500 years since William Tynedale was martyred for translating the Bible into English

In October 1526, book browsers outside St Paul's Cathedral were shocked when a large run of a 700-page anonymous volume appeared. It was a first – a Bible in English – and it came courtesy of William Tyndale, who had been forced to go to Worms in Germany to get it published.

It was then illegal for the Bible to be in English, and copies had been smuggled into England hidden in bales of cloth. They were soon being burned outside St Paul’s. Those caught in possession were made to ride seated backwards on a donkey wearing boards on which the pages of the offending work were pasted. They then had to throw the boards into a fire as a warning of their own fate should they continue reading the banned translation.

Ed Glinert of New Manchester Walks and author of "Manchester: The Biography" relates the terrifying story on the 500th anniversary of the events.

Practical Information

The talk includes a Q&A session.

Booking is essential. Lit&Phil members: we recommend logging into the website to make booking your free member ticket quicker and easier.

Accessibility Information

The venue is wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet on the ground floor. Please contact us regarding any specific accessibility requirements you may have by emailing events@manlitphil.ac.uk

Description supplied by the event organiser.