Published truths
The Bible was translated into Latin, the common language of Europe, by St Jerome, but any further translation was simply impractical. Monks would take a year to hand-copy the entire Bible, so copies were scarce. Some countries had not settled on an alphabet, let alone a common language.
However, examples of the Roman Catholic Church promoting the vernacular are found in Saints Cyril and Methodius, Caedomon, Bede, Bishops Eadhelm, Guthlac, and Egbert, King Alfred, and Archbishop Aelfrec. Indeed the King James Bible was influenced by the Douay-Rheims New Testament.
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Hide AdSadly, for the Reformers, even translations by Tyndale, Wycliffe, and Severtus were condemned by St Thomas More, King Henry VIII, and Calvin as full of error and heresy.
Ian Maxfield
Lodge Park
Biggar, South Lanarkshire