Anthony Gilby facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Anthony Gilby (born around 1510, died 1585) was an English church leader. He was known as a strong Puritan, which was a group of Protestants who wanted to make the Church of England simpler. Anthony Gilby also helped translate the Geneva Bible. This was the first English Bible that many ordinary people could own and read. He was born in Lincolnshire, England, and studied at Christ's College, Cambridge, finishing his studies in 1535.

Early Life and Beliefs
Gilby's Family
Leaving England: The Marian Exile
The Geneva Bible
Life Under Queen Elizabeth I
Gilby's Writings
See Also

Early Life and Beliefs

Anthony Gilby became a preacher in Leicestershire when King Edward VI was in charge. During this time, he met others who felt the same way he did about problems in the church. He wrote books like A Commentarye upon the Prophet Mycha (1551) and A Commentarye upon the Prophet Malaky (around 1553). In these books, he shared his strong feelings about how his religion was being treated.

He became a Protestant when he was young. This belief was very important throughout his life. Gilby earned his Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from Cambridge University in 1531-32 and 1535. He was known for being very good at languages like Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. These skills were a big help when he worked on translating the Geneva Bible.

When Mary Tudor became Queen in 1553, life became harder for Protestants. Many of them, including Gilby and his family, had to leave England in 1555 to find places where they could practice their religion freely. He became a minister in Leicestershire and followed the ideas of Calvinism, a type of Protestantism.

Gilby's Family

Anthony Gilby was married to a woman named Elizabeth. They had two daughters and two sons. Sadly, one of their daughters did not live. Their surviving children were Ruth, Goddred, and Nathaniel Gilby.

Anthony Gilby's work on translating the Bible was very important, not just for the country but also for his own family. Both of his sons also became translators of important books. His older son, Goddred Gilby, translated A Brief and Learned Treatise, Containing a True Description of the Antichrist. His younger son, Nathaniel, studied at Christ's College and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Nathaniel was a teacher to Joseph Hall, whose mother was part of Gilby's church group.

Leaving England: The Marian Exile

When the Roman Catholic religion was brought back to England, many Protestants were forced to leave the country. They left not only for their safety and to practice their faith, but also to protect their national religion for when they could return to England.

Many Protestants first went to cities like Strasbourg and Frankfurt. Later, other groups settled in places like Emden, Zurich, Wesel, Worms, and Duisburg. In these places, especially Frankfurt, some Protestants wanted to keep the English church as it was under King Edward VI. Others wanted bigger changes. These different ideas caused arguments and led to groups splitting up. Even though each group was different, they often stayed in touch.

The Marian Exiles (people who left England during Queen Mary's rule) wanted to encourage Protestants back home. They wrote many books about Protestant beliefs and urged people to leave England, become martyrs (die for their faith), or even rebel. However, not everyone left for religious reasons. Some left after their non-religious plans failed. When war started in 1557, many of these non-religious exiles returned home to help their country.

When Queen Mary died in 1558, the time of the Marian exile ended. The exiles returned home to different reactions. Many, including Anthony Gilby, had spent years living in communities they felt were more truly reformed than England.

Anthony Gilby was part of this Marian exile. He lived in Basel and Frankfurt, where he stayed with John Foxe in 1554. He then settled in Geneva in 1555. In Geneva, he helped John Knox and Christopher Goodman. He also wrote An Admonition to England and Scotland (1558). In this book, he disagreed with the idea that the king or queen should be the head of the Church of England, an idea started by Henry VIII. His most important work was on the Geneva Bible, which was published in 1560. He was one of the main helpers to William Whittingham in this project.

The Geneva Bible

After the Marian persecutions began, English Protestants went to Geneva. It was there that translators, including Gilby, worked on what became known as the Geneva Bible. After Queen Mary died, many exiles went back to England in 1558. However, Gilby stayed in Geneva to finish the Geneva Bible with William Whittingham.

Whittingham was the main person who wanted to translate the Bible. He had already translated the New Testament in 1557, and the Geneva Bible was an expansion of that work. Gilby played a very important part in Whittingham’s plan for the Bible. Whittingham himself wrote about Gilby’s role in translating the Geneva Bible in a piece called Livre des Anglais.

The Geneva Bible was easy to read. It included helpful maps, indexes, and notes for readers. This style of writing went back to the work of William Tyndale, who also translated the New Testament into English. The translators, including Anthony Gilby, created a book that influenced many readers in the 1500s, even famous writers like Shakespeare and Milton. Many years later, the Geneva Bible was replaced by the King James Version in 1611, which the King preferred.

Once the Geneva Bible was finished, Gilby finally returned to England in May 1560. His great work was published just a few weeks later. Gilby is given credit for overseeing the translation and writing the notes. However, he let other translators like Thomas Sampson, Thomas Bentham, William Cole, and Whittingham handle the detailed checking of the text.

The Geneva Bible had special features. It used a clear print-type and size. It was divided into different sections (quartos and octavos) and into verses. It also used italics to show words that were added for clarity. But for Gilby, the most important part was the annotations, or explanatory notes. These notes shared a political view of England's history. Gilby had first tried translating in 1551 when he wrote notes on the book of Micah. This earlier work and its introduction, both by Gilby, were very important because they showed the techniques used in the Geneva Bible.

Life Under Queen Elizabeth I

After Mary Tudor died, Gilby and other Protestant writers sent a letter to English church groups in Aarau and Frankfurt. They tried to convince them to support bringing Protestantism back to England.

When he returned to England after Elizabeth I became Queen, Gilby became involved in the vestments controversy. This was a disagreement about what clothes church leaders should wear. He remained a strong critic and writer. Even though he was not very close to the Presbyterians in the Church of England, he supported John Field and Thomas Wilcox. They wrote First Admonition to Parliament (1572), which argued for Presbyterianism.

Anthony Gilby found a powerful supporter in Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon. This allowed him to live out his life as a lecturer in Ashby-de-la-Zouch. By making many connections and influencing the education at the Ashby grammar school, Gilby became a leader among the Puritans. After Gilby's death, Huntingdon made sure that the local Protestant traditions continued by appointing Arthur Hildersham as the church leader in Ashby in 1587.

Gilby's Writings

Anthony Gilby's writing can be put into three main groups:

Letters and agreements.
His translation of the Geneva Bible and other smaller notes.
His religious interests before and during his time in exile.

In November 1555, Anthony Gilby and Christopher Goodman, who was also an exile, both became church leaders for the English people in Geneva. After this, most of Gilby's achievements were related to church duties. For example, he wrote a letter in 1558 to the English church. This letter encouraged everyone to follow God's rules after hearing that Elizabeth had become Queen of England.

Before and during his exile, Gilby continued to work on reforming religion during the Protestant Reformation. His religious interests were a big part of his efforts. His ideas about predestination, which talked about God's power, are shown in the Geneva Bible’s notes. He also wrote an introduction to The Appellation from the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy by John Knox. This introduction was called An Admonition to England and Scotland, to call them to Repentance, and it was written in 1558.

Some of his other works include:

Commentaries of the divine, John Calvin, upon the Prophet Daniel (1570)
The psalms of David truly opened and explained by Theodore Beza (1580)
A Pleasant Dialogue betweene a Souldior of Barwicke and an English Chaplaine