'' '''Tyndale''' redirects here.  For the English family, see Tyndall.  For other uses, see Tyndale (disambiguation).''
{{Infobox Person
| name   = William Tyndale
| image     = William Tyndale.jpg
| caption  = Protestant reformer and Bible translator
| birth_date  = c. 1494
| birth_place = Gloucestershire, England
| death_date  = 1536 
| death_place = near Brussels, Belgium
}}

'''William Tyndale''' (sometimes spelled '''Tindall''' or '''Tyndall'''; ) (c. Old English translations had been made from the Middle English translations particularly during the print, which allowed for its wide distribution. In burnt at the stake.

Much of Tyndale's work eventually found its way into the King James Version (or "Authorised Version") of the Bible, published in 1611, which, as the work of 54 independent scholars revising the existing English versions, is to a large extent based on Tyndale's translations.

==Biography==

Tyndale was born around KB, of Deane, Northumberland, and Hockwald, Henry I (and whose family history is related in Tyndall).

Tyndale was admitted to the Degree of Master of Arts in July 1515, three months after he had been ordained into the priesthood. The MA degree allowed him to start studying theology, but the official course did not include the study of scripture. This horrified Tyndale, and he organised private groups for teaching and discussing the scriptures.

He was a gifted linguist (fluent in French, Greek, Hebrew, German, Italian, Spanish in addition to his native English) and subsequently went to Cambridge (possibly studying under Erasmus, whose 1503 ''Enchiridion Militis Christiani'' &mdash; "Handbook of the Christian Knight" &mdash; he translated into English). It is also believed that he met Thomas Bilney and John Frith at Cambridge. 

Tyndale became chaplain in the house of Sir John Walsh at Diocese of Worcester on a charge of heresy. 

Soon afterwards, he had already determined to translate the Bible into English: he was convinced that the way to God was through His word and that scripture should be available even to common people. Foxe describes an argument with a "learned" but "blasphemous" clergyman, who had asserted to Tyndale that, "We had better be without God's laws than the Pope's."  In a swelling of emotion, Tyndale made his prophetic response: "I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, I will cause the boy that drives the plow in England to know more of the Scriptures than the Pope himself!" <ref>[http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sben0056/Tyndale.London.htm Lecture by Dom Henry Wansbrough OSB MA (Oxon) STL LSS]</ref><ref>Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Chap XII</ref>

Tyndale left for London in Observant friar William Roy.

In 1525, publication of his work by Peter Quentell in Worms, an imperial free city then in the process of adopting Lutheranism.<ref>Joannes Cochlaeus, ''Commenataria de Actis et Scriptis Martini Lutheri'' (St Victor, near Mainz: Franciscus Berthem, 1549), p. 134.</ref> More copies were soon being printed in Antwerp. The book was smuggled into England and Scotland, and was condemned in October 1526 by Tunstall, who issued warnings to booksellers and had copies burned in public.

Following the publication of Tyndale's New Testament, Cardinal Wolsey condemned Tyndale as a heretic and demanded his arrest.

thumb|right|160px|Sculpted Head Of William Tyndale from [[St Dunstan-in-the-West Church London]]

Tyndale went into hiding, possibly for a time in Hamburg, and carried on working. He revised his New Testament and began translating the Henry VIII's divorce on the grounds that it was unscriptural and was a plot by Cardinal Wolsey to get Henry entangled in the papal courts. This resulted in the king's wrath being directed at him: he asked the emperor Charles V to have Tyndale apprehended and returned to England. 

Eventually, Tyndale was betrayed to the authorities. He was seized in Antwerp in 1535, betrayed by Henry Phillips, and held in the castle of Vilvoorde near Brussels.<ref name="Foxe">John Foxe, ''Actes and Monuments'' (1570), VIII.1228 ([http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/johnfoxe/main/8_1570_1228.jsp Foxe's Book of Martyrs Variorum Edition Online]).</ref>

He was tried on a charge of heresy in 1536 and condemned to death, despite Thomas Cromwell's intercession on his behalf. He was tied to the stake, strangled, and his dead body then burnt. <ref>Michael Farris, "From Tyndale to Madison", 2007</ref> Foxe gives 6 October as the date of commemoration (left-hand date column), but gives no date of death (right-hand date column).<ref name="Foxe"/> The traditional date of commemoration is 6 October, but records of Tyndale's imprisonment suggest the date might have been some weeks earlier.<ref></ref>

Tyndale's final words, spoken "at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice", were reported as "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes."<ref>John Foxe, Actes and Monuments (1570), VIII.1229 ([http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/johnfoxe/main/8_1570_1229.jsp Foxe's Book of Martyrs Variorum Edition Online]).</ref>

