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diff --git a/78939-0.txt b/78939-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ffdcabf --- /dev/null +++ b/78939-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23132 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78939 *** + + + + + THE HISTORY OF CIVILISATION IN SCOTLAND. + + + + + ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ + │ │ + │ Transcriber’s Notes │ + │ │ + │ │ + │ Punctuation has been standardized. │ + │ │ + │ Most of the abbreviations used to save space in printing have │ + │ been expanded to the non-abbreviated form for easier reading. │ + │ │ + │ Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. │ + │ │ + │ Non-printable characteristics have been given the following │ + │ Italic text: --> _text_ │ + │ │ + │ This book was written in a period when many words had │ + │ not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have │ + │ multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in │ + │ the text. These have been left unchanged unless indicated │ + │ with a Transcriber’s Note. │ + │ │ + │ The symbol ‘‡’ indicates the description in parenthesis has │ + │ been added to an illustration. This may be needed if there │ + │ is no caption or if the caption does not describe the image │ + │ adequately. │ + │ │ + │ Index references have not been checked for accuracy. │ + │ │ + │ Footnotes are identified in the text with a superscript │ + │ number and are shown immediately below the paragraph in which │ + │ they appear. │ + │ │ + │ Transcriber’s Notes are used when making corrections to the │ + │ text or to provide additional information for the modern │ + │ reader. These notes are identified by ♦♠♥♣ symbols in the │ + │ text and are shown immediately below the paragraph in which │ + │ they appear. │ + └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ + + + + + THE HISTORY + OF + CIVILISATION IN SCOTLAND. + + + BY + + + JOHN MACKINTOSH, LL.D. + + _Author of “The Story of Scotland,” + “The Revolution of 1688 and Viscount Dundee,” + “The Highland Land Question Historically Considered,” Etc._ + + + _A NEW EDITION._ + + PARTLY REWRITTEN, AND CAREFULLY REVISED THROUGHOUT. + + + Volume Second. + + + ALEXANDER GARDNER, + + Publisher to her Majesty the Queen, + PAISLEY, AND 26 PATERNOSTER SQUARE, LONDON. + + 1893. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + Illustration: (‡ decoration) + + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + + SECTION I. + + _The Rise and Progress of the Reformation._ + + ⭘ A new point of Departure――Mechanical Inventions――Aspiration for + Unity and Independence; Modern Languages――Revival of Classical + Literature――Revival of Art + + ⭘ Roman Catholic Church of the Middle Ages――Her vast Organisation, + Wealth, and Power――She controlled Education, and subjected the + Human Mind + + ⭘ Outline of the prevailing Belief of Roman Catholicism――Angels, + Demons, Witchcraft――Worship of Saints, Images, and Relics――Ideas + of Hell and of Heaven + + ⭘ Political Power of the Church in different Countries――The French + Nobles; Oppression of the Peasantry――State of Germany; Rebellions + of the Peasantry + + ⭘ Influence of Literature in Germany; Satirical Attacks upon the + Church――Inquisition in Spain――State of Italy + + ⭘ Morals of the Priesthood and the Religious Orders + + ⭘ Influences sapping the Authority of Catholicism; Dante, + Boccaccio, Savonarola――Influence of the Vernacular Literature + + ⭘ Printing and Publication of the Bible――Early Translations of + Scripture into the Modern Languages + + ⭘ Awakening of the Moral Consciousness; Enthusiasm of the early + stages of the Movement――Relation of the Reformation to Philosophy + + ⭘ Significance of the Revolt from Rome――Eras of the Reformation + in different Nations――Proceedings of Luther; his Writings――Early + Protestant Literature――Principle of the Reformation + + + SECTION II. + + _History of the Reformation in Scotland + to the Death of Cardinal Beaton._ + + ⭘ Scotland after the Battle of Flodden――The Duke of Albany assumed + the Government――His Regency + + ⭘ Henry VIII. interfered with the Government――The Earl of Angus + seized the King, and usurped the Functions of the Crown――The King + escaped; Forfeiture of Angus――Policy of the King + + ⭘ The Causes of the Reformation in Scotland――Position of the Nobles + ――Relation of the Catholic Clergy to the People; Exactions of the + Church――State of Clergy and the Religious Orders + + ⭘ Celibacy and Monasticism――Assumptions of the Priesthood + + ⭘ Monogamy――The Family the Foundation of Society――Communism + + ⭘ Inner Causes of the Reformation; Religious Feeling and Moral + Sentiments + + ⭘ Heretical Books; Circulation of the Bible――Martyrdom of Patrick + Hamilton; his Opinions――Friar Erth’s Sermon――John Mair, Gavin + Logie, John Winram, Alexander Seton + + ⭘ Policy of the King――Persecution, Trials, and Executions for + Heresy + + ⭘ Henry VIII. attempted to induce James V. to discard the Authority + of the Pope + + ⭘ Marriage of the King; Mary of Lorraine――Persecution――Cardinal + Beaton――Trials and Executions for Heresy――Can Persecution + extinguish Heresy? + + ⭘ Encroachment by the King upon the Nobles――Acts against Heresy + ――Projected Interview between Henry VIII. and James V.――Henry + resolved on War; Conduct of the Scotch Nobles; Solway Moss; Death + of James V. + + ⭘ The Crown fell to an infant Princess――Cardinal Beaton aspired to + the Regency――The Earl of Arran elected Regent――Project of Henry + VIII. defeated + + ⭘ He then orders an Invasion of Scotland; great and wanton + ♦destruction of Property――Henry’s hatred of Cardinal Beaton; a + Plot to murder him + + ♦ “destruc-” replaced with “destruction” + + ⭘ Heresy spreading――Heretics tried and executed――George Wishart + preaching in various Towns――He was seized, tried, and burned + + ⭘ Plot against the Cardinal; Murdered in his Castle + + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + _History of the Reformation to the + Overthrow of the Roman Catholic Church._ + + + ⭘ The Conspirators retained the Castle of St. Andrews; Knox joined + them――The new Doctrines spreading――Arrival of French Troops; the + Castle attacked; the Garrison surrendered + + ⭘ Death of Henry VIII.; the Policy of Aggression continued; the + Scots reduced to extremities――Arrival of a French Army + + ⭘ The Religious Struggle continued――Attempts to reform the Catholic + Clergy; a new Catechism published――Trial and Execution of Adam + Wallace + + ⭘ Council of Trent――Authority of Scripture and Tradition; the + Vulgate――Justification; Diversity of Views; Influence of the + Jesuits――Debates on the Errors of the Heretics, and many other + Doctrines――The Inquisition――The Jesuits――Index of Prohibited + Books――Canons and Decrees――The Christianity of the West assumed + three Dogmatic Forms + + ⭘ The Regency of Arran approaching its termination――The + Queen-mother proclaimed Regent――Death of Edward VI.――Return of + Knox; summoned before the Church Court; Summons abandoned――He + again departed from Scotland + + ⭘ The Reformed Doctrines continued to spread――A new Covenant + to advance the Reform Movement――Policy of the Queen-Regent + ――Execution of Water Mill + + ⭘ Position of the Reform Party; they protested in Parliament + ――Succession of Elizabeth to the Throne of England + + ⭘ The Queen-Regent influenced by France――The Crisis――A vehement + Sermon by Knox; Destruction of Monasteries――The Queen-Regent + threatened severe Measures――Manifesto of the Lords of the + Congregation + + ⭘ An Agreement with the Regent; soon broken――The Demolition of the + Monasteries and Images ♦proceeded with + + ♦ “preceeded” replaced with “proceeded” + + ⭘ Arrival of French Troops――The Lords of the Congregation + deposed the Regent――Skirmishing between the Frenchmen and + the Congregation――The Lords of the Congregation retired from + Edinburgh; reduced to extremities + + ⭘ Negotiations with the English; a Treaty between the English + Government and the Lords of the Congregation――Siege of Leith + ――Treaty of Edinburgh; Peace proclaimed――Energy of the Reformed + Preachers――Meeting of Parliament; Confession of ♦Faith――Acts + abolishing the Authority of the Pope, and the exercise of the + Catholic Religion + + ♦ “Eaith” replaced with “Faith” + + + + + CHAPTER XV. + + _The Creed and Organisation of the Reformed Church._ + + + ⭘ Confession of Faith――Belief in one God――Duty of Civil Magistrates + + ⭘ Preaching the Gospel; the Bible――The Sacraments――Abolition of + Idolatry――Election and Admission of Ministers + + ⭘ Proposals for the Disposal of the Patrimony of the Church + ――Temporary Expedients; Superintendents――Provision for the + Ministry――National Education――Relief of the Labourers of the + Ground and the Poor + + ⭘ Form of Discipline――Election of Elders and Deacons――Polity of + the Church + + ⭘ Marriage――Burial――Contemners of the Word of God + + ⭘ Book of Common Order――Intolerance――The First General Assembly + + + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + _Reign of Queen Mary._ + + + ⭘ France declined to confirm the Treaty of Edinburgh――Death of + Francis II.――State of Parties in Scotland――Arrival of Mary; + Interest of her reign――Difficulty of her Position; the Nobles + and the Preachers + + ⭘ A Royal Proclamation――Position of the Reformed Church――Mary’s + first Interview with Knox――Parliament declined to ratify the + Book of Discipline――Disposal of the Revenue of the Church; Knox + denounced it + + ⭘ Proceedings against the Earl of Huntly + + ⭘ The Court and the Preachers; Interview between the Queen and Knox + ――Precarious State of the Protestant Party + + ⭘ Earl of Lennox; Lord Darnley――The Queen preparing for her + Marriage; the Earl of Moray opposed it――Intolerance――Energy of + the Queen; she married Darnley――Movement of the disloyal Nobles; + their Flight + + ⭘ Character of Darnley――He becomes the tool of the Nobles――A Plot + to murder Riccio, and restore the banished Nobles――Murder of + Riccio――Return of the banished Lords――Escape of the Queen + + ⭘ An Army rallied round the Queen, and the Disloyal Nobles + dispersed――Birth of James VI.――Moray restored――A Series of + Stirring Events + + ⭘ Origin of the Plot to murder Darnley――He was removed to Edinburgh + ――Preparations of the Conspirators――Murder of Darnley――The + Chief Actor in the Crime――Was the Queen in any way guilty of + the Murder? + + ⭘ Trial of Bothwell――Parliament; many Acts granting Lands to the + Nobles――Many of the Nobles recommended Bothwell as a husband for + the Queen――Bothwell conveyed the Queen to Dunbar Castle, thence + to the Castle of Edinburgh, and their Marriage was celebrated at + Holyrood + + ⭘ A Royal Proclamation――Difficulties rapidly encompassed the + Queen――A party of the Nobles seized Edinburgh and assumed the + Government――Mary and Bothwell mustered an Army, but the Nobles + faced it――Mary surrendered and Bothwell fled――The Nobles + imprisoned the Queen + + ⭘ The Nobles soon developed their Plot――They deposed the Queen + and appointed the Earl of Moray Regent――Meetings of the General + Assembly――Coronation of the Infant King + + + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + _History of Protestantism in Scotland, + and the Conflict of the Clergy with the Crown._ + + + ⭘ State of Parties――Moray’s Interview with the Queen――He assumed + the Government, and endeavoured to restore order――Ratification + of the Acts establishing the Reformation――Meeting of the General + Assembly――The Regent’s Difficulties + + ⭘ Mary’s Escape from Prison――An Army rallied round her; Battle of + Langside; Flight of Mary to England + + ⭘ The Regent struggled to maintain order――The Preachers petitioned + him to punish vice and suppress the Catholics. During Moray’s + absence in England his enemies multiplied, when he returned the + struggle was desperate――The Regent shot, his Character + + ⭘ The Factions of the King and Queen distracted the Kingdom + ――Earl of Lennox elected Regent――Efforts of the Reformed + Clergy――Execution of Archbishop Hamilton――Both Parties issued + proclamations and held Parliaments――The Regent slain――Earl of + Mar elected Regent + + ⭘ The Earl of Morton elected Regent――The Queen’s party reduced + ――The Castle of Edinburgh surrendered, and the Governor tried + and executed――Death of Lethington, his Character + + ⭘ Polity of the Reformed Church――Leith Concordat touching titles + and orders of the Clergy, and Disposal of the patrimony of the + Church; opposed by the General Assembly + + ⭘ Knox resumed Preaching in Edinburgh――He denounced the Authors of + the Massacre of St. Bartholomew――Knox’s last Public Sermon; his + Death, his Work, and Character + + ⭘ Efforts of the Ministers to improve the Organisation of the + Church; difficulties of Reconstruction――The Struggle between the + Clergy and Crown was founded upon Theocratic Ideas + + ⭘ Morton’s Policy――The Bishops subjected to the Discipline of + the General Assembly――Discussion of Episcopacy in the General + Assemblies――A Form of Polity to be drawn up――Episcopacy abolished + + ⭘ An Address to the King + + ⭘ Second Book of Discipline contrasted with the First――This + Treatise presented the definite Polity of Presbyterianism + + ⭘ Difficulty of carrying this Polity into effect――Scarcity + of qualified Ministers; the Reformed Doctrines only partly + introduced into the Highlands + + ⭘ Morton’s enemies pursuing him――New Court favourites――The Negative + Confession――Trial and Execution of Morton + + ⭘ The King’s Favourites Supreme――A Plot against them――Attempt to + revive Episcopacy――The Preachers attacked the Favourites and the + Court――The Plot matured; the King and the Earl of Arran taken + Prisoners + + ⭘ The dominant party held a Parliament, and passed a Vote of + thanks to themselves; the Clergy also approved of the Enterprise + ――Attitude of the Preachers toward the French Ambassadors + + ⭘ Escape of the King――Return of Arran――A new Plot――Capture of the + Earl of Gowrie――Arran Supreme + + ⭘ Andrew Melville――Conflict between the Clergy and the Crown――A + Scheme of Episcopacy――A series of Acts passed――Flight of a number + of Preachers――Entire submission of the Clergy to the Required + Conditions + + ⭘ Peculiarities of the History of Scotland――Lord Maxwell and + the banished Lords surprise the King――Return of the Preachers + ――Conceit of the King――Violent Language of the Clergy――Meeting + of the General Assembly――French Protestant ministers + + ⭘ Execution of Queen Mary + + ⭘ Act of Annexation of Church lands――Defensive Preparations against + the Armada――Revolt of the Roman Catholic lords――Vehement Speeches + ――Position of the King――Establishment of the Presbyterian