Which 1539 Bible was the first authorized English-language Bible?

Which 1539 Bible was the first authorized English-language Bible? The Great Bible was the first royally authorized English Bible. King Henry VIII approved it for public reading in the Church of England, making it a landmark in the English Reformation.

Myles Coverdale prepared the translation under the commission of Thomas Cromwell. It drew heavily on William Tyndale’s English work, especially the New Testament, while Coverdale translated or adapted the remaining material largely from the Latin Vulgate and German sources. The first edition began printing in Paris in 1539, with part of the work completed in London after printed sheets were seized by French authorities.

The book’s large physical format gave it the name “Great Bible.” It was also called the King’s Bible, Cromwell’s Bible, and the Chained Bible because copies were intended to be available in churches, sometimes secured against removal. It is often confused with the Tyndale Bible, which strongly influenced it but was not the first fully authorized English Bible. The Great Bible was later superseded by the Bishops’ Bible in 1568.