William Tyndale (c. 1494–1536) was an English Reformer, biblical scholar, and the foremost translator who shaped the English Bible. His 1528 book The Obedience of a Christian Man argued that Scripture is the supreme authority, and that a nation’s king—rather than the pope—governs the church within his realm. Tyndale’s ideas influenced Henry VIII’s break with Rome and helped set the course of the English Reformation.

Who was William Tyndale?

William Tyndale was a gifted linguist and theologian who dedicated his life to giving ordinary English speakers direct access to the Bible. Educated at Oxford and later associated with Cambridge, Tyndale was part of the reforming ferment inspired by Erasmus’s Greek New Testament and, across the Channel, Martin Luther’s writings. When England’s church authorities refused him permission to translate the Bible into English, he left for the continent, where his work could be printed and smuggled back into England.

At a glance

• Born: c. 1494, Gloucestershire, England
• Known for: English Bible translation; The Obedience of a Christian Man (1528)
• Core idea: Scripture is the highest authority; kings lawfully govern the church in their own realms
• Fate: Arrested in 1535 in Antwerp, executed for heresy in 1536 near Brussels
• Legacy: His translations formed the backbone of later English Bibles, culminating in the King James Version

The Obedience of a Christian Man (1528)

Published in Antwerp by Merten de Keyser, The Obedience of a Christian Man was Tyndale’s most politically explosive prose work. The full original title—The Obedience of a Christen man, and how Christen rulers ought to govern, wherein also (if thou mark diligently) thou shalt find eyes to perceive the crafty convience of all iugglers—announces a bold program: to ground Christian life, public order, and church governance in Scripture, and to expose religious abuses that distort it. Today the title is commonly modernized to The Obedience of a Christian Man.

Core arguments

• Supremacy of Scripture: The Bible, accessible to all in the vernacular, is the ultimate authority for faith and practice.
• Role of rulers: Kings and magistrates are God’s ministers for order and justice; within their own realms they have authority over the church’s governance.
• On obedience: Christians should obey lawful rulers in all things not contrary to God’s Word; resistance is warranted only when commanded to sin.
• Critique of clerical abuses: Tyndale denounces ecclesiastical privileges, opaque canon law, and practices he saw as obscuring the Gospel.

In English, Tyndale’s treatise offered one of the earliest and clearest articulations of what later came to be called the “royal supremacy” in religion. It has often been cited as an early English articulation of the idea later labeled the divine right of kings. While the historical lineage of that doctrine is complex, Tyndale’s argument unmistakably rejects papal supremacy over national churches.

How the book reached Henry VIII

According to a widely repeated story, Anne Boleyn owned a copy of The Obedience of a Christian Man and placed it into the hands of King Henry VIII, who reportedly declared, “This is a book for me and all kings to read.” Whether apocryphal or not, the tale captures a real historical impact: Tyndale’s thesis dovetailed with the Tudor crown’s assertion of religious authority, which culminated in the 1534 Act of Supremacy naming Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England.

Tyndale’s translation project: putting Scripture into English

Tyndale believed that the truth of the Gospel depended on clarity and access. Famously, he declared that he would cause “a boy that driveth the plough” to know more of Scripture than the learned opponents who barred English Bibles. He mastered Hebrew and Greek so he could translate from the original languages, striving for clarity, accuracy, and musical cadence.

Key milestones

• 1526: First printed English New Testament (continental press; smuggled into England hidden in bales of goods). Many copies were seized and publicly burned, but the text spread widely.
• 1530: English Pentateuch (Genesis–Deuteronomy), printed on the continent; followed by other Old Testament portions (e.g., Jonah).
• 1534: Thoroughly revised New Testament, reflecting Tyndale’s maturing scholarship and style.

Tyndale’s translation choices shaped the sound of English Scripture for centuries. He coined or popularized terms that stuck: “Passover,” “scapegoat,” “atonement,” and “long-suffering,” among others. His ear for cadence yielded phrases that endure in public memory and the cadences of worship.

From Tyndale to the King James Bible

Tyndale’s English was so clear and compelling that later translators used it as a foundation. The Great Bible (1539) and the Bishops’ Bible (1568) owed much to him; the 1611 King James Version, compiled by 47 scholars, drew heavily on Tyndale’s work. By one estimate, about 83% of the KJV New Testament and 76% of the Old Testament wording descends from Tyndale. In short, when many English speakers hear Scripture, they are still hearing Tyndale.

Reformer, not courtier: Tyndale and Henry VIII

Despite The Obedience of a Christian Man aligning in part with royal interests, Tyndale was not a mere apologist for the crown. In The Practice of Prelates (1530), he opposed Henry VIII’s bid to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, arguing the appeal violated Scripture. This stance earned him the king’s enmity even as his political theology helped Henry claim religious supremacy in England.

Arrest, trial, and martyrdom

Tyndale spent his final years in the Low Countries, where English merchants and sympathetic reformers offered networks of support. In 1535, he was betrayed in Antwerp, arrested, and imprisoned in the fortress of Vilvoorde (near Brussels). After more than a year in harsh confinement, he was tried for heresy, condemned, and executed in 1536—strangled and then burned at the stake.

His last recorded prayer—“Lord, open the King of England’s eyes”—resonated almost immediately. In 1537, the crown authorized the Matthew Bible (edited by John Rogers under the pseudonym Thomas Matthew), a composite volume that was in large part Tyndale’s work, with further passages supplied by John Rogers and Myles Coverdale. The king he had rebuked now sanctioned a Bible that largely bore Tyndale’s voice.

