University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2010 ‘[A] litle treatyse in prynte and euen in the english tongue’: Appeals to the Public during the Early Years of the English Reformation Bradley C. Pardue University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Intellectual History Commons Recommended Citation Pardue, Bradley C., "‘[A] litle treatyse in prynte and euen in the english tongue’: Appeals to the Public during the Early Years of the English Reformation. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2010. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/733 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Bradley C. Pardue entitled "‘[A] litle treatyse in prynte and euen in the english tongue’: Appeals to the Public during the Early Years of the English Reformation." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in History. Robert J Bast, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Thomas Burman, Palmira Brummett, Heather Hirschfeld Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) TotheGraduateCouncil: IamsubmittingherewithadissertationwrittenbyBradleyCameronPardueentitled“‘[A] litletreatyseinprynteandeuenintheenglishtongue’:AppealstothePublicduringthe EarlyYears oftheEnglishReformation.”Ihaveexaminedthefinalelectroniccopyof thisdissertationforformandcontentandrecommendthatit beacceptedinpartial fulfillmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeof DoctorofPhilosophy,withamajorin History. RobertBast,MajorProfessor Wehavereadthisdissertation andrecommendits acceptance: ThomasBurman _______________________________ PalmiraBrummett _______________________________ HeatherHirschfeld _______________________________ AcceptedfortheCouncil: CarolynR.Hodges ______________________________ ViceProvostandDeanoftheGraduateSchool (Originalsignatures areonfilewithofficialstudentrecords.) ‘[A] litle treatyse in prynte and euen in the english tongue’: Appeals to the Public during the Early Years of the English Reformation ADissertationPresentedfor theDoctorofPhilosophy Degree TheUniversityofTennessee,Knoxville BradleyCameronPardue May2010 Dedication Thisdissertationisdedicatedtomylovingwife,HannahPardue,forsupportingand encouraging methrougheightyearsofgraduatework. ii Acknowledgments Iwouldlike tothankall ofthosewhoguidedandassistedmethroughoutthe processofresearchingandwritingthisdissertation.IwishtothankDr.RobertBast,who servedas thedirectorof mycommitteeandofferedadvice bothintellectualand professional.Iwouldalsolike tothankDr.Thomas BurmanandDr.PalmiraBrummett fromtheDepartmentofHistoryandDr.Heather HirschfeldfromtheDepartmentof Englishforservingonmycommitteeandmaking manyvaluablesuggestionsalongthe way. Iwouldalsolike toexpressmyappreciationtotheinstitutionsthathave supported myworkatvariousstages,particularlythefacultyandstaffassociatedwiththeMARCO Instituteat theUniversityofTennessee,Knoxville.Iwouldalsolike tothanktheMellon Foundationandthe NewberryLibraryforsupportingmyresearchandwritingthrougha visitingresearchfellowshipat theUniversityof Warwickinthefallof2009andforthe warm welcomeIreceivedattheCentrefortheStudyoftheRenaissanceatWarwick.In particular,I wouldlike tothankPeterMarshall at Warwickforhisextremelyhelpful feedbackonthe project. Finally,Iwouldliketothanktheothergraduatestudents intheDepartmentof HistorywithwhomIhavesharedthe highsandlowsof mytimehereattheUniversityof Tennessee. iii Abstract This project examinestheimportantimplications of printedvernacularappeals to anascent public byexiledreformerssuchasWilliamTyndale,byreligiousconservatives suchasThomasMore,andbyHenryVIIIandhisregimeinthevolatileyearsofthe 1520sand1530s.Thisdissertationexplores the natureofthis public,bothmateriallyand asadiscursiveconcept,andthevariouswaysinwhichTyndale provokedandjustified publicdiscussionofthe centralreligiousissuesofthe periodthroughthe productionof vernacular Biblesandhis polemical works.Tyndale’swritingsraisedimportantissuesof authorityandlegitimacyandchallengedmanyofthetraditionalnotionsofhierarchyat theheartofearlymodernEnglishsociety.Thisstudyanalyzeshowthischallenge manifesteditselfinTyndale’s ecclesiologyandinhis politicalreflections andinthe complexrelationship betweenthese twoelementsofhisthought. iv Table of Contents Chapter One: William Tyndale and Early Modern Appeals to the Public during the English Reformation ......................................................................................................... 1 New Appeals to the Public between 1525 and 1535 ................................................... 1 Publics, Publicness, and the Public Sphere ................................................................ 7 The Role of Printing and Vernacularization ............................................................ 19 Printing...................................................................................................................... 19 Vernacularization...................................................................................................... 26 The Legacy of Tyndale’s Translations and Theology .............................................. 34 The Structure of the Following Study ....................................................................... 39 Chapter Two: “[T]he very brest of all this batayle . the questyon whyche is the chyrche”: The Conflicting Ecclesiologies of William Tyndale and Thomas More ... 44 Spirituality and Temporality: Two Estates or Two Regiments? ............................ 44 More and Tyndale on the Church, Scripture, and Religious Authority ................ 52 ThomasMore’sUnderstandingoftheChurch.......................................................... 53 William Tyndale’sUnderstandingoftheChurch..................................................... 62 The“purewordeofgod”or“vnwrittenverities”: ScriptureandTraditionas CompetingSourcesofAuthority .............................................................................. 76 Conclusion: Tensions in More’s and Tyndale’s Positions and the Implications of their Ecclesiologies ...................................................................................................... 84 Chapter Three: Implications of Media: How Vernacularization and Printing Shaped the Content and Reception of the Writings of William Tyndale and Thomas More ................................................................................................................................. 88 The Battle of Ideas in the Theater of Material Production ..................................... 88 Readers of Reformist Literature ............................................................................... 95 Printing and Circulation .......................................................................................... 102 Additional Implications of the Medium of Print .................................................... 112 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 121 Chapter Four: Thomas More and Henry VIII at Cross-Purposes ........................... 126 The English Situation in Early 1532: More's Confutation Preface ...................... 126 Safe Conducts for English Reformers ..................................................................... 140 SimonFishandthe Supplicationof the Beggars .................................................... 141 StephenVaughn'sMissiontotheReformersin1531............................................. 149 Chapter Five: William Tyndale, Henry VIII, and the Royal Supremacy ............... 176 Henry VIII: “Defender of the Faith” and “Supreme Head of the Church of England” .................................................................................................................... 176 Tyndale on the King and the Two Regiments ........................................................ 187 KingsintheTemporalRegiment............................................................................ 196 KingsintheSpiritualRegiment.............................................................................. 201 The Royal Supremacy and Henrician Propaganda in the 1530s .......................... 212 Conclusion: Tyndale's Enduring Legacy .................................................................... 222 The Great Bible Woodcut of 1539 ........................................................................... 222 Cranmer's Great Bible Preface ............................................................................... 240 v The Religious and Political Legacies of Tyndale’s Thought ................................. 248 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 260 Vita ................................................................................................................................