P046 A Short History of the English Bible.
P046 A Short History of the English Bible. The Bishops’ Bible never received the royal sanction. It was not until 1677, two years after Parker’s death, that an edition was printed "set forth by anthoritie," and then it was episcopal, not royal, authority.
Convocation, however, made special enactments in its favor. In 1571 it was ordered that a copy should be placed in every cathedral, and, as far as possible, in every church.
Every archbishop and every bishop was also directed to have one in the hall or dining-room of his house, so as to be accessible to servants and strangers. Though provision was thus made for its use, it never became popular. For many years it was read in public service, but it never replaced the Genevan for family and private use. The last edition was issued in 1606, while the Genevan continued to be published many years later, competing, indeed, for a time, with the Authorized Version. It is estimated that more than four times as many Genevan Bibles were printed as of the Bishops’. The majority of the editions of the former were in quarto and octavo, while those of the latter were mainly, like the first edition, in folio.
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XIII. THE RHEIMS AND DOUAY VERSION. In 1568 a seminary was established by English Roman Catholics, at Douay, in Flanders, for the education of young Englishmen for the priesthood, that they might do missionary work in their native land. In 1578 this seminary was removed to Rheims, but returned to Douay in 1593. The chief founder of the institution was William Allen, or Allan, afterward made cardinal, in 1587, and archbishop, in 1588. One of the instructors in this school was Gregory Martin, who, educated in St. John’s College, Oxford, was a distinguished Hebrew and Greek scholar.
While thus engaged he translated the Bible into English from the Vulgate. Though he was the principal translator, he had a number of assistants, among them Dr. Allen, Dr. Reynolds, Dr. Bristow, or Bristol, and Dr. Worthington. The two last mentioned are supposed to have written the notes, which were bitterly controversial.