John wycliffe biography timeline report

I. His Life.

John Wyclif, the most prominent of the Reformers before the Reformation, was born at Ipreswell (the modern Hipswell; 44 miles N.W. of York) Yorkshire, England, perhaps between 1320 and 1330; he died at Lutterworth (12 miles south of Leicester) Dec. 31, 1384. His eminence rests not only upon his works, which still have influence, but upon his ecclesiastical activities. Although the Reformers of the sixteenth century knew and valued his life and works, his fame has grown largely in modern times, which have brought his productions into more complete knowledge, these in former times having suffered eclipse and long rested unknown. There are still many a riddle concerning his life and activities, and many events occurring during his academic period are still obscure; but enough is known to secure his position among the men who foreshadowed the Reformation, together with the reasons for this preeminence.

1. His Family and Youth.

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‘Believers should have the Scriptures in a language which they fully understand’

But John knew, from his study of the Bible, that translation was the opposite of heresy. ‘You call me a heretic because inom have translated the Bible into the common tongue of the people,’ he responded. ‘Do you know whom you blaspheme? Did not the Holy Ghost give the word of God at first in the mother-tongue of the nations to whom it was addressed?’

John lived to see the translation of the Bible into English. Many handwritten copies were made (this was before the invention of the printing press), and Wycliffe’s followers distributed them, travelling around teaching people about Jesus using the Bible in English.

After his death in 1384, John’s följare suffered increased persecution as the Church tried to undo the spreading impact of the Bible in English. In 1415 Wycliffe was declared a heretic, and then in 1428 his bones were exhumed and burnt along with his books.

The Morning Star

John’s ashes w

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John Wycliffe

English theologian (c. 1331 – 1384)

"John Wickliffe" and "Wycliff" redirect here. For the ship, see John Wickliffe (ship). For other uses and other people, see Wycliffe.

John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants;^[a]c. 1328 – 31 December 1384)^[2] was an English scholastic philosopher, Christian reformer, Catholic priest, and a theology professor at the University of Oxford. Wycliffe is traditionally believed to have advocated or made a vernacular translation of the Vulgate Bible into Middle English, though more recent scholarship has minimalized the extent of his advocacy or involvement for lack of direct contemporary evidence.^{[3]: 7–8 [4][5]}

He became an influential dissident within the Catholic priesthood during the 14th century and is often considered an important predecessor to Protestantism.^[6] His theory of dominion meant that men in mort