Henry Bennet (translator) facts for kids
Henry Bennet was an English translator who was active around the year 1561. He was known for translating important books about the Protestant Reformation, a big religious movement in Europe. He was said to be from Calais, a city that was once part of England.
Henry Bennet's Important Book
In 1561, Henry Bennet published a book called A Famous and Godly History. He translated this book from German and Swiss writings. It was printed by John Awdelay. The book was split into two main parts, which were published together as one volume.
The First Part of the Book
The first part of A Famous and Godly History was dedicated to Thomas Wentworth, 2nd Baron Wentworth. This part included:
- A story about the life of Martin Luther, written by Philip Melanchthon. Luther was a very important leader in the Protestant Reformation.
- Luther's speech about his beliefs given to Emperor Charles V in Worms.
- A speech given by Melanchthon in Wittenberg after Luther's death.
Some parts of this section were later used by John Foxe in his famous book, Actes and Monuments, which came out in 1563.
The Second Part of the Book
The second part of the book was dedicated to James Blount, 6th Baron Mountjoy. This section contained:
- A story about the life of John Œcolampadius, written by Wolfangus Faber Capito.
- An account of Œcolampadius's death, written by Simon Grineus.
- A story about the life of Hulderick Zuinglius, written by Oswald Miconius.
The last two stories were written as letters. Henry Bennet's translations were easy to read and sounded natural in English. When Œcolampadius quoted famous ancient Greek writers like Homer and Euripides, Bennet turned those quotes into English poems. Bennet likely used a French book from 1555 as a guide for these translations.
