The wind lifted my hair behind me. I closed my eyes. The tall grass beside me swayed. Everything was perfect. I opened my eyes and saw my beautiful home standing on a hill. It was tall, big, and sturdy. I was about to close my eyes again when I saw my father riding up the long driveway on his horse. He had gone to the village to see another man. I never asked him about his business. It wasn’t proper for young ladies to worry about such things. Another man rode beside him. I sat up trying to get a better view. The man was no ordinary man. He wasn’t wearing fancy clothes like all the other guests that stayed at Little Sodbury. He was plain, rather tall, and skinny.
When they reached the front of the house, Joseph, the stable boy, took the horses, and Father and the other man went inside. I immediately sprang up. I wanted to know who this man was. I raced through the tall grass and into my yard. When I reached the house, I walked in carefully. If my stepmother, Lady Anne Walsh, found me running, it would not be good. I walked through the long halls until I reached the parlor. Being careful not to be seen, I sneaked over to the huge plant at the entrance of the room. It was a great place to hide. Father seated the man on the comfortable chair in the middle of the room. Mother came into the room and curtsied politely to the man. This made me even more curious.
“Master William, ‘tis lovely that you have accepted my husband’s offer to become our children’s tutor,” she said smiling. I gasped. Our tutor! I didn’t like the way he looked, talked or anything about him! We didn’t need a tutor! I was so taken by surprise, I almost jumped up from behind the plant. When Father said that he would like to introduce Master William to the children, I didn’t know what to do. They left the room and I hurried down the hall after them.
“Oh, Catherine dear, there you are. I would like you to meet your new tutor, Master William Tyndale.” Mother said, gesturing to the teacher.
“How do you do?” I said halfheartedly.
“Quite well, thank you,” he said, a huge grin spreading across his face. After Father and Mother had introduced him to the other children, Mother suggested that I have my first lesson. I heartily agreed, but it was very hard not to show my disappointment. You see, it was such a beautiful day, and I wanted to spend it all outdoors, not in a boring library. Master William walked into the library and went to one of the many bookshelves. He scanned the shelves and finally said, “Here it is!” He took a book off the shelf and sat down at the desk. He looked at me and saw my glum face.
“You know, I bet you like nature. I can see it all over your face,” he said. I looked up.
“How did you know?” I asked, somewhat impressed.
“Because I can clearly see that you’d rather be outside enjoying this glorious day than sitting here learning your lessons,” he chuckled. He already seemed to know me.
“Well, Master William, you are correct,” I said smiling. He got up from his seat and went to the door.
“Master William?” I asked. “Aren’t we going to have my lessons?”
“Yes, of course. But how about outside?” he asked. I couldn’t believe my ears. My tutor, suggesting that we go outside for lessons?
“Miss Catherine?” he asked, seeing my surprised face.
“Oh, yes! I would love to go outside!” I jumped up from my seat and followed him through the door. Mother was just coming down the hall when we were leaving the library.
“Master William,” she said catching up to us. “Where are you going? Are you done with lessons all ready?” she asked.
“Certainly not, Lady Walsh,” he smiled. “For this is just the beginning.” I couldn’t help but laugh, seeing my Mother’s puzzled expression. Right then, I decided that maybe Master William wasn’t so bad after all.
Sitting under the apple tree near the Severn River was our regular spot for lessons. We’d munch on apples and learn about science. We’d munch on apples and learn about arithmetic. But most of all, we’d munch on apples, and he would tell me stories from the Bible. He was very good at that. He would tell me stories that I had heard in church before, but when he told them, it was different. They sounded so wonderful with his dynamic voice. It would rise and fall so beautifully.
One evening, I was in the dining room, talking to Alice, one of the maids. But suddenly, I heard voices in the hall. I knew it was Father’s guests. I couldn’t run out of the dining room and let them see me, so I hid. I dashed behind one of the lounge chairs in the corner. When everyone came in, I peered from behind the seat to see who was here. There were some men I had seen from around the neighborhood, several abbots, deans, monks, and doctors. Then I saw Master William who was sitting at the most humble place at the table with his New Testament in reach. The conversation went on, and I was quite bored until, I heard one of the priests remark about Master William’s Bible.
“Your Scriptures only serve to make heretics,” he cried.
“On the contrary,” Master William said. “The source of all heresies is pride; now the Word of God strips man of everything, and leaves him as bare as Job.”
“The Word of God? Why even we cannot understand it; how then can the common people understand it?”
“You do not understand it,” Master William cried, “because you look into it only for foolish questions as you would into our Lady’s Matins or Merlin’s Prophesies. Now the Scriptures are a clue which we must follow, without turning aside, until we arrive at Christ, for Christ is the end.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Was my tutor standing up to the priests and mocking them?
“And I tell you,” shouted another priest,“that the Scriptures are a Daedalian labyrinth, rather than Ariadne’s clue-a conjuring book wherein everybody finds what he wants.”
“Alas,” exclaimed Master William, “you read them without Christ; that is why they are an obscure book to you, a thicket of thorns where you only escape from the briers to be caught by the brambles.”
“No!” shouted another clerk, heedless of contradicting his colleague, “nothing is obscure to us; it is we who give the scriptures, and we who explain them to you.”
