Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/602

* COVENTRT. 518 COVERDALE. in the Perpendicular style, about the fourteenth centurv, is said to be the largest parish cliurch iu England; Trinity Church, another Perpendicular structure, has a spire over 230 feet high : the third of the spires is that of the old Grey Friars' church. Saint Mary's Guildhall, built in 1450, for the united guilds, is one of the finest examples of ornamentar architecture in England. Its great hall has a finely carved oaken roof and stained glass window, and is hung with ancient tapes- tries. The rapid industrial growth of Coventry is responsible for the recent extension of its boundaries and the widening of many of the old streets. The municipality owns its water-supply, on which it nets a substantial annual profit. It also supplies gas and electricity, and maintains public baths, libraries, a technical institute, markets, crematory, and cemeteries. The city has an excellent modern sewerage system, with which is connected a sewage farm. The chief manufactures are ribbons, watches, fringes, etc., and especially bicycles and tricycles, which are said to have been' first made here. Coventry is in railway communication with all parts of Eng- land. The town sends one member to Parliament. Population, in 1891, 58.500; in 1901, 69.900. History. Coventry is a very ancient place. In 1044 Earl Leofric and his wife. Lady Godiva. founded here a magnificent Benedictine monas- tery. For many years the traditional deed of Godiva (q.v. ) was celebrated by a procession. In 1344 the tovm was incorporated. In the fifteenth century religious mysteries or plays were often acted here by the members of the various guilds before kings! Henry VIII. demolished the beau- tiful cathedral of Coventry, as well as the an- cient walls which formerly surrounded it. Here occurred the famous meeting for the intended trial by battle between the Dukes of Norfolk and Hereford, immortalized in Shakespeare's Richard IT. Two memorable Parliaments were held in the monastery of Coventry in the fifteenth cen- tury. The one contained no lawyers, while the other passed many attainders against the Duke of York. etc. In the fifteenth and sixteenth and seventeenth cenltiries Coventry was famous for woolens, broadcloths, caps, and blue thread bon- nets. Consult : Fretton. "Antiquarian Losses in Coventry," in Arch(rotor)ical Journal, vol. xxxvi. (London, 1880) ; Dormer, History of Coventry (Kew York, 1898). COVENTRY. A town in Kent County. R. L, 13 miles southwest of Providence: on the Paw- ttrxet River, and on the Xew York. New Haven and Hartford Railroad (^lap: Rhode Island, B 3). The main industries are agriculture and the mantifacture of cotton and woolen goods. The government is administered by tovm meetings. Coventry, taken from Warwick, and incorporated in 1741, was the home of Gen. Nathanael Greene (q.v.) after 1770. Population. in 1890, 5068; in 1900, 5279. COVENTRY PLAYS. A set of forty-two plays, combining the 'Morality' and the 'IMystery,' acted during the sixteenth centurv at Coventiy or thereabouts on Corpus Christi Day and proba- bly written by the clergy. They were extremely popular and wndely attended. The following ref- erence is made to them by the elder Heywood: " Thys devyll and I wpre of olde acquentaunce, For oft in thp play of Corpus Christi He hatll played the devyll at Coventry." For further information, consult Morley, English Writers, iv. (London, 1887, et seq. ). COVERDALE, Miles (1488-15G8). An Eng- lish Bible translator. He was born at Coverdale, in Yorkshire, was educated at Cambridge, was or- dained in 1.514 at Norwich, and became the same year an Augustinian at Cambridge. By 1526, liowever, his religious opinions had so far changed that he left his convent and devoted himself ear- nestly to the work of tlie Reformation. Dressed like a secular priest, he preaclied against confes- sion and image- worship. Shortly after that he went abroad. In 1535 he brought out his first trans- lation of the Bible 'out of Douche (German) and Latyn into Englishe,' with a dedication by him- self to Henry VIII. This was the first complete translation of the Bible printed in the English language. The Psalms of this translation are those still used in the Book of Common Prayer. The vexed question as to the printer of the volimie has been settled, probably, by recent dis- coveries in favor of Christopher Froschouer, the famous Zurich printer. It also seems probable that Jacob Van Jleteren, the Antwerp printer, employed Coverdale to make the translation, which was done in Antwerp. The basis was the Zurich Swiss-German Bible and Tyndale's New Testament, along with the Vulgate. It was re- printed in London in 1537, with the royal license. In 153S Coverdale, with the consent of King Henry VIII., and with the permission of Francis I., went to Paris to superintend another English edition of the Scriptures, his reason for going to Paris being that paper and workmanship were there cheaper and better than in England. The Inquisition, however, notwithstanding the royal license of Francis, interfered, seized the whole impression, consisting of 2500 copies, and con- demned them to the flames. But through the cupidity of one of their executive officers, who sold a considerable number of the heretical books to a haberdasher as waste paper, some copies were saved and brought to London, along with the presses, t."pes, etc., which had been employed in printing them. Several of the workmen also came over to London : and Grafton and Wliit- church. the noted printers of that day, were thus enabled to bring out in 1539, under Coverdale's superintendence, the ''Great Bible." as it is called on accoimt of its size. Coverdale also in 1540 edited a second edition, commonly called Cran- mer's Bible, because that prelate wrote a preface to it. From 1540 to 1548 Coverdale was on the Continent. He married in the former jear. On his return he became a royal chaplain, and in 1551 was appointed to the see of Exeter, the duties of which office he discharged with great zeal, tmtil the accession of Mary in 1553, when he was ejected and thrown into prison, from which he was only released after a year's confine- ment, on the earnest intercession of the King of Denmark, whose interest was evoked by his chap- lain, Coverdale's brother-in-law, and on the con- dition that he should leave the country. Cover- dale went to Denmark, and subsequently to West- phalia. Deux Ponts, and Geneva. In 1550, after the accession of Elizabeth, he returned to Eng- land, but certain notions concerning ecclesiastical ceremonies, imbibed at Geneva, operated against his restoration to the see of Exeter, and his ap- pointment as Bishop of Llandaff. In 1564 he was collated to the rectory of Saint Magnus. Lon- don, but, owing to age and infirmities, he resigned