William Tyndale is remembered today as a man who went against the wishes of many Catholics
during the 16th century which resulted in his brutal death and execution.
He was voted as the 26th Greatest Briton ever in 2002 for his work in translating the word
of God and Jesus into English which granted the bible to the people of England in a more
accessible way.
Tyndale met a horrific bloody end in front of a huge crowd however, but what is the story
in this?
Join us today as we look at the Brutal execution of William Tyndale.
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William Tyndale was born in 1494 in a small village in Gloucestershire ,and his family
went under the name Hitchens and William used this name also during his life.
His family were related to wealthy landowners and merchants, and Tyndale was educated at
Lady Berkeley’s Grammar School near Stroud, and during his time at University he studied
theology.
Tyndale began a degree at Magdalen Hall at Oxford University in 1506, and he became a
subdeacon before becoming a Master of Arts 9 years later.
He was seen as a pious man who lived a clean life, and he was allowed to study theology
and he did not like the fact his course did not look at scripture and he wrote, ‘they
had ordained that no man shall look on scripture, until he be nosebleed in heathen learning
8 or 9 years and armed with false principles.’
He was gifted in speaking different languages and was fluent in many and he also went to
the university of Cambridge.
He became a chaplain to the home of Sir John Walsh and also a tutor to his children, but
he began to shock many people with the opinions he had and was even asked to discuss his beliefs.
He was accused of heresy and he proclaimed, ‘I defy the pope and all his laws and if
God spares my life, ere many years I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know
more of the scriptures than thou dost.’
He became criticised but also Tyndale attacked the access to the scripture and the Bible
that the people of England had.
They did not really know the truth of the bible, as the everyday people did not know
Latin and were taught through priests.
Tyndale believed he could bring the bible to the people, and to bring it in the language
they could use.
Tyndale then moved to London in 1523, and he wanted to be able to translate the Bible
into English.
This was very dangerous at the time, as it was a capital offence to translate parts of
the bible, and one could be killed for this.
Tyndale met with Cuthbert Tunstall the Bishop of London who did allow him to escape prosecution
but condemned Tyndale’s dream and works.
After this meeting, Tyndale was more determined than ever to translate the New Testament,
and he knew he could not do this in England.
He left for Germany where the Reformation began, staying in Wittenberg where Luther
began the whole concept.
Tyndale could not understand why the Bible and Scripture was in language that the everyday
people could not access and understand.
He said that, ‘‘All the prophet’s wrote in the mother tongue, and thou could never
understand it, they will say it cannot be translated into our tongue, they are false
liars.’
In Germany he began to work on translating the New Testament and he finished it and editions
of his New Testament were printed in Germany and Belgium.
But in October 1536, Bishop Tunstall condemned the English translation and told booksellers
to burn any copies they come across or found.
Tyndale then smuggled them back to England with many bibles being hidden in bales of
straw.
People in England could not read, and the majority could not but those that could it
was hoped would read to others in their settlements and villages at secret meetings.
What they found inside of the English Bible was the teachings of Jesus and things that
priests had not taught them in churches every Sunday.
Over the next few years 18,000 copies of the New Testament in English were smuggled across
to England.
John Foxe wrote how the Bishop of London arranged with English Merchants to burn every copy
of Tyndale’s translations and together they burned 6000 copies on the steps of St Paul’s
Cathedral.
Henry VIII’s advisors and friends then targeted Tyndale and his friends as heretics and many
were targeted for execution.
Tyndale continued to publish further works, including in 1528 the Obedience of a Christian
Man, and he advocated that King of a country as the head of the country’s church over
the Pope.
This book its considered influenced King Henry VIII when he declared himself the Supreme
Head of the Church of England.
Henry VIII was impressed by the book, and Tyndale may have written it to appease the
King and to build an alliance with him against the Pope.
Tyndale knew though he could probably never go back to England, and he was attacked in
a scholarly battle by Sir Thomas More, the King’s Lord Chancellor.
More was in pursue of heretics and was known for torturing a number of them, and he criticised
Tyndale and those who supported his ideas.
Many were arrested and interrogated, and to be associated with William Tyndale in England
was very dangerous.
Whilst in Antwerp, Tyndale along with John Frith and Miles Coverdale began to work on
an Old Testament translation, and John Rogers then helped.
They worked on the translations and then smuggled further copies back across to England, but
Thomas More ruled that anyone who read or was in possession of translated works would
be sentenced to death.
In 1530, Henry VIII ordered all English bibles to be destroyed and that those with Tyndales
bibles would be burned at the stake.
They pursued further to destroy more bibles, and only 2 copies have survived.
Tyndale did write against the King’s split from Catherine of Aragon, and this may have
outraged the King further.
In 1531, Tyndale was visited by a friend of Cromwell’s to return to England.
Tyndale refused fearing an attack, and he was now against the King.
Thomas More sent one of his friends to arrange the arrest of Tyndale which ended in failure.
Henry Phillip also tried to arrest Tyndale, after befriending him and leading him into
a trap.
He had settled in the house of Thomas Poyntz, but on the 21st May 1435, Tyndale was betrayed.
He was taken to Pierre Dufief, and he had all of his property confiscated including
his works, books and papers.
His work on the Old Testament was kept by John Rogers, but Tyndale was taken to Vilvoorde
Castle near Brussels.
He was kept in a damp and smelly dungeon inside the castle and it was very cold inside that
cell.
Tyndale was kept in the dark with 16 monks.
The man he was arrested by, Pierre Dufief had gained a reputation as a skilled heretic
hunter, and he kept much of the confiscated property of those he handed over.
Tyndale was seen as a great catch for him, and he had a brilliant reputation across England.
He was tried by 17 commissioners and his trial was led by three chief accusers, and was overseen
by Europe’s most notorious heretic hunter.
Tyndale tried to defend himself, but ultimately he was sentence to death for heresy.
It was said he was not to be burned alive, but instead was to be strangled first until
dead and then burned in front of a crowd.
On the 6th October 1536, he was led out of Vilvoorde Castle and taken to the southern
gate of the town.
It was early and the sun had barely risen, and a huge crowd had gathered.
He was deemed one of Europe’s greatest heretics, and a circle of stakes enclosed the place
of his execution and in the centre was a large pillar of wood or a stake.
On top was a strong chain which was hung from it, and it was threaded through a hole in
the post.
Doctors also arrived at the execution, and Tyndale was secured to the post.
He was asked to recant but refused to do so and he stared at the crowd.
The execution was prepared and he had been tied to the post and the noose and chain was
placed around his neck.
He was choked to death in front of the huge crowd by the executioner, struggling in panic.
His final words were ‘Lord open the King of England’s eyes,’ and it took a short
while for him to die as the air was choked out of him.
After this his body was burned in front of the public as was traditional for heretics
to prevent any relics from him being collected.
Like many famous artists, Tyndale’s legacy and value was celebrated after his death.
Within the next three years he was seen as a religious reformer, and the Bible in England
he had translated was accepted.
Key members of Henry VIII’s court, advocated Tyndale’s bible and promoted it and Cranmer
approved the works and presented it to the King to secure it’s royal authority.
Henry agreed to this and in England every parish had to purchase Tyndale’s English
Bible and they were told to display it.
Tyndale today is celebrated as a scholar, and his work opened up the Bible for millions
of people, despite his bloody execution in Europe.
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