Polity + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + _Continuation of the History of Protestantism._ + + + ⭘ Intense zeal of the Reformed Clergy――Apprehension of Ker + ――Execution of Graham――Policy of the King; the Catholic Earls + ――Earl of Bothwell――Parliament + + ⭘ The Clergy and the Catholic Earls; Act of Abolition――Rebellion + of the Catholic Earls; Battle of Glenlivet; Advance of the Royal + Army; Flight of the Catholic Earls + + ⭘ A National Fast――General Assembly――Vice of all Ranks + + ⭘ Return of the Catholic Earls; alarm of the Clergy; vehement + Sermons――Black summoned before the Council; declined to recognise + its authority――A Fast proclaimed; the King’s proceedings; a + number of Citizens ordered to leave Edinburgh――A false Alarm; + great Tumult + + ⭘ New move of the King――The Magistrates imprisoned; tried and + convicted, and the Burgesses declared Rebels, and compelled to + pay an enormous Fine + + ⭘ Ideas of the Relation of Church and State――The King circulated a + series of Questions; Meetings of the General Assembly; the Court + party carried their Measures――The Catholic Earls reconciled to + the Church + + ⭘ The King engaged in Recasting the Polity of the Church――Churchmen + in Parliament; debate in the General Assembly――Conference at + Holyrood on the Clergy voting in Parliament + + ⭘ James and the Court of Session――General Assembly; a Modified + Episcopacy introduced + + ⭘ The Gowrie Conspiracy――Accession of James VI. to the Throne of + England + + ⭘ Ultimate Problem of the Reformation in Relation to the + development of Civilisation + + + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + _The Social State of the People in the Sixteenth Century._ + + + SECTION I. + + _Prior to the Reformation._ + + ⭘ Aim of the Chapter――The Crown and the Government――Court of + Session and the Privy Council――Staff of the Executive + + ⭘ State of the Borders and the Highlands――Modes of treating the + Inhabitants of those quarters of the Kingdom――Feuds in every part + of the country + + ⭘ State of Crime――Theft, Robbery, Murder, Rape――Defective Police + Organisation――Crime in the Burghs; Acts of Violence; Begging; + Harlots――Penance as a Punishment――Habits of Swearing + + ⭘ Deplorable Sanitary Condition――Early mode of Lighting the streets + of Edinburgh + + ⭘ State of the Tenants and Labourers of the Land――Efforts to + relieve the Poor + + ⭘ Religious feelings of the People――Altars of Churches――Processions, + Patron Saints, and Altars of the various Craftsmen + + ⭘ Indications of the novel Doctrines among the People prior to the + Reformation――Heresy in Aberdeen――Hanging and breaking of Images; + Ballads + + + SECTION II. + + _After the Reformation._ + + ⭘ Evidence of the Change of Religious Sentiments――Disposal of the + Ornaments, Images, Vestments, and Silver work of the Churches + + ⭘ Proceedings against Idolaters, Harlots, and Swearers――Efforts to + suppress Immoralities and Social vice――Long Struggle to secure + the Observance of Sunday + + ⭘ Reformed Discipline compared with the System which it superseded + ――A Treatise on Excommunication; its chief points――The Order of + Fasting; Illustrations of the Sentiments of the Clergy, and the + state of Society + + ⭘ Some of the Customs associated with Roman Catholicism continued + by the People + + ⭘ Relation of the Sexes――Inconsistency of Celibacy――Loose habits + of the People――Regulations connected with Marriage; Peculiarities + of the Scotch Law of Marriage――Curious points came before the + General Assembly――Age at which persons might Marry――Divorce + + ⭘ Provisions for the Relief of the Poor――Efforts of the Clergy to + assist them――Difficulty of treating Vagrancy + + ⭘ A belief in Sorcery, Witchcraft, and Necromancy, has descended + from Pre-historic Ages――By an Act of Parliament in 1563 + Witchcraft was punishable by Death――James VI. a great believer + in Witchcraft――Trials for Witchcraft + + ⭘ Many of the Witches were accused of Conspiring the Death of + the King――The Earl of Bothwell was accused of trafficking with + Witches against the King, and imprisoned, but he escaped――Euphame + MacCalyean tried and executed――Barbara Napier tried; a speech of + the King on Witchcraft――Richard Graham, a great Sorcerer, Tried + and Executed――Bothwell continued his Exploits against the King + ――At last he was driven out of the Country――The number of Witches + executed in Scotland not so great as in other Countries + + ⭘ Censorship of the Press + + ⭘ Monopoly and the disturbed condition of Society were inimical to + Commerce――The Coinage――Relative value of English and Scotch money + + ⭘ Mining Operations――Gold, Silver, Lead, Copper, Iron, and Coal + + ⭘ Commerce of the Kingdom――Foreign trade comparatively small + ――Curious regulations touching the Export of Salt, Coal, and + other things――Trade between the Highlands and the Lowlands + + ⭘ Laws fixing the price of Ale, Malt, and other goods――Whisky + ――Prices of Boots and Shoes――Complaint of Bonnet-makers + + ⭘ Sumptuary Laws――Dress――Eating and Drinking at Marriages and + Baptisms――Lent + + ⭘ Popular Amusements――Social results of the Reformation + + + + + CHAPTER XX. + + _The Literature of the Nation in the + First Half of the Sixteenth Century._ + + + ⭘ Relation of Education and Literature――Introduction of Printing + into Scotland; first Printing Press; Chepman and Myllar + ――Specimens of their Work――Other Scottish Printers + + ⭘ William Dunbar, the Court Poet――Editions of his Poems――Causes for + his Writings being neglected + + ⭘ Dunbar’s Writings chiefly consist of short pieces――The range of + his subjects pretty wide――Allegorical Poems; The Goldyn Targe + ――Ballad sung at the Marriage of James IV.――The Thistle and the + Rose――Merit of his short Poems――The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy + ――Some of Dunbar’s poems supposed to be lost + + ⭘ Gavin Douglas――The Palace of Honour; his Imagery; Peculiarities + of his language――King Hart, an Allegory――His Translation of + Virgil; Original Prologues――Descriptions of Winter and May + + ⭘ John Mair――His Career as a Professor――His Writings, Opinions, and + Views + + ⭘ Boece’s Writings――John Bellenden――His Translations; a Specimen of + the Vernacular Prose of the Period + + ⭘ Complaynt of Scotland――Its Authorship uncertain――Character and + nature of the Work――The Writer’s Opinions + + ⭘ State of Scotland――Discussion of the English Claims; Intention of + the Protector, Somerset――Characteristics of the English and the + Scots――The Complaints of the People against the Nobles and the + Clergy――Shortcomings of the People themselves――Corruption and + Vanity of the Nobles――Abuses of the Clergy; Heretics should not + be Burned――Internal Strife――Characteristics of the Style――Value + of the incidental Information in the Work + + + + + CHAPTER XXI. + + _Literature of the Reformation, + and the later part of the Sixteenth Century._ + + + ⭘ Sir David Lyndsay――Influence of his Writings on the Reformation + movement in Scotland――He was the most popular Writer of the + Period, and wrote for the People + + ⭘ Lyndsay’s Attack upon the Churchmen and the Religious Orders, + specimen of his Sarcasm――Satire of the Three Estates, its humour + ――The Abbot, the Parson――The Play acted upon the Green――The + Magistrates encouraged Dramatic Representations――Lyndsay’s other + Works + + ⭘ James Wedderburn, and Robert Wedderburn――Characteristics of the + Gude and Godly Ballads――Hymns of the Reformation――Influence of + this class of Writings + + ⭘ Knox’s Writings――His Style, History of the Reformation, + Admonitory Writings――Letter to the Queen Regent + + ⭘ Ninian Winzet――His Attack upon Knox, and the Reformers――Winzet + escaped from Scotland――His Writings + + ⭘ Quintin Kennedy――His Writings――Discussion with Knox on the Mass + ――James Tyrie, a Jesuit――His attack on the Reformed Church, + answered by Knox + + ⭘ Knox’s Treatise on Predestination――History of the Doctrine of + Eternal Decree――Theories of the Origin of the Soul――Views of + Augustine, and others――Calvin’s view of the Eternal Decree, + opposed and vehemently disputed――Knox’s Defence of Predestination + unsatisfactory――The subject is beyond the powers of the Mind + ――Knox’s Letters + + ⭘ George Buchanan――His Career as a Public Teacher Abroad――On his + return home, he became associated with the Protestant party――His + History of Scotland, Political Writings, Influence of his Views + + ⭘ Scottish Poets of the later part of the Century――Sir Richard + Maitland, George Bannatyne, Alexander Scott, Alexander Arbuthnot, + John Davidson――Anonymous Poems and Rhymes + + ⭘ Alexander Montgomery――Characteristics of his Poetry + + ⭘ James VI.――His Writings――Alexander Hume――James Melville――Latin + Poetry + + ⭘ Theological and Religious Literature of the later part of the + Century + + ⭘ Legal Literature――Dr. Henryson, Sir John Skene, Sir Thomas Craig, + William Welwood + + ⭘ Progress of Science――John Napier――A Treatise on Revelations――His + proposed Inventions for the Defence of the Island――Publication of + his great Work on Logarithms――His minor Inventions + + ⭘ Progress of Medical Knowledge――Dr. Skene, Dr. Lowe, Dr. Liddel + + ⭘ Scientific Conceptions of the Universe met much Opposition in the + Sixteenth Century――Moral and Religious Sentiments were the moving + Influences of the Reformation + + + + + CHAPTER XXII. + + _Education and Art in the Sixteenth Century._ + + + ⭘ Aim of Education――Origin and Progress of Parochial Schools, + Subjects Taught + + ⭘ Grammar Schools prior to the Reformation――After the Reformation, + High School of Edinburgh――Grammar School of Glasgow――Method of + Teaching and Subjects Taught + + ⭘ Universities of Scotland――St. Andrews, new Colleges established + ――Subjects Taught――Effect of the Reformation upon the + Universities――State of the University of Glasgow, New Foundation + ――Andrew Melville appointed Principal, His method of Teaching + + ⭘ The Leaders of the Reformation movement made the utmost efforts + to reform the Universities――Reorganisation of the University + of St. Andrews, order of Teachers and Subjects Taught――Andrew + Melville appointed Principal of St. Mary’s College + ――Reorganisation of the University of Aberdeen + + ⭘ Origin of the University of Edinburgh, Foundation――Robert + Rollock, Method of Teaching, number of Students + + ⭘ Aim of a Liberal Education as then conceived――Method of + Examination――Graduation――Growing interest in Education, + Foundation of Marischal College――Limited Views of Science and + the Universe which prevailed――Deficiencies of the System――Lack + of Libraries + + ⭘ Music Taught in the Schools prior to the Reformation――Act of + Parliament touching Music――Singing in the Reformed Church + + ⭘ Architecture――Carving in Oak――Painting and Sculpture almost a + Blank + + + + + CHAPTER XXIII. + + _The Ultimate Problem of the Reformation._ + + + ⭘ Primitive Religious Feeling――Prime characteristic of the Human + Mind――Influence of Cosmic Forces in the Early Stages of the Race, + Crude Notions――Ancestor Worship, and Nature Worship + + ⭘ Brahmanism founded on a Pantheistic Conception――It issued in a + System of fixed Castes――A Reaction against It + + ⭘ Buddha a great Religious Teacher――Early Stage of His Career――At + last He found a New Light and the Secret of Spiritual Freedom + + ⭘ Henceforth Buddha proclaimed his doctrine of Salvation, founded + a new Religion, and almost effected a Social Revolution in India + ――But the Interest of Caste, and Considerations of State, Caused + Buddhism to be expelled from India + + ⭘ Pantheistic Conception of the Universe――Nirvana + + ⭘ Religion of the Greeks――Romans――and Germans prior to the + Introduction of Christianity + + ⭘ Respect for Honesty, Justice, and Humane Sentiments have been + very slowly Developed + + ⭘ Distinct Character of Christianity――Roman Hierarchy――New + Testament, Faith in Immortality――A Region of Belief, and beyond + it a Region of Hope + + ⭘ Conclusion + + + + + THE HISTORY + OF + CIVILISATION IN SCOTLAND. + + + Illustration: (‡ decoration) + + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + + SECTION I. + + _The Rise and Progress of the Reformation._ + +PARTLY owing to the insular position of Scotland, the means of +intercourse with the other communities of Europe had for ages been +comparatively limited, but, from the closing years of the thirteenth +century onward, the commercial and foreign relations of the kingdom +had gradually extended, and new historic conditions had arisen. +The gradual development of the industrial arts, the extension of +commercial relations, and the consequent improvement of the means +of intercommunication, had at length permitted different nations to +influence each other more freely and directly. Step by step commercial +enterprise had become a power in Europe, and the narrow feudalism of +the earlier period had begun to relax and decay. The energy of the +people of Europe had rendered it possible for the various communities +to influence each other in their ideas and opinions, as well as to +confer benefits by the exchange of their diverse commodities. This +mutual influence was most decisively manifested in the department of +thought and feeling associated with the Reformation movement. There +had been some slight attempts to sow novel doctrines among the Scots in +the fifteenth century, but they were still firmly attached to the Roman +Catholic creed. The principles and the doctrines of the Reformation +were not originated in Scotland, they were imported; and in treating +of the historic rise of this revolutionary movement, it is necessary +to extend our view beyond the boundaries of the Island. + +The mechanical inventions connected with the manufacture of paper, +and the art of printing, had a relative bearing on the Reformation. +In Europe, paper was first made from cotton about the year 1000, and +from rags in 1319; and thus the material for printing on was rendered +available. In 1438, the art of printing was discovered; and a few years +later, cut metal types were invented and brought into use. Before the +end of the fifteenth century many thousands of books had been printed +and published in the various countries of Europe. Thus the printing +press soon made literature more accessible to mankind; while the range +of an individual thinker’s influence was at once greatly widened, his +ideas and opinions being easily promulgated to an extent which, in +preceding ages, was unknown and undreamed. + +These new agencies appeared upon the scene when the chief nations +of Europe were seeking unity and aspiring to political independence, +and when their languages were assuming the modern forms. This