William Tyndale is arguably one of the most influential reshapers of the English language. Born in Gloucestershire and educated at Oxford University, Tyndale was an accomplished scholar with both his BA degree and his MA in philosophy (Payne & Hunter, 2003). He worked as a lecturer at Cambridge University, where he was associated with a group of humanist scholars and where he was also believed to have studied under Erasmus (a Dutch humanist and scholar) (Abrams & Greenblatt, 1962). Cambridge was a centre for Lutheran ideologies, and scholars would meet at the White Horse Tavern to discuss these ideas. Tyndale believed that salvation was dependent upon direct access to the word of God and that the scripture provided what the Church could not (Abrams & Greenblatt, 1962) (Payne & Hunter, 2003). Tyndale stated that even "the boy that driveth the plough" deserved to be able to study the scriptures so he sought to translate the Bible into English (Broderick, 2006). This project was opposed by the English Church, as they were concerned it would lead to heresies (Abrams & Greenblatt, 1962). Tyndale was also heavily opposed by Thomas More, who was believed to be (at least indirectly) involved with Tyndale's eventual murder (Payne & Hunter, 2003). A devout Protestant, Tyndale was often accused of inciting rebellion due to vitriolic assaults on the Catholic church (Broderick, 2006). In 1528 Tyndale's book The Obedience of a Christian Man was published. In this work, Tyndale's audacious argument was to disobey formal church doctrine was to obey God. Henry VIII endorsed this book, reportedly stating that "This is a book for me and for all kings to read," (Abrams & Greenblatt, 1962). With the help of wealthy London merchants, Tyndale completed his revolutionary translation of the New Testament which was published in 1534 (Abrams & Greenblatt, 1962). Heavily influenced by Martin Luther, Tyndale included Luther's Prologue to St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans in his New Testament translation (Payne & Hunter, 2003). This translation was met with bitter hostility f...
