The tender beauty of Coverdale’s translation has never been surpassed. In the Psalms especially this characteristic is noticeable. In 1662, at the last revision of the Book of Common Prayer, while the Gospels, Epistles, and other portions of Scrip- ture made use of, were directed to be taken from
* Quoted by Henry Stevens in his Catalogue of the Caxton Celebration, p. 88. , ; . + See Westcott, Append. iv., for the sources of Coverdale’s notes (sixty-six in all), and Eadie, i. p. 286 ff.
the newer version, the Psalter was left unchanged, the older version being regarded as more rhythmi- cal for singing. Hence it is that, if the majesty or the pathos of the Psalms has sunk deep into myriads of English hearts, to Coverdale above others their debt of gratitude is due.
Coverdale’s Bible had not been more than two years in circulation when there appeared what purported to be a new version, printed in 1537. To this version, commonly known as Matthew’s Bible, some mystery attaches. The title runs :* ‘@ The Byble | which is all the holy Scrip-'ture: in whych are contayned the | Olde and Newe Testament truly | and purely translated into En|glysh by Thomas | Matthew. | Esaye i. | & > Hearcken to ye heauens and | thou earth geaue eare: for the | Lorde speaketh. | M-D-XxXvVil.’ Across the page at the bottom is, ‘Set forth with the Kinges most gracyous lycéce.? This may accordingly be termed the first Authorized Version. On the reverse of the title is a notice of various additions made, including ‘many playne exposy- cyons,’ in the margin, ‘of svch places as vnto the symple and vnlearned seame harde to vnderstande.’ A calendar and similar matter fills the next two leaves. The fourth leaf begins with ‘An exhor- tacyon to the studye of the holye scrypture gathered out of the Byble,’ and has at the bottom I. R. in large floriated capitals. The rev. of this leaf and obv. of next have, ‘The summe & content of all the Holy Scrypture ... ,’ and on the rey. of the fifth leaf is the dedication ‘To the moost noble and gracyous Prynce Kyng Henry the eyght, kyng of England and of Fraunce . . . Defender ot the faythe: and vnder God the chefe and supreme head of the church of Engeland.. .’ This ends on rey. of sixth leaf with, ‘So be it. Youre graces faythfull & true subject Thomas Matthew,’ followed by H. R. in capitals. The seventh leaf, signed + *, has an address ‘To the Chrysten Readers,’ followed by an alphabetical ‘Table of the pryncypall matters,’ ending on rev. of eighth leaf. This ‘Table’ shows a strong con- troversial bias —e.g. ‘Abhomynacyon. Abhomy- nacyon before God are Idoles & Images, before whom the people do bowe thé selues, Deut. vii. d.’ ‘Confessyon. Judas, which confessed hym selfe to the prestes of y® lawe, and not to God, is damned, Mat. xxvii. a.’ ‘Cursynge. God doth curse the blessynges of the preastes, and blesseth their curs- syng, Mal. ii. a.” The ninth leaf has ‘The names of all the Bokes of the Byble,’ with a full-page woodcut of the Garden of Eden. With the tenth leaf a regular system of numbering the leaves begins. The first of the four sections into which the Bible is here divided closes on fol. exlvij with ‘The Ende of the Ballet of Ballettes of Salomon, called in Latyne Canticum Canticorum.’ Follow- ing this is a leaf, unsigned, forming the title of the second section, or prophetical books. This title has on the oby. a centre-piece, surrounded by a woodcut border in sixteen compartments ; and on the rey. a centre-piece (the seraph touching Isaiah’s lips), with four large floriated capital letters at the four corners—R. G. along the top, and E. W. along the bottom. With Isaiah the numbering by folios begins afresh, and ends with Malachi on rev. of leaf xciv. Underneath are two capital letters, W.T. The Apocrypha follows, with similar title (but only fifteen compartments in border), and ex- tends to Ixxvi leaves. The New Testament in like manner is numbered to cxi leaves; and a leaf not numbered completes the work, with the colophon : ‘@ To the honour and prayse of God | was this Byble prynted and fy|nesshed in the yere of oure |
* The copy described is in the Library of the Brit. and For. Bible Society, marked Ss, 9. 2, It is in folio; size of leaf, 118x 83 inches,
VERSIONS (ENGLISH)
Lorde God a. | MDXXXVII’ There is nothing to show where the book was printed, though the woodcut on the title, and that of Adam and Eve before mentioned, have been traced to the blocks used for a Dutch Bible printed at Liibeck in 1533. The most probable place is Antwerp; ‘the larger types being apparently identical with those of Martin Emperour in the edition of Tyndale’s N.T., 1534.’* While passing through the press, the sheets appear to have been bought by the London printers, Richard Grafton and Edward Whitchurch, Whose names are not obscurely indicated by the capital letters R.G. and E. W. Grafton, in a letter to Archbishop Cranmer (Strype’s Cranmer, App. 20), speaks of having invested £500—a large sum for those days—in the production of the work, and mentions that the impression would consist of 1500 copies. To prevent infringement of his rights as publisher, Grafton prays the archbishop to use his influence with Cromwell to the end that the king’s licence might be obtained for the publication. Cranmer, who was probably already interested in the project, exerted himself so effectually that the king’s licence was soon granted for the new translation ‘to be bought and read within this realm.’+ To this English version, then, as has been said, the term ‘ Authorized’ may first be properly applied.