SOURCE: Keen, Maurice. “Wyclif, the Bible, and Transubstantiation.” In Wyclif in His Times, edited by Anthony Kenny, pp. 1-16. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1986.

In the following essay, Keen outlines the development of Wyclif's thought regarding the Eucharist, which culminated in his heretical objection to transubstantiation in 1379.

In this paper I shall attempt to trace the stages in the development of Wyclif's thought that turned him from a radical critic of his contemporary church, into what he is remembered as, a heresiarch. The formal turning-point in that development is quite clear; it is the moment at which he began to maintain in the schools views concerning the Eucharist which were directly at variance with the orthodox doctrine of the Church of his day. It is equally clear that his decision to determine on this topic, and his refusal to retract his opinions or to keep silent in the...