Lollards was the name given to followers of John Wycliffe who was the first person to begin to put the Bible into English. “Lollard” is a way of saying these chaps were “mumblers” and they mumbled about their need to have the Bible in everyone’s hand so they can read it for themselves. This was quite a radical thing in the late 1300s and early 1400s in England. Sir John Oldcastle, one of the chief Lollards, was hanged for his beliefs on December 14, 1417, and refused to acknowledge that he should confess to a priest. One of the seats of “Lollardism” was Kent where Sir Oldcastle’s old castle still stands as an excellent wedding venue.
