Tyndale’s Quiddities – “They nosel them in sophistry”
The Independent Works of William Tyndale and his Theology
Tyndale Society Oxford International Conference
Hertford College, Oxford
1-3 October, 2015

This conference will examine every aspect of Tyndale’s thinking on education and theology in his time, as evidenced through his ‘independent’ writings: his prologues, introductions, glosses, comments and polemical works. In his Obedience, Tyndale writes about how those who show a genuine interest in the Word of God, are kept away from it by the Church. The Church authorities, he argues, needlessly impose the learning of philosophical distinctions before allowing anyone proper access to the Bible: ‘What wonderful dreams have they of their predicaments, universals, second intentions, quiddities, haecceities and relatives.’ The terms he refers to here belong to the scholastic and nominalist vocabulary of those who considered themselves as custodians of the Scripture. In their discourse, the Latin word quidditas refers to what any particular substance or being has in common with others, whereas haecceitas refers to its ‘this-ness’, i.e. what makes it unique. Although both these Latin concepts were used by Tyndale (and Erasmus before him) with a certain degree of irony, they can be applied to his own writings when we examine the philological, moral and spiritual insights he borrows from and/or shares with others, as well as those that make him different.

Papers that deal with these issues and their historical context are welcomed. Abstracts of maximum 150 words to be sent for the attention of: Professor Guido Latré, University of Louvain-la-Neuve, tynconf@gmail.com by 15th February, 2015.

For more on the Tyndale Society, please visit: www.tyndale.org