Wycliffe's Bible refers to a group of English translations of the Christian scriptures produced in the late 14th century. These works rendered the Bible into Middle English and are commonly associated with the reformer John Wycliffe. The translations were copied widely: more than 250 separate manuscript copies survive, making them among the best‑represented biblical texts in Middle English.
Origins and circulation
Production of these translations began around 1382 and continued through the 1390s. They were created to make scripture accessible to readers who did not know Latin. While Wycliffe is traditionally credited with directing the project, historians note that the translations were produced in stages and involved multiple hands; the precise extent of Wycliffe’s personal involvement remains debated.
Censorship and conflict
The appearance of English scripture in this form contributed to the emergence of the Lollard movement, which criticized several doctrines and practices of the medieval church. The institutional response was severe. The Catholic Church mounted efforts to suppress unauthorized translations, and in the early 1400s political and ecclesiastical authorities implemented strict controls. Under Henry IV and with the support of Archbishop Thomas Arundel and chronicler Henry Knighton, laws enforcing religious censorship were enacted. Manuscripts dated before 1409—the year associated with a formal ban—continued to circulate and were used by both clergy and laypeople, but later transmission became more restricted.
Translation style and language
Early copies of the Wycliffe translations tend to follow the Latin word order closely, which can make their syntax feel unnatural in English. Over time scribes and revisers adjusted the texts toward forms nearer the spoken language of the period.
Latin (the Vulgate): Dixitque Deus fiat lux et facta est lux
Early Wycliffe: And God seide, Be maad liȝt; and maad is liȝt
Later Wycliffe: And God seide, Liȝt be maad; and liȝt was maad
Douay‑Rheims (1609): And God said: Be light made. And light was made
Aftermath and influence
The Wycliffe translations set a precedent for subsequent English versions of the Bible. A century and a half later, William Tyndale produced translations that drew on Greek manuscripts and moved English Bible language closer to what would become modern usage. Tyndale’s work provoked determined opposition; he was pursued by agents of figures such as Thomas More, seized near Brussels in 1535, and ultimately executed—strangled by the garrotte—after conviction for heresy, his remains then being burned.