Abstract

This paper presents some new information on the early career of William Tyndale as a prelude to a re-examination of the thesis proposed in the 1980s about the possible influence of Lollardy and Wycliffite teachings on Tyndale's development. Viewing Tyndale in the context of the author's recent arguments about the marginal relationship of Lollardy to the English Reformation, and analysing his ideas against the background of late medieval Catholic and early modern evangelical theology, it argues that there is nothing in Tyndale's work which cannot be understood in terms of the interplay between the 'new learning' and the old, and applies Ockham's razor to suggest that there is therefore no need to invoke putative Lollard or Wycliffite influences in order to explain the character of his thought.