had a +close relation and a deep influence on the Reformation movement. The +Italians, the French, the Spaniards, the Germans, and the English, +had each already begun to cultivate their respective languages, and to +produce poetry and other compositions. But the languages of the three +first were essentially descendants of the Latin; and it is a notable +coincidence that, though the Reformation was attempted to be introduced +among these nations, they still remain in the Roman Catholic Church. +The Italians have produced a rich and varied literature, characterised +by flowing cadence and dramatic power. Spanish literature is +distinguished for its sonorous rhythm and its romantic characteristics. +Both Italian and Spanish literature are somewhat poor in the +departments of philosophy and criticism: in these departments French +literature has taken a higher rank. German literature and English +literature were also influenced by the Latins, but in a much less +degree than the rest, each of them having retained a large body of +vernacular words, which have been developed into a great and massive +national literature. The action of the above agencies and others began +to indicate that a revolution was looming in Europe. The fetters which +had so long entangled and enslaved the human mind were soon to be +snapped; and the time was approaching when the mass of traditions, of +legends, and of wonders, would be subjected to a rude and irreparable +shock. + +It has long been recognised that the revival of Classical literature +aided the Reformation movement. This however only affected the educated +class, and if there had been no stronger causes of the Reformation, +classical learning would have been comparatively powerless to touch the +body of a nation; but being in accord with other and deeper causes of +the revolutionary movement, it may be reckoned a considerable factor +among the antecedents of the Reformation. Inasmuch as this revival of +ancient literature contributed to weaken the authority of the theology +of the schools, it trenched upon the supreme power of the Church, +and by assisting to modify the forms of thought and opinion proved +exceedingly favourable to the general movement. Even to awaken a spirit +of inquiry was a step of the utmost consequence. Many learned men of +the period had no intention of reforming religion, but owing to other +tendencies which had been long in operation, their efforts conduced to +that end. + +At the same time the revival of art and the rise of modern painting +in Italy gave an impetus to the onward movement. It is the essential +function of painting to embody man’s feelings, emotions, and ideas +of beauty, and within certain limits to give them living form and +realised existence. The Church thought that art could help her; and to +a certain extent it did. By vividly portraying Scripture histories and +the lives of the saints, by presenting new types of serene beauty and +pure joy, by giving form to the floating notions of angelic beings, and +by rousing deep sympathy with our Lord in His Passion, painting lent +efficient aid to piety. But its effect was not exactly what the Church +desired. Instead of tightening the fetters of ecclesiastical authority +and encouraging mysticism and asceticism, it restored humanity to a +sense of its dignity and beauty, and helped to show the untenability +of the mediæval standpoint; for art is emphatically and uncontrollably +free, and it is free in the realm of sensuous delightfulness from which +conventual religion turns aside to enjoy her own ecstatic liberty of +contemplation. Thus art early contributed to the emancipation of the +modern mind by proclaiming to men the tidings of their greatness in a +world of manifold enjoyment created for their use. “Whatever painting +touched, became by that touch, human; piety at the lure of art, folded +her soaring wings and rested on the genial earth. This the Church had +not foreseen.”¹ + + ¹ Symonds’ _Renaissance_, Volume III., pages 29‒32, _et seq._ + +Before the Reformation the Catholic Church presented a vast and +powerful organisation with innumerable agencies which penetrated into +every form of society, and attempted to control the whole life of +mankind. The body of the clergy, including the monks and friars, had +assumed the characteristics and the position of a distinct caste. They +were not only distinct, but in many respects antagonistic to the other +classes of the people; in their view of life, their laws, their special +privileges, their social duties, and in the aim of their existence, +they were separated from the lay classes of society by an impassible +limit. Their theory of life was to neglect and subdue the body, to +mortify the flesh in order that the soul might be made perfect. Whether +all this was done for the good of humanity or for the benefit of the +clergy themselves is a question of the most momentous importance, and +perchance some light may be thrown upon it in the course of this volume. + +In every country of Europe the Church held a considerable extent +of landed property, which varied in different kingdoms, but at +the beginning of the sixteenth century the wealth of the Church +was enormous. In England the landed estates of the bishops, of the +cathedrals, and of the monastic orders extended into every parish +of the kingdom; while the tithes and offerings which maintained the +beneficed clergy brought in a revenue larger than the lands. In France +a long series of causes and circumstances had combined to throw into +the hands of the clergy a very large stretch of landed property; +for many generations the Kings of France had vied with each other in +heaping estates upon the bishops and in endowing monasteries. The title +deeds of church property in France date from a very early period; and +in Scotland the earliest body of charters relating to land rights are +found in the registers of the Church. The Church lands however formed +but a small part of the revenues of the clergy. They had the tenth of +all the produce of land, which was extended to include not only all +kinds of grain and vegetable produce, but also cattle, sheep, poultry, +and all kinds of fish. There were also the votive offerings, many of +which were at first free gifts, but had assumed the form of lawful +demands. Then the whole life of every Catholic was interwoven with the +ceremonial of the Church, and the priest had to be paid for confession, +baptism, confirmation, marriage, and the rites of burial, and the +saying of masses which were believed to lighten the suffering of the +soul after death. Moreover, there were the offerings at the crosses and +the shrines of famous and popular saints for their intercessory prayers +to avert calamities, to grant success to schemes of ambition, to obtain +pardon for sin, and to bring down blessing. Many of the crosses and +shrines were supposed to be invested with miraculous powers, and the +miracles which were said to have been wrought at them were innumerable. +When to all these are added the large subsidies which must have been +given to the swarms of friars spread over every country of Christendom,¹ +it will be easily realised that the Church was in receipt of a large +portion of the industrial produce of Europe, and drew into her coffers +an almost incredible amount of wealth. + + ¹ Selden’s _Book on Tithes_; Speed’s _Catalogue of Religious + Houses, Benefices_, etc.; Dugdale and Stevens on _The + Revenues of the Monasteries_; Stubbs’ _Constitutional + History Of England_, Volume III., page 521; Milman’s + _History of Latin Christianity_, Volume VI., pages 344‒375; + for Germany see Ranke’s _History of the Reformation in + Germany_, Volume I., pages 272‒278. + +Such education as then existed was almost wholly under the control of +the Church, and the clergy themselves were the best educated body of +men in the world. Rome was the head of the educational department as +well as the centre of everything else connected with religion, morals, +and philosophy. No university could be properly established without the +sanction and the approval of its constitution by the Pope; but it does +not appear that the Pope threw obstacles in the way of the erection +of these institutions. At the beginning of the sixteenth century there +were upwards of fifty universities scattered over Europe: and all +learned people were regarded as belonging to the clergy, for the Pope +had long claimed them as the special subjects of his empire. It was +well understood that all the members of the universities should talk +and write in Latin, the universal language of the Church and the +learned, in which all the knowledge of the times was sealed up and +monopolised by the clergy. They were the canon lawyers, the historians, +and the philosophers, for philosophy was wholly under the dominion +of theology. They reigned supreme, and everything which they deemed +opposed to the Faith or inconsistent with their theology was rigorously +excluded from the pale of orthodox Christendom. Medicine and science +were left to the Jews and the Arabians; as the Christian had higher +objects with which to occupy his mind. If it had been possible to +continue making Latin the only medium of communication and record, the +sole vehicle of literature, with the Church as its depository, there +would have been no Reformation. The modern languages even in their +crude state aided the onward movement, and the comparatively rapid +development of their varied literature secured its success. Hence, +since the sixteenth century, in spite of every effort, the Latin tongue +has been constantly falling more and more into the background; it was +relegated into the study of the scholar, and into books intended only +for the learned. But at the beginning of that century the spiritual +authority and the power of the clergy stood unchallenged; and the +minds of men were held in the most complete slavery. They declared the +eternal destiny of every one, and to doubt their sentence was the most +abhorrent sin; those who disbelieved trembled in silence, and shrouded +themselves from their fellow creatures; the few who openly ventured to +question the unlimited power of the clergy to absolve were the outcasts +of society, detested and proscribed by the Church and hated by the +people. The whole life and moral being of man was claimed to be under +the supervision and control of the clergy; no act was beyond their +cognisance, all the thoughts of the mind and the inmost secrets of +the heart had to be disclosed to them. Every one was bound to inform +against himself, and to submit to a moral torture which threatened him +with the severest condemnation. If he concealed anything, he had to +undergo the most crushing penance. The sacraments of the spiritual life +could be granted or withheld according to the arbitrary judgment of +the priest; absolution might be delayed and even refused; after death +the body might repose in consecrated ground with the saints, or be cast +out into the domain of devils. Excommunication cut the man off from the +Church, beyond whose pale there was no possibility of salvation; no one +could presume to hope for any one who died under its ban. The inward +assurance of faith, of virtue, or of rectitude, unless avouched by the +priest, was accounted nothing; without the priestly passport admission +into the kingdom of heaven was impossible. But the sacredness of the +priest himself was indefeasible, whatever his habits and life might be. +The people might murmur in secret at his cupidity and licentiousness; +he might even be openly exposed to shame, but he was still a priest and +his verdict of condemnation or absolution remained equally valid. This +was the crowning triumph of the Roman priesthood over the moral and +intellectual faculties of mankind, but it was too complete to endure. +Great as the power of the Church was, she could not bind the human mind +for ever; she might cramp its freedom and retard its progress, but to +arrest the onward movement and destiny of humanity was more than she +could do, and the moral indignation of the people at last rent the veil. + +The written creed of the Church comprised only a small part of the +belief of Roman Catholicism. During the period of a thousand and +four hundred years the Church had accumulated and interwoven with +Christianity a vast mass of mythology, which consisted partly of +notions belonging to the old heathen religions that were current in +these countries when the Gospel was introduced into them, and partly of +notions and opinions which prevailed among the Jews when Christianity +was founded, and largely of traditions and legends associated with the +Christian saints.