John Wycliffe's works condemned

Historical Context Note

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John Wyclif was an Oxford-based reformist theologian, whose ideas formed the basis of the Lollard movement, which is often seen as a precursor of Protestantism. In 1381, he codified his beliefs about the Lord's Supper into twelve short 'sentences', which challenged the doctrine of transubstantiation, questioning whether the transformation of the bread and wine into the 'blood and body' of Christ was anything more than spiritual. This earned him the hostility of the Chancellor of Oxford University. In the midst of this controversy came the outbreak of the Peasants' Revolt. Even though one of the rebels' main targets was Wyclif's greatest protector, John of Gaunt, and even though Wyclif himself denounced their actions, he was widely associated with the rebellion. A synod declared ten of his…

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1983 John Wycliffe's works condemned 2 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.

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