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King James of England was rather unremarkable, so at his death 400 years ago, only his retainers and courtesans grieved his loss, and most assumed his historical legacy was limited.
His memory today would likely be little more than a footnote except for the one thing that would make any marketing director green with envy for product placement —the King James Bible: the Royally authorized translation of the Holy Scriptures.
In James’s case, this contribution was substantial, and he deserves credit for creating and promoting a version of the Bible translated into the King’s English. Unlike other books or notable achievements that are named after a monarch to curry favor, King James was active in forming a committee of scholars to work on a new translation, and he was relentless in encouraging its timely completion.
Initially he was only King James IV of Scotland, but upon Queen Elizabeth I’s death, he inherited her throne to become King James I of England. When it was obvious that the Queen was ill and that her heir would not be English, several members of Elizabeth’s court reached out to James to begin an unofficial transition.
The issue of religion was the hot topic of the day and animated almost all political considerations. The Protestant Reformation had impacted England quite differently than other countries because as an island, its boundaries limited outside influence and constrained zealots by denying them easy access.
England had an established church but had nothing resembling a state religion. In fact, under the umbrella of the Church of England, any number of religious practices were allowed, and worship services differed from parish to parish. Stability and preventing religious fervor from being weaponized for political purposes was the main limiting factor in the Elizabethan Church.
In short, you could believe whatever you wanted and worship as you saw fit, but proselytizing and using religion to enflame the body politic was forbidden, even punishable by death.
When James became King, various factions petitioned him and attempted to gain influence for support of their particular reforms so that the religion of the established church was uniform in practice and belief. Having been educated in Scotland under the tutelage of various protestant regents, James was reared as a Calvinist but came to reject the elimination of bishops and church hierarchy as a threat to his view of the divine right of kings.
So, when he came to England, he had some appreciation of the religious diversity that existed in the church, but he viewed these disputes as more political than religious. Plus, he wanted to unite England and Scotland to achieve the designation: King of Great Britain.
Pulled in many directions by well-meaning church leaders, James thought that one way to solidify his reign and impose a true state religion was to create a new translation of the Bible which he, as head of the church, would authorize. To a real extent, the impetus for the organization of a new translation was tinged with politics. James thought that if all his subjects read the same version of the Bible in church and as part of their daily appointed readings, it could help unite his people to stabilize his reign.
Working on a new translation of the Bible would also allow him to avoid more significant issues that were sources of conflict between the extremes of Puritans and Anglo-Catholics.
James was very careful to select not only scholars of renown, but also to make sure that various religious factions were represented. He was forming a committee with representatives from all walks of ecclesiastical scholarship and belief. His hope was that the finished product could reduce or perhaps even eliminate dissension and provide his subjects with an expression of their faith in a language they understood.
The mechanics of the committee were excellent, and James was very active in its division of labor. Each book of the Bible was assigned to a sub-committee, and each member of the subcommittee was to work to produce their translation of each chapter without the insight or collaboration of other committee members.
James imposed strict deadlines for translations to be completed, and when members finished their individual translation, they would meet collectively to pick and choose the best version of each verse for inclusion in the finished product.
For seven years the committee toiled and finally produced 80 books of the King James Bible, including the 39 books of the Old Testament, the 27 books of the New Testament, and14 books of the Apocrypha. No doubt a boon to the printing industry, this Bible would replace other versions throughout the churches and estates in England.
The Authorized King James Version missed its intended goal of unifying the church, but it did unify the language such that its words, syntax, grammar, and lyrical structure became the basis for English as we know it today.
This Bible also increased literacy among James’s subjects because its reading was a high tenet of Protestant theology. If God had revealed Himself in Holy Writ, then reading His Word opened the door to faith and an explanation of belief.
But as fallible humans read the Bible and had preconceived notions of their individual criteria for faith, new “denominations” arose, each arguing their interpretations of the same verses from the same Bible; unity within the Church of England further dissolved.
When the government attempted to enforce a uniform interpretation, many fled to found colonies in the New World, and in almost each colony, religion was a motivating factor for migration.
As the King James Version spread to the New World without a structured ecclesiastical hierarchy to contain errant beliefs, even more new faiths popped up and simply moved further inland to practice their beliefs without fear of persecution.
King James’ legacy is preserved in a Bible that provided uniformity for the English Language and undergirded the faith that propelled American exceptionalism.