¹ The popular religion of the middle ages composed +from these diverse sources, contained a remarkable combination of +beliefs, and a mass of crude, unsifted, and materialised notions. +Tradition claimed equal authority with the Scriptures; the Church +and the hierarchy were assumed to have the power of indefinitely +multiplying the objects and articles of faith, and by degrees the whole +imaginary belief of the Middle Ages was authorised and ingrafted upon +Christianity. Externally there was a certain unity in the diversity +of the public worship. Although each nation and even each parish had +its peculiar patron saint, no one denied the influence and the power +of the saints of other nations and parishes; as there was always plenty +of employment for them all within the vast organisation of Roman +Catholicism. + + ¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume + I., pages 99‒102, 123, 128‒130, 437. _Supernatural Religion_, + Volume I., pages 88‒141, 148, _et seq._, 1874‒77. If I + might venture to pass a remark on this important work, it + appears to me that the first part of it is by far the most + effectively handled. When the author comes into the heart + of the subject, to the examination of the evidence of the + fundamental doctrines of Christianity, he always seems + rather anxious to prove his special view; and his criticism + loses much of its force owing to its excessive minuteness + and length, and he sometimes fails to see the real bearings + of the points in question. + + All historians of opinions and doctrines are aware that + there existed a speculative connection between the current + notions of the philosophy of the age and those set forth + in the New Testament; indeed, the speculative tendency of + the early Fathers caused them to adopt the existing logical + distinctions of philosophical schools. But nevertheless + the opinions of the Fathers were all tinged by their belief + in supernatural agencies. Numerous allusions and direct + references to good and evil spirits, angels, and demons, + occur in their writings; and the doctrine of the existence + of demons stands in close association with the existence of + evil in the world. In the onward development of Catholicism + this class of beings seems to have constantly multiplied. + “If we pass from the Fathers into the Middle Ages we find + ourselves in an atmosphere that was dense and charged + with the supernatural. The demand for miracles was almost + boundless, and the supply was equal to the demand.” (Lecky’s + _History of Rationalism_, Volume I., page 152.) Compare Dean + Milman’s _History of Latin Christianity_, Volume VI., pages + 399‒332. + +There were the realms of angels and devils, and the hierarchies of +heaven and hell. The celestial host of angels was divided into three +classes, and each class sub-divided into three orders;¹ and these +beings formed circles around the throne of the Trinity. They were of a +fiery nature, as fire had most of the properties of the divinity, and +they were endowed with countless eyes and wings; their form, however, +was human, their raiment priestly and exceedingly bright, and they were +holy and full of joy. Occasionally they visited the earth as messengers, +but angelic apparitions were far less frequent than the interferences +and temptations of the demons. The latter were base and cruel, +malignant, hideous, and hateful; they took a peculiar delight in the +tortures which they inflicted, but the saints often mastered them, +and exultingly repulsed their fiercest assaults. The devils were very +numerous and ever present under the name of the spirits of the air; +this world was their almost exclusive domain; sometimes they assumed +beautiful forms, as of frisky women, to tempt the saints; sometimes the +devil appeared in the shape of a monstrous animal, at other times as a +priest to declaim in the pulpit. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest Catholic +writer of the fourteenth century, distinctly maintained that diseases +and tempests were the direct acts of the devil; that the devil could +transport men at his pleasure through the air, and that he could +transform himself into any shape. It was generally taught and believed +that innumerable evil spirits were ranging over the world, seeking +the misery and the ruin of mankind; and that they were always hovering +around the inhabitants of the earth, and originating wind, hail, and +tempests.² + + ¹ In the primitive Church the doctrine of angels was indefinite, + but it gradually assumed form, and most of the scholastics + adopted the classification indicated in the text. The + Council of Lateran, held in 1215, declared as the doctrine + of the Church that the angels are spiritual beings, and were + created in a state of innocence. But touching particular + points, ample scope was still left for poetical and + imaginary speculations. Some of the Fathers held rather + curious notions about the angels. Clement and Origen + assigned to the angels the office of watching over provinces + and towns, in accordance with the notions of individual + guardian angels. (Clement, Stromata, V., page 700.) Clement + further says――“That they have neither ears, nor tongue, nor + lips, nor entrails, nor organs of respiration,” etc. + + ² _Malleus Maleficarum_; Lecky’s _History of Rationalism_, + Volume I., pages 72, 74, _et seq._ Regarding the devil there + has been great diversity of doctrine and opinions. According + to the opinion of Origen, there was still hope of the final + conversion and pardon of Satan himself. Tertullian and + Origen both ascribed the failures of crops, drought, famine, + pestilence, and murrain to the influence of demons. + +Closely associated with these demoniac agencies, was the belief in +witchcraft, sorcery, spells, talismans, and conjurations. These vaguely +connated notions rested upon the supposition that acts and operations +were performed by persons who were under the influence of the devil, +or who acted as the assistants of evil spirits. The Church had long +encouraged these silly notions and wild hallucinations by recognising +and treating them as facts; and in the fifteenth and sixteenth +centuries, the belief in witchcraft reached a height which produced the +most frightful results. Many thousands of human creatures were burnt +and drowned for the supposed crime of having sold themselves to the +devil, and having held communication with evil spirits. + +The intense and vivid sense of satanic presence which pervaded the +minds of the clergy and the legislators of those times, induced them to +look upon heresy and witchcraft as nearly allied, and the zeal against +both grew together. The idea of demoniac power had so deep a hold upon +the minds of men that even the Reformation failed to shake it; and for +some time this revolution gave a new impetus to the persecution for +witchcraft, and it required the enlightenment of other two centuries to +weaken and dispel this dark and cruel belief. + +The saints were an intermediate class of beings between God and the +living Catholic world of Christians. As they were endowed with human +feelings and sympathies, they were naturally supposed to be more +closely associated with, and interested in, the welfare of their +kindred upon the earth. This kinship between the blessed saints and +their brethren and votaries still in the flesh seemed to be mutual; +and each saint willingly kept up his special interest and attachment +for the places and the associates of his earthly sojourn. By his +intercession he exercised a beneficent influence; he was tutelar within +his sphere, and so he became an object of devout adoration. So useful +a class of beings could not fail to be constantly multiplied, and some +of them deified, as they had assumed the position of the rulers and the +disposing providence of the earth, and it appeared that the Deity had +almost abandoned the government of the world to them. The unmistakable +evidence of their place and power in the popular imagination was seen +in the numbers of their altars in every church and chapel throughout +Christendom, and the costly oblations that were continually offered at +their shrines. + +But the Virgin Mary was seated far above all the saints and martyrs. +Since the beginning of the seventh century the worship of the Virgin +had been constantly on the ascendant. Every cathedral, and almost every +church, had its Chapel of our Lady; and in every breviary the hymns to +the Virgin teemed with poetic images expressive of the homage paid to +her: in the worship of the people she was addressed in words similar +to those applied to the Deity. A copious and rich legend unfolded +the whole history of her birth and life, a subject on which the New +Testament was silent: but the spurious gospels had furnished ample +incidents, which threw a halo of authority around the details.¹ +Painting and sculpture both lent their aid to embody and realise this +worship of the Blessed Virgin. At last the question was raised, whether +she was entirely free from the sin of Adam, and there were great +discussions on the point. The Council of Basle in 1439 passed a decree +in favour of the Immaculate Conception; yet some still doubted, and +Pope Sixtus the Fourth, in 1477, and again in 1483, declared that the +opposite doctrine should not be called heretical, but his bulls did not +prohibit those who differed from retaining their own views.² At this +time the festivals in honour of the Virgin had increased to seven; and +it is almost unnecessary to say that countless miracles were attributed +to her. + + ¹ _Supernatural Religion_, Volume I., pages 308, 314, _et seq._ + + ² “Those theologians who sought to clear the Mother of Christ + from the guilt of original sin, did not bear in mind that + they only pushed the miracle one step further back, without + entirely removing it; for in that case the parents of Mary + must have been free from original sin, and again their + parents, etc., and so on up to Adam. Bernard of Clairvaux + seems to have perceived this difficulty.” Hagenbach’s + _History of Doctrines_, Volume II., page 23; 1847. + +This worship of the Virgin and the Saints was continually receiving +fresh accessions. For many centuries the passions and feelings were +kept in a state of excitement, as new saints were always arising and +crowding on to the Calendar, and whenever a saint was canonised, it +was deemed necessary to show that he had worked miracles; so all the +lives of the old saints are full of miracles. Some of the saints had +a world-wide fame; their churches were erected in every Christian +kingdom, and their shrines sprung up in all lands; but others had +only a national or a merely local fame, although within these limits +they were worshipped with equal fidelity, their legends, their acts, +and their miracles, were commemorated and presented to the eye in +architecture, sculpture, and painting. A few of the patron saints of +the western kingdoms of Europe belong to a comparatively late date, +England placed herself under St. George, a personage of very doubtful +origin; St. Louis was the Saint of the Crusades; and St. Thomas Aquinas +of Scholasticism. Each order of monks and of friars were bound to +hold up to the utmost the saints of their order, and it was the sacred +duty of all who wore the garb to spread their fame with especial +assiduity. It was also the duty of every king, burgess, and craftsman +and parishioner, to assist in propagating the renown and the miracles +of his patron saint.¹ Most of the chief churches of a kingdom had a +commemorative anniversary of their patron saint, when his wonders were +made the subject of endless sermons. Great processions, rejoicings, and +feastings were held, and occasionally rendered more attractive by some +new miracle, some marvellous cure, some demon ejected, or something +which outdid the miracles of every neighbouring saint. Each of these +notable saints had his life of strange incidents, the legend of his +virtues and miracles, his shrines and his relics; and this legend was +to his votaries a kind of gospel, which was worked into the popular +belief by constant iteration. Legend, in fact, was the universal poetry +of the times. The mythic literature of Roman Catholic Christianity is +almost interminable in quantity, and its life and strength is centred +in its particularity and individuality; whenever it is reduced to +a more compendious form it withers, the chill of the tomb gathers +around it; and under the searching grasp of comparative criticism, the +specified particulars and the minute detail, are found to lack evidence, +and one by one, each story is made to pass from the realm of fact into +that of belief, or the hallucinations of the dark and perplexed +imagination of the sons of men. + + ¹ Incidental evidence of this has already been given in the + first volume of this work, pages 125 _et seq._, 406, 438. + The great authority for the lives of the Saints is the large + folio volumes of the Bollandists’ Collection, which was + begun in 1643 by the Jesuit, Bolland. Within the past fifty + years many of the materials relating to the Roman Catholic + Church in England and Scotland have been published by the + authority of the Commissioners of Records; and by Clubs and + Societies formed with the object of printing early records. + +The worship of the saints was connected with the adoration of images, +and the veneration of relics. The legend was confirmed and kept alive +by the somewhat dimly shown relics, which were generally in the church, +either under or upon the altar. In 787, the Second Council of Nice +issued a decree prohibiting the consecration of any church without +relics; hence it may easily be understood that objects of such virtue +and importance continually multiplied. The reliquary was the most +precious ornament in the king’s hall, in the lady’s chamber, and in the +knight’s armoury. It cannot be denied that there is something human and +even amiable in preserving memorials of the departed; and this natural +and universal feeling when transferred to the relics of the Blessed +Virgin and the saints had an almost incredible power. No one doubted +that the relics of the saints worked miracles; while the wood of the +true cross grew into a forest, and the most perishable things――the +garments of the Saviour and of the saints――became imperishable. To +such a degree was the veneration of relics carried, and the belief in +their virtue and miraculous powers had become so absolute, that the +very devil himself failed to detect imposture. Up to the verge of the +Reformation period the veneration of relics and the worship of images +continued in unshaken authority. + +As the Catholic Church developed and completed her organisation, the +world after death became more and more distinctly imagined and vividly +described. Hell, purgatory, and heaven, were palpably represented +to the senses. The conception of hell and the doctrine of future +punishment was especially clear and minutely elaborated; the site of +the former, its topography, trials and torments, were all portrayed +with harrowing exactness and repulsiveness. Hell was described in the +writings of the Middle Ages in words too gross to be repeated here; +its imagery, gathered from various sources besides the Old and New +Testaments, had been for long accumulating. It was held and taught that +eternal damnation was the lot which God had prepared for an immense +majority of the human race; that their punishment consisted in the +burning of their bodies in a literal fire; that the flames of this +fire were never quenched and that the bodies of the damned were never +consumed; that God had made the contemplation of their sufferings +an essential element of the happiness of the redeemed; and that the +saint was frequently permitted in visions to behold the agonies of the +lost, and to describe the fearful spectacle he had seen. “He loved to +tell how by the lurid glare of the eternal flames he had seen millions +writhing in every form of ghastly suffering, their eyeballs rolling +with unspeakable anguish, their limbs gashed and mutilated and +quivering with pain, tortured by pangs that seemed ever keener by their +recurrence, and shrieking in vain for mercy to an unpitying heaven. +Hideous beings of dreadful aspect and of fantastic forms hovered around, +mocking them and their torments, casting them into cauldrons of boiling +brimstone, or inventing new tortures more subtle and refined. Amid +all this a sulphur stream was ever seething, feeding, and intensifying +the waves of fire. There was no respite, no alleviation, no hope. The +tortures were ever varied in their character, and they never paused +for a moment upon the sense. Sometimes, it was said, the flames while +retaining their intensity withheld their light; a shroud of darkness +covered the scene, but the ceaseless shriek of anguish attested the +agonies that were below.”