Paolo Sarpi, William Bedell, and the First Italian Translation of the Book of Common Prayer

Abstract

The first Italian translation of the Book of Common Prayer was made in 1608 by William Bedell (the chaplain to James I’s ambassador in Venice) with the help of Fulgenzio Micanzio and Paolo Sarpi. This translation was part of an English propaganda plan to instigate a schism in the Church of Venice, at a time of conflict between the court of Rome and the Venetian republic. The schism never came to pass, and the Republic of Venice remained loyal to the Church of Rome. As far as we know, Bedell’s translation remained a manuscript, with no known copies extant although a now-untraceable edition may have been issued years later. This chapter reconstructs the relationships between Sarpi and Micanzio and the English embassy in Venice.