Lollardy

Lollardy was a late medieval English religious movement inspired by John Wycliffe that criticized church wealth and authority and promoted scripture in English.

John Wycliffe: An English theologian whose attacks on church authority and views on scripture inspired Lollardy. His teachings supplied the movement’s central theological and institutional critiques.
Biblical authority: The principle that the Bible is the highest or decisive standard for religious belief and practice. Lollards appealed to scripture to challenge teachings and powers they considered unscriptural.
Nicholas Hereford: An Oxford theologian associated with the early translation of the Bible into Middle English and with Lollardy. His work links Wycliffe’s circle to the production of English scripture.
Lollard books: Religious texts copied or circulated by English followers of Wycliffe, often in Middle English. Manuscripts preserved teachings and connected adherents across local communities.
Statute of Heresy 1401: An English law authorizing the burning of people convicted of heresy who refused to recant. It gave the state a severe penalty used against Lollards.
Wycliffe's Bible: A set of late fourteenth-century Middle English translations of the Bible associated with John Wycliffe’s circle. English scripture made one of Lollardy’s central commitments tangible.
Vernacular literature: Writing composed in the everyday language of a particular community rather than a learned language. English religious texts carried Lollard arguments beyond Latin-literate clerical circles.
John Purvey: An English theologian associated with revising the Wycliffite Bible and promoting Lollard ideas. His biblical and pastoral work helped carry Wycliffite teaching beyond its academic origins.
Lollard preachers: Lay and clerical speakers who preached Wycliffite religious ideas in late medieval England. Their public and informal preaching transmitted doctrine where books alone could not.
Council of Constance: A Catholic church council held from 1414 to 1418 that condemned John Wycliffe’s teachings after his death. Its condemnation reinforced the official rejection of the ideas underlying Lollardy.

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Margery KempeCompared with: Authorities sometimes suspected Kempe of heresy, though her piety remained distinct from Lollard reform.