york00orns

178 YORl-:.
of life, ignorance of letters, but genuine earnestness
and piety, bore not a little resemblance to John
Wesley's lay preachers in a later age.
But he went further than this. He soon entered
upon popular theology. He wrote tracts in the
vernacular, and it was at this time probably that he
was industriously occupied with his marvellous translation
of the Bible. That, and his English tracts,
contributed more to form the English language, and
to prepare the way for the great movement of the
sixteenth century than anything that was done by
any one single individual. His version of the Bible
was the model, the foundation of the translations
which appeared in after years, and rude and uncouth
as it now appears it was written in a tongue which
was "understanded of the people." To Yorkshiremen
it was as a living language more than three centuries
afterwards. The writer of these pages well remembers
being told by Dr. Raine, the eminent northern
antiquary, that from his own recollection of the
dialect and modes of speech which existed in his
younger days in the remoter parts of Richmondshire,
he was satisfied that a chapter out of Wycliffe's New
Testament would have then been perfectly intelligible
to the inhabitants of that district.
Had this been all, he might not have been disturbed.
We read of no interference with Robert of Hampole,
for example, for his version of the Book of Psalms.
Even Archbishop Arundel in his " Constitutions
against Lollards (1408)" does not forbid such translations.
He requires only that they should have the
sanction of the diocesan, or of a provincial council.