An urban legend perpetuated by the ignorant. It's hard to fathom that you could be so dense yet still receive a commission.
As only one example amongst many, much of the Bible was translated into English by a monk in Whitby by the name of Caedmon at the end of the seventh century. That was long before Wycliff's corrupted version appeared in 1382 or Luther's hatchet job in 1520.
“As only one example amongst many, much of the Bible was translated into English by a monk in Whitby by the name of Caedmon at the end of the seventh century. That was long before Wycliff’s corrupted version appeared in 1382 or Luther’s hatchet job in 1520. “
Caedmon did not translate. A work attributed to him, but made later, “...was in two stages: the initial version of the manuscript contained Genesis, Exodus, and Daniel, and was the work of a single scribe. Later the final poem, Christ and Satan, was added by several other scribes.”
Hardly “much of the Bible”, and not a formal translation.
Bede translated the Gospel of John.
The Wessex Gospels appeared around 1000 AD.
No attempt was made to translate the entire NT into English, in any form, until Wycliffe - which was NOT a corrupt version, but an honest translation of the Latin, as most Catholics will agree.
No attempt was made by the Catholic Church to allow commoners in England to read the scriptures in their native tongue until AFTER Tyndale - and then it was done so badly that it was revised IAW the KJV in the 1700s.
And it is simply STUPID to call Luther’s work a “hatchett job”.
Further, I’ve already provided the proof on this thread that it was a matter of policy for hundreds of years for the Roman Catholic Church to prevent vernacular translations from falling into the hands of commoners.
Again, read some history. It is beyond dispute that the Roman Catholic Church opposed commoners from reading scripture in the vernacular. While not a concern prior to 1000 AD, it became one - maybe because the more the Catholic Church departed from the truth of the scriptures, the more threatened it was by them.
But it wasn’t subtle or hidden - the Catholic Church openly opposed it as a matter of policy.