Why The Obedience of a Christian Man mattered

Tyndale’s treatise did more than wage polemic. It offered an integrated vision of Christian life, authority, and responsibility grounded in Scripture, aimed at both rulers and subjects.

What readers found inside

• A vernacular program: Scripture must be available to every Christian in a language they understand.
• Limits of church power: He challenged claims of clerical immunity and the reach of canon law, insisting that God’s Word and lawful magistracy limit such power.
• Civic order and conscience: Tyndale balanced obedience to rulers with fidelity to God’s commands, refusing to sanctify tyranny.
• Plain style, sharp edge: His prose is lucid, urgent, and punctuated by cutting satire of “jugglers”—those who manipulated religion for gain.

For readers in the 1520s, these themes did not float in abstraction. They spoke into England’s spiraling conflicts over authority, reform, and allegiance. Tyndale’s arguments supplied theological ballast for reordering church-state relations under a national crown.

Language, literature, and the making of modern English

Tyndale’s impact extends far beyond church history. His translations taught early modern English how to carry Hebrew poetry, Greek narrative, and Pauline argument with precision and grace. The result was a prose Bible that influenced writers from Shakespeare to Milton and shaped idioms still alive in common speech. The rhythms he crafted helped define what “biblical English” would sound like—a sound that persisted through the King James Version and into public oratory, hymnody, and literature.

Timeline: William Tyndale and his world

• c. 1494: Born in Gloucestershire, England.
• 1512–1515: Studies at Oxford (Magdalen Hall); later associated with Cambridge.
• 1524–1525: Leaves England; begins New Testament translation on the continent.
• 1526: First printed English New Testament circulates in England; many copies seized and burned.
• 1528: The Obedience of a Christian Man printed by Merten de Keyser in Antwerp.
• 1530: Publishes the Pentateuch in English; writes The Practice of Prelates opposing Henry’s annulment.
• 1534: Act of Supremacy: Henry VIII declared Supreme Head of the Church of England (in line with the royal supremacy Tyndale had advanced); Tyndale issues revised New Testament.
• 1535: Arrested near Antwerp; imprisoned in Vilvoorde.
• 1536: Executed for heresy; prayer for the king’s enlightenment recorded.
• 1537–1611: Tyndale’s translations carry forward through the Matthew Bible, the Great Bible, the Bishops’ Bible, and the King James Version.

How historians assess his influence

Scholars widely agree that Tyndale’s translations lie at the heart of English biblical tradition. His prose set the benchmark for clarity and rhythm, and his terminology became standard. The influence of The Obedience of a Christian Man is also substantial, though debated in degree: it did not single-handedly cause the English Reformation, but it furnished arguments that the Tudor monarchy could and did deploy to justify royal supremacy.

Modern estimates underscore his textual legacy. One commonly cited assessment suggests that roughly 83% of the King James New Testament and 76% of its Old Testament wording echoes Tyndale. In language and law, pulpit and parliament, his imprint is unmistakable.

Reading Tyndale today

Tyndale’s works repay close reading for their theological clarity, literary force, and historical significance. The Obedience of a Christian Man remains a concise primer on how early English Protestants thought about Scripture and authority. His New Testament showcases a translator balancing fidelity to the original languages with the rhythms of everyday speech. For students of religion, literature, or politics, Tyndale offers a front-row seat to the making of modern England.

Key takeaways

• Tyndale joined scholarship to courage, translating from Hebrew and Greek to give Scripture to ordinary people.
• The Obedience of a Christian Man supplied a scriptural case for royal supremacy that resonated in Tudor politics.
• His English shaped the Great Bible, the Bishops’ Bible, and, most famously, the King James Version.
• He paid with his life, but his words endured—on the page, in the pulpit, and in the language itself.

FAQ

Who was William Tyndale?

William Tyndale was an English Reformer, linguist, and Bible translator whose work in the 1520s–1530s laid the foundation for later English Bibles. He argued for Scripture’s supremacy over church traditions and for rulers’ authority within their realms.

What is The Obedience of a Christian Man about?

Published in 1528, it contends that the Bible is the highest authority and that kings and magistrates, not the pope, govern the church in their own countries. It urges Christians to obey lawful rulers except when orders conflict with God’s Word, and it criticizes clerical abuses and legal obfuscation.

Did Tyndale influence Henry VIII’s break with Rome?

Yes, many contemporaries and later historians have seen Tyndale’s arguments as strengthening the case for royal supremacy. A copy of the book reached Henry VIII—famously via Anne Boleyn, according to tradition—and the 1534 Act of Supremacy reflected ideas Tyndale had articulated.

Why is Tyndale’s Bible translation so important?

He translated directly from Hebrew and Greek into lucid, idiomatic English. His choices set patterns for vocabulary, syntax, and cadence that shaped the Great Bible, the Bishops’ Bible, and the 1611 King James Version—by one estimate, the KJV draws about 83% of its New Testament wording and 76% of its Old Testament wording from Tyndale.

How did Tyndale die?

He was arrested in Antwerp in 1535, imprisoned at Vilvoorde, condemned for heresy, and executed in 1536—strangled and then burned. His last prayer—“Lord, open the King of England’s eyes”—was soon echoed in the authorization of English Bibles incorporating his work.

Did Tyndale support the king unconditionally?

No. While he argued for royal supremacy in church governance, he also held rulers accountable to Scripture. In 1530 he opposed Henry VIII’s attempt to annul his marriage, a stance that put him at odds with the crown.

Where can I read Tyndale’s works today?

Modern-spelling editions of The Obedience of a Christian Man and Tyndale’s New Testament are available from academic presses and reputable online archives. Facsimiles of early printings and scholarly commentaries can also be found through university libraries and digital repositories.