broke the secret before the time; or in other words, he himself ferreted out the secret, as will be seen by his own confession. We have only, therefore, to verify the residence and occupation of this opponent during 1525 and 1526, in order to ascertain the precise period to which his account refers. During the year 1525, Cochlaeus was actually resident in Cologne, but not in 1526. While there, he was as usual, busily occupied in writing against Melancthon, Velenus, and Luther as well as in searching after the writings of Rupert, an Abbot, formerly in the Monastery of Deutz, immediately opposite to Cologne.
This Abbot, who flourished four hundred years before, had written certain commentaries on the Scriptures, besides several other pieces; and as some of his sentiments were thought to be favourable to the cause of Divine truth, its friends were eager to procure any of his works, and publish such of them, with notes, as might at once serve their cause, and prove that their doctrines were not so new as their opponents represented. One of his little pieces, “Of the Victory of the Word of God,” had been already printed, with annotations by Osiander of Nuremberg, and the Lutherans were actually in treaty with the then Abbot of Deutz, expecting from him other works of Rupert, intending to convey them for examination to Nuremberg.
Cochlaeus interposed, alarmed the Abbot, and, lest the notes and prologues of his opponents should make Rupert appear in favour of their doctrine, contrived himself to gain possession of the whole. He had then to engage parties willing to publish, and though he found considerable difficulty, at last he prevailed on Peter Quentel, and Arnold Byrckman, well known printers of the place.
Now it was while thus engaged at Cologne, in 1525, that Cochlaeus discovered this first impression of the English New Testament, proceeding briskly, as he says, or swiftly at the press; yet, with such caution had both Tyndale and Roye conducted themselves, that, although Cochlaeus succeeded in stopping the press, he was never able to meet either the one or the other; a striking proof, by the way, of their intimate acquaintance with his character.
On making the discovery, Cochlaeus says that he was agitated by fear, as as well as wonder and surprise; but why so? Let it be observed, that, in connexion with his proposed publication of Rupert’s works, his situation