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John Wyclif (or Wycliffe) (1330-1384) was a lecturer in Theology at [[Balliol College]] of [[Oxford University]], a leading world university founded in the late 1100s.  He became known for his criticisms of the wealth and power of the Catholic church, and for arguing that the Pope had no right to ecclesiastical revenues from English religious foundations.  His arguments won the support of [[John of Gaunt]], the powerful Duke of Lancaster, who brought him to [[London]], where his preaching fell under the censure of William Courtenay, the Bishop of London.  Wyclif had by this time many supporters among the ranks of the nobility, and the Church was unable to censure him directly.

John Wyclif (or Wycliffe) (1330-1384) was a lecturer in Theology at [[Balliol College]] of [[Oxford University]], a leading world university founded in the late 1100s.  He became known for his criticisms of the wealth and power of the Catholic church, and for arguing that the Pope had no right to ecclesiastical revenues from English religious foundations.  His arguments won the support of [[John of Gaunt]], the powerful Duke of Lancaster, who brought him to [[London]], where his preaching fell under the censure of William Courtenay, the Bishop of London.  Wyclif had by this time many supporters among the ranks of the nobility, and the Church was unable to censure him directly.

In 1381, however, when the [[Peasant's Revolt]] broke out in Kent, some blamed Wyclif's teachings for this outbreak of popular dissent.  A Synod was convened at Oxford in 1382 which condemned Wyclif's teachings, but he was permitted to retire to his country parish at Lutterworth, where he died peacefully in his bed  two years later.  During the last years of his life, he organized and supported an undertaking for a translation of the [[Bible]] into English; while there is no evidence that he himself translated any substantial portion of it, the translation became indelibly linked to his name.  The first version of this work, however, was marred by clumsy syntax in which the English text followed the Latin word by word, rather than translating sentences into English forms and idioms; Nicholas Hereford and John Purvey, two of Wylif's closest followers, revised the text extensively, producing the first full and readable translation of the [[Bible]] into English ever completed.

In 1381, however, when the [[Peasant's Revolt]] broke out in Kent, some blamed Wyclif's teachings for this outbreak of popular dissent.  A Synod was convened at Oxford in 1382 which condemned Wyclif's teachings, but he was permitted to retire to his country parish at Lutterworth, where he died peacefully in his bed  two years later.  During the last years of his life, he organized and supported an undertaking for a translation of the [[Bible]] into English; while there is no evidence that he himself translated any substantial portion of it, the translation became indelibly linked to his name.  The first version of this work, however, was marred by clumsy syntax in which the English text followed the Latin word by word, rather than translating sentences into English forms and idioms; Nicholas Hereford and John Purvey, two of Wyclif's closest followers, revised the text extensively, producing the first full and readable translation of the [[Bible]] into English ever completed.

After the condemnation of Wyclif at Oxford and London, his followers were forced to recant or lose their ecclesiastical offices.  In 1401, with the act "De Haeretico Comburendo" (on the Burning of Heretics), the new [[King Henry IV]] added the power of the State to the condemnation of the Church, and followers of Wyclif who were found to have relapsed into their beliefs were burned at the stake.  The teachings of Wyclif passed then into the hands of a number of itinerant preachers, who wandered the countryside, teaching peasants and artisans the rudiments of literacy, and leaving behind them copies of the Gospels in English.   

After the condemnation of Wyclif at Oxford and London, his followers were forced to recant or lose their ecclesiastical offices.  In 1401, with the act "De Haeretico Comburendo" (on the Burning of Heretics), the new [[King Henry IV]] added the power of the State to the condemnation of the Church, and followers of Wyclif who were found to have relapsed into their beliefs were burned at the stake.  The teachings of Wyclif passed then into the hands of a number of itinerant preachers, who wandered the countryside, teaching peasants and artisans the rudiments of literacy, and leaving behind them copies of the Gospels in English.