Event
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Lucy Beckett speaker
2026 marks 500 years since the publication of William Tyndale’s English New Testament, the precursor of the King James Bible. Tyndale helped to shape not only English language, English thought and English culture, but the history of the country and its version of the Reformation. Ordinary people reading and hearing the Bible in their everyday language felt liberated, exhilarated: the authorities were terrified. Tyndale was executed for heresy. Lucy Beckett’s talk will range well beyond the 16th century to explore how biblical English has echoed through literature and music, from Shakespeare, Milton and Bunyan to the great 19th century novelists, composers featured in this year’s Festival, and on to the towering presence of Messiah. A lively reflection on how a single act of translation continues to resonate across the centuries.
Coffee and refreshments available from 10am.