==Printed works==
Most well known for his translation of the Bible, Tyndale was an active writer and translator.  Not only did Tyndale's works focus on the way in which religion should be carried out, but were also greatly keyed towards the political arena.  
<blockquote>
"They have ordained that no man shall look on the Scripture, until he be noselled in heathen learning eight or nine years and armed with false principles, with which he is clean shut out of the understanding of the Scripture."
</blockquote>
In response to a critical John Bell, Tyndale echoed this sentiment
<blockquote>
"If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the Scripture than thou doest."<ref>Foxe, Acts and Monuments</ref>
</blockquote> 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year Printed
! Name of Work
! Place of Publication
! Publisher
|-
| 1525
| The New Testament '''Translation''' (incomplete)
| Cologne
|
|-
| 1526*
| The New Testament '''Translation''' (first full printed edition in English)
| Worms
|
|-
| 1526
| A compendious introduccion, prologe or preface vnto the pistle off Paul to the Romayns
|
|
|-
| 1528
| The parable of the wicked mammon
| Antwerp
|
|-
| 1528
| The ''Obedience of a Christen Man''<ref>[http://www.godrules.net/library/tyndale/19tyndale7.htm The Obedience Of A Christian Man<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> (''and how Christen rulers ought to govern...'')
| Antwerp
| Merten de Keyser
|-
| 1530*
| The five books of Moses [the Pentateuch] '''Translation''' (each book with individual title page)
| Antwerp
| Merten de Keyser
|-
| 1530
| The practyse of prelates
| Antwerp
| Merten de Keyser
|-
| 1531
| The exposition of the fyrste epistle of seynt Jhon with a prologge before it
| Antwerp
| Merten de Keyser
|-
| 1531?
| The prophete Jonas '''Translation'''
| Antwerp
| Merten de Keyser
|-
| 1531
| An answere vnto sir Thomas Mores dialoge
| 
| 
|-
| 1533?
| An exposicion vppon the. v. vi. vii. chapters of Mathew
|
| 
|-
| 1533
| Enchiridion militis Christiani '''Translation'''
| 
| 
|-
| 1534
| The New Testament '''Translation''' (thoroughly revised, with a second foreword against George Joye's unauthorized changes in an edition of Tyndale's New Testament published earlier in the same year)
| Antwerp
| Merten de Keyser
|-
| 1535
| The testament of master Wylliam Tracie esquier, expounded both by W. Tindall and J. Frith
| 
| 
|-
| 1536?
| A path way into the holy scripture
| 
| 
|-
| 1537
| The byble, which is all the holy scripture '''Translation''' (only in part Tyndale's)
| 
| 
|-
| 1548?
| A briefe declaration of the sacraments
| 
| 
|-
| 1573
| The whole workes of W. Tyndall, John Frith, and Doct. Barnes, edited by John Foxe
| 
| 
|-
| 1848*
| Doctrinal Treatises and Introductions to Different Portions of the Holy Scriptures
| 
| 
|-
| 1849*
| Expositions and Notes on Sundry Portions of the Holy Scriptures Together with the Practice of Prelates
| 
| 
|-
| 1850*
| An Answer to Sir Thomas More's Dialogue, The Supper of the Lord after the True Meaning of John VI. and I Cor. XI., and William Tracy's Testament Expounded
| 
| 
|-
| 1964*
| The Work of William Tyndale
| 
| 
|-
| 1989**
| Tyndale's New Testament
| 
| 
|-
| 1992**
| Tyndale's Old Testament
| 
| 
|-
| Forthcoming
| The Independent Works of William Tyndale
| 
| 
|-
| *
| These works were printed more than once, usually signifying a revision or reprint. However the 1525 edition was printed as an incomplete quarto and was then reprinted in 1526 as a complete octavo.
|-
| **
| These works were reprints of Tyndale's earlier translations revised for modern-spelling.
|}

==Legacy==
In translating the Bible, Tyndale introduced new words into the English language, and many were subsequently used in the King James Bible: 
*''Hebrew construction in the adonai'': YaHoWaH)
*''Passover'' (as the name for the Jewish holiday, Pesach or Pesah), 
*''kippur, the Old Testament version of kippur being the covering of doorposts with blood, or "Day of Atonement". 
*''scapegoat'' (the goat that bears the sins and iniquities of the people in Leviticus, Chapter 16)

He also coined such familiar phrases as:
*''let there be light''
*''the powers that be''
*''my brother's keeper''
*''the salt of the earth''
*''a law unto themselves''
*''filthy lucre''
*''it came to pass''
*''gave up the ghost''
*''the signs of the times''
*''the spirit is willing''
*''live and move and have our being''
*''fight the good fight''

Some of the new words and phrases introduced by Tyndale did not sit well with the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, using words like 'Overseer' rather than 'Bishop' and 'Elder' rather than 'Priest',  and (very controversially), 'congregation' rather than 'Church' and 'love' rather than 'charity'. Tyndale contended (citing Erasmus) that the Greek New Testament did not support the traditional Roman Catholic readings.

