Paraphrases of Erasmus

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The Paraphrases of Erasmus were paraphrases of the Gospels by Desiderius Erasmus. They were composed when he was visiting England and written in Latin. Edward VI of England ordered the paraphrases to be put up "in some convenient place" for reading in all parish churches. The command was in Edward's Injunctions of 1547. A translation into English was made nearly immediately, with the future Queen Mary, Edward's half-sister, performing the translation of the Gospel of John. Since Edward was only ten years old at the time (although already Protestant), it is likely that the elevation of Erasmus's text came about through the influence of one of his guardians or Thomas Cranmer.