2-673-257 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'William Tyndale 1492-1536', c16th century, (1947). Undated portrait of a man, previously believed to be English translator and martyr William Tyndale (c1494-1536). Tyndale set out to translate the Bible into common English. Because his translation was unauthorised by the Church, and because of his support for the Reformation, Tyndale was forced to work on his project in Germany. Printed in Cologne in 1525, Tyndale's New Testament was the first English translation to take advantage of the new medium of printing, enabling it to have a wide distribution. It was banned by the authorities however, and Tyndale was burned at the stake at Vilvorde, Belgium in 1536. Painting in the collection of Hertford College, Oxford. From "The English Bible", by Sir Herbert Grierson [Collins, London, 1947]