Tyndale’s New Testament was the first to be printed in English. This is one of only two complete copies surviving from the 3,000 or more printed in 1526 by Peter Schoeffer in the German city of Worms. Tyndale’s translation was pronounced heretical in England, so his Bibles were smuggled into the country in bales of cloth. Those discovered owning them were punished. At first only the books were destroyed, but soon heretics would be burned too - including Tyndale himself in 1536.

Photo found at http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/themes/landmarks/tyndale.html

William Tyndale’s New Testament. Worms (Germany), 1526
British Library C.188.a.17
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