[Wycliffite New Testament, in Middle English, Illuminated Manuscript on vellum.]

by [ Bible in English ]

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Description

London: Oxford or environs, ca. A.D. 1390 The Wycliffe Bible's supreme importance is that it is the first complete translation of the Bible into English and in a fundamental and essential way is the precursor of the Tyndale New Testament (1526), the Coverdale Bible (1535), the "Matthew's" Bible (1537), the "Great" Bible (1539), the Geneva Bible (1560), and the King James Bible (1611). Manuscript Wycliffite Bibles very rarely appear on the market, and very few exist in private hands. Original, near contemporary (just slightly posterior), fifteenth-century Oxford binding of dark brown tooled and stamped leather over wooden boards, triple fillet framing foliate rectangular bars, five large floral tools center and corners of inside frame. Some natural holes written around. Thirty-one gatherings, usually of twelve folios. Missing two folios (between ff. 247 and 248 and between ff. 333 and 334: a portion of Prologue and Chapter One of Thessalonians and a portion of Chapter One of Apocalypse), else complete. A quarter-page of inserted text between ff. 130 and 131. Catchwords in bottom margin under inside column in same ink as text and surrounded in sketchy frames. Corrections in brown ink in a contemporary hand. Marginal indications for readings in red ink with reference system of small triple dot symbol, headings in brown ink with blue paragraph marks and red pen flourishes, chapter numbers in brown ink with a red paragraph mark, one-line initials in blue ink outlined in red, two-line initials in blue ink with red pen flourishes for chapters and prologues, two- to four-line initials with marginal flourishing. Attractive three-line gold initials with purple and green vine sprays introducing the prologues to the four Gospels (ff. 1, 46v, 77v, 131v). The book's first binding. Brass clasps, which originally held leather straps, now missing. Offsets of fifteenth-century script and decoration on front and back boards from pastedowns now removed. Some professional modern restoration and replacement of perished leather. Overall about 163 x 113mm. Since the translation of the Bible into English was illegal from 1401 until 1535, individuals who possessed Wycliffe Bibles risked trials for heresy. To have an ownership inscription from the original owner is truly remarkable, as very few owners would dare to leave an identifying mark in their Bible. These features, as well as its previously unrecorded text, make the copy at hand an exceptionally important example. Further, this Bible has recently been identified as the personal English Bible of one of England's most famous martyrs, Richard Hunne. Hunne's lawsuits against the papist clergy of England resulted in his murder at Lollard's Tower. His posthumous trials became a cause celebre for British reformers, and emboldened King Henry VIII in his clashes with Rome. This specific Bible is mentioned in the depositions of these famous and important trials. It is likely that this Bible is the single most significant symbol of the Protestant movement in England in private hands.