Sir William TyndaleWhy my great great great great great great great great

great great great great great great great grandfather was

really

Great by Miah Hale

(sometimes spelled Tindall, Tindill, Tyndall; c. 1494 – 1536)

Sir William Tyndale

Known as the Great Reformer & the Father of the English Bible

What it looked like

Tyndale was the first to translate considerable parts of the Bible into English for the public

Early Life

Tyndale's family descendants were barons.

Tyndale began a Bachelor of Arts degree at Oxford University in 1512

He was made Master of Arts in July 1515He was fluent in 8 languages: French,

Greek, Hebrew, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish, in addition to his native English.

Why he translated the Bible

Tyndale determined to translate the Bible into English, convinced that the way to God was through His word and that scripture should be available even to common people.

Common thinking of the day favored the Pope’s words not God’s word.

Later life cont.

This was taken to be a direct challenge to the Roman Catholic Church and the English church and state.

Tyndale opposed Henry VIII's divorce on

the grounds that it was against scriptural law

Arrested and Martyred!

In 1535, Tyndale was arrested in Brussels, Belgium for more than a year, tried for heresy and treason and then strangled and burnt at the stake in the castle's courtyard.

At the time, the Church believed that if lay people had direct access to the Bible they would misinterpret it. They would question the teaching of the Church and the authority of the priests.

Martyred!

William Tyndale was not only burnt at the stake he was also hanged at the same time.

Legacy

Most of Tyndale's translation was used to create the King James Version of the Bible published in 1611.

Contributions to the English Language

In translating the Bible, Tyndale introduced new words into the English language, and many were subsequently used in the King James Bible:

Jehovah (from a transliterated Hebrew construction in the Old Testament; composed from the Tetragrammaton YHWH.

Passover (as the name for the Jewish holiday, Pesach or Pesah)

scapegoat (the goat that bears the sins and iniquities of the people in Leviticus, Chapter 16)

More contributions to English

He also coined such familiar phrases as:

let there be light

the powers that be

my brother's keeper

the salt of the earth

Memorials

A bronze statue commemorating the life and work of Tyndale was erected in London in 1884. It shows the reformer's right hand on an open Bible, which in turn is resting on an early printing press.

There is also a memorial tower, the Tyndale Monument, erected in 1866 and prominent for miles around, on a hill above his birthplace of North Nibley.

The site in Vilvoorde, Belgium where Tyndale was burned is also marked by a memorial.

Tyndale University College and Seminary, a Christian university college and seminary in Toronto, is named after William Tyndale.

Why you should call me ‘Sir Jeremiah’

My great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great grandfather was Tyndale's family descendants of Baron Adam de Tyndale, a tenant-in-chief of Henry I .

Since 1611, the British Crown has awarded a hereditary title in the form of the Baronetcy.

Like knights, baronets are accorded the title Sir. Baronets are not peers of the realm, and did not sit in the House of Lords when it was a hereditary house, therefore like knights they remain commoners in the view of the British nobility system.

However, unlike knights, the title is hereditary!