Modeled on Zürich: a fresh study of Miles Coverdale’s 1535 Bible

The publisher addresses his customers: a detail from the opening of Froschauer's remarks on the differences between the 1534 Zurich Bible and its antecedent.

Developed from the appendices to my doctoral thesis, this article in the journal Reformation was published as part of a special issue, in memory of the great Tyndale scholar David Daniell (1929-2016). Scholars have often assumed that the 1534 Zurich Bible was simply a reprint of the 1531 edition. This is a false assumption. Indeed, the differences are sufficient to prove that the first English bible in print had a manifest dependency on the later version, demonstrable in spite of the fact that Coverdale used other sources. The argument is necessarily forensic, the careful groundwork enabling subsequent illustration of Coverdale’s own agency as a translator.

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How to govern differently

It seems that caring for other websites led me to neglect this personal one. So I’m belatedly documenting some of the intervening time, and–as I sometimes do–preparing a backdated post to keep things in some kind of chronological sequence.

When I first began work with the Jam and Justice team, the post was a 9-month filler, with a view to obtaining follow-on funding to develop some of the Linguistic DNA resources for use with schools. Continue reading “How to govern differently”

Preaching to the converted?

One of my last obligations with the Linguistic DNA project (though who knows what doors may open) was a short presentation on the “Public Sermons” collection as part of a workshop on Early modern preaching. This one-day conference was organised by a pair of postgraduate researchers, and brought together 30 or so scholars with a keen enthusiasm for the topic. It was a natural  venue to share some of what we achieved modelling change with EEBO-TCP, and I was delighted that Tilly and Catherine (the organisers) found a space for this within a busy and collegiate programme.  Continue reading “Preaching to the converted?”

What did Luther ever do for philosophy?

Back in February, amidst striking and snow, I pondered the question “What would Luther do…?” in relation to some problematic picket lines. As things worked out, it proved possible to renegotiate the setting for the talk and I was able to meet Diarmaid MacCulloch and subsequently get his insight on some of my research. (It happened to tie in rather closely with the direction of his new Cromwell biography, so it is a pity I’d not felt bold enough to share my work sooner–but then I’m not sure it was ready.)

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Embracing Early Modern Biblical Studies

Chart showing responses to the question, "o make best use of the network, we will need to agree on some priorities. Please rate the importance of the following goals."

Last year, I wrote about the prospects of a new network in Early Modern Biblical Studies. Two weeks today, scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds will gather in Sheffield for a workshop to think about ways to take that vision forward.

In advance of that workshop, I’ve invited those with an interest in the field to fill out a survey to help determine our priorities. This is proving a really useful way to capture ideas and think about how best to direct our collective energies. Continue reading “Embracing Early Modern Biblical Studies”

EMBerS: Glowing prospects for network in Early Modern Biblical Studies

Flame-coloured woodcut showing John Rogers bound to a stake, "Lord receive my spirit".

Two years ago, Richard Wistreich gave a lecture and masterclass as part of a Visiting Speaker series at the University of Sheffield. This was during my stint as Coordinator for the Sheffield Centre for Early Modern Studies (SCEMS). At dinner after the lecture, I discovered Richard’s son-in-law is a fellow biblical scholar (and friend).* Richard quizzed me over the absence of biblical studies in the Society for Renaissance Studies (of which he is Vice Chair). Where, he wanted to know, are all the early modern biblical studies scholars? And how do we get them to RenSoc?

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