4th November 2011
The 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible
by Professor Pauline Croft, Professor of Early Modern History at
Royal Holloway University of London
Professor Pauline Croft, a member of The 2011 King James Bible Trust and aleading authority on the subject, gave a stimulatinglecture covering the events culminating in the publication of the King James Bible in 1611. In 1300 there was little other than the Anglo-Saxon Gospels and Psalmswhich had been translated into Middle English and available to those few English people as could read. The 14th Century brought more translations with texts closely following the Latin translations. These were copied up to the 16 Century. In 1539 theMatthews Bible had a frontispage which portrayed God Blessing Henry VIII who was engaged in handing out bibles to Thomas Cromwell and Cranmer. It is of interest that no image of the Pope appeared in this Bible. Aroyal injunction ordered that the lectern sized Bible should be in all English churches. The Guthenburg Bible was the first mechanically printed bible. An edition of the Vulgate; it was printed in Germany in the 1450s. Only 21 copies of this great work survive today. Printing could now satisfy the growing demand for Bibles and enabled the production of smaller, cheaper editions. Even in the 19th Century, many households had only book: the Bible. Printing served to weaken the government control ( as does our own access to print,TV and the internet) which lead to the production of several editions being produced over the years: In 1553 the Vulgate Latin Bible - (St. Juno Translation) - which even (educated) women could read! In 1557 there was the Geneva Bible (also called Breeches Bible because of references to Adam wearing breeches). James disliked it because it did not revere Monarchs - but the people liked it. 1568 found the Bishop’s Bible which was translated closely from the Greek and Hebrew text. 1576 saw the completed full text of the Geneva Bible. It was of very high quality and lasted 80 years. In the last edition of this in 1644 the most impressive innovation was the division of text into numbered verses. However it was in 1601 at a meeting of Scottish Kirks at Burntisland thatJames proclaimed the need for new translation. This meeting however served only for James to display his knowledge of scriptures and generally delay matters. It wasn’t until 1604 when the English clergy also pressed James after the Meeting of Bishops at Hampton Court, that James brought Bancroft, Bishop of London, to Cambridge to begin the New Translation of the Bible. Bancroft was able to take control of the practicalities for a scrupulous translation. In 1611 the text was ready for printing, having been worked on by several teams which cross-checked their work and produced a uniform style. The King James Bible was a masterpiece of English prose with all clergy speaking with one voice. It’s use was not legally enforced in churchesas parishes would have financial burden but after the Restoration this Bible became known as ‘The Bible’ and was the only Bible used in English Churches. In 2011 we celebrate the extraordinary achievement of the King James Bible. A great Tudor/Stuart work which is religious, literary and cultural. It is reputed to be the most widely available work of scholarship in the world. Bishop Smith said of the KJB translation “It openeth the window to let in the light”.