Pauline Croft is professor of early modern
history at Royal Holloway, University of
London. Her books include King James
AKG IMAGES/BRITISH LIBRARY, CORBIS/HERITAGE IMAGES (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002)
in the Authorised Version.
At the same time, following Elizabeth’s
accession, the Great Bible of Cromwell and
Cranmer returned to popularity. In 1568,
Archbishop Matthew Parker and his
colleagues completed a revision known as
the Bishops’ Bible; in 1571, all
churchwardens were ordered to obtain a
copy for their churches. The Bishops’ Bible
followed the Geneva Bible in dividing the
text into verses for easy reference, a
practical device now popular with both
readers and preachers. Any phrases
containing “lightness or obscenity” were
discreetly tidied up and, to avoid
contention, no marginal notes were
allowed. The translators worked book by
book, without much co-ordination, so the
translation varied in quality.
But what of Elizabethan England’s
Catholic minority? Soon they were able to
read their own version of the New
Testament – courtesy of a translation
provided by the English Catholic college at
Reims (which later moved to Douai) in- An English Old Testament followed
in 1609. Much of the English in the two
books is truly Elizabethan – direct and
vivid – and the translators of the
Authorised Version undoubtedly read the
New Testament produced in Reims.
It was the proliferations of versions of
the Bible in circulation by the end of
Elizabeth’s reign – together with increasing
scholarly knowledge of Hebrew and Greek- that led to the Puritan request at in 1604
for a new translation. The leading Puritan
speaker Dr John Reynolds asked for
“one only translation of ye bible, to be
authenticall and read in ye church”.
Another version has the rather more
courtly: “May your majesty be pleased
that the Bible be new translated”.
Richard Bancroft, the authoritarian
bishop of London, was opposed, but James
was open to the idea, not least because he
had strong objections to the Geneva Bible,
offensive in its explicit condemnation of
royal rule and its frequent use of the word
‘tyrant’. Significantly, the word is not
found at all in the Authorised Version.
The king’s views were made clear. “His
Highness wishes, that some especial pains
should be taken in that behalf for one
uniform translation... and this to be done
by the best learned of both the universities;
after them to be reviewed by the bishops
and chief learned of the church: from them
to be presented to the Privy Council; and
lastly to be ratified by his Royal authority, to
be read in the whole church, and no other.”
The bishops were required to find livings
for the translators of more than £20 per
year – a decent income. The translating
committee was to be divided into six
companies of eight members, with six
directors supervising them, although we
only know the names of 50 men. Bancroft
insisted that the base text must be the
Bishops’ Bible and should be as little
altered as was compatible with the original
texts. His instructions were discreetly
ignored: modern studies have shown that
perhaps as little as a quarter of the
Authorised Version can be traced to the
Bishops’ Bible.
The scale of the project was remarkable:
the translators divided into six groups, two
each working in Oxford, Cambridge and
Westminster. Each cleric was to produce
an individual translation, which was then
discussed by the group. An agreed text
was circulated to the other five groups,
until a final version emerged. If the
translators disagreed about any passage,
or found something obscure, they could
ask for assistance.
By spring 1610, it only remained to pull
together the work of the teams into one
reasonably coherent whole. The translators
met at Stationers’ Hall in central London
with the aim of fulfilling this very task
and, by early 1611, a final text was ready for
the printer. Bishop Miles Smith of
Gloucester wrote that text’s long and
beautiful preface: “Translation it is, that
openeth the window, to let in the light”. He
hoped the translation would bring readers
“the light of understanding, stableness of
persuasion, repentance from dead works,
newness of life, holiness, peace, joy”. The
result was a masterpiece of English prose.
Moreover, as the work of a team that
collated their drafts before arriving at the
final version, it was homogeneus – from
Genesis through to Revelation. God’s word
was now speaking with one divine voice
and, since the king had initiated the
project, carried an aura of royal authority.
Despite having the monarch’s official
blessing, it wasn’t until the Restoration
of Charles II in 1660 that the King James
Version became universally familiar, both
in Britain and the American colonies.
Yet, once the King James Version finally
became the only Bible used in British
churches, it remained so until the Revised
Standard Version of 1881–85. To this day,
it is the best-known translation. Its long
history at the centre of Christianity
makes it the most important book in
the English language.The reformation was the Protestant reaction against Catholicism. It was
initiated in Germany by the priest Martin Luther, who taught that the Bible,
rather than the pope, was the sole source of divine authority. The Reformation
in England began during the reign of Henry VIII. Henry was theologically
conservative, and initially opposed to Protestantism,
but the pope’s refusal to grant the king a divorce led
him to split from Rome in the 1530s.
In the short reign of Henry’s son, Edward VI, a much
more determined attempt was made to make England
more fully Protestant. This was brought to a sharp halt
when Edward died and was replaced by his half-sister
Mary, who re-established Catholicism in England. Yet
a final twist on Mary’s death saw her half-sister,
Elizabeth, ascend to the throne. Elizabeth restored
Protestantism, but in her religious settlement of 1559
some ceremonial and organisational elements were
retained. This led to the rise of a group known as
Puritans, who wanted rid of anything that inhibited
a personal and direct relationship with God.THE REFORMATION
A 1546 woodcut of
Protestant reformer
Martin Luther“The final version of the Bible was
homogeneus – from Genesis to
Revelation. God’s word was now
speaking with one divine voice”