¹ + + ¹ Lecky’s _History of Rationalism_, Volume I., pages 348‒349; + St. Thomas Aquinas, In Question 97, Articles 4, 5, 6; + Hagenbach’s _History of Doctrines_, Volume II., pages + 148‒149, 151‒152. There is a large literature on hell and + the punishment of the lost. Besides passages in the Fathers, + and in the writings of the Schoolmen, and in the legends + of the saints, we have the well-known works of the great + Italian poet Dante; but another of his countrymen, not so + well known, Antonio Rusca, was the author of a book entitled + _De Inferno_; Milan, 1621. It settles logically, and with + great learning, every question relating to hell and its + inhabitants――its place, extent, divisions, and torments. + The more modern books which treat on the subject are very + numerous, and quite recently the main points involved in the + doctrine of future punishment have been handled from very + opposite standpoints. + +The doctrine of hell and eternal punishment as presented in the tenets +of the Church of the Middle Ages, destroyed all sense of the Divine +goodness, and would at length have extinguished the principles of right +and morality. Religion, instead of exhibiting a pure and exemplary +morality, had become a system of dogmas, of ceremonies and of relics, +of asceticism and of abuse, of extreme credulity and of savage +persecution, and all this was mainly supported and maintained by fear. + +The doctrine of purgatory seems to have arisen gradually from the +notion of a purifying fire, and it was afterwards brought into +connection with the notion of the mass. It came in to soften the +horrible idea of eternal torture in hell; in another respect it was +simply a continuation of the doctrine of penance. The possession of the +keys of heaven and hell certainly entailed a terrible responsibility +upon the priesthood; and it is only charitable to suppose that many a +priest might have thought that the key of purgatory might be used with +much less presumption; and so it came to pass that praying souls out of +purgatory by saying masses on their behalf was speedily developed into +an elaborate office which demanded large remuneration. The purchase of +indulgence naturally followed in the same wake; and so much alms-giving +to churches or to churchmen was understood to secure the remission of +so many years, or it might be, centuries of purgatory. + +But the idea of heaven, the state of the blessed, was not nearly so +firmly realised as the notions of hell and purgatory. Many had brought +back visions of hell and purgatory, but no one had returned from +heaven with clear information about it; though some of the saints +might occasionally descend on beneficent missions to the world of +living men, yet of the state of the blessed they gave only the vaguest +tidings. In fact, the notion of heaven was mixed up with the prevailing +cosmic theory, as well as with the theology of the age. The whole +belief of Roman Catholicism was materialistic; a palpable image or a +representation of everything was eagerly sought and as fully supplied. + +At the opening of the sixteenth century the political power of the +Church varied in different kingdoms. Although the head of the Church +made the same absolute claims upon all the rulers of Christendom, the +rulers did not always respond equally to his calls and pretensions. +In England the aristocracy and the commons had united to limit the +exorbitant power and influence of the Pope within the kingdom, and his +remonstrances and threats were often unavailing. The English clergy, as +a body, had a considerable share of political power; they constituted +one of the estates of the realm, and the territorial wealth of the +bishops being large, contributed to enhance their social importance. +The Pope, however, was still recognised as the head of the Church, and +by artful management, and the policy of seizing every opportunity to +extend his influence, he as yet retained a firm hold upon the English +clergy. + +In France the clergy were very powerful in the Middle Ages; and in +the first half of the thirteenth century they had begun to exercise +an almost complete social tyranny. Heresy was a crime which fell under +their jurisdiction; they had a monopoly of granting licences to marry +and of power to sanction wills; they had an exclusive right to give +judgment in cases of usury, that is loans; and thus became the judges +in nearly all the important disputes of daily life. Indeed they +interfered in everything, and upon every opportunity launched forth +their excommunications, which, if not removed, ended in confiscation. +The French nobles who tamely yielded to the encroachments of the +kings, resisted the clergy, and entered into a bond to aid each other +in defying the Papal ban. In 1249, King Louis issued his Pragmatic +Sanction, an ordinance against the undue privileges of the clergy and +the usurpations of the Popes. It established the rights of the national +prelates to confer benefices as handed down to them, and the right +of chapters and cathedrals to elect their bishops; it also abolished +simony, which Rome in her urgent need of funds had introduced on a +large scale. All these arrangements King Louis declared to be under +the protection of his own royal courts. The decree forbade the levy of +any tax by the court of Rome, unless it was sanctioned by the King, and +consented to, by the national Church. This ordinance remained in force +till the reign of Francis I. in the sixteenth century. The Pragmatic +Sanction was not a very bold assertion of religious freedom, but it +seems to have been highly valued by the French; although one of its +results was to foster the growth of the royal authority which long +proved fatal to the peace and happiness of the French. + +The French nobility were a separate caste and paid no national taxes. +Their estates descended to their eldest sons, but the younger sons, +according to etiquette, also belonged to the noble class; they became +very numerous, and though often poor they were extremely proud of their +blood and privileges. Thus it was that the hard worked tillers of the +soil of France from an early period were hard pressed by the payment of +rents to the nobles, taxes to the King, tithes to the Church, and other +fees and payments, which were rigorously exacted from them. In 1483 +the French peasants laid their grievances before Charles VIII., hoping +for some remedy, but in vain, as the new monarch proceeded to invade +Italy, and thereby increased their taxes and shed more of their blood. +Absolute monarchy became firmly established in France, and there +the Reformation failed, not because the French were Roman Catholic, +but mainly because the struggle in France was finally decided upon +secular and political grounds. The persecution of heresy in France +was excessively severe till Catholicism gained the upper hand, and as +it was more favourable to despotic government than Protestantism, the +absolute monarchy of France ruled the people almost without a challenge +for nearly two centuries. But the accumulated oppressions and wrongs +perpetrated upon the people for many generations at last exhausted +their endurance, and they arose and laid the Throne and the Church both +in the dust. The Reformation which was stifled in the sixteenth century +burst with volcanic violence at the end of the eighteenth, when the +people, goaded almost to madness, rose in their might, scattered the +glittering brass of the Crown, and rent to shreds the hallowed veil +of the Church, which had so long favoured the instruments of the +oppressors. + +In Germany the strife between the Emperor and the Pope had ceased; +while externally there seemed to be peace with the head of the Church +in that quarter of Christendom. But there were many other elements of +discord among the Germans. As yet they were far from having attained +national unity. The country, though nominally under the Emperor, was +really ruled by a number of petty princes and prelates, and the Emperor +merely held a kind of feudal headship. Germany was still under the +meshes of the feudal system; she had a class of little princes and +great dukes, and under them a host of petty nobles and lords, most of +whom were poor but proud and independent, and these constantly resisted +all the attempts of the higher powers to control them. They claimed the +right of waging private war, and the public peace was often broken. It +was only in the free towns of Germany that there was union and orderly +organised society; the citizens were thrifty, toiled hard, and saved +much, and thus they had obtained wealth. The great want of Germany was +a central and organised government with sufficient power to maintain +the public peace. + +No class in Germany had suffered more from the lawlessness of the +nobles and knights than the peasantry, who were still in feudal serfdom. +Since the beginning of the sixteenth century there had been several +insurrections among the peasantry against their masters; and at last +these risings began to be mixed up with the religious movement. They +were the natural result of oppression――in the circumstances rebellion +was the only remedy. The peasants of Swabia, a district of South +Germany, rebelled in 1525 against the exactions of the Church and the +nobles, but they were soon crushed. The demands which the leaders of +the peasants put forward were comprised in twelve short articles――“The +right to choose their own pastors; they would pay tithe of corn, out +of which the pastors should be paid, the rest to go for the use of the +parish; but small tithes, that is, the produce of animals, every tenth +calf, lamb, pig, or egg, and so on, they would not pay; they would be +free and no longer serfs and bondmen; wild game and fish to be free +to all; woods and forests to belong to all for fuel; rent when above +the value of the land to be valued and lowered; common land to be again +given up to common use; punishments for crimes to be fixed; death gifts, +that is, the right of the lord to take the best chattel of the deceased +tenant, to be done away with. If any of these articles be proved +contrary to Scripture or God’s justice, such to be null and void.” But +there was no chance of their demands being granted. + +Other local rebellions of the peasantry followed, and severe and savage +measures were adopted on both sides, and many were put to death. It has +been calculated that before the Peasants’ War was terminated 100,000 +were slain. Luther throughout this struggle sided with the ruling +powers; he was firmly opposed to the use of the sword against the civil +authorities. The sons of toil naturally thought that they should have +found a friend in Luther but they were bitterly disappointed, as he +openly exhorted the princes and the nobles to crush the rebellion, and +urged them on in the work of slaughter.¹ It need not be denied that +in some degree this rebellion was incited by the seed which Luther +himself had sown, and therefore he deserves the less sympathy for his +hard and cruel bearing towards the poor peasantry and their somewhat +wild leaders. The monks, who had suffered severely at the hands of the +peasants during the progress of the rebellion, blamed Erasmus and the +new learning for causing it; Erasmus blamed Luther, and Luther blamed +the wild teachers. But history must tell that it was the refusal of +timely reforms by the civil and ecclesiastical authorities that was the +real cause of these rebellions, and so persistent were the authorities +against social reform that the German peasantry were doomed to groan +under the yoke of serfdom till the beginning of the nineteenth century. +Since then, unhappily for the German race, they have been subjected to +a crushing and exhausting militarism, a modern form of despotism, which +is threatening to extinguish the spirit and consume the heart of this +great but too submissive people. + + ¹ Worsley’s _Life of Luther_, Volume II., pages 62‒64, 67‒69, + 71‒73. There is a full account of the Peasants’ War in + Ranke’s _History of the Reformation in Germany_, Volume I. + +The revival of learning had a remarkable influence on the Reformation +movement in Germany. Erasmus had a European reputation and influence, +but there was a number of other notable scholars more immediately +connected with the rise of the Reformation in Germany; amongst whom +were Reuchlin, Buschius, and Hutten; they were called “Humanists,” and +those who were bent on maintaining the old modes of learning branded +them as “preachers of perversion, and winnowers of the devil’s chaff.” +Greek in particular was declared to be heretical: the monks and masters +of the Universities were afraid of the light. Reuchlin was the greatest +Hebrew scholar of his day, at once a man of the world and of books, +but Hebrew was not more in favour than Greek with the theologians of +the old school, and they resolved to crush the leaders of the literary +reformation. Great efforts were put forth by the enemies of light to +overwhelm Reuchlin; the struggle was desperate, and for some time the +issue seemed doubtful. His enemies were fast closing around him, when, +as a last resort, he wrote to his friends throughout Europe, entreating +them to make the utmost efforts to obtain for him new allies. He +received from all quarters expressions of sympathy and assistance. +Reuchlin’s victory in public opinion was completed by a satire +which appeared in the beginning of the year 1516, entitled _Epistolæ +Obscurorum Virorum_, etc. The aim of this memorable satire was to make +the enemies of Reuchlin and polite letters represent themselves: “And +the representation is managed with a truth of nature only equalled by +the absurdity of the postures in which the actors are exhibited.... +Never certainly were unconscious barbarism, self-glorious ignorance, +intolerant stupidity, and sanctimonious immorality so ludicrously +delineated. The _Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum_ are at once the most +cruel and the most natural of satires, and as such they were the most +effective.... So truly, in fact, did it hit the mark that the objects +of the ridicule themselves, with the exception of those who were +necessarily in the secret, read the letters as the genuine product of +their brethren, and even hailed the publication as highly conducive to +the honour of scholasticism and monasticism.”