English Reformation was not, by itself, a Reformation. However, the political break with Rome was inseparable from the success of Protestantism. English Catholicism was strong and popular in the early 1500s, and while there were those who held Protestant sympathies, they would have remained a religious minority if political events had not intervened. An earlier reform movement that anticipated some Protestant teachings but remained outside the religious mainstream was Lollardy. Derived from the writings of John Wycliffe, a 14th-century theologian and Bible translator, Lollardy stressed the primacy of Scripture and emphasised the preaching of the word over the sacrament of the altar,
General Prologue of the Wycliffe Bible and finished before January or February 1397. The "General Prologue" and the later version of the New Testament portion of the Wycliffe Bible, done after 1395, are attributed to Purvey as the main translator and editor/writer. The earlier version of the Wycliffe Bible, done around 1382, is attributed to John Wycliffe as the main translator and editor/writer. There are 250 Wycliffe Bibles that survive today in various degrees of completeness. It is estimated that about twenty-one contain or might have had the complete Wycliffe Bible (also known as the English Wycliffite Bible or the Lollard Bible). There are 89 Wycliffe