December 14, 1417 - Sir John Oldcastle Hanged for Belief in Bibles for All

Followers of John Wycliffe were given the name “Lollards” because they were considered to “mumble” about their desire to have the Bible in the hands of the common man. Bibles for all was a radical idea in the late 1300s and early 1400s. Sir John Oldcastle, one of the chief Lollards, was hanged for his beliefs on December 14, 1417, when he 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.