Last year marked the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, one of the most influential books in the English language. Its translation was the culmination of a long and often unquiet history of the Bible in English dating back as far as 1000 A.D.
Today, Steven Galbraith and Hannibal Hamlin, co-curators of the Folger Shakespeare Library’s exhibition Manifold Greatness: The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible, chronicle the making of this great literary work.
9:30 to 10:45 a.m. A History of the Bible in English
The dramatic history of the English Bible translation; influences on the King James Bible.
11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The Creation of the King James Bible
The King James Bible project: How the work was accomplished, and why Shakespeare had nothing to do with it.
12:15 to 1:30 p.m. Lunch
Participants provide their own lunch.
1:30 to 2:45 p.m. The Printing of the King James Bible
The monumental task of printing the tome.
3 to 4:15 p.m. The Language of the King James Bible and Its Enduring Impact
Its influence on the English language and on literary works from Pilgrim’s Progress and Paradise Lost to Moby Dick and “Howl.”
Galbraith is curator of the Cary Library at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Hamlin is associate professor in the department of English at Ohio State University.
