The Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Bible Collection
at
Bridwell
Library
September 8 - December 12, 2009
Tyndale as a Reformer
William Tyndale (c. 1494–1536). The Parable of the Wycked Mammon Taken Out of the .xvi. Ca. of Luke. "Malborowe: Hans Lufft, 1528" [London: s.n., 1537?].
Mrs. Prothro’s collection includes several books that are not strictly Bibles, but which illuminate the history of the scriptures and their transmission. One outstanding example is this rare treatise by William Tyndale on Christ’s parable of the “wycked mammon,” or unjust steward (Luke 16:1-13). Containing translated quotations from a sermon on that subject by Martin Luther, the treatise supports the Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith alone, which was highly controversial during the reign of Henry VIII. The first work by Tyndale to be published under the martyred author’s name, the book bore a fictitious imprint to protect the identity of its printer.