Rheims–Bishops’ Parallel New Testament, Second Edition

Collection ID

BIB.003273

Type

Bible - Printed Book

Date

1601

Geography

England

Language

English

Medium

Printed on paper

Dimensions

13.2 × 9.1 × 2.7 in. (33.6 × 23 × 6.8 cm)

Exhibit Location

Not on View

William Fulke created the Rheims–Bishops’ Parallel New Testament in an effort to refute Catholic scholars, but inadvertently aided their cause. In 1582, Gregory Martin and other exiled scholars at the English College in Douay, France, had produced the Rheims New Testament, an English translation of the Latin Vulgate. Martin accused Protestant scholars of purposefully introducing errors in their Bible translations. Fulke, a Puritan minister and theologian, responded with this parallel New Testament in 1589, which placed the Rheims translation side by side with the text of the Protestant Bishops’ Bible. The format allowed him to refute the Rheims text line by line. In publishing his work, however, Fulke unintentionally made the Rheims New Testament more widely available for Catholics in England. This copy is a second edition printed in 1601.

Printed in 1601 by Robert Barker, London, England. Acquired by the 1830s by the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.[1] Acquired after the 1830s by Thomas Clennell, unknown location.[2] Acquired by Christopher Reed, unknown location.[3] Acquired by 2010 by John R. Kelly, private collector, Pennsylvania; Purchased in 2010 by Green Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Donated in 2016 to National Christian Foundation (later The Signatry), under the curatorial care of Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.

Notes: [1] An inscription on the front pastedown, dated January 1831, states that this text was part of the library of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, which has been renamed Newcastle Cathedral. [2] Thomas Clennell’s signature is located at the top of the title page. It is unclear if he owned this book before or after Christopher Reed. [3] Christopher Reed’s bookplate is located on the front pastedown.

Questions about our Collections?

Visit Contact Us Page

(866) 430-MOTB

To acquire permission to use this image, please visit our Rights and Reproduction page .

More From The Collections

Carey Bible, First Edition

Bible - Printed Book
1790
United States

Great Bible Portion with Carved Wooden Cover

Bible - Printed Book
Likely 1569
London, (England)

Captured Civil War New Testament

Bible - Printed Book
1862
Oxford, (England)
© Museum of the Bible 2024
Designed by PlainJoe