A church dictionary

by Walter Farquhar Hook

BEREFELLARII. In the collegiate church of Beverley the seven inferior clergymen, ranking next after the prebendaries, were so called. The origin of the name is unknown; though it appears from ancient records, that it was a popular and vulgar one; their proper designation being Rectores Chori; that is, a sort of minor canons. They were also called Personæ. (See Rector Chori, and Persona.)—See Dugdale’s Monasticon, ed. 1830, vi. 1307.—Jebb.

BERENGARIANS. A denomination, in the eleventh century, which adhered to the opinions of Berenger, archdeacon of Angers, the learned and able opponent of Lanfranc, whose work has been in part recovered, and was printed a few years since at Berlin. “It was never my assertion,” says he, “that the bread and wine on the altar are only sacramental signs. Let no one suppose that I affirm that the bread was not become the body of Christ from being simple bread by consecration on the altar. It plainly becomes the body of Christ, but not the bread which in its matter and essence is corruptible, but in as far as it is capable of becoming what it was not, it becomes the body of Christ, but not according to the manner of the production of his very body, for that body, once generated on earth so many years ago, can never be produced again. The bread, however, becomes what it never was before consecration, and from being the common substance of bread, is to us the blessed body of Christ.” His followers, however, did not hold to his doctrines, which, in themselves, were a Catholic protest against Romish errors.—Cave, Hist. Literar. Sæc. Hildebrand.

BIBLE. (See Scripture and Canon of Scripture.) The name applied by Christians by way of eminence to the sacred volume, in which are contained the revelations of God. The names and numbers of the canonical books will be found under the word Scripture.

The division of the Scriptures into chapters, as they are at present, took place in the middle ages. Some attribute it to Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, in the reigns of John and Henry III. But the real author of this invention was Hugo de Sancto Caro, commonly called Hugo Cardinalis, from his being the first Dominican raised to the degree of cardinal. This Hugo flourished about the year 1240. He wrote a Comment on the Scriptures, and projected the first Concordance, which is that of the Latin Vulgate Bible. As the intention of this work was to render the finding of any word or passage in the Scriptures more easy, it became necessary to divide the book into sections, and the sections into subdivisions. These sections are the chapters into which the Bible has been divided since that time. But the subdivision of the chapters was not then in verses as at present. Hugo subdivided them by the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, which were placed in the margin at an equal distance from each other, according to the length of the chapters. About the year 1445, Mordecai Nathan, a famous Jewish Rabbi, improved Hugo’s invention, and subdivided the chapters into verses, in the manner they are at present.

