![]() Alfred also became a champion of the Scriptures. The Danes were at that time advancing through Mercia, but towards the end of the ninth century the Anglo-Saxon armies finally stopped them, and held on to the south and west under the strong leadership of King Alfred. It contains an interlinear Old English translation of the Psalms. Nevertheless, from this period we have an historically important manuscript known as the Vespasian Psalter, which was written in the central part of England called Mercia. They were a heathen people, and did much harm to the monasteries where the Scriptures were copied. There is no evidence of any version made in the south of England during this period.Īt the beginning of the ninth century, the northern and eastern parts of England were invaded by another Germanic people called the Danes or Northmen. This version has disappeared without a trace. From the eighth century we have an account of “the Venerable” Bede (a learned teacher at Jarrow, also in the north) translating the Gospel of John into Old English on his deathbed (735). An illiterate herdsman named Cædmon, after hearing some Bible stories from the Celtic teachers at Whitby, turned some of the stories into poetic songs in his own language. It was in the northern part of England that a first attempt to present any part of the Bible in Anglo-Saxon was made. These Scots evangelized all of central and northern England, without the support of Rome. The other mission was carried out by Scots from Ireland, where the early Celtic church had survived the Anglo-Saxon invasion. The one mission, sent from Rome, aimed at bringing the politically important southern part of England under the influence of the Pope. Historians refer to these new inhabitants of the land as “Anglo-Saxons.”ĭuring the seventh century the Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity by the efforts of two different groups of missionaries, which resulted in two different forms of Christianity in England. During the sixth century these Germanic invaders drove the native Celts out and established themselves in the part of Britain which is now called England (“Angle-land”). Shortly after the departure of the Romans, Britain was invaded by enterprising Angles and Saxons from northern Europe. ![]() A long series of Teutonic invasions and migrations was at that time reshaping the ethnic map of Europe and pressing hard upon the Roman Empire, and the Romans withdrew from Britain in order to consolidate their strength in Italy. But the early Celtic Christians disappeared from most of Britain after the Roman legions withdrew in the middle of the fifth century (440). As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire during the third century, many of these Celts were converted, even among the Scots in northern Ireland. ![]() At that time the land was populated by the primitive people called Celts. (43), Roman legions invaded and quickly subdued Britain. Our story begins with the beginning of the church in pre-English Britain. Nevertheless there were some versions made in the medieval times, and their story is an instructive prelude to the great period of translation that began 500 years ago. It was not until the power of Rome was broken in the sixteenth century that versions in English became widely available and used. The idea of a vernacular Scripture is indeed ancient, and several versions were made in the ancient times but during the middle ages the Roman Catholic church discouraged further translations into the common languages of Europe. The first two periods of our language - Old and Middle English - fall within the Medieval period of European history, during which there are few examples of Bible versions. The reader may get an idea of the amount of change in the English language by viewing a Bible passage in Old English, Middle English and Early Modern English in parallel columns here. The third period is from about 1450 to 1750, called Early Modern English and after 1750 we have simply Modern English, the language that we speak today. The second period runs from 1150 to 1450, in which we may speak of Middle English. 600 to 1150, in which the language had the form known as Anglo-Saxon or Old English. ![]() The story of the English Bible falls naturally into four periods corresponding to changes in the English language.
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