The Lollard Bible

This study examines the extent of Bible reading in medieval England, and in particular the place of the Lollard translations. Miss Deanesly shows that the medieval church tolerated translation in principle, but distrusted it in practice, because of its associations with Lollardy. She examines wills, library catalogues and episcopal registers where the existence of translations might be noted. She concludes that mystical writings in English were far more widely read than the Bible.