¹ + + ¹ Sir W. Hamilton’s _Discussions_, pages 203‒217; 1852. Ranke’s + _History of the Reformation in Germany_, Volume I., pages + 300‒308; 1845. + +Hutten, who has generally been supposed to be one of the authors of the +above satire, at first wrote in Latin rhyme, but he at length resolved +to write in German for the instruction of the people. The burden of +his popular German rhymes was that Germany should abandon Rome; and he +exposed her tyranny and worldliness, and stirred up the people against +it. Many other writers also freely ridiculed the existing priestcraft +in fables, letters, and rhymes, and prepared the people for the +inception of the Reformation. + +Before the end of the fifteenth century Spain had fully entered +upon the task of persecuting the heretics. The Inquisition was early +established in Spain, and more effectively applied to crush all +attempts for the reformation of religion than in any other country; and +she long enjoyed the glory of being the most Catholic nation in Europe. +The modern form of the Inquisition was adopted in Spain in 1484. It was +at this time that Torquemada, a friar, was placed at its head with the +title of Inquisitor-General, and he at once proceeded to organise the +institution. After constituting the new tribunal, he framed a body of +rules for its government, which were issued in 1484, and from time to +time new rules were added till 1561, when the whole code was revised +and published in eighty-one articles, which continued to be the law, +with slight variations, down to the present century. Without entering +into minute details, it may be stated that the Inquisition was not +merely a court for the trial and condemnation of heretics; it exercised +the duties of an organised body of police employed in searching out +heresy, and thus it was one of its chief functions to hunt for the +crimes on which it was afterwards to sit in judgment, and every member +of its higher and lower courts was charged with this work. At times +when its vigilance was aroused by the alarm of heresy, it had its spies +and agents at every port and pass of the kingdom, fully armed with +authority to arrest the persons and goods of all who incurred their +suspicion. The forms of trial in its courts were all on the side of the +inquisitors, and to render it an instrument at once of injustice and +terror, all its proceedings were shrouded in complete secrecy. The part +of the procedure relating to torture was full of inhuman cruelties; +and when the evidence was not sufficient to convict the heretic, he was +tortured in order to force him to give answers against himself. From +1484 to 1517 the victims of the Inquisition in Spain numbered thirteen +thousand persons who were burnt alive, eight thousand seven hundred +burnt in effigy, and one hundred and sixty-nine thousand, seven hundred +and twenty-three condemned to undergo penance, all within a period of +thirty-four years.¹ + + ¹ Limborch’s _History of the Inquisition_, Volume I., pages + 119‒127, 156‒159; Volume II., pages 211‒226; 1731. Compare + M‘Crie’s _History of the Progress and Suppression of the + Reformation in Spain_, Works, Volume III., pages 50‒51; 1855. + +Various attempts were made to introduce the reformed doctrines into +Spain, but they completely failed. Everything savouring of heresy +was utterly extinguished. In the sixteenth century, Spain constituted +herself the great champion of Roman Catholicism; but the ends for which +she leagued with the court of Rome were chiefly political. She aimed +at subjecting all classes to the absolute will of the monarch, and +the power and seeming greatness which was raised upon this foundation, +contained within itself the vices which soon consumed her energy and +ensured her decay. + +At the opening of the sixteenth century Italy had made but little +progress towards becoming a united nation. The country was divided into +a number of separate states with varying and opposite interests. The +chief states were Venice, Milan, and Florence, in the north; Naples to +the south; and the States of the Church lying between them, over which +the Pope had endeavoured to rule. These States of the Church contained +a number of petty lordships and cities which claimed independence, and +the Nobles and the Pope were always quarrelling as to who should bear +the chief sway. Quarrels were constantly fomented among the Italian +states; and the governments of the neighbouring kingdoms were apt to +seize these comparatively weak principalities. Milan was claimed by +the Kings of France, Spain, Naples, and the German Emperor; and through +these internal and external forces Italy was kept in a sea of unrest +and disorder. The power of the Papal Court was not so complete in Italy +as it was in some other countries; and even excommunication had lost +some of its former power and terrors. + +Touching the morals of the clergy before the Reformation, there was +a general concurrence of testimony against them; to the historian, +however, this subject appears as a complicated problem tinged by the +contorted notions of the age; inasmuch as it is difficult to reach +the truth and do justice to opposing parties. From the beginning of +the fifteenth century, a reformation of the Church had been loudly +demanded; and the shortcomings of the clergy were generally, if +somewhat reluctantly, acknowledged throughout Christendom. They +neglected the religious instruction of the people, and their sacred +functions were often prostituted to worldly purposes; while the +exactions of the Church were becoming more and more unbearable. +Nowhere were these abuses and grievances more rampant than in Italy. +The Court of Rome itself was more corrupted than any of the political +Courts of Europe; the unprincipled and faithless character of its +policy was everywhere notorious; in fact, it was a system of intrigue, +of cabal, and of bribery. The sacred bodies of clerical dignitaries +who surrounded the throne of the Pope might agree to dupe the world; +yet they rarely scrupled to supplant and deceive each other when their +personal interests were at stake.¹ Many of the clergy did nothing but +say masses for the dead, a more lucrative occupation than praying for +the living. The education of the clergy and their modes of life were +not well calculated to encourage self-culture nor the study of Divine +truth, in order to qualify them to instruct others; and the root of the +prevailing system directly tended to narrow their sympathy and to dwarf +their humanity. Celibacy cut them off from all the interests and duties +of domestic life, and this left them at leisure for mischief of all +kinds. “The history of the clerical celibacy, in England as elsewhere, +is indeed tender ground; the benefits which it is supposed to secure +are the personal purity of the individual, his separation from secular +ways and interests, and his entire devotion to the work of God and +the Church. But the results, as legal and historical records show +us, were very different. Instead of personal purity, there is a long +story of licensed and unlicensed concubinage, and appendant to it, +much miscellaneous profligacy and a general low tone of morality in +the very point that is supposed to be secured. Instead of separation +from secular work is found in the higher class of the clergy entire +devotion to the legal and political service of the country, and in the +lower class idleness and poverty as the alternative. Instead of greater +spirituality, there is greater frivolity. The abuses of monastic life, +great as they may occasionally have been, sink into insignificance by +the side of this evil, as an occasional crime tells against the moral +condition of a nation far less fatally than the prevalence of a low +morality. The records of the spiritual courts of the middle ages remain +in such quantity and in such concord of testimony as to leave no doubt +of the facts; among the laity as well as among the clergy, of the towns +and clerical centres, there existed an amount of coarse vice which +had no secrecy to screen it or prevent it from spreading.... And in +this, as in other particulars, the mediæval Church incurred a fearful +responsibility. The evils against which she had to contend were beyond +her power to overcome, yet she resisted interference from any other +hand. The treatment of such moral evils as did not come within the +contemplation of the common law were left to the Church courts; the +Church courts became centres of corruption which archbishops, legates, +and councils tried to reform and failed, acquiescing in the failure +rather, than allow the intrusion of the secular power. The spiritual +jurisdiction over the clergy was an engine which courts altogether +failed to manage, or so far failed as to render reformation of manners +by such means absolutely hopeless: yet any interference of the temporal +courts was resented and warded off until the evil was irremediable, +because a clerk stripped of the reality of his immunities, but +retaining all the odium with which they had invested him would have +no chance of justice in a lay court. Thus on a smaller stage was +reproduced the result which the policy of the papacy brought about in +the greater theatre of ecclesiastical politics. The practical assertion +that, except by the court of Rome, there should be no reformation, was +supplemented by an acknowledgment of the evils that were to be reformed, +and of the incapacity of the court of Rome to cure them: there popes +and councils toiled in vain; they could neither bear the evils of +the age nor their remedies. Strange to say, some part of the mischief +of the spiritual jurisdiction survived the Reformation itself, and +enlarged its scope as well as strengthened its operation by the close +temporary alliance between the Church and Crown.”² Everywhere there +was a number of priests and friars, whose religious duties occupied +only a small portion of their time, and whose standard of morality was +formed upon an extremely low ideal; and it was the moral standard that +required to be raised before there could be any real improvement in the +social condition either of the clergy or the people. + + ¹ “The corruption of the Papal Court involved a corresponding + moral ♦weakness throughout Italy.”――Symonds’ _Renaissance_, + Volume I., page 382, and the whole of the 7th Chapter. + + ♦ “weaknass” replaced with “weakness” + + ² Stubbs’ _Constitutional History Of England_, Volume III., + pages 372‒374; 1878. + +For several centuries before the Reformation much of the popular +literature of Europe was directed against the vices of the clergy and +the abuses of the Church; upon this theme the most orthodox and the +most heretical were agreed. The secular clergy often despised the monks, +the monks satirised the begging friars, and thus their inconsistencies +were exposed to the people, and gradually the strength of the old +traditions and prejudices were loosened and impaired, and the people +partly prepared for a revolution in their opinions and belief. + +From an early period in Italy the corruptions of the Church were ably +exposed by persons who had not thought of renouncing her communion. The +Italian poets laid open the abuses of the head of the Church as well +as of the subordinate orders of the clergy. Dante, who was a sincere +believer in the Roman Catholic Church, showed little faith in the +infallibility of the Popes or general councils, and he describes +the avarice and the luxurious lives of the clergy in the language of +indignation and ridicule. In his treatise on Monarchy, he inveighed +with remarkable boldness against the corruption of the Church; and +in the same work he also attacked tradition, the grand fortress of +Catholicism. Petrarch and Boccaccio followed in a similar strain; and +the latter, especially by his broad humour, keen wit, and reckless +pleasantry was exceedingly effective. He mercilessly assailed the +popular religion; its pilgrimages, relics, and miracles were scoffed at +in the most playful style; its corruptions were exposed, and the monks, +the nuns, and the friars were stripped of their sanctity and derided +in profane mockery and jeering scorn.¹ The _Decameron_ of Boccaccio is +the bitterest satire of the religion of the Middle ages ever written, +and to this day it remains the most curious illustration of the +belief and notions of that age. Many other Italian poets and writers +employed their talents to unmask the ignorance, the vice, the greed, +the hypocrisy, and the absurdities of the hierarchy, from the Popes +downward to the wandering mendicants; and this warfare was continued +down to the eve of the Reformation. + + ¹ Dante’s _Inferno_, H. F. Cary’s Translation; Petrarch’s + _Sonnets_ and other Poems; Milman’s _History of Latin + Christianity_, Volume VI., pages 516‒518, etc.; M‘Crie’s + _History of the Progress and Suppression of the Reformation + in Italy_, Works, Volume III., pages 14‒19; 1855. “While + so much liberty of thought prevailed in Italy it may be + wondered why the Renaissance, eminently fertile in the + domains of arts and culture, bore but meagre fruit in those + of religion and philosophy. The German Reformation was + the Renaissance of Christianity; and in this the Italians + had no share, though it should be remembered that, without + their previous labours in the field of scholarship, the band + which led the Reformation could hardly have given that high + intellectual character to the movement which made it a new + starting point in the history of the reason. To expect from + Italy the ethical regeneration of the modern world would be + to misapprehend her true vocation; art and erudition were + sufficient to engage her spiritual energies.” + + “True to culture as their main preoccupation, the + Italian thinkers sought to philosophise faith by bringing + Christianity into harmony with antique speculation, and + forming for themselves a theism that should embrace the + system of the Platonists and Stoics, the Hebrew Cabbala, + and the Sermon on the Mount. There is much that strikes + us as both crude and pedantic, at the same time infantine + and pompous in the systems elaborated by those pioneers + of modern eclecticism.”