Illustrious Oriens, you say that 'the two 15th-century Wycliffite
translations had not, of course, found favour with the Church
authorities'...The first English translation of the entire Bible,
either inspired by or actually instigated by Wyclif, and
continued by a group of his associates, is now thought to have
undergone a series of processes of translation-cum-textual-
criticism, which are not adequately represented by Forshall and
Madden's (1850) 'Early Version' and 'Late Version'. Almost
certainly, the final revision was complete by 1400. As to
'of course', although the translation was damned by asociation with
Wyclif, and ownership of the Bible in English without the authority
of the bishop was forbidden from the beginning of the fifteenth
century, there is nothing specifically Wycliffite in the translation
itself, and the translations represent a considerable achievement in
textual terms (the 'General Prologue' describes the processes which
were undergone, and the text confirms the accuracy of the GP
account). I should be glad to know of anyone on the list who is
particularly interested in the Wycliffite Bible, particularly the
OT, as I am. Mary
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