The first English Bible we read of was that translated by Wickliff, about the year 1360. A translation of the New Testament by Wickliff was printed by Lewis, about 1731, and the whole of Wickliff’s translation has lately been published at Oxford. J. de Trevisa, who died about 1398, is also said to have translated the whole Bible; but whether any copies of his translation are remaining, does not appear. The first printed Bible in our language was that translated by W. Tindal, assisted by Miles Coverdale, printed abroad in 1526; but most of the copies were bought up and burnt by Bishop Tunstal and Sir Thomas More. Of this edition but two copies are known to exist, one of which was discovered by Archdeacon Cotton, in St. Paul’s Library. It only contained the New Testament, and was revised and republished by the same person in 1530. The prologues and prefaces added to it reflect on the bishops and clergy; but this edition was also suppressed, and the copies burnt. In 1532, Tindal and his associates finished the whole Bible, except the Apocrypha, and printed it abroad; but while he was afterwards preparing a second edition, he was taken up and burnt for heresy in Flanders. On Tindal’s death, his work was carried on by Coverdale, and John Rogers, superintendent of an English Church in Germany, and the first martyr in the reign of Queen Mary, who translated the Apocrypha, and revised Tindal’s translation, comparing it with the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and German, and adding prefaces and notes from Luther’s Bible. The earliest edition was printed in 1535, it is supposed at Zurich; though the book has no place nor name. He dedicated the whole to Henry VIII. in 1537, under the borrowed name of Thomas Matthews; whence this has been usually called Matthews’ Bible. It is supposed to have been printed at Hamburgh, and licence obtained for publishing it in England, by the favour of Archbishop Cranmer, and the Bishops Latimer and Shaxton. The first Bible printed by authority in England, and publicly set up in churches, was this same Tindal’s version, revised and compared with the Hebrew, and in many places amended, by Miles Coverdale, afterwards bishop of Exeter; and examined after him by Archbishop Cranmer, who added a preface to it; whence this was called Cranmer’s, or the great Bible. It was printed in 1539 by Grafton and Whitchurch, and in 1540 by Whitchurch, (some copies have “Richard Grafton,”) and published in 1540; and, by a royal proclamation, every parish was obliged to set one of the copies in their church, under the penalty of forty shillings a month: yet, two years after, the Popish bishops obtained its suppression by the king. It was restored under Edward VI., suppressed again under Queen Mary’s reign, and restored again in the first year of Queen Elizabeth, and a new edition of it given, 1562, printed by Harrison. Some English exiles at Geneva, in Queen Mary’s reign, viz. Goodman, Gilbie, Sampson, Cole, Whittingham, and Knox, made a new translation, printed there in 1560, the New Testament having been printed in 1557; hence called the Geneva Bible, containing the variations of readings, marginal annotations, &c., on account of which it was much valued by the Puritan party in that and the following reigns. Coverdale has also been supposed to have had a part in this version; but from what is known of his movements, it appears impossible that he should have been concerned in it. Archdeacon Cotton says, “The first edition of this version was for many years the most popular one in England, as its numerous editions may testify. After the appearance of King James’s translation, the use of it seems to have declined; yet a fondness for its notes still lingered; and we have several instances of their being attached to editions of the royal translation, one of which kind was printed so lately as 1715.” Archbishop Parker resolved on a new translation for the public use of the Church; and engaged the bishops and other learned men to take each a share or portion; these, being afterwards joined together and printed, with short annotations, in 1568, in large folio, by Richard Jugge, made, what was afterwards called, the Great English Bible, and commonly the Bishops’ Bible. In 1569 it was also published in octavo, in a small but fine black letter; and here the chapters were divided into verses, but without any breaks for them, in which the method of the Geneva Bible was followed, which was the first English Bible where any distinction of verses was made. It was afterwards printed in large folio, with corrections, and several prolegomena, in 1572; this is called Matthew Parker’s Bible. The initial letters of each translator’s name were put at the end of his part; ex. gr. at the end of the Pentateuch, W. E. for William Exon; that is, William [Alley], bishop of Exeter, whose allotment ended there; at the end of Samuel, R. M. for Richard Menevensis, or Richard [Davies], bishop of St. David’s, to whom the second allotment fell, and so with the rest. The archbishop overlooked, directed, examined, and finished the whole. This translation was used in the churches for forty years, though the Geneva Bible was more read in private houses, being printed above twenty times in as many years. King James bore to the Geneva version an inveterate hatred, on account of the notes, which, at the Hampton Court conference, he charged as partial, untrue, seditious, &c. The Bishops’ Bible, too, had its faults. The king frankly owned that he had seen no good translation of the Bible in English; but he thought that of Geneva the worst of all. After the translation of the Bible by the bishops, two other private versions had been made of the New Testament; the first by Laurence Thompson, from Beza’s Latin edition, with the notes of Beza, published in 1582, in quarto, and afterwards in 1589, varying very little from the Geneva Bible; the second by the Romanists at Rheims, in 1584, called the Rhemish Bible, or Rhemish translation. These translators finding it impossible to keep the people from having the Scriptures in their vulgar tongue, resolved to give a version of their own, as favourable to their cause as might be. It was printed on large paper, with a fair letter and margin. One complaint against it was, its retaining a multitude of Hebrew and Greek words untranslated, for want, as the editors express it, of proper and adequate terms in the English to render them by; as the words azymes, tunike, holocaust, prepuce, pasche, &c.: however, many of the copies were seized by Queen Elizabeth’s searchers, and confiscated; and Thomas Cartwright was solicited by Secretary Walsingham to refute it; but after some progress had been made in it, Archbishop Whitgift prohibited his proceeding further, judging it improper that the doctrine of the Church of England should be committed to the defence of a Puritan. He appointed Dr. Fulke in his place, who refuted the Rhemists with great spirit and learning. Cartwright’s Refutation was also afterwards published in 1618, under Archbishop Abbot. About thirty years after their New Testament, the Roman Catholics published a translation of the Old, at Douay, 1609 and 1610, from the Vulgate, with annotations, so that the English Roman Catholics have now the whole Bible in their mother tongue; though it is to be observed, they are forbidden to read it without a licence from their superiors: and it is a curious fact, that there is not an edition of the Bible which does not lie under the ban of one or of all the popes, most of them being in the Index Expurgatorius. The last English Bible was that which proceeded from the Hampton Court conference in 1603: where, many exceptions being made to the Bishops’ Bible, King James gave order for a new one: not, (as the preface expresses it,) for a translation altogether new, nor yet to make a good one better, or, of many good ones, one best. Fifty-four learned men were appointed to this office by the king, as appears by his letter to the archbishop, dated 1604; which being three years before the translation was entered upon, it is probable seven of them were either dead, or had declined the task; since Fuller’s list of the translators makes but forty-seven, who, being ranged under six divisions, entered on their province in 1607. It was published in 1611 in fol. by Barker, with a dedication to James, and a learned preface; and is commonly called King James’s Bible. After this, all the other versions dropped, and fell into disuse, except the Epistles and Gospels in the Common Prayer Book, which were still continued according to the Bishops’ translation till the alteration of the liturgy in 1661, and the Psalms and Hymns, which are to this day continued as in the old version. See for a full list of the editions of the English Bible, Archd. Cotton’s List of the Editions of the English Bible, &c.

