Oxford students should resist these medieval trigger warnings

In 1408, the Archbishop of Canterbury convened a synod in Oxford to prohibit the reading of John Wycliffe’s English translation of the Bible without the Church’s permission. Long before Martin Luther, Wycliffe – a priest, theologian, and Oxford fellow – argued scripture was the only reliable guide to God’s truth, and that the Papacy had no Biblical justification. His unprecedented translation was a practical – and, for the Church, worryingly popular – challenge to Church orthodoxy.

Although Wycliffe was long dead, the Pope condemned him for heresy in 1415. His supporters – named ‘Lollards’ for their habit of mumbling – were suppressed. Some were burnt to death. Yet Wycliffe’s ideas endured: he was later hailed as the Reformation’s ‘Morning Star’. The Church’s attempt to silence him could be said to be Oxford’s first great free speech debate. Unfortunately for today’s students, it was not to be the last.