Frederick the Wise (1463-1525) was born near Leipzig, Germany. He was Elector of Saxony during the height of the controversies surrounding Martin Luther. A pious man, he studied under Augustinian monks at Grimma, traveled to the Holy Land, and became a rapt student of the Bible under John von Staupitz. In 1502 he founded the University of Wittenberg, appointing Luther and Philip Melanchthon to professorships. Later, to protect Luther from the Catholic Church, he sent soldiers to accompany him during his trial and to later conceal him for his safety. While his original goal in the case of Luther was for justice to be served, he became increasingly convinced that the Reformer’s doctrinal beliefs were correct. Prior to his death, he joined the Protestant church. His protection of Luther allowed the great Reformer to not only work in relative peace, he was also protected from certain execution or assassination.
Augustinian
Coverdale, Miles
Miles Coverdale (1488-1568) was an English Bible translator. He was born in Yorkshire and studied philosophy and theology at Cambridge. He was ordained priest at Norwich in 1514 and then entered an Augustinian monastery. In 1528 he left the monastery to begin preaching and working on a translation of the Bible. In 1535 he published the first complete English translation, called the “Great Bible.” This was followed by a revision in 1540. The remainder of his life was eventful but did not have the same impact. Between 1543 and 1547 he served as a Lutheran minister in Strasbourg. As the Protestant bishop of Exeter, he was imprisoned by Queen Mary but escaped to Denmark. When he returned, during Elizabeth’s reign, he was not reinstated to the bishopric but, instead, spent most of the remainder of his life as a minister in London. His English translation was the first to contain the entire Bible and it laid the foundation for the subsequent work of translators.