Contention from Roman Catholics came from real or perceived errors in translation. Thomas More commented that searching for errors in the Tyndale Bible was similar to searching for water in the sea,  and charged Tyndale's translation of ''Obedience of a Christian Man'' with having about a thousand falsely translated errors.<ref>Dialogue Concerning Heresies</ref> Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall of London declared that there were upwards of 2,000 errors in Tyndale's Bible.  Tunstall in 1523 had denied Tyndale the permission required under the Constitutions of Oxford (1409), that were still in force, to translate the Bible into English.

In response to allegations of inaccuracies in his translation in the New Testament, Tyndale wrote that he never intentionally altered or misrepresented any of the Bible in his translation, and would never do so. 

200 px|thumb|right|William Tyndale
200 px|thumb|right|The Gospell off Sancte Jhon - The fyrst chapter.

'''Tyndale, William''' ou "Tindale" : 1494 - 1536.

Protestant anglais du début du XVI siècle, il traduit le Nouveau Testament dans sa langue maternelle.

''"Je défie le pape et toutes ses lois, et si Dieu me prête vie, je ferai qu'en Angleterre le garçon qui pousse la charrue connaisse l'Écriture mieux que le pape lui-même"''. Ainsi s'exprimait William Tyndale à Cambridge en 1522. Et il tint parole. Brillant érudit, il parlait l'hébreu, le grec, le latin, l'espagnol et le français, ''" si bien que chacune de ces langues aurait pu être sa langue maternelle"''. Tyndale avait rencontré Érasme et découvert son Nouveau Testament grec-latin et s'était mis à le traduire en anglais. Dans un premier temps, il rechercha la protection de Tunstall, évêque de Londres, mais lorsque ce dernier apprit ses intentions, il lui refusa l'accès à son palais.

En 1524, Tyndale quitte sa patrie qu'il ne reverra plus. Il achève sa traduction à Worms. Son Nouveau Testament y paraîtra en 1525.

Cochlaeus alerte cependant l'évêque de Londres. Tyndale sait donc que les précieux volumes seront saisis à leur arrivée en Angleterre. Pour déjouer l'étroite surveillance qui s'exerce dans les ports, les Nouveaux Testaments sont cachés dans des ballots d'étoffe ou des barils de vin. Beaucoup d'exemplaires sont néanmoins confisqués. Leurs destinataires sont astreints à défiler à cheval, le visage tourné vers la queue de l'animal, et portant visiblement le livre défendu; ils devront le jeter eux-mêmes au feu devant tous, et faire pénitence. Mais les efforts de l'évêque de Londres sont voués à l'échec. Chaque londonien veut prendre connaissance de l'ouvrage proscrit et s'ingénie à l'obtenir au mépris des menaces. En désespoir de cause, l'évêque de Londres prie Packington, un négociant de la cité, de mettre à profit ses relations commerciales avec le port d'Anvers, pour accaparer à la source toute l'édition de Tyndale. Muni d'une forte somme d'argent, Packington se rend sur le continent. L'évêque a cru "mener Dieu par le bout du doigt", écrit un chroniqueur de l'époque. Mais il ne réussira pas mieux dans cette entreprise que dans les précédentes. Packington, ami secret de Tyndale, arrive chez le traducteur :

: - "Monsieur Tyndale, je vous ai trouvé un bon acquéreur pour vos livres,

: - Et qui donc ?

: - L'évêque de Londres !

: - Mais, si l'évêque veut ces livres, ce ne peut être que pour les brûler !

: - Eh bien qu'importe ! D'une manière ou d'une autre l'évêque les brûlera. Il vaut mieux qu'ils vous soient payés; cela vous permettra d'en imprimer d'autres à leur place !"

Le marché est conclu et l'édition est apportée en Angleterre. L'évêque de Londres convoque la population devant la cathédrale Saint-Paul pour assister à la destruction massive des livres hérétiques. Cependant, le bûcher de l'évêque devient une publicité inespérée pour la deuxième édition du Nouveau Testament Tyndale. Imprimé cette fois en petit format, pour faciliter la dissimulation des volumes et mieux échapper aux perquisitions, sa diffusion est un vif succès.

Pourtant les adversaires de la Vilvoorde (Belgique). Dans son cachot, le réformateur, ayant obtenu Bible, grammaire et dictionnaire hébreu, traduisit, vingt siècles après, un texte qui fit d'innombrables croyants dans les pays anglo-saxons : les Épîtres de Paul.

Condamné par Charles Quint, Tyndale fut étranglé et brûlé le 6 septembre 1536. Avant de subir le supplice, il cria d'une voix puissante: "Seigneur, daigne ouvrir les yeux du roi d'Angleterre !". 