William Tyndale

The English priest William Tyndale translated the New Testament from Greek into English. As publication in England was impossible, he printed it on the Continent. In 1526 a conclave of English bishops resolved that the book should be burned; Bishop Tunstall of London ordered all copies to be surrendered under pain of excommunication, and Archbishop Warham of Canterbury bought up copies on the Continent to destroy them. In 1535 Tyndale was betrayed in Antwerp and imprisoned at Vilvoorde. In 1536 he was condemned for heresy, degraded from his orders, strangled at the stake and burned. His translation became the basis of the King James Bible.

Life dates

1523-1536 (about 13 years old)

Country

Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom

Institutions

Diocese of London
Archdiocese of Canterbury

Category

Heresy trials, Persecution, Censorship

Level of evidence

B two independent scholarly sources · what does this mean?

Background

Course of events

1. On 6 October 1536 Tyndale was strangled at the stake at Vilvoorde and his body afterwards burned.
   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel

   „On the 6th of October 1536 he was strangled at the stake and his body afterwards burnt.“

Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)

1. Tyndale was probably ordained priest towards the end of 1521. As a tutor in Gloucestershire he preached in the villages, came into conflict with the local clergy and was summoned as a suspected heretic. He resolved to translate the New Testament into the vernacular. Bishop Tunstall of London refused him any help in 1523; as publication in England was impossible, he sailed for Hamburg in May 1524.
   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel

   „Ordained to the priesthood, probably towards the close of 1521“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel

   „summoned before the chancellor of Worcester (William of Malvern) as a suspected heretic“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel

   „he resolved to translate the New Testament into the vernacular“

   Evidence: Dictionary of National Biography (1899), Artikel

   „declined to give Tyndale any help“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel

   „finding publication impossible in England, he sailed for Hamburg“

Response of the Church

1. When copies of the printed translation were smuggled into England in 1526, a conclave of bishops, despite a plea for toleration from Wolsey, resolved that the book should be burned. On 24 October Bishop Tunstall ordered all copies to be given up under pain of excommunication; Archbishop Warham of Canterbury issued a similar mandate on 3 November and bought up copies on the Continent to destroy them. Tunstall later bought large numbers in Antwerp in order to burn them.
   Evidence: Dictionary of National Biography (1899), Artikel

   „In spite of a plea for toleration from Wolsey, a conclave of bishops resolved that the book should be burned“

   Evidence: Dictionary of National Biography (1899), Artikel

   „issued an injunction directing all who possessed copies to give them up under pain of excommunication“

   Evidence: Dictionary of National Biography (1899), Artikel

   „who himself also bought up copies of Tyndale's translation on the continent in order to destroy them“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel

   „Copies were smuggled into England but were suppressed by the bishops“

   Evidence: Dictionary of National Biography (1899), Artikel

   „making large purchases of his testaments in order to burn them“

See also

• 1199-1917 · 718 years

  Prohibition and restriction of the Bible in the vernacular for lay people

  • France
  • Spain
  • Vatican City
  • Censorship
• 1382-1428 · 46 years

  England 1382 to 1428: persecution of the Lollards, burnings of heretics, ban on the English Bible, Wyclif's bones dug up and burned

  • United Kingdom
  • Heresy trials
  • Persecution
  • Censorship
• Person 1542-1546 · about 4 years old

  Étienne Dolet

  • France
  • Torture
  • Heresy trials
  • Censorship

Scholarly literature and reference works

1. Reference work
   Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911): Tyndale, William, 1 January 1911. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
2. Reference work
   Dictionary of National Biography (1899): Tyndale, William, 1 January 1899. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)

Last changed on 31 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.