264
HISTORY OF PRINTING.
latter saffered that dreadful death in Portugal on the same accusation The New Tettament was printed in 1526, in 8ro., without the trans- lator a name. As there were only 1600 printed, and all the copies which could possibly be got into England, were committed to the flames, this first edition is extremely rare.
When this translation was imported into Eng- land, the supporters of the church of Rome became very much alarmed ; William Warham,* archbishop of Canterbury, and Cuthbert Tons- tall,t bishop of London, issued their orders and monitions to bring in all the New Tettamenti translated into the vulgar tongue, that they might be burnt. But this illjudged policy only took off many copies which lay dead upon Tin- dall's hands, ana supplied him with money for another and more correct edition, printed in 1534, while the first edition was in the mean while printed twice, but not by the translator. Of Tonstall's singular purchase, we hare given an anecdote at page 2.35 ante, the following fact is also related : " sir Thomas More being lord chancellor, and having several persons accused of heresy, and ready for execution, offered to compound with one of them, named George Constantine, for his life, upon the easy terms of discovering to him who they were in l/>ndon that anaintained Tindall beyond sea. After the poor man had got as good security for his life as the honour and truth of the clwncellor could give him, he told him it was the bishop of Lon- don who maintained Tindall, by sending him a sum of money to buy up the impressions of his Tettamatts. The chancellor smiled, saying that he believed he said true. Thus was the poor confessors life saved." John Tindall, ourauUiors brother, was prosecuted, and condemned to do penance. Humphrey Monmouth, his great patron and benefactor, was imprisoned in the tower, and almost ruined. In 1529, sir Thomas More published A Dyaloge, in whieh he en- deavoured to prove that the books burnt were not New Testaments, but Tindall's or Luther's Testaments; and so corrupted, as to be quite another thing. In 1530, Tindall published an answer to this dialogue, and proceeded in trans- lating the five books of Moses, from the Hebrew into English; but happening to g^ by sea to Hamburgh, to have it printed there, the vessel
- wiUiam Warbam, archbishop of Canterborsr, was
bom at O^eley, in Hampshire, about the year UfiS. He was high in fiivour both with Henry VII. and Henry VIII.; and was BaccesslTely master of the rolls, lord keeper, lord chancellor, chancellor of the university of Oxford, and archbishop of Cantarbtiry. He died Aognst S3, 1631, and was borled in his cathedral. He was succeeded in the archbisliopric of Canterbury by Cranmer.
t Cuthbert ToostaU. Irishopof Durham, was successively master of the ndls, prebendary of York, dean of Sarum, bishop of London, and lord privy seal. He was an able negonator, and a good critic. He was deprived by Edward VI. but was restored by Mary, and appointed one of her ecclesiastical commissioners. In that odious office he dis- tinguished Umself by his mildness tad humanity. He was ag^ deprived by EUzabetb, but so lilghly esteemed was he, even by protestants, Quit he found an asylum in tlie family of arcbbislun> Parker, with whom he resided till his death, which took idace November 18, lUg, and was buried in lAonbeth chorea.
was wrecked, and he lost all his money, books, writings and copies, and was obliged to be^in a-new. At Hamburgh he met with Miles Coverdale, who assisted him in translating the Pentateuch, which was printed in 1530, in a small octavo volume, and apparently at different presses. He afterwards made an English ver- sion of the Prophecy of Jonas, with a large prologue, which was printed in 1531 ; and it is asserted that he translated no more books of scripture.
From Hamburgh he returned to Antwerp, and was there betrayed into the hands of his enemies. Heniy VIII., and his council employed one Henry Philips on this disgraceful commission. He got the procurator general of the emperor's court at Brussels, and ouier officers, to seize him, and convey him to the castle of Villefort, where he remained a pri^ner a year and a half. Tin- dall was at length brought to trial, where he pleaded his own cause. None of his arguments, however, being admitted, be was condemned, and being brought to execution in 1536, be wa^ first strangled and then burnt. His last words were " Lord, open the king of England's eyes." Thus perished one of the best men and ablest writers of his time.
Speaking of Tindall — It is a common thing with grateiul people to erect statutes, and em- bellish monuments with florid inscriptions in honour of those who have done service to their country ; but, surely he who devoted his time to the translating of the scriptures, and became a martyr in the cause of religious liberty, deserves a more lasting remembrance than pyramids of stone or marble.
Tindall's principal theological and controver- sial tracts were collected together, and printed with the works of John Fryth, and Barnes, in one volume, fol. by John Day, 1572.
1636. In this year, three hundred and seventy- six monasteries were abolished, and their reve- nues, amounting to jG32,000 per annum, confis- cated to the kmg's use, in addition to a vast quantity of plate and other valuable property, computed at more than £100,000. As the monks had all along shown the king the greatest resis- tance, he resolved to deprive them of future power to injure him. He accordingly empowered Thomas Cromwell, who was now made principal secretary of state, to send commissioners into the several counties of England to inspect the mo- nasteries, and to report with rigorous exactness the conduct and deportment of those who were resident there.* This employment was readily tmdertaken by some creatures of the court, who are said to have discovered monstrous disorders in many of the religious houses. The accusa- tions, whether true or false, were urged with
- A book was kept by the English monastoie*, in
which a detail of the scandalous enormities practised in religious houses were entered, for the lnq>ection of visitors under Henry VIII., in order to blaclien Uiem, and liaaten their dissolution. It was termed the Black Book, Hence the vulgar phrase, " I'll set you down in my blacli book."
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