Everything about Miles Coverdale totally explained
Myles Coverdale (also
Miles Coverdale) (c.
1488 –
January 20,
1568) was a
16th-century Bible translator who produced the first complete printed translation of the Bible into
English.
Life
He was born probably in the district known as Cover-dale, in that
district of the
North Riding of Yorkshire called
Richmondshire,
England, in or around
1488. He studied at
Cambridge (bachelor of canon law 1531), became priest at
Norwich in 1514 and entered the convent of Austin friars at Cambridge, where
Robert Barnes was prior in 1523 and probably influenced him in favor of
Reform. When Barnes was tried for heresy in 1526, Coverdale assisted in his defence and shortly afterward left the convent and gave himself entirely to preaching.
Bible translator
From 1528 to 1535, he appears to have spent most of his time on the Continent. In 1535 he published the first complete English Bible in print, the so-called
Coverdale Bible. As Coverdale wasn't proficient in Hebrew or Greek, he used 'five soundry interpreters' in Latin, English and 'Douche' (German) as source text. He made use of
Tyndale's translation of the
New Testament (following Tyndale's November 1534 Antwerp edition) and of those books which were translated by Tyndale: the
Pentateuch, and the book of
Jonah. The publication appeared in
Antwerp and was partly financed by
Jacobus van Meteren. In 1537, his translations were included in the
Matthew Bible. In 1538, he was in
Paris, superintending the printing of the "Great Bible," and the same year were published, both in London and Paris, editions of a
Latin and an English New Testament, the latter being by Coverdale. That 1538 Bible was a diglot (dual-language) Bible, in which he compared the
Latin Vulgate with his own English translation. He also edited the
Great Bible (1540). Henry VIII had a Coverdale Bible put into every English Church, chained to a bookstand, so that every citizen would have access to a Bible.
Later years
He returned to England in 1539, living briefing in
Newbury, but on the execution of
Thomas Cromwell (who had been his friend and protector since 1527) in 1540, he was compelled again to go into exile and lived for a time at
Tübingen, and, between 1543 and 1547, was a pastor and schoolmaster at Bergzabern (now
Bad Bergzabern) in the
Palatinate, and very poor.
In March, 1548, he went back to England, was well received at the court of the new monarch,
Edward VI, and was made king's chaplain and almoner to the queen dowager,
Catherine Parr. In 1551, he became
bishop of Exeter, but was deprived in 1553 after the succession of
Mary. He went to
Denmark (where his brother-in-law was chaplain to the king), then to
Wesel, and finally back to Bergzabern. In 1559, he was again in England, but wasn't reinstated in his bishopric, perhaps because of Puritanical scruples about vestments. From 1564 to 1566, he was rector of
St. Magnus's, near
London Bridge. On
19 February 1568, Coverdale died in
London and was buried in St. Bartholomew's Church.
Legacy
His translation of the
Psalter is used in the Anglican
Book of Common Prayer, and is the most familiar translation of the psalms for many Anglicans all over the world. As a consequence, many musical settings of the psalms make use of the Coverdale translation. His translation of the
Roman Canon is still used in some Anglican and
Anglican Use Roman Catholic churches.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Miles Coverdale'.
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