Wellington: An extremely rare medieval bible, which became famous for an unfortunate error encouraging adultery, has been discovered in New Zealand.
According to The Guardian, the 1631 “Wicked” Bible, as it has become known, omits the word “not” from its seventh commandment, informing readers “thou shalt commit adultery”.
At least 1,000 copies of the text, also known as Adulterous or Sinners' Bible, were printed. However, the error was discovered a year later.
After the discovery of the mistake, the printers Robert Barker and Martin Lucas were summoned by King Charles I and hauled before the court, where they were admonished for the scandalous typo and sloppy workmanship.
They were stripped of their licence and £300 fine. Later, the fine was quashed and most of the texts destroyed with only 20 remaining.
According to the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, the bibles have been at auctions from time to time in Britain and the US but it was for the first time that one was discovered in the southern hemisphere.
The university was first informed of its existence in 2018 but chose to keep the discovery under wraps until now to allow researchers and book conservers enough time to study and preserve the book, The Guardian reported.
A former student of Chris Jones, an associate professor in medieval studies at the university and fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in London, had acquired the copy two years earlier at a deceased estate sale.
Jones said, "They are not things that you just walk into an office having found one in a garage in Christchurch. But I looked at it and I thought, wow, this is exactly what my former student thinks it is – it's a Wicked Bible. I was blown away by it."
Meanwhile, there are copies in Canada, the US, the UK, Ireland and in Dublin.
“The Australians claim they have one, but they don't,” said Jones, adding that their copy does not contain the omission of 'not'.
According to The Guardian, the book has been now fully digitised and will become free to the public via a website in the coming months. (UNI)