William Tyndale was the first man to print the New Testament in English. The 1536 Tyndale New Testament was the most elaborate and last edition done before Tyndale died in October of the same year. This Bible has outstanding woodcut illustrations and a Gothic blackletter typeface that bears resemblance to calligraphy and evokes a medieval feel.

What Made Tyndale Print the New Testament in English?

Tyndale got educated at the University of Oxford and took up an instructor’s job at the University of Cambridge. While working there, he started meeting some humanist scholars at the White Horse Inn in 1521. Soon, Tyndale became convinced that the church’s doctrines and practices should be determined by the Bible alone and that all believers should be capable of reading the Bible in their own language.

This prompted him to start working on a New Testament translation in 1523. He translated directly from Greek. After England’s church...