――Symonds’ _Renaissance in Italy_, + Volume II., pages 21‒23; 1877. + +In the latter part of the fifteenth century, Savonarola, a Dominican +friar, became a religious reformer; he was an Italian by birth and +education, a man of talents and great piety; but he seems to have +yielded to the illusions of his imagination, and at last persuaded +himself that he was possessed of supernatural gifts. In 1486, he +commenced preaching against the vices of the popes, cardinals, priests, +and monks, the tyranny of princes, and the immorality of the people; +he was an eloquent and powerful preacher, and he called earnestly for +repentance and reformation. He preached in various cities, and vast +crowds of the people came to hear him. Florence was chosen as the +scene of his labour, and for a short time he had a great influence +in that city. His aim was to improve the morals of the clergy and the +people, not to change the faith of the Christian world. He was also a +warm friend of the cause of political liberty and freedom. From this +standpoint he was one of the most ardent reformers. Towards the close +of his career his mind seems to have become fevered and unbalanced. +In 1495, Pope Alexander VI. deemed it time to extinguish so bold a +preacher, and he was excommunicated and proclaimed a heresiarch; and he +was afterwards taken, tortured, condemned to the flames, and strangled +and burned in May, 1498, by the order of the Pope, who had himself +committed many dark crimes.¹ + + ¹ Symonds’ _Renaissance_, Volume I., pages 428, 471. + +For two centuries preceding the Reformation a literature in the +language of the people had been growing up in Germany, France, and +England, and in each of these countries the vernacular contained a +mass of writings which satirised the corruptions of the Church and +the vices of the clergy. These compositions were sometimes in the form +of rude rhymes and short poems, and sometimes songs or ballads, but +occasionally they assumed a more ambitious form, as in the poems of +Chaucer, and Piers Ploughman. As before indicated, the general result +of this literature upon the minds of the people was that gradually and +with difficulty they began to see some of the inconsistencies of the +Church, and their moral and religious consciousness at last awoke to a +clearer conception of their rights. + +But the causes of the Reformation were manifold and extremely varied, +rising so high and at the same time descending so low, and yet invoking +so many venerated feelings and sentiments; and it must be added, so +many prejudices and passions were inflamed on both sides, so many great +prizes and vested interests depended upon the issue, that even at this +day it is almost impossible for any man to assign the true and just +measure of all the causes and influences which contributed to this the +most momentous struggle of the Christian era. + +Another important agency of the revolutionary movement was implied +in the printing and publication of editions and translations of the +Scriptures. In Italy during the fifteenth century much attention was +devoted to the Hebrew language and to sacred literature. The Psalter +appeared in 1477, and from that date parts of the Old Testament in the +original continued to be issued from the press till in 1488 a complete +Hebrew Bible was printed at Soncino in Italy. The first edition of +the Septuagint came from the Aldine press at Venice in 1518. Erasmus +published at Basle in 1516 his edition of the Greek text of the +New Testament, together with his own Latin version and explanatory +annotations. The book of Job in Hebrew was printed at Paris in 1516. +The Complutensian Polyglot Bible under the patronage and at the expense +of Cardinal Ximenes, was printed at Alcala between 1502 and 1517 and +published in 1520, in six volumes folio, six hundred copies on paper, +and three on vellum. It contained in three columns the Hebrew, the +Septuagint Greek, and the Latin Vulgate version of Jerome; the Chaldee +paraphrase of the Pentateuch by Onkelos was printed at the foot of +the page, and to it a Latin translation was given; the New Testament +included the original Greek and the Vulgate Latin version. The work +also had a grammar and dictionary of the Hebrew, a Greek vocabulary, +and other explanatory treatises attached to it. Spain thus had the +credit of printing the first complete edition of the Scriptures. It is +said that this work cost 250,000 ducats. An edition of the Septuagint +and of the Greek New Testament was published at Strasburg by Cephalæus +in 1524 and 1526; editions of the New Testament also appeared at Paris +in 1534, and at Venice in 1538; and about the same time editions were +printed at various other places. Hebrew and Greek grammars and lexicons +then began to appear, and commentaries on the Scriptures followed.¹ + + ¹ Ginguene’s _History of Italian Literature_, Tome VII.; + M‘Crie’s Works, Volume III., pages 31, 34, 36; 1855. Among + the earliest books of any kind printed was a Psalter in 1457, + and a Latin Bible about the year 1455, usually called the + Mazarin Bible, the exact date of its printing is uncertain, + but it is not earlier than 1450 nor later than 1455. + +But these important works were confined to the learned, and could +have had no impression upon the popular mind. The influences, however, +which had contributed to produce them were general and not limited to +any class; for the religious feelings and sentiments were as active +among the unlearned as among the most cultured men of the age. The +activity of the learned class, as manifested in the publication +of the Scriptures, was the effect of general and widely spread +influences which were running in a definite direction. Translations +of the Scriptures were therefore eagerly solicited, and then for +the first time began to be supplied. It is said that the Scriptures +were translated into the Italian language in the thirteenth century, +and it appears that fragments of very early translations were found +in libraries during the fifteenth century. Nicolo Malermi, a monk, +produced an Italian version of the Bible from the Vulgate, which +was published in 1471. Before the end of the century it went through +eleven editions, and in the following century through twelve. About +this period also Italian versions of parts of the Scriptures appeared. +An improved and more faithful translation of the New Testament was +executed by Antonio Brucioli, and printed at Venice in 1530. His +translation of the whole Bible was published in 1532, and revised and +printed in 1541. Other Italian versions of the Scriptures soon followed. +But in none of the modern languages were so many translations and +editions of the Bible published as in the Flemish or Dutch tongue. +A Flemish version of the Bible appeared in 1477; a translation from +the Vulgate was printed at Delft in 1497, and reprinted several times +before the Reformation at the presses of Antwerp and Amsterdam. A +Flemish version of the New Testament from that of Luther was published +at Antwerp in 1522, and reprinted twelve times within the next five +years. During the first thirty-six years of the sixteenth century +fifteen editions of the entire Bible were printed in the Flemish +language, and thirty-four editions of the New Testament alone within +the same period, twenty-four of which were printed at Antwerp; some of +them were taken from the Vulgate, but most of them were from Luther’s +version. The earliest French translation of the Old Testament from the +Vulgate was printed about 1477; a French version of the New Testament +was published in 1512, and a version of the Bible in 1530. The earliest +Protestant translation of the Bible in French was printed at Neufchatel +in 1535.¹ + + ¹ Panfer’s _An. Typ. In._; Simon’s _Critical History of the New + Testament_; M‘Crie’s Works, Volume III., pages 38‒40. + +In Spain the Scriptures were translated into the Castilian dialect in +the year 1260, and other ancient versions of the Bible in the dialects +of the Spanish people have been preserved in the libraries of the +Continent. At the beginning of the fifteenth century, Bonifacio Ferrer, +a Carthusian monk, translated the whole of the Scriptures into the +Spanish language, and this translation was printed at Valencia in 1478; +but shortly after its publication it was suppressed by the Inquisition, +and the whole impression ordered to be burned. A Spanish version of +the New Testament was printed at Antwerp in 1543.¹ Luther’s German +translation of the Old and New Testaments was published between the +years 1522 and 1530. Translations of the Bible were published in the +Danish language in 1524, and in the Swedish in 1526. + + ¹ _The Bible of Saci_, Book I. Andres. + +Wycliffe commenced his English translation of the Bible from the +Vulgate in 1380, and it is supposed that portions of it were widely +circulated in manuscript. Tyndale’s English version of the New +Testament was printed in 1526, and within ten years fourteen editions +of it were published. Coverdale’s translation of the whole Bible was +published in 1535; and another version, mainly based upon Tyndale’s, +appeared in 1537. A revised translation was issued in 1539,¹ which +was sometimes called Cranmer’s Bible. The publication of so many +translations of the Scriptures in the languages and dialects of the +people, and the numerous editions which they passed through, seemed to +indicate that a crisis was approaching, as the religious sentiments of +the people were warmed, and that their feelings and passions were being +raised to a pitch of excitement which might be extremely difficult +to control. The lower classes in many parts of Europe had been long +groaning under oppression, and a sense of wrong had begun to rankle +in their minds. A century and a half earlier the English peasantry +had rebelled against their masters, and we have seen that the same +classes had revolted against the Church and the nobles in Germany. The +inconsistencies of the profession and the practice of the clergy could +not fail to open the eyes of the people, while the social position +in which they found themselves placed did not harmonise with the +most elementary ideas of justice and truth. They therefore listened +with keen emotion and swelling hearts to the impassioned appeals of +the reformed preachers, who they easily won over the multitude; but +there was much more difficulty in moderating the zeal and the passions +aroused by their preaching. Even in Luther himself the destructive +leaning was pretty strong and pronounced; he said――“I believe it to +be impossible that the Church should be reformed without completely +eradicating canons, decretals, scholastic theology, philosophy, and +logic, as they are now received and taught, and instituting others in +their place.”² + + ¹ Dibdin’s _Typographical Antiquities_; Anderson’s _Annals of + the English Bible_, 1862. + + ² Ueberweg’s _History of Philosophy_, Volume II., pages 16‒17. + “Luther railed against all speculative doctrines and pursuits + with violent, indiscriminate recklessness. He frequently + expresses the most withering contempt for Aristotle and + all his works.”――Blakey’s _History of the Philosophy of + the Mind_, Volume II., page 129; 1848. Compare D’Aubigne’s + _History of the Reformation_, Volume I., pages 154, 219. + +This awakening of the religious consciousness, and its association with +moral and social practice, soon led to important issues. The married +life, which had hitherto been regarded as inferior to celibacy, now +appeared in a new light, as something divine, as a law imposed by God +Himself; and the domestic duties at once assumed a higher and nobler +significance. Poverty was no longer considered an object in itself, +and the life of the monk, though before deemed higher than the worldly +energy and industry of the layman who supported himself by the labour +of his hands, began to be regarded with contempt. Religious freedom +took the place of blind obedience, and henceforward monkhood and +priesthood lost much of their sway. + +Again, in relation to knowledge and to thought, man returned, as +it were, from the extramundane to the genial earth――from the alien +region of authority to himself. He was at last convinced that the +entire work of salvation must be accomplished within himself, and that +reconciliation and grace were matters that stood in a direct relation +between himself and God. With this conviction in the core of his soul, +he found his real and true being; thus it is that the philosophy of the +human mind is closely connected with Protestantism, for the principle +of both is one and the same, though it realises itself in the course of +development in varying forms.¹ + + ¹ Schwegler’s _History of Philosophy_, Stirling’s Translation, + pages 148, 149; 1868. + +The Bible appeared to the early Reformers as the pure, genuine, and +true word of God, and whatever had been added to it, was not regarded +as a real advance upon the original, but rather as a debasement. The +authority of tradition was denied, the mediæval hierarchy, and the +scholastic tendency to rationalise Christian dogmas were rejected. +In the first burst of their enthusiasm, the Reformers called the +Pope Antichrist, and Aristotle, the chief of the Catholic school of +philosophy, the godless bulwark of the Papists. The logical result of +this would have been the abandonment of all philosophy in favour of +immediate, unquestioning faith: but when Protestantism gained a fixed +consistence the necessity of a definite order of instruction became as +apparent as that of a new ecclesiastical polity. Melanchthon perceived +the need of Aristotle, the master of form, and at last Luther allowed +the use of the text of the Aristotelian writings, when not encumbered +with scholastic commentaries. Thus there arose at the Protestant +Universities a new, though simpler, scholasticism; the development of +an independent philosophy on the basis of the generalised Protestant +principle was the work of a later time.