2011 is the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible. This event brings together the authors of two newly published studies of the history and language of the world’s greatest book.

Gordon Campbell tells in Bible: the story of the King James Version 1611-2011 the fascinating and complex story of how this translation came to be commissioned, of who the translators were, and of how the translation was accomplished. The story does not end with the printing of that first edition, but introduces the subsequent generations who edited and interacted with the text.

The King James Bible “has contributed far more to English in the way of idiomatic or quasi-proverbial expressions than any other literary source.” So wrote David Crystal in 2004. In Begat; the King James Bible and the English Language he returns to the subject not only to consider how a work published in 1611 could have had such influence on the language, but how it can still do so when few regularly hear the Bible and fewer still hear it in the language of Stuart England.

No other version of the Bible however popular (such as the Good News Bible) or imposed upon the Church (like the New English Bible) has had anything like the same influence. David Crystal shows how its words and phrases have over the centuries found independent life in the work of poets, playwrights, novelists, politicians, and journalists, and how more recently they have been taken up with enthusiasm by advertisers, Hollywood, and hip-hop.

Gordon Campbell is Professor of Renaissance Studies at the University of Leicester. His recent work on Milton, all for Oxford University Press, includes a collaborative monograph on the Miltonic De Doctrina Christiana manuscript (2007) and a new scholarly biography of Milton (2008); both volumes have won the Hanford Prize for the best monograph of the year.

David Crystal is Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. His bestselling books include The Stories of English, The Fight for English, and his autobiography Just a Phrase I’m Going Through: My Life in Language.

• This is a ticketed event. For free tickets, please contact Embrace Arts (see box top right).

• Followed by a book signing.

• Drinks and light refreshments will be available for purchase during the interval before the second event of the evening.

Links

• King James Bible: University of Leicester microsite
• David Crystal's website
• Searchable and browsable online version of the King James Bible