This medieval manuscript is an exquisitely decorated early 15th-century copy of the Wycliffe Bible's New Testament.
This manuscript is known as a Wycliffe Bible. Despite the name, the role that Wycliffe had in the first translation of the Bible into English was most probably quite small.
Over 250 Wycliffe Bibles survive: only 20 are full bibles; most, like the one at Winchester College, are only the New Testament.
Judging by the (relatively) large number that survive, the bibles appear to have been hugely popular in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, despite the fact that they were censored by church leaders, such as Thomas Arundel. The bibles were linked to the medieval heresy, Lollardy, which had begun with Wycliffe in Oxford. The texts themselves were not always heretical, but they were censored because of their connection with heresy.
The manuscripts in Lollard bibles are mostly very detailed. On the copy at Winchester, there are illuminated initials, and ornate floral patterns. This shows that members of the upper classes acted as the patrons of this movement, including, but probably not limited to, the "Lollard Knights".
The Lollard bible at Winchester College was given in 1609 by Guy Dobbins, who had been a scholar and was a fellow of the College.
You can find the bible on Winchester College's Collections website and in 50 Treasures From Winchester College. The bible is currently on display in the Winchester College Treasury, as part of the temporary Lollardy exhibition.
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