The New Testament was translated into Irish in the 16th century. Nicholas Walsh, chancellor of St. Patrick’s, and John Kearney, treasurer of the same cathedral, began this work in 1573. In 1577 Walsh was appointed bishop of Ossory, but still proceeded in his undertaking, till he was murdered in 1585. Some years before this, Nehemiah Donnellan (who was archbishop of Tuam in 1595) had joined Walsh and Kearney in their undertaking. This translation was completed by William O’Donnell, or Daniel, successor of Donnellan in the archiepiscopal see, and published in 1603. Bishop Bedell procured the Old Testament to be translated by Mr. King, who being ignorant of the original languages, executed it from the English version. Bedell revised it, comparing it with the Hebrew, the LXX., and the Italian version of Diodati. He supported Mr. King, during the undertaking, with his utmost ability, and, when the translation was finished, would have printed it at his own house, if he had not been prevented by the troubles in Ireland. This translation (together with Archbishop Daniel’s version of the New Testament) was printed in London in 1685, at the expense of the celebrated Robert Boyle.—King’s Primer of the Church History of Ireland. Horne’s Introduction to the Holy Scriptures.

The Welsh version (the New Testament only) was published in the 16th century. The act of 5 Eliz. c. 28, directed that the Bible and Prayer Book should be translated into Welsh; committing the direction of this version to the four Welsh bishops. The translators were, Thomas Huet, precentor of St. David’s, Richard Davies, bishop of St. David’s, and William Salesbury. It was printed in London in 1567. The former edition was revised, and the Old Testament translated, chiefly by William Morgan, bishop of Llandaff, afterwards of St. Asaph. This was printed in 1588, and was revised by Richard Parry, bishop of St. Asaph, and reprinted in 1620: the basis of all subsequent editions.—Horne’s Introd.

The Manx version of the Bible was begun by the exertions of Bishop Wilson, by whom the Gospel of St. Matthew only was printed. His successor, Bishop Hilderley, had the New Testament completed and printed between the years 1756 and 1760. The Old Testament was completed two days before his death in 1772.—Horne’s Introd. Butler’s Life of Bishop Hilderley.

By the 80th canon, “a Bible of the largest volume” is one of those things which the churchwardens are bound to provide for every parish church.

BIDDING PRAYER. The formulary which the Church of England, in the 55th of the canons of 1603, directs to be used before all sermons, lectures, and homilies, is called the Bidding Prayer, because in it the preacher is directed to bid or exhort the people to pray for certain specified objects. The custom of bidding prayers is very ancient, as may be seen in St. Chrysostom’s and other liturgies, where the biddings occur frequently, and are called Allocutions.