Jacobus van Meteren
Encyclopedia
Sir Jacobus van Meteren (b. 1519, Breda
) was the financier and printer of early English versions of the Bible. He was involved in the printing of an edition of Tyndale's
New Testament
in 1535 (Herbert #15). The Coverdale Bible
of 1535 (Herbert #18) may also have been his work. He may also have printed the Matthew Bible
of 1537 (Herbert #34), the combined work of William Tyndale
, Myles Coverdale
and John Rogers. It is unknown if he was the only financier, printer or publisher of these works, or one of several.
There has been some debate over the details of his life, which the following quote from the entry "Bible, English" in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica illustrates:
Since the discovery of Guido Latré in 1997, it is believed that Emanuel van Meteren
's affidavit of 1609 refers to the printing of the Coverdale Bible in 1535, when his father employed Myles Coverdale
as translator. It could also refer to the Matthew Bible
of 1537. The names of Grafton and Whitchurch are associated with the Matthew Bible, not the Coverdale Bible.
Rogers married J. van Meteren's niece, Adriana de Weyden, the same year that the Matthew Bible was published. If J. van Meteren was the printer of the Coverdale Bible, he would readily have been able to provide Rogers with Coverdale's prior work covering those books of the Old Testament which Tyndale had not had time to translate.
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
) was the financier and printer of early English versions of the Bible. He was involved in the printing of an edition of Tyndale's
Tyndale Bible
The Tyndale Bible generally refers to the body of biblical translations by William Tyndale. Tyndale’s Bible is credited with being the first English translation to work directly from Hebrew and Greek texts. Furthermore it was the first English biblical translation that was mass produced as a result...
New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
in 1535 (Herbert #15). The Coverdale Bible
Coverdale Bible
The Coverdale Bible, compiled by Myles Coverdale and published in 1535, was the first complete Modern English translation of the Bible , and the first complete printed translation into English . The later editions published in 1539 were the first complete Bibles printed in England...
of 1535 (Herbert #18) may also have been his work. He may also have printed the Matthew Bible
Matthew Bible
The Matthew Bible, also known as Matthew's Version, was first published in 1537 by John Rogers, under the pseudonym "Thomas Matthew". It combined the New Testament of William Tyndale, and as much of the Old Testament as he had been able to translate before being captured and put to death...
of 1537 (Herbert #34), the combined work of William Tyndale
William Tyndale
William Tyndale was an English scholar and translator who became a leading figure in Protestant reformism towards the end of his life. He was influenced by the work of Desiderius Erasmus, who made the Greek New Testament available in Europe, and by Martin Luther...
, Myles Coverdale
Myles Coverdale
Myles Coverdale was a 16th-century Bible translator who produced the first complete printed translation of the Bible into English.-Life:...
and John Rogers. It is unknown if he was the only financier, printer or publisher of these works, or one of several.
There has been some debate over the details of his life, which the following quote from the entry "Bible, English" in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica illustrates:
- In 1877 Henry Stevens, in his catalogue of the Caxton Exhibition, pointed out a statement by a certain Simeon Ruytinck in his life of Emanuel van Meteren, appended to the latter's Nederlandische Historic (16,4), that Jacob van Meteren, the father of Emanuel, had manifested great zeal in producing at Antwerp a translation of the Bible into English, and had employed for that purpose a certain learned scholar named Miles Conerdale (sic).
- In 1884 further evidence was adduced by W. J. C. Moens, who reprinted an affidavit signed by Emanuel van Meteren, 28 May 1609, to the effect that “he was brought to England anno 1550 . . . by his father, a furtherer of reformed religion, and he that caused the first Bible at his costes to be Englisshed by Mr Myles Coverdal in Andwarp, the w'h his father, with Mr Edward Whytchurch, printed both in Paris and London” (Registers of the Dutch Reformed Church, Austin Friars, 1884, p. xiv).
- Apart from the reference to Whytchurch and the place of printing, this statement agrees with that of Simeon Ruytinck, and it is possible that Van Meteren showed his zeal in the matter by undertaking the cost of printing the work as well as that of remunerating the translator. Mr W. Aldis Wright, however, judging from the facts that the name of Whytchurch was introduced, that the places of printing were given as London and Paris, not Antwerp, and lastly that Emanuel van Meteren being born in 1535 could only have derived his knowledge from hearsay, is inclined to think that the Bible in which J. van Meteren was interested “was Matthew's of 1537 or the Great Bible of 1539, and not Coverdale's of 1535”.
Since the discovery of Guido Latré in 1997, it is believed that Emanuel van Meteren
Emanuel van Meteren
Emanuel van Meteren or Meteeren was a Flemish historian and Consul for "the Traders of the Low Countries" in London...
's affidavit of 1609 refers to the printing of the Coverdale Bible in 1535, when his father employed Myles Coverdale
Myles Coverdale
Myles Coverdale was a 16th-century Bible translator who produced the first complete printed translation of the Bible into English.-Life:...
as translator. It could also refer to the Matthew Bible
Matthew Bible
The Matthew Bible, also known as Matthew's Version, was first published in 1537 by John Rogers, under the pseudonym "Thomas Matthew". It combined the New Testament of William Tyndale, and as much of the Old Testament as he had been able to translate before being captured and put to death...
of 1537. The names of Grafton and Whitchurch are associated with the Matthew Bible, not the Coverdale Bible.
Rogers married J. van Meteren's niece, Adriana de Weyden, the same year that the Matthew Bible was published. If J. van Meteren was the printer of the Coverdale Bible, he would readily have been able to provide Rogers with Coverdale's prior work covering those books of the Old Testament which Tyndale had not had time to translate.