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Whitchurch, at Hamburgh, as fome think, or, as otheri 

 fuppofc, at Malbnro.v, or Marpiirg in Htfic, or Marbeck 

 in the duchy of Wiltcmberg, where Rigc-rs was luperiii- 

 tendant. It bore the na.iie of Thcmas Matthesve, and it 

 was fet forth w.th the kiiig's moll grac'ous Uc.nce. Mr. 

 Wanley is of opinion, that, to the end of the book of 

 Chronicles, this edition is Tindal's tranflatio-i ; and from 

 tiience to the end of the apocrypha, Coverdalc's : but I^ewis 

 (p. toy.) thinks it probable ll'.at the pr. phccy of Jonah 

 fliould be excepted, whicii Tindal Rniflied in his life-tia:ie, 

 and which is the fame in this edition, and in Coverdale's 

 Bible of 1535. Mr. Vv''a!!lcy alfo obiervcd, that the whole 

 New Teltament was Tindal's. Bale lays, Rogers tranl- 

 lated the Bible into Englifh, from Genefis to tiie end of 

 Revelation, making iile of the Htbrew, Greek, Latin, 

 German, and Eugli,!) (i. e. Tindal's) copies. Tliis book 

 contained Tindal's prologue and notes ; and, as Heylin 

 favs (Hift. Ref. fol. 20.), it was no other than the tranf- 

 lation of Tindal and Coverdile fomewliat altered. The 

 name of Matthewe is allowed to have been fidtilious, for 

 reafons of prudence ; one of which was, that the memory 

 of Tindal had become odious to many. It may well be ad- 

 mitted, that John Rogers, a learned academic, and the firlt 

 who was condemned to the flames in the reign of queen 

 Ivlary, was employed by Cranmer to fupeiintend th:s edi- 

 tion, and to furnilh the few emendations and additions that 

 were thought neceffary. This mull have been the general 

 perfuafiou in 1555, as the condemning fentence prcferved 

 by Fox (Afts, &c. vol. iii. 125.), is '■ againll Rogers, 

 prieft, alias called Matthew." Cranmer prefented a copy 

 of this book to lord Cromwell, defiring his intercelTiou with 

 the king for the royal llcenfe, that it might be purchaf.-d 

 and ufed by all. There are exant two letters (Strype's life 

 of Cranmer, p. ^S.) from the archbilhop, on the fubjecl 

 of lord Cromwell's interceffion, expreffuig warm approba- 

 tion and acknowledgement. " I doubt not," fays he, " but 

 that hereby fuch fruit of good knowledge (hall enfuc, that 

 it iball well appear hereafter what high and excellent fervice 

 you have done unto God and the king ; which fliall fo 

 much redound to your honour, that, befides God's reward, 

 you fhall obtain perpetual memory for the fame within this 

 realm." — " This deed you ftiall hear of at the great day, 

 when all things ftall be opened and made manifcft." In 

 the year 1538, an injunilion was publiihed by the vicar- 

 general of the kingdom, ordaining the clergy to provide, 

 before a certain fefliva!, one book of the whole Bible, of the 

 largeil volume in Engliih, and to fet it up in fome conveni- 

 ent place witliin their churches, where their pariihioners 

 might moH commodicjfly refort to read it. A royal de- 

 claration was alfo publilhed, which the curates were to read 

 in their fcvcral churches, informing the ptoplc, that it had 

 pleafed the king's majefty to permit and command the 

 Bible, being tratillated into tlieir mother-tcngue, to be fin- 

 cerely taught by them, and to be openly laid forth in every 

 parilh church. But the curates were very cold in this af- 

 fair (fays Lewis, p. 108.), and read the king's injundlions 

 and declarations in luch a manner, that fcarctly any body 

 could know or unJerlland what they read. Johnfon (Hill. 

