The Byble in Englyshe
- Title
- The Byble in Englyshe
- Heading
- The Great Bible
- Description
-
In 1538, Thomas Cromwell ordered that every parish church should acquire a copy of the Bible in English and place it where parishioners could read it publicly. This rendered the Great Bible of 1539 the first officially authorised English Bible intended for use in churches across England. The large folio format of the Great Bible reflects this intended communal use.
Produced during the reign of Henry VIII after the break with Rome, the Great Bible formed part of the wider programme of the English Reformation – which sought to establish royal supremacy over the English Church while also making scripture available in the vernacular. The title-page woodcut presents an idealised image of royal authority and controlled religious reform. Henry VIII appears enthroned, distributing the Word of God through bishops and clergy to the people below, visually reinforcing the idea that access to scripture derived from the monarch himself. Yet the text also reveals anxieties about uncontrolled reading and interpretation. The prologue cautions readers against contentious private interpretation, illustrating the tension at the heart of early English Protestantism: while scripture was increasingly accessible in print, its meaning remained something the authorities attempted to regulate carefully.
The printing of the Great Bible was itself an international enterprise. Although it was issued in London by Richard Grafton and Edward Whitchurch, parts of it were printed in Paris before production to be transferred to England. The Bible drew heavily on earlier translations, including William Tyndale’s, whose English New Testament had been condemned only a few years earlier. What had once circulated illicitly in smaller printed editions was now publicly authorised and displayed in parish churches throughout the kingdom. - Place of Publication
- London
- Publisher
- Richard Grafton and Edward Whitchurch
- Date of Publication
- 1539
- Format
- Folio
- Century
- 16th
- Illustrations
- Woodcut