A: William Tyndale was an English biblical scholar, linguist, and key figure in the English Protestant Reformation. He is best known for translating much of the Bible into English directly from the original Hebrew and Greek texts, making the Scriptures accessible to English speakers for the first time.

A: Tyndale’s translations formed the basis for most subsequent English Bibles, including the King James Version. His work effectively challenged the Catholic Church’s control over biblical texts and played a crucial role in spreading Reformation ideas across the English-speaking world.

A: It takes many years to translate the Bible. Tyndale almost certainly began translating the New Testament in England and completed it in 1525. The first full, printed New Testament edition which still exists was produced in 1526 in Worms, Germany, with subsequent editions printed in Antwerp. His translations were smuggled into England despite opposition.

A: For the New Testament, Tyndale relied on Erasmus’s Greek-Latin New Testament, and he referred to Martin Luther’s German Bible and the Latin Vulgate. For the Pentateuch and other Old Testament books, he used Hebrew texts and possibly the Polyglot Bible.

A: Tyndale and his family were from south Gloucestershire in western England, near the Bristol Channel, and towards the border with Wales.

A: We are not exactly sure where he was born, but many historians believe that his parents were living at Melksham Court at Stinchcombe in south Gloucestershire, although you can never be exactly sure where a mother might be when a baby is due.

A: It is not sure when exactly Tyndale was born, estimates vary from 1488 to 1494. Infant baptisms were not recorded in all parishes until 1538, and we have no recorded evidence of his birth or baptism. Traditionally people have claimed that he was baptised at North Nibley where he had relatives, but it is perhaps more likely it was at Stinchcombe Church if he was born at Melksham Court. It is probably one of these two places.

A: The surname Tyndale comes from Tyne Dale, which means the dale of the River Tyne which is in north-eastern England, where there is a region known as Tyneside. It is believed that the family travelled south during the Wars of the Roses.

A: Today most people pronounce Tyndale how it is spelt, but at the time of Tyndale his surname was spelt many ways, and before spellings were standardised, people often wrote words how they heard them. There are spellings like “Tindall,” “Tindill” and “Tyndall” which suggest that the name was pronounced to rhyme with “kindle” or “spindle.” Tyndale also sometimes listed his last name as Hutchins. Surnames in early modern England were less fixed than in our modern culture.

A: Tyndale was an ordained priest in the Church in England, which before the Reformation was the Catholic Church. He protested against many of the beliefs and practices of the Church so his thinking was Protestant, although that word had not come into the English language yet. He predates the creation of the Church of England, so he was not a member of any Protestant Church denomination which did not exist then. So, he was technically Catholic but his mindset was Protestant. However, that modern distinction did not exist in his day, so the question is somewhat anachronistic.

A: Tyndale was arrested in 1535 after being betrayed by an acquaintance. He was imprisoned in Vilvoorde Castle near Brussels, tried for heresy, and executed by strangulation in 1536. His translations and writings were considered a direct challenge to the Church. He was sentenced for heresy, for denying many doctrines which the Roman Catholic Church then held such as justification by faith alone, the authority of the Bible and the symbolic nature of the communion (rejecting transubstantiation). He was not technically martyred for translating the Bible, which would not have been illegal in the area in which he was arrested. However, that was the reason the English authorities handed him over for trial and execution.

A: Traditionally Tyndale’s last words were “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” This is recorded in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.

A: We do not know the exact date of Tyndale’s execution. Traditionally it is believed to have been 6 October 1536, because of the date given by John Foxe in his Book of Martyrs, but scholars now think it might have been the end of September 1536 or one of the first days in October 1536.

A: No, when Tyndale was executed his body was burnt and his ashes were scattered. The authorities did not want him to have any earthly remains. There are various memorials to him including one at Vilvoorde near the site of his execution.

A: William Tyndale was never canonised as an official Catholic saint. He is regarded as a hero of the Church, especially for Protestants, but many Catholics admire him too. He does not have a saint’s day but in the Anglican tradition he is commemorated on 6th October, which was traditionally thought to be the date of his execution. Tyndale denounced the idea of saints and prayers to saints, so he would not want to have been made a saint.

A: No, you are not descended from William Tyndale. He was a Catholic priest and he never married and had no children. It is true that some Catholic priests in his day were secretly married and some had illegitimate children, but Tyndale disagreed with this practice and was a man of integrity. He did not agree with the custom of enforced celibacy but he was married to his work. You may be descended from relatives of his if your family has Gloucestershire roots. William Tyndale’s brother Edward Tyndale is known to have had descendants in both the male and female lines.