Wycliffite Bible

Also known as: Wycliffe Bible

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July 23, 2026

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The Wycliffite Bible refers to the first complete translation of the Bible into English, which emerged in the 14th century and is attributed to the influence of John Wycliffe and his followers. This translation was controversial because it was inspired by Wycliffe's heretical teachings and intended for common people, serving as a tool against ecclesiastical authority. While Wycliffe's exact personal involvement is unclear, Nicholas of Hereford is credited with overall responsibility for much of the translation. Despite facing increasing opposition and a prohibition by the clergy in 1408, the Wycliffite Bible gained wide popularity, with nearly 200 manuscripts still existing today. Wycliffe, a theologian and reformer, is considered a forerunner of the Protestant Reformation.123

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biblical literature
The Wycliffite versions
By the middle of the 13th century, the Anglo component in the Anglo-Norman amalgam had begun to reassert itself, and the close of the century witnessed a Northumbrian version of the Psalter made directly from Latin, which, because it survived in several manuscripts,…
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By the middle of the 13th century, the Anglo component in the Anglo-Norman amalgam had begun to reassert itself, and the close of the century witnessed a Northumbrian version of the Psalter made directly from Latin, which, because it survived in several manuscripts,…
Read More

biblical literature
The Christian canon
Even though the Wycliffite Bible (14th century) included the Apocrypha, its preface made it clear that it accepted Jerome’s judgment. The translation made by the English bishop Miles Coverdale (1535) was the first English version to segregate these books, but it did place Baruch after Jeremiah. Article VI…
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Even though the Wycliffite Bible (14th century) included the Apocrypha, its preface made it clear that it accepted Jerome’s judgment. The translation made by the English bishop Miles Coverdale (1535) was the first English version to segregate these books, but it did place Baruch after Jeremiah. Article VI…
Read More

John Wycliffe
Translation of the Bible of John Wycliffe
…for a translation of the Bible and an order of Poor Preachers who would take Bible truth to the people. (His mind was too much shaped by Scholasticism, the medieval system of learning, to do the latter himself.) There were two translations made at his instigation, one more idiomatic than…
Read More
…for a translation of the Bible and an order of Poor Preachers who would take Bible truth to the people. (His mind was too much shaped by Scholasticism, the medieval system of learning, to do the latter himself.) There were two translations made at his instigation, one more idiomatic than…
Read More