On This Day In History: Myles Coverdale Who Printed First English Bible Died – On Jan 20, 1569

AncientPages.com - On January 20, 1569, Myles Coverdale who printed the first English Bible -died.

Coverdale was a clergyman and Classics scholar who produced the first complete printed English Bible.  He was probably born in Yorkshire in 1488, but little is known about his early life.

On This Day In History: Myles Coverdale Who Printed First English Bible Died - On Jan 20, 1569

Left: Myles Coverdale - Edited from Richard John King's "Handbook to the Cathedrals of England: Southern Division" (1903); Right: Myles Coverdale - The Holy Scripture - Public Domain

Coverdale studied at Cambridge, became a priest at Norwich in 1514, and entered an Augustinian friary in Cambridge, where Robert Barnes was prior, in 1523; it is believed that Barnes influenced Coverdale in favor of Protestantism.

Three years later, Barnes was tried for heresy in 1526 and  Coverdale assisted in his defense, and shortly afterward, he left the convent and began preaching in Essex.

Later, he studied at Cambridge, receiving a Bachelor's degree in canon law in 1531.

Only a few years later, Coverdale had to leave the country to escape persecution during the reign of Henry VIII.

While in exile, he assisted in translations of the Bible into English.

In 1535, Myles Coverdale became the first person to print an entire Bible in the English language. In 1538 he was in Paris, superintending the printing of King Henry VIII's "Great Bible" of 1539, and published an English New Testament in London and Paris. In 1537 some of his translations were included in the Matthew-Tyndale Bible, the first accurate, direct English translation of the complete Bible.

After the death of Henry VIII, Coverdale could return to England, but only for a short time. Thomas Cromwell (his friend and protector since 1527) was executed during this time. Again, it was time to leave England, and so Coverdale did. He finally could return to his country but declined to retake the position of Bishop of Exeter; instead preferring to receive a small charge from a small church in London.

During the last years of his life, Coverdale was particularly respected for his preaching and biblical translations.

Myles Coverdale was said to be a pious, laborious, generous, and very honest and good man.

He died in 1569.

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