Dangerous Words - The Revolutionary Wycliffe Bible at Lichfield Cathedral

Dangerous Words - The Revolutionary Wycliffe Bible at Lichfield Cathedral

Among the most remarkable treasures in Lichfield Cathedral's "Book of Books" exhibition is a manuscript that once carried a death sentence for anyone who possessed it: a Wycliffe New Testament from approximately 1410.

A Forbidden Translation

In the early 15th century, owning an English Bible could cost you your life. John Wycliffe (mid-1320s to 1384), an Oxford scholar and theologian, dared to challenge church authority by translating the Bible from Latin into Middle English - believing that ordinary people deserved direct access to scripture without priestly interpretation.

The Wycliffe New Testament manuscript displayed at Lichfield Cathedral represents an act of extraordinary courage. Created by an anonymous scribe around 1410, this book exists despite authorities' aggressive efforts to destroy all English translations. Thousands of similar manuscripts were seized and burned on bonfires as the church authorities fought to maintain control over biblical interpretation.

Produced at Great Risk

Imagine the scene: a scribe working methodically for approximately three months, eight hours daily, five days weekly, constantly alert for any sign of authorities who might discover his forbidden work. Each carefully penned letter represented not just devotion to the text but potentially a step toward his own execution if discovered.

This manuscript survived where countless others perished. Its very existence in Lichfield Cathedral's collection testifies to the profound belief that drove these early translators - that God's word should be accessible to all people in their own language.

The Beginnings of Religious Revolution

Wycliffe's translation represents the first complete Bible in the English language, predating the printing press and the Protestant Reformation. His work laid the groundwork for later translators like William Tyndale and ultimately influenced the King James Bible that would become the standard English text for generations.

By challenging the church's monopoly on scriptural interpretation, Wycliffe's translation became more than just a book - it was a revolutionary document that helped spark religious reform throughout England and eventually across Europe.

A Rare Survivor

Wycliffe Bibles are exceptionally rare today precisely because they were so aggressively sought out and destroyed. The manuscript at Lichfield Cathedral offers visitors a tangible connection to this dangerous period when reading scripture in English was considered heretical.

This artifact helps us understand why the Bible's journey into English was not merely a literary evolution, but a profound struggle for religious freedom that would reshape Christianity and English society forever.

Experience this remarkable survivor of religious persecution at Lichfield Cathedral's "Book of Books" exhibition, running until July 20, 2025.