Myles Coverdale
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Myles Coverdale (also Miles Coverdale) (c. 1488 - January 20, 1568) was a 16th-century Bible translator who produced the first complete printed translation of the Bible into English.
He was born probably in the district known as Cover-dale, in that district of the North Riding of Yorkshire called Richmondshire, England, 1488; died in London and buried in St. Bartholomew's Church Feb. 19, 1568.
He studied at Cambridge (bachelor of canon law 1531), became priest at Norwich in 1514 and entered the convent of Austin friars at Cambridge, where Robert Barnes was prior in 1523 and probably influenced him in favor of Protestantism. When Barnes was tried for heresy in 1526, Coverdale assisted in his defence and shortly afterward left the convent and gave himself entirely to preaching.
From 1528 to 1535, he appears to have spent most of his time on the Continent, where his Old Testament was published by Jacobus van Meteren in 1535. In 1537, some of his translations were included in the Matthew Bible, the first English translation of the complete Bible. In 1538, he was in Paris, superintending the printing of the "Great Bible," and the same year were published, both in London and Paris, editions of a Latin and an English New Testament, the latter being by Coverdale. That 1538 Bible was a diglot (dual-language) Bible, in which he compared the Latin Vulgate with his own English translation. He also edited "Cranmer's Bible" (1540).
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| Old English (pre-1066) |
| Middle English (1066-1500) |
| Early Modern English (1500-1800) |
| Modern Christian (1800-) |
| Modern Jewish (1853-) |
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He returned to England in 1539, but on the execution of Thomas Cromwell (who had been his friend and protector since 1527) in 1540, he was compelled again to go into exile and lived for a time at Tübingen, and, between 1543 and 1547, was a Lutheran pastor and schoolmaster at Bergzabern (now Bad Bergzabern) in the Palatinate, and very poor.
In March, 1548, he went back to England, was well received at Protestant-leaning court of the new monarch, Edward VI, and made king's chaplain and almoner to the queen dowager, Catherine Parr. In 1551, he became bishop of Exeter, but was deprived in 1553 after the succession of Mary. He went to Denmark (where his brother-in-law was chaplain to the king), then to Wesel, and finally back to Bergzabern. In 1559, he was again in England, but was not reinstated in his bishopric, perhaps because of Puritanical scruples about vestments. From 1564 to 1566, he was rector of St. Magnus's, near London Bridge.
His translation of the Psalter continued to be used in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer until the late 20th century, and are still the most familiar translation of the psalms for many Anglicans and Episcopalians all over the world. Additionally, many musical settings of the psalms make use of the Coverdale translation. Ironically, his translation of the Roman Canon is still used in some Anglican and Anglican Use Roman Catholic churches.
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| Preceded by John Vesey |
Bishop of Exeter 1551–1553 |
Succeeded by John Vesey |
