Tyndale’s The New Testament, 1526

William Tyndale famously declared, 'The boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the scripture than [an educated man].' Though forbidden by the Church to translate the New Testament into English, Tyndale’s determination resulted in its finally being printed in Germany in 1526. Smuggled into English ports in bales of cloth, the book was a monumental success. The direct, common language of many of its verses has resonated down the centuries and, in time, contributed significantly to the text of the King James Version.

This complete, carefully reproduced facsimile edition, created from one of only two complete copies of the 1526 edition held in the British Library, presents one of the most important books in English history in full colour and to the exact original specifications. Professor David Daniel, former Chairman of the Tyndale Society and Tyndale biographer, has provided a detailed introduction.

William Tyndale (c.1494-1536) was an English scholar, linguist and prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation. He was arrested in Antwerp in 1531 on a charge of spreading sedition in England. He was imprisoned, convicted of heresy and strangled (as a mark of his status as a scholastic), before his body was burned.