“You would lose both your time and your trouble,” replied Master William. “Do you know who taught the eagles to spy out their prey? Well, that same God teaches his hungry children to spy out their Father in his word. Christ’s elect spy out their land and trace out the paths of His feet, and follow; yea, though He go upon the plain and liquid water which will receive no step, yet there they find out His foot. His elect know Him, but the world knows Him not. And as for you, far from having given us the Scriptures, it is you who have hidden them from us; it is you who burn those who teach them, and, if you could, you would burn the Scriptures themselves.”
A priest was about to remark at Master William’s words when Mother stopped him.
“Please, gentlemen, let us eat in peace.” And with that there was no more discussion on the topic, although you couldn’t miss the looks of hatred in the priests’ eyes.
Every Sunday my family went to St. Adeline’s Chapel. It was a beautiful church. Two large yew trees overlooked the building. Stained glass windows glittered everywhere. Master William would preach, and my whole family would take up the manorial pew. I remember one sermon he preached on how the priests were wrong by saying that you have to be good first and move God to be good to us for our goodness. Master William said that God’s goodness is the root of all goodness, and our goodness, if we have any, springs out of His goodness………
I can remember that the priests were irritated at such observations. They tried to ruin Master William by insulting him and his New Testament at dinners with Mother and Father when Master William wasn’t present. Mother and Father were upset that Master William had made so many enemies. I heard them tell Master William everything the priests had said, but Master William could answer each objection from his New Testament.
“What!” exclaimed Mother. “think you, Master William, that we should believe you before the priests?” Master William did not reply. Over time, however, Mother and Father became convinced that Master William spoke truthfully.
In addition to preaching at St. Adeline Chapel, Master William sometimes preached in the village and sometimes in another town. The people of Bristol would gather to hear him preach in a large meadow, called St. Austin’s Green. But no matter where he preached, the priests followed behind him with lies and accusations.
“What is to be done?" cried Master William. “While I am sowing in one place the enemy ravages the field I have just left. I cannot be everywhere! Oh, if Christians possessed the Holy Scriptures in their own tongue, they could of themselves withstand these sophists. Without the Bible it is impossible to establish the laity in the truth.”
One day, I was walking into the library to get a book. Seeing Master William sitting at the desk, I decided to leave.
“Catherine, it’s alright,” he said not looking up from the desk. “Please come in.” I walked in, picked out the book I wanted and started to leave. Just then, Master William cried out, “I’ve got it! It was in the language if Israel that the Psalms were sung in the temple of Jehovah, and shall not the gospel speak the language of England among us? Ought the church to have less light at noonday than at dawn?”
“Excuse me, sir?” I asked, quite puzzled.
“Christians must read the New Testament in their mother tongue!” he exclaimed.
“Oh, yes, Master William,” I said. “An excellent idea!”
Father and Mother thought it was a great idea for they were quite disgusted with the priests. No longer were they so often invited to Little Sodbury, nor did they meet with the same welcome.
One day, I was sitting in the parlor, doing some needle work. Father came in and whispered in low tones. I didn’t miss a word of it though, thanks to my sharp hearing.
“Master William has been accused as a heretic and has been summoned to appear before Dr. Thomas Parker, the Chancellor.” he said. Mother and I gasped.
“Oh, goodness, this is terrible! John, what should we do?”
“Let us pray for our dear tutor.” And with that he was on his knees.
Master William came home after the trial and to our joy and relief, he announced that they had dropped the accusation. He told us that no one had dared come up and speak against him.
“Take away my goods,” he had said to the priests. “Take away my good name! Yet so long as Christ dwelleth in my heart, so long shall I love you not a whit the less.”
Unfortunately, the priests did not give up easily. They sent for a famous theologian to debate with Master William.
“Well then! It were better to be without God’s laws than the Pope’s!” declared the theologian.
Master William replied, “I defy the Pope and all his laws!” And then, as if unable to keep his secret, he added, “If God spares my life, ere many years I will take care that a ploughboy shall know more of the Scriptures than you do.”
At the point of being arrested, condemned, and interrupted in his great work, Master William came to my Father.
“Sir, I ask your permission to leave. I am afraid that if I stay, I will put your family in great danger. I cannot tutor your children anymore.”
“But Master William,” I cried. “You can’t-”
“I’m so sorry Catherine,” he interrupted. He looked at me sincerely. “Truly, I am.”
The next morning, Master William’s things were loaded onto his horse. He said goodbye to Mother and Father. He told Maurice and Ann to be good and gave them his famous big grin. He gave Mabell a little hug. When he came to me, he told me to follow him. He led me to the apple tree we used to sit under. Beside the tree was a small pile of dirt. He told me that he had planted one of the apple seeds from the apples that he had eaten while he taught me. He told me to water it and watch it grow. He said that he planted it so I would remember him.
“Oh, Master William, I could never forget you! You’ve been so kind to me. You’ve taught me so much, especially about God. Thank you, Master William. Thank you,” I cried.
We went back to the front of the manor and Master William gave me one last farewell. He hopped onto his horse and down the long driveway he went, waving behind him. A hot tear slipped down my cheeks as I remembered how I didn’t like him when he had first come. But now it felt like one of the family members was leaving and was never coming back. But I knew, in my heart, that Master William would continue to praise God and preach, no matter what other people said, even if it cost him his life.
*Selected dialogue between William Tyndale and the guests at Little Sodbury Manor and some quotes from William Tyndale were taken from J. H. Merle D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation.
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