History of Protestantism History of Protestantism Protestantism originated from work of several theologians starting in the 12th century, although there could have been earlier cases of which there is no surviving evidence. Any prominent dissent was subject to persecution by the Roman Catholic Church, and thus attempts to change anything in the Catholic Church were kept isolated or effectively eradicated up to the 16th century. One of the early Protestant Reformers was John Wycliffe, an English theologian and early proponent of reform in the 14th century. His followers, known as Lollards, spread throughout England but soon were persecuted by both the Catholic Church
General Prologue of the Wycliffe Bible translating from Jerome's Latin to Middle English. Purvey says in chapter 15 of the "General Prologue" that with his associates they took four steps to compile the later version of the Wycliffe Bible. In modern English: General Prologue of the Wycliffe Bible The General Prologue of the Wycliffe Bible, also the Great Prologue of the Wycliffe Bible, is a 15-chapter explanation, generally attributed to John Purvey, of translation procedures in his later version of the Wycliffe Bible translation done originally by John Wycliffe in 1382–1384. The Gospels and some other books within the New Testament were likely circulated around 1388,