Neuer the later] ed., Neuer the lather [1531], Neuerthelesse [1573]
Out of the cerimonies
sprange the ignoraunce off the scripture. [1531]
The multitude of ceremonies put away preachyng.[1573]
Ceremonies are the chief cause of ignoraunce.[1573]
Greke. Reciprocal
excommunications (1054), the First Crusade (1095–99), and the conquest
of Constantinople by the Latins (1204) violated the relationship between
the Western and Eastern Churches. In Prelates
(B8) Tyndale blames the Eastern Schism on the excessive claims of the
Roman Church. Greek presence at the Councils
of Constance (1414–18), Basel (1431–37), and
Ferrara-Florence
(1438–39) helped renew cultural ties with the West, see Berschin
passim. For the scholars who left Greece
before, during, and after the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks
(1453), see John Edwin Sandys, A History of Classical Scholarship, Vol. 2, From the Revival of Learning to the End of the
Eighteenth Century (1908; New York: Hafner, 1967) passim.
Knowledge of Greek was acquired through private
tuition and in
collegiate settings. In Paris, George Hermonymus of Sparta taught Greek
to Johann Reuchlin, Guillaume Budé, and Erasmus
(Sandys 2.169, 256). During his stay in Italy (1506–9), Erasmus perfected his Greek
on his own in Bologna and with Girolamo Aleandro
and Arsenius in Venice. Cf. Léon-E. Halkin, Erasmus: A
Critical Biography, tr. John Tonkin
(1987; Oxford: Blackwell, 1993) 65–72. For More's knowledge of Greek, [B4, “These . . . yer I” and commentary note]. Luther learned the
fundamentals of Greek from the Augustinian Johann Lang at Wittenberg about
1511. Cf. Maria Grossmann, Humanism in Wittenberg, 1485–1517 (Nieuwkoop: De Graaf, 1975)
77. Tyndale probably studied Greek at Magdalen
Hall, Oxford (afterwards Hertford College) (Daniell 23, 30). Later, he translated an oration by
Isocrates, characterized by periodic sentences and eloquent tropes, to
prove his ability to translate the NT (Daniell
87–90). As further witness to the vivid diction and compelling syntax of
Tyndale, 84% of his 1534 NT was adopted by the KJV. Cf. Jon Nielson and Royal
Skousen, "How Much of the King James Bible Is William Tyndale's: An Estimation Based on Sampling," Reformation 3 (1998) 49–74.
specially of the
Hebrue. Smalley (passim) examines the preservation
of the knowledge of Hebrew in NW Europe from
the 8c to 12c. From the 13c to 15c Jews were expelled from England, France, Germany, and Spain,
"and in those places where they remained they were not always
willing to teach Hebrew" (Friedman 19).
Although he successfully taught himself Greek,
Erasmus failed to learn Hebrew. He does not mention Hebrew in On the Method of Study, 1511 (ASD 1/2.111–51; CWE
24.665–91) for boys, but he recommends it for mature students in many
works from Ratio verae theologiae,
1518 (Holborn 177–305; not yet in CWE) to Ecclesiastes,
1535 (ASD 5/4–5; not yet in CWE), cf. Markish 113. Henry VIII needed to consult some
scholar for his brief observation in Ch. 6 that the Hebrew language
lacks neuter gender (Assertio, CC 43.140). Fisher
studied the works of the Hebraist Johann Reuchlin
and was tutored by Robert Wakefield
c1516 (Surtz 143, 148). In a letter Germain
Marc'hadour observed that, while More never learned Hebrew, he may have
met Jews in Antwerp or Paris [private correspondence].
After receiving his doctorate from the University of Erfurt in 1512,
Luther was appointed to the chair of biblical
theology in Wittenberg . From 1511 to 1513, Luther began the
study of Hebrew, using Jerome, Lyra, and Paul
of Burgos. His Dictata super Psalterium, 1513–16
(WA 4.1–462; not in LW) was based on the Vulgate as found in Lefèvre's
Psalterium quincuplex (1509), but his Operationes in Psalmos, 1519–21 (WA 5; not in LW)
shows a good knowledge of Hebrew. The Jewish convert Matthaeus Adrianus
taught at Wittenberg from Fall 1519 to February 1521 (CWE
5–155n7; CWE 10.191n5). Between 1522 and 1534, Luther translated the OT,
using
Rashi (1040–1105), David
Kimchi (1160–1235), Sanctes Pagninus OP
(1470–1536), and Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) (G.
Lloyd Jones 59).
Robert Wakefield was appointed the first
official university lecturer in Hebrew at Cambridge in 1524, the same year that Tyndale left England for Germany.
Tyndale could have begun Hebrew under Matthew
Aurogallus at Wittenberg and continued his studies at Worms,
an important center for German Jews since the
11c. In translating the Hebrew Bible, Tyndale could have used the
edition published by Gershom Soncino (Venice, 1488) or by Daniel
Bomberg (Venice, 1517) or the
Complutensian Polyglot printed in 1514–17 and released in 1522. He used
Münster's Dictionarium Hebraicum
(Basel, 1525) and Pagninus' Thesaurus linguae sanctae seu lexicon
hebraicum (Lyons, 1529). In Winter
1535, Tyndale wrote to the governor of the castle of Vilvoorde, "But
above all, I beg and entreat your clemency earnestly to
intercede with the lord commissary , that he would deign to
allow me the use of my Hebrew Bible, Hebrew Grammar, and Hebrew Lexicon,
and that I may employ my time with that study." English translation with
the Latin original in Mombert li—ii; for the Latin with a slightly
different translation, cf. Mozley 333–35. Cf. G. Lloyd Jones on Tyndale as "the
father of English Hebraists" (115–23, esp. 122).
Apart from the prefaces to his biblical translations, Tyndale makes
scattered comments on specific Hebrew words and phrases throughout his
independent works. The pamphlet Sacraments quotes
twenty-six words or phrases from the Hebrew to argue that OT names and
NT sacraments are signs of divine activity.