 Account, &c, in bilhop Watfon's CoUedion, p. 9-}.) add?, 

 ttiat they alio read the word of God confufedly ; and that 

 tiiey bade their pariihioners, notwithftanding what they read, 

 which they were compelled to read, " to do as tliey did in 

 tinies pall, and to live as their fathers, the old fafhion being 

 the bed." Fox obferves (Acts, S:c. vol. ii. 516.), that 

 the fetting forth of this book much offended Gardiner and 

 bis fellow bilhops, both for the prologues, and efpecially 

 becaufe there was a table in the book chiefly about the 



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Lord's fupper, the marriage of priefls, and the mafs, which 

 there was fiid not to be found in fcriptnrc. Str} pe, how- 

 ever, fays, (Life of Cranmer, p. 64.), it was wo.-.derful to 

 fee with v. liat joy this bock was ri.ceived, not only among 

 the more learned, and th >fe who were noted lovers of the 

 reformation, but generally all over England, among ail the 

 common people ; and with what greeriintfs God's word was 

 read, and what refort there was to the phces appointed for 

 reading it. Every one that could, bought the book, and 

 bu'.iiy read it, or heard it read : ai,d many e!d*:rly perfons 

 learned to r..ad on purpofe. During a vacancy in t\e fee of 

 Hereford, it was vifited by Cranmer, who enjoined the 

 clergy to procure, by the ill of Augutt, a whole B.ble in 

 Latin and EiigiiTii, or, at leail, a New Tellament in tiicfe 

 languages ; to ftudy every day one chapter of thefe books, 

 conferring the Latin and Englifh together, from the be- 

 ginning to the end ; arfd not to difconrage any layman from 

 reading them, but encourage them to it, and to read them 

 for the reformation of their lives and knowledge of their 

 duty. In the courfe of the year 1538, a quarto edition of 

 the New Teftament, in the vulgate Litin, and Coverdale's 

 Englifli, bearing the name of Hollybuihe, was printed, 

 with the king's licence, by James Nlcolfon. Of this an- 

 other more correft edition was pubhihed in 1539, in 8vo., 

 and dedicated to lord Cromwell. In 153S, an edition in 

 4tc. of the New Tcilament, in Englifli, with Erafmus's 

 Latin tranflation, was printed, with the king's licence, by 

 Redman. In this year it was rclolved to revife Matthewe'* 

 Bible, and to print a correct edition of it. With this view 

 Grafton went to France, where the workmen were more 

 fkilful, and the paper was both better and cheaper than in 

 England, and obtained permifilon from Francis I. at the 

 requeil of king Henry VIII. to print his Bible at Pari?.. 

 But, notwithftanding the royal licence, the Inquifition in- 

 tcrpofed, and iifued an order, dated December 17, 1538, 

 fumnioning the French printer?, their Englifli employers,, 

 and Coverdale the corrector of the work, and prohibiting 

 them to proceed; and the impreffion, confilling of 2500 

 copies, was feized, confifcated, and condemned to the 

 flames. Some chefls, however, of thefe books, efcaped the 

 fire, by the avarice of the perfon who was appointed to 

 fuperintend the burning of tliem ; and tiie Englifh pro- 

 prietors, who had fled on the firll alarm, returned to Paris 

 as foon as it fubfided, and not only recoveredfome of thefe 

 copies, but brought with them to London the prefles, types, 

 and printers, and, refuming the work, finiflitd it in the 

 following year. 



Bible, Cranmer's, or the Great. As foon as the papal 

 power was aboliihed in England, and tlie king's lapremacy 

 fettled by parliament in 1534, Cranmer was veiy affiduousin 

 promoting tranflations of the Holy Scriptures into the vulgar 

 tongue ; well knowing how much the progrefs of the refor- 

 mation depended upon this meafure. Aecoidingly, he moved 

 in convocation, that a petition (hould be prefented to the 

 king for leave to procure a new tranflation of the Bible. 

 This motion was vigoroutly oppofed by Gardiner, bilhop of 

 Wincheller, and his party : but Cranmer prevailed. The 

 arguments for a new tranflation, urged by Cranmer, and 

 enforced by queen Anne Bullen, who had then great in- 

 terell in the king's affettions, were fo i. . h confidered by 

 him, that, notwithftanding the oppofition, public and pri- 

 vate, on the part of Gardiner and his adherents, Henry 

 gave orders for fetting about it immediately. To prevent 

 any revocation of the order, Cranmer, whofe mind was in- 

 tent on introducing a free ufe of the Englifh Scriptures by 

 faithful and al)le trautlators. proceeded without delay to 

 divide an old EngUfh tranflation of the New Tellament into 



Riac 



