People in medieval times learned what was in the Bible in various ways.

• Stories from the Bible would be told,
• with illustrations of well known stories painted on church walls
• or enframed in stained glass windows.
• Dramatic presentations of mystery and morality plays would again portray Bible teaching.

Early translations of parts of the Bible into Anglo-Saxon did take place. In the north of England, the monk Bede translated the Gospel of John into Anglo-Saxon. The English King Alfred (871 to 901 AD) translated some well known passages of the Bible.

However, it was not until the 14th century that John Wycliffe translated the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English. Wycliffe's followers were called the Lollards. The Church at this time had become corrupt and many of its leaders had become rich and some were not very nice at all.
Christians and groups of Christians all over Europe began to protest against some of the teachings and wrong practices of the church. Many such church leaders did not want ordinary people to read the Bible for themselves - possibly finding out that the Bible did not condone many of the church practices. On the other hand some church leaders feared that ordinary, untrained people would interpret the Bible wrongly.

Many people did read John Wycliffe's translation. Because the authorities had banned the translation, such reading had to be done in secret, for fear of punishment. Each handwritten copy took about ten months to produce. Some of the Lollards were burned to death, with their Bibles tied around their necks.

In the years that followed, many risked, and some lost, their lives to translate the Bible into their own languages. William Tyndale, in the early 16th century, was one of them. As a result of his work, the Bible was eventually translated from the original languages into English.

Visit the stories of:

• William Tyndale
• John Wycliffe