Five hundred years after they were separated by political scheming and the executioner’s axe, Henry VIII’s and Thomas Cromwell’s bibles are together again. The unique, personalized copies of the Great Bible of 1539, the first authorized edition of the Bible in English, have been reunited as part of the Treasures exhibition at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.
The two matching Bibles were commissioned by Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s right-hand-man in governance and strong supporter of religious reform. They were printed on parchment and the black-and-white woodcut illustrations were then painted in vivid color to look like the illuminated manuscripts of old.
Cromwell had these two presentation copies made to propagandize his idea of spreading copies of the Bible in English throughout the realm to the king himself. The beautifully painted cover page depicts Henry handing out bibles to his people. Despite his break with Rome, Henry was used to Latin being the language of services and prayers, and as an anointed king and now head of the Church of England, he was not keen on democratizing the scriptures.
Cromwell managed to persuade the reluctant king, and in September 1538, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal Thomas Cromwell issued a royal order that every church in England and Wales buy a printed copy of the Great Bible and put it “in sum convenient place” where parishioners could access it. The first copies were on sale in April 1539. Just over a year later, Thomas Cromwell was dead, executed on a long list of spurious grounds including supporting various heresies.
All Great Bibles published after July 1540 excised his heraldic insignia on the frontispiece, and changes were made to the presentation copies as well. They are now at National Library of Wales and the other at St. John’s College, Cambridge, and have recently undergone scientific analysis and study as part of the Hidden in Plain Sight research project.
Using a range of scientific tools, from x-ray to microscopes and even DNA analysis, new light has been shed on the books, revealing some unknown histories and leading to discoveries about how the books were made and changed over time.
The project has revealed that Cromwell had his portrait painted and pasted into the title page of the St John’s copy, a move expertly hidden for centuries. The opening title page was further manipulated to gain Henry’s support, by altering an image of a courtly woman to resemble Jane Seymour, his beloved and recently deceased consort. Other discoveries are set to be revealed during the course of the exhibition. […]
Prof. Eyal Poleg, Queen Mary University of London, said: “These are two of the most important artefacts of the Tudor Court. New technologies have unearthed modifications, hidden for centuries.
“We can now appreciate how Cromwell manipulated the appearance of the Bibles as they were being printed, carefully navigating the religious and political turmoil of Henry’s court.
“The ability to see the Bibles side-by-side, for the first time in nearly 500 years, is a rare opportunity to witness first-hand this unique period.”
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