King Charles’ Coronation Oath Bible will contain mistakes
An academic who was tasked with editing the Bible on which King Charles will swear his Coronation Oath has spoken about why he decided to include hundreds of misprints.
Prof Gordon Campbell, from Leicester, edited the book the monarch will rest his hand on when he recites the oath at Westminster Abbey on Saturday.
The original text of the King James bible dates back to 1611.
Prof Campbell said he had wanted his version to be close to the original.
The Archbishop of Canterbury commissioned Oxford University Press (OUP) to produce a special hand-bound edition, decorated in gold leaf, for the Coronation.
Prof Campbell, emeritus professor and fellow in Renaissance studies at the University of Leicester, prepared the edition to mark its 400th anniversary in 2011 but said he was surprised it was chosen for use in historic ceremony.
King Charles' Coronation Oath Bible will contain mistakes
The King will be given a personal copy to keep
He said: “Over the centuries the King James Version has been quietly updated, with spelling modernised and cross-references added.
“I decided to publish an edition that was as close to the original as possible, but in roman type, which is much easier to read than the black letter gothic type of the original.
“I therefore reproduced the original pagination and a text, with all its 350 misprints, that was line by line, word by word and letter by letter the same as the 1611 Bible.
“It is as close as one could possibly get to the 1611 text.
“It has for centuries been the traditional and much-loved Bible of the Church of England and the people of England.”
The bible used in the service will be kept by the Archbishop of Canterbury and placed in Lambeth Palace’s archive.
OUP will produce three identical copies, one as a personal gift to King Charles and a further two to be placed in the archives of Westminster Abbey and OUP’s head office in Oxford.
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