Reformation

Not really ancient history – just a few centuries ago. At http://phys.org/print377269015.html … we have a post on the Reformation of the English Church, a fascinating subject (for some) but of no interest to others. It seems there is a Great Bible of Thomas Cromwell, a fore runner of the King James version (which was for mass consumption). It has been in the library of Lambeth Palace, just across the river from Westminster Abbey, and has some secrets – annotations that interest scholars. Although it seems that the Reformation was a quite sudden event – disposing of the Catholic monasteries and practices regarded as idolatrous, and neutering the power of the Pope, in reality it was a gradual progress. It also seems to re-emphasize the role of Thomas Cromwell in providing some momentum to the process. For many years he has been regarded in a somewhat bad light, the man who did the bidding of Henry VIII (and upsetting many aristocrats in the process). Coming from common roots Cromwell appears to have been working in the background to push the agenda. The Great Bible even has a foreword in the name of Henry VIII. Obviously, it had a limited audience – as it was in Latin (with English annotations).