¹ Modern Philosophy began when +the intellect threw off that entire subservience to theology which +characterised it in the Middle Ages. In the words of one of the best +authorities the chief divisions of modern philosophy are:――“1. The +Transitional Period, beginning with the revival of Platonism; 2. +The Epoch of Empiricism, Dogmatism, and Scepticism, from Bacon and +Descartes to the Encyclopedists and Hume; and 3. The Epoch of the +Kantian Criticism, and of the systems issuing from it, from Kant till +the present time. + + ¹ Ueberweg’s _History of Philosophy_, Volume II., pages 15‒16. + +“Unity, servitude, freedom――these are the three stages through which +the philosophy of the Christian era has passed in its relation to +ecclesiastical theology. The stage of freedom corresponds with the +general character of the modern era, which seeks to restore, in place +of mediæval antagonism, harmonious unity. Freedom of thought, in +respect of form and substance, has been secured gradually by modern +philosophy. The first movement in this direction consisted in a mere +exchange of authorities, or in the reproduction of other ancient +systems than that of Aristotle, without much modification, and such +adaption to new and changed conditions, as the scholastics had effected +in the system of Aristotle. Then followed the era of independent +investigation in the realm of nature, and finally also in the realm +of mind. There was a transitional period marked by the endeavour +of philosophy to become independent. The second epoch, the epoch +of Empiricism and Dogmatism, was characterised by methodical +investigations and comprehensive systems, which were based on the +confident belief that knowledge of natural and spiritual reality was +independently attainable by means of experience or thought alone. +Scepticism prepared the way for the third stadium in the history of +modern philosophy, which was formed by criticism. According to the +critical philosophy, the investigation of the cognitive faculty of +man is the necessary basis for all strictly scientific philosophising, +and the result aimed at by it is, that thought is incompetent to the +cognition of the real world of phenomena, beyond which the only guide +is man’s moral consciousness. This result has been denied by the +following systems, although these systems are all lineal descendants +from the Kantian philosophy, which is still of immediate (not merely +historical) significance for the philosophy of the present day.”¹ + + ¹ Ibid., Volume II., pages 1‒3; 1874. + +There is only a limited truth in the presuppositions of a complete +parallelism between the progress of the development of the ancient +philosophy and that of modern systems. “Modern philosophy has from the +beginning owed its existence in a far greater measure to an interest +in theology (though not for the most part to an interest in the +specially ecclesiastical form of theology) than did ancient philosophy +previous to the time of Neo-Platonism.” The most remarkable difference +between the ancient and modern philosophy is in the science of mind. +Psychology has in comparatively recent times been developed to a stage +of completeness much beyond what the philosophers of Greece had reached; +and the departments of moral and social science are now treated on a +different and far wider method than in ancient times. + +From the outset there were two chief doctrines which determined the +course taken by the Reformers. One of these was the Pauline doctrine +of justification by faith, the other manifested itself in the constant +appeal to the Bible as the only decisive authority in questions +concerning faith. It is pretty evident that the German Reformers held +mainly by the first, while those of Switzerland, Zuinglius and Calvin, +gave the preference to the second. + +Although the leaders of the Reformation did not adopt a bold critical +method of inquiry, and though the systems which Luther and Calvin +founded were essentially dogmatic at all points; yet the admission of +an act of spiritual rebellion, of an appeal to conscience and to the +judgment of the people, instead of the authority of the Catholic Church, +involved a principle which must ultimately lead to consequences that +the Reformers hardly intended and could not have ♦foreseen. Questions +concerning the sacraments, the meaning of certain texts of Scripture, +the forms of church polity, were discussed with the utmost zeal; but +the grand issue of the revolution――the rebellion of the moral faculty +against the doctrines that collided with its teaching――was as yet +little manifested by the Reformers. They had rejected many of the +traditions and external ceremonies of the Church, but they still looked +to the Bible and historical authority for the basis of their theology. +And yet it cannot be doubted that the Reformation introduced influences +which had a powerful effect on the philosophy of the human mind;¹ and +at length greatly modified the moral ideas and sentiments of the people, +and led to political and social results. This revolutionary movement +also gave a marked impetus to scientific inquiry. It was then that +empirical science began to assume importance, and it is only from this +epoch that it has a continuous history. + + ♦ “forseen” replaced with “foreseen” + + ¹ D. Stewart’s Works, Volume I., pages 28‒30; 1854. Blakey’s + _History of the Philosophy of the Mind_, Volume II., page + 128; 1848. + +When we inquire what was the meaning of a national revolt from Romanism, +and look only to external circumstances, it will not appear to amount +to much. It was the claim set up by the Government or the Crown for the +control of those rights within the nation, which the Pope had before +claimed as the head of the Christian empire; the clergy, monks, and +friars had hitherto been regarded as subjects of the Pope’s sacerdotal +rule. Now, where there was a revolt from Rome, the allegiance of this +class of persons was annulled, and the civil government claimed as +full a power over them as it had over its lay subjects; there were +some partial exceptions to this, but the essential point was the entire +exclusion of all the pretensions of the Pope to interfere with any of +the affairs of the nation. Generally, matters relating to marriage and +wills still remained under the jurisdiction of the clergy, but when the +ecclesiastical courts ceased to be papal they became national, and the +special matters with which they dealt, might, if necessary, be brought +under the control of the Government. Even touching religious doctrine +and the forms of public worship, the Government often claimed the +final authority, which had been before exercised by the Pope. Thus +externally considered, the revolt from Rome was rather a political and +ecclesiastical arrangement than a purely religious matter. In relation +to the ruling powers, it was an assertion of free, independent national +life; the instinctive feeling for unity and the pride of distinct +national independence entered as a very strong influence into the +struggles of the Reformation, but it was not always on the side of +the Protestants; and in those countries where the movement failed, +as in Spain and France, it was probably owing to influences of this +kind more than to any other cause. In the imperfectly tutored mind the +instinctive tendencies, the inherited feelings, and the traditional +notions, form a conservative and unreasoning force which it is almost +impossible to overcome without a gradual change of surroundings and +circumstances; while to many highly cultured individuals, the mere idea +of belonging to the great historical and the only true and infallible +Church is exceedingly soothing and gratifying. To be relieved also from +all perplexing doubts and questions touching the spiritual and eternal +destiny of the soul, is to many a matter of exquisite satisfaction; +they glory in the thought of the certainty of their everlasting +salvation; they glory in the notion that whatever others may be, +they at least cannot be wrong; time may come and go, generation after +generation of heretics and heathens may be whirled into everlasting +misery, but they alone go on for ever, rejoicing that the universe was +specially created for their eternal happiness. + +The eras of the Reformation among the different nations of Europe +were comprised within a period of about fifty years, though in +some countries the struggle lasted longer. The revolt of Luther is +usually dated 1517, the year in which he published his theses against +indulgences, but the Reformation in Germany was only partly successful. +Denmark and Sweden both broke off from Rome and adopted the Lutheran +doctrines between 1521 and 1534; about the same time several of the +cantons and chief cities of Switzerland became Protestant. England +threw off the authority of the Pope in 1535. But the struggle with +the Roman Catholic powers was long continued in the Netherlands, in +France, and in Germany; and in the two latter the Catholics ultimately +recovered much of the ground they had lost. + +Luther was supported by the Elector of Saxony, and this enabled him +to continue his controversy with the Church. His activity and writings +soon raised a stir in Germany, which spread to other lands. In 1520, +he published two pamphlets. The first was addressed to the nobility of +the German nation, and in it we find the following sentiments:――“The +Romanists have raised round themselves walls to protect themselves from +reform. One is their doctrine, that there are two separate estates: +the one spiritual, including the pope, bishops, priests, and monks; the +other secular, embracing the princes, nobles, artizans, and peasants. +And they lay it down that the secular power has no authority over the +spiritual, but that the spiritual is above the secular; whereas, in +truth, all Christians are spiritual, and there is no difference between +them. The secular power is of God, to punish the wicked and protect +the good, and so has power over the whole body of Christians without +exception, pope, bishops, monks, nuns, and all. For St. Paul says――‘Let +every soul (and I reckon the pope one) be subject to the higher powers.’ +Why should 300,000 florins be sent every year from Germany to Rome? +Why do the Germans let themselves be fleeced by cardinals, who get +hold of the best preferments and spend the revenues at Rome? Let us +not give another farthing to the Pope as subsidies against the Turk; +the whole thing is a snare to drain from us more money. Let the secular +authorities send no more annates to Rome; let the power of the Pope be +reduced within clear limits; let there be fewer cardinals, and let them +not keep the best things to themselves; let the national churches be +more independent of Rome; let there be fewer pilgrimages to Italy; let +there be fewer convents; let priests marry; let begging be stopped by +making each parish take charge of its own poor; let us inquire into +the position of the Bohemians, and if Huss was in the right, let us +join with him in resisting Rome.”¹ This passage shows that Luther knew +well how to catch the ear of the people, and it was a strain admirably +calculated to arrest the attention of the princes of the day; nothing +could be more gratifying to them than to set their own authority above +the clergy and the Church. From this date Luther’s impassioned nature +hurried him onward; and he burned the Pope’s bull and the canon law +books in the month of December 1520. But it would be unjust not to +mention that there were many in the Roman Catholic Church who earnestly +wished for a reform of the discipline, the manners of the clergy, and +the monastic orders, although they were averse to any separation from +her communion or any breaking up of what was deemed her legitimate +authority. This class of moderate men, though some of them were not +without influence, were doomed to effect very little, because in times +of revolution bold measures alone have the chance of commanding success. + + ¹ Luther’s Works, Walch’s edition; H. Worsley’s _Life of + Luther_, Volume I., pages 169‒171. + +Luther was a voluminous writer as well as a great preacher, and +in spite of his faults, taking him all in all, he presents the +characteristics of a veritable hero. His works are both numerous +and diverse. They consist of sermons and expositions of Scripture, +disputations, and controversial writings, many letters and circular +epistles, maxims, and hymns, besides his translation of the Bible +already mentioned. Most of Luther’s writings were produced on the spur +of the moment to meet some exigency. None of them can be regarded as +finished compositions, yet they are fresh and full of vigour and energy. +Many editions of his works, more or less complete, have been published: +one at Wittenberg, twelve volumes in German, 1539‒59, and seven in +Latin, 1545‒58; one at Jena, eight volumes in German, 1555‒58, and +four in Latin, 1556‒58; another at Altenburg, in ten volumes in German, +1661‒64, and there are several later editions. But it fell to the +lot of the calmer and more learned Melanchthon to lead the stream of +the newly awakened life of faith into its methodically circumscribed +channel. Besides many other valuable works, he composed the first +compend of the doctrines of the Protestant Church, which formed the +basis of other treatises. His _Loci Communes rerum Theologicarum seu +Hypotyposes Theologiæ_ was published in 1521, and has passed through +upwards of a hundred editions, about fifty of which appeared during his +lifetime. + +Melanchthon was appointed by the newly formed Protestant party to draw +up a Confession of Faith, in a concise and moderate form, on the basis +of the doctrines which he and Luther and other divines had determined. +It was laid before the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, and hence it has +been called the Confession of Augsburg. It consists of twenty-eight +articles; and in the first twenty-one the principal doctrines of faith +were discussed in reference to the Roman Catholic Church, but with +remarkable moderation of tone; the last seven articles treated of the +prevailing abuses of Catholicism. A confutation of this Confession +published by the Roman Catholics, was soon after followed by a treatise +from Melanchthon, entitled the Apology of the Confession. A similar +arrangement was adopted in the Apology as in the Confession, but the +number of articles was reduced to sixteen. This work long held the +first place among the theological books of the Lutheran Church; and in +argumentative power the Apology is exceptionally masterly amongst this +class of theological literature. The Articles of Schmalkald, which were +written by Luther in a far bolder strain, appeared in 1536, and the +first German edition was published in 1538. With these may be mentioned +Luther’s larger and smaller Catechisms, the larger one for the use of +the clergy and schoolmasters, and the other for the use of the people +and children. + +The early Swiss Reformer, Zuinglius, proclaimed the principles of +evangelical faith in various writings, which may be regarded as the +beginning of the consecutive theology of the reformed Church. Besides +his polemical writings, sermons, and letters, he wrote _Commentaries +concerning True and False Religion