The Great Bible 1541 
Handbound Facsimile Edition | Henry VIII Tudor Bible Reproduction 
 
This volume presents a facsimile of the Great Bible of 1541, a work of profound historical and cultural significance produced under the authority of Henry VIII during the English Reformation. As the first officially sanctioned English Bible for public use, it stands among the defining printed works of Tudor England.
The Great Bible of 1541 represents a decisive turning point in the history of the English Scriptures. Built largely upon the earlier translation efforts of William Tyndale, it laid the foundation for subsequent Protestant editions, including the Geneva Bible and, later, the King James Version. Its appearance marks a striking transformation in English religious life: a movement from the suppression of vernacular translation to its official endorsement by royal authority.
 
Earlier in the century, the translation of the Bible into English had been prohibited without ecclesiastical approval, as set out in the Constitutions of Oxford. Tyndale sought such permission but was refused by Cuthbert Tunstall, Bishop of London. Undeterred, he departed England in 1524 and completed his English New Testament abroad. Printed in Germany in 1526, copies were secretly brought back into England, where they circulated despite official opposition.
 
Tyndale’s work ultimately cost him his life. In 1536, he was executed for heresy—strangled and burned—by order of the same monarch who, only a few years later, would sanction the publication of an English Bible.
 
The title page of the Great Bible tells the story. At the top, Henry VIII dominates the scene, symbolizing the replacement of papal authority with royal supremacy. Above him, God is barely visible among the clouds. To Henry’s left and right stand Archbishop Cranmer and Thomas Cromwell, who pass the Verbum Dei to the clergy and nobility. 
 
Yet, the common people do not receive the Bible directly as it is chained to pulpits. Nevertheless, the crowd below proclaims "Long Live the King" in Latin, while those who remain silent appear imprisoned in the lower right corner.
This edition is a modern facsimile and not an original sixteenth-century volume.
 
Dimensions / Format: 932 pages / 34 × 23 cm
Binding: Burgundy Leatherbound
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