Miles Coverdale
| Myles Coverdale | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Exeter | |
 |
|
| See | Exeter |
| Installed | 1551 |
| Term ended | 1553 |
| Predecessor | John Vesey |
| Successor | John Vesey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1488 Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 20 January 1569 London, England |
| Buried | Church of St Magnus the Martyr, City of London |
| Denomination | Augustinian friar - acknowledging authority of Pope in Rome; subsequently early Anglican reformer; late in life, regarded as "proto-Puritan." |
Myles Coverdale, first name also spelt Miles (1488 – 20 January 1569), was an English ecclesiastical reformer chiefly known as a Bible translator, preacher and, briefly, Bishop of Exeter (1551-1553). Regarding his probable birth county, Daniell cites John Bale, author of a sixteenth century scriptorium, giving it as Yorkshire. Having studied philosophy and theology in Cambridge, Coverdale became an Augustinian friar and went to the house of his order, also in Cambridge. In 1514 John Underwood, a suffragan bishop and archdeacon of Norfolk, ordained him priest in Norwich. He was at the house of the Augustinians when in about 1520,Robert Barnes returned from Louvain to become its prior. In 1535 Coverdale produced the first complete printed translation of the Bible into English. He is also significant because during his long life, he experienced eight decades of crucial importance in religious history. His theological development is a paradigm of the progress of the English Reformation from 1530 to 1552. By the time of his death, he had transitioned into an early Puritan, affiliated to Calvin, yet still advocating the teachings of Augustine.
Coverdale studied at Cambridge, becoming bachelor of canon law in 1513. He was ordained in Norwich in 1514 and entered the house of the Augustinian friars in Cambridge, where Robert Barnes had returned from Louvain to become its prior. This is thought to have been about 1520 - 1525. According to Trueman, Barnes returned to Cambridge in the early to mid-1520s. At Louvain Barnes had studied under Erasmus and had developed humanist sympathies. In Cambridge, he read aloud to his students from St. Paul's epistles in translation and taught from classical authors. This undoubtedly influenced them towards Reform. In February 1526, Coverdale was part of a group of friars that travelled from Cambridge to London to present the defence of their superior, after Barnes was summoned before Cardinal Wolsey. Barnes had been arrested as a heretic after being accused of preaching Lutheran views in St Edward's Church, Cambridge on Christmas Eve. Coverdale is said to have acted as Barnes' secretary during the trial. By the standards of the time, Barnes received relatively lenient treatment, being made to do public penance by carrying a faggot to Paul's Cross. However on 10 June 1539, Parliament passed the Act of Six Articles, marking a turning point in the progress of radical protestantism. Barnes was burned at the stake on 30 July 1540, at Smithfield, along with two other reformers. Also executed that day were three Roman Catholics, who were hanged, drawn and quartered.
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