If This is 1611, Then You Must Be King James

In this installment of our ongoing, if somewhat erratic, history of the written Word of God, let us now turn our attention to that most marvelous of productions, the English Bible. We will focus today on the exalted Patriarch of this group, the 1611 King James, or Authorized, Bible. First we shall briefly set the stage.

The Bible has played a central part in English Christianity from its very beginning. Further, when we speak of the "English" Bible, we are not simply speaking of the Bible in England, but of the Bible in the English language. The Bible which was known and used in the earliest English Church, as in the British and Irish Churches even earlier, was the Latin Bible. From about the 5th century on, the Latin Bible came to mean the version put together between 383 and 405 A.D. by Jerome. This version is commonly known as the Latin Vulgate.

In no part of the western world was this version studied more diligently and copied more lovingly and faithfully than in Great Britain and Ireland. In fact, the most reliable copy in existence of the Vulgate was made in England. It was copied under the direction of Abbot Ceolfrid, and presented to Pope Gregory II in 716. It is to be found in the Laurentian Library in Florence. It is known as the "Codex Amiatinus", because of an inscription within which states that it was presented to the abbey of Monte Amiata.

This brings us to the threshold of the age of the Illuminated Manuscript (see Incunabula and Illuminated Manuscripts ). Jumping ahead a millennium or so, across several distinct cultural periods, we arrive in a somber London, where the people are laying their great Queen, Elizabeth I, to rest. The year is 1603. Long live the King!

The King James Bible can be likened to a wiping clean of the slate and making a truly fresh start. The motives behind its production may well have been to remove any remaining traces of Roman influence in English religious life. That issue still burned brightly in Protestant England, their civil war being only 50 years into the future, and Henry VIII only 60 years gone. You could say that James I found himself in the middle of this muddle.

So this idea of a new translation, first proposed by John Reynolds (President of Corpus Christi College at Oxford) in 1604, was something with which the King was happy to associate himself. Indeed, the great achievement that this translation became would not have been possible without the King's royal interest and influence.

The work was carried out by about fifty translators divided into six "companies", each of which was assigned a particular section of the Bible. Finally, in late 1610 - early 1611, it was issued from the presses of Robert Barker, the King's printer. As for the book itself, it is a beautiful thing. Across from me on the table at which I am sitting and typing this, I am eyeballing a fine example of the bookmaker's art. Though it is not a first edition (none are to be had unless you measure your personal wealth in terms of GNP), it is a very beautiful facsimile, full size, in full leather, with an original 1611 sheet laid in. This particular volume's original sheet comes from II Kings, Chap.X, with an initial "A" on the obverse. A fine piece of work indeed. We here at C. Dickens Books are fortunate to have access to a number of the facsimiles. Please, call for details.

Also among our holdings are a goodly number of single loose sheets from the 1611, all of which carry fine initials, some on both the obverse and the reverse. In a proper frame, not much can compare with a wall lined with several sheets of the King James. Give us a call and we'll frame them for you!

Copyright 1996 - 2001 C. Dickens Fine, Rare and Collectible Books, Atlanta, Georgia