One of the leading Protestant reformers of the sixteenth century, Miles Coverdale produced the first English Bible in the 1530s, thereby preparing the way for the later translators of the Bible, and opening up the relationship between the Bible and English literature. His influence can be strongly felt in the centuries of interaction between the Bible and English poetry.

Coverdale was born in York in 1488. No details are known of his parentage or early education. The current consensus on his ordination is that John Underwood, in Norwich in 1514, ordained him priest at the age of 26. Coverdale became an Augustinian friar and went to the house of his order at Cambridge; he was there in 1520, when Robert Barnes returned from Louvain to become Prior. Barnes became increasingly associated with

1115 words

Citation: Coleman, David. "Miles Coverdale". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 December 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1041, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1041 Miles Coverdale 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.