Historical Scholar Profile
Myles Coverdale
Bishop of Exeter & Translator
1488 – 1569•English
"Let not the reader be offended with diversity of translations, for it helpeth much to the understanding of the text."
Curatorial Biography & Life
Myles Coverdale was a graduate of Cambridge University and an Augustinian friar who became an ardent reformer. When William Tyndale was imprisoned, Coverdale completed the monumental task of printing the first entire English Bible in 1535.
Coverdale was also commissioned by Thomas Cromwell to edit the Great Bible of 1539. A gifted stylist with a poet's ear, Coverdale’s rhythmic translation of the Psalms was incorporated into the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and remained the liturgical standard of the Anglican Church for over four centuries.
Martyrdom & Enduring Legacy
Survives the Marian persecution through the diplomatic intervention of the King of Denmark; returned to England under Queen Elizabeth I as a respected elder of the Reformation.