Wycliffe and the Lollard Movement

Timeline

1. 1390–1394Oxford · EnglandWycliffe's disciples and sympathizers spread his teachings at Oxford and elsewhere through vernacular preaching, hand-copied Bibles, and polemical writings, questioning papal authority, transubstantiation, and church wealth, forming an underground religious network known as the Lollards.
2. 1395London · EnglandThe Lollards nailed the Twelve Conclusions to the door of Westminster Abbey and presented them to Parliament, systematically criticizing clerical corruption, pilgrimages, and saint worship, demanding the Bible as sole authority, sparking fierce theological and political controversy.
3. 1396–1400England · EnglandThe Archbishop of Canterbury and the king jointly issued decrees suppressing Lollard preachers; some leaders were imprisoned or executed. The movement went underground with secret gatherings, but its anti-clerical and sola scriptura ideas continued to influence England's religious climate through the 15th century.