King James Version in a letter from 1855. The next year King James Bible, with no possessive, appears as a name in a Scottish source. In the United States, the "1611 translation" (actually editions following the standard text of 1769, see below) is generally known as the King James Version today. The followers of John Wycliffe undertook the first complete English translations of the Christian scriptures in the 14th century. These translations were banned in 1409 due to their association with the Lollards. The Wycliffe Bible pre-dated the printing press but was circulated very widely in manuscript form, often inscribed with a date
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,