The Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Bible Collection
at
Bridwell
Library
September 8 - December 12, 2009
First "Bishops' Bible"
The Holie. Bible. Conteynyng the Olde Testament and the Newe. Edited by Archbishop Matthew Parker, et al. [London: Richard Jugge, 1568].
With the
accession of Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603) in 1558, the restored Church
of England required a new English translation to replace the
controversial “Geneva Bible” and its less popular predecessors.
Seventeen ecclesiastics and biblical scholars headed by Mathew Parker
(d. 1575), Archbishop of Canterbury, produced the new text. Although
royal decree required that the “Bishops’ Bible” was to be placed in
every cathedral and parish church, the text was of uneven quality.
Today, this version is best known for its lavish production, which
included engraved portraits of Queen Elizabeth’s court favorites, Sir
Robert Dudley at the beginning of the Book of Joshua, and Sir William
Burghley at the beginning of the Psalms.