I have a small book at home called "Where We Got the Bible" by Father Henry G. Graham. I found the entire text online. Chapter 11 is called "Abundance of Vernacular Scriptures before Wycliff" Many people say that, prior to protestantism, English speaking peoples had no scriptures in their own tounge. Father Graham lays out in Chapter 11 that this is not so, and gives examples going all the way back to 1066. At one point he states: "....After the Norman conquest in 1066, Anglo-Norman or Middle-English became the language of England, and consequently the next translations of the Bible we meet with are in that tongue. There are several specimens still known, such as the paraphrase of Orm (about 1150) and the Salus Animae (1050), the translations of William Shoreham and Richard Rolle, hermit of Hampole (died 1349). I say advisedly 'specimens' for those that have come down to us are merely indications of a much greater number that once existed, but afterwards perished....." Here is a link: Where we got the bible If you want to read chapter 11 and comment, I'd like to hear. But here is a warning: This is an old book, and the style of writing is a bit combative and polemic. Please try to look past that and take no offense. Try to just look at the dates and information. A lot of it is very very interesting.
