John Wycliffe

"John Wickliffe" and "Wycliff" redirect here. For the ship, see John Wickliffe (ship). For other uses and other people, see Wycliffe.

The Reverend
John Wycliffe
Portrait by Thomas Kirkby, c. 1828
Bornc. 1328
Hipswell, Yorkshire, England
Died31 December 1384(1384-12-31) (aged 56)
Lutterworth, Leicestershire, England[1]
Alma materMerton College, Oxford
Notable workWycliffe's Bible (attributed)
EraMedieval philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolScholasticism
Main interests
Theology

John Wycliffe (/ˈwɪklɪf/; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants;[a] c. 1328 – 31 December 1384)[2] was an English scholastic philosopher, Christian reformer, Catholic priest, and a theology professor at the University of Oxford. Wycliffe is traditionally believed to have advocated or made a vernacular translation of the Vulgate Bible into Middle English, though more recent scholarship has minimalized the extent of his advocacy or involvement for lack of direct contemporary evidence.[3]: 7–8 [4][5]

He became an influential dissident within the Catholic priesthood during the 14th century and is often considered an important predecessor to Protestantism.[6] His theory of dominion meant that men in mortal sin were not entitled to exercise authority in the church or state, nor to own property.[7] Wycliffe insisted on the radical poverty of all clergy.

Wycliffe has been characterised as the "evening star" of scholasticism and as the morning star or stella matutina of the English Reformation.[8][9]

Certain of Wycliffe's later followers, derogatorily called Lollards by their orthodox contemporaries in the 15th and 16th centuries, adopted a number of the beliefs attributed to Wycliffe such as theological virtues, predestination, iconoclasm, and the notion of caesaropapism, with some questioning the veneration of saints, the sacraments, requiem masses, transubstantiation, monasticism, and the legitimacy or role of the Papacy. Wycliffe's writings in Latin greatly influenced the philosophy and teaching of the Czech reformer Jan Hus (c. 1369–1415).[10]

  1. ^ "John Wycliffe | Biography, Legacy, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  2. ^ For a recent biography see: Andrew Larsen, John Wyclif c. 1331–1384, in Ian Christopher Levy (ed.), A Companion to John Wyclif. Late Medieval Theologian, Leiden: Brill, 2006, pp. 1–61.
  3. ^ Kelly, Henry Ansgar (2016), The Middle English Bible: A Reassessment, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
  4. ^ Hudson, Anne (1985). Lollards and Their Books. London: Hambledon Press. pp. 144–145.
  5. ^ Minnis, Alastair (2009). Translations of Authority in Medieval English Literature: Valuing the Vernacular. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 10.
  6. ^ Lacey Baldwin Smith, This Realm of England: 1399 to 1688 (3rd ed. 1976), p. 41
  7. ^ "John Wyclif, Translator and Controversialist". justus.anglican.org.
  8. ^ Emily Michael, "John Wyclif on body and mind", Journal of the History of Ideas (2003) p. 343.
  9. ^ An epithet first accorded to the theologian by the 16th century historian and controversialist John Bale in his Illustrium maioris britanniae scriptorum (Wesel, 1548). Margaret Aston, "John Wycliffe's Reformation Reputation", Past & Present (30, 1965) p. 24
  10. ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia: Jan Hus". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 26 October 2019.


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