In order to properly discuss the bibles that I have chosen, I must inform you of the basis
of this class. Over the course of the semester we are learning about bibles, not necessarily
learning about the content of the book, but instead its role as a physical object. Keeping this in
mind, this blog post will familiarize you with the two books as objects. It will also begin to bring
up some points of comparison and pose questions that will be further explored in the next few
posts.

First, let me familiarize you with the two bibles that I have been studying, which will be
the focus of all of my blog posts. Since the two bibles are from England, I will use the name of
the printers in order to clarify which one I am discussing. The first bible, which I will refer to as
the Fogny Bible, is not really a bible, technically. This book only contains the New Testament,
and is appropriately entitled, “The New Testament of Jesus Christ”. As hinted at, from my
reference to this book, it was printed by John Fogny in England in 1582. The book is in English
and contains annotations and commentaries throughout. There are also handwritten notes on
the title page in the front of the book. Unfortunately, the degradation of the ink and the
handwriting itself make the notes very difficult to make out. There are also portions of the text
that are underlined by hand throughout the book. This evidence shows that this book was used
personally, and for study.

The second bible was used for study as well, this bible will be referred to as the Pine
Bible, as its printer’s name is William Pine. The Pine Bible was printed in 1774. This bible is
also different because it is what is called a commentary. A commentary is a bible that has
additional educational notes that are added. The notes in this bible are, as the title page states,
explanatory, historical, critical, and practical. The book is very small and was most likely used
personally, as most commentaries were, for study.

Both of these bibles were printed in England, therefore, the history of the country will be
a solid starting point for this exploration. England is a country that has much experience with
revolution. Interestingly enough, both of these bibles were produced during a time of such
change. Most relevant would be the Fogny Bible, because it was produced in a time of religious
revolution, The Protestant Reformation. One of the main points I want to investigate is how
bibles, as objects, could’ve been used during the Reformation as tools to sway the public,
whether it be in favor of Catholicism or Protestantism. Why does this book only contain the New
Testament? What are some of the origins of these types of books? Was John Fogny a Reformer
himself? These are all questions that I plan to decipher as my research continues.

The Pine Bible was also produced during a time of turmoil for England; The American
Revolution. Again, how could this bible have been used as an object for the English population?
Especially since this bible is a commentary, could the added notes have been used to evoke a
sense of loyalty during a time that was defined by a lack of such? All of these questions, in
regard to both the Fogny and the Pine bibles focus on how they impacted their respective
societies. Did bibles play a larger role in history than is assumed? I will attempt to answer this
question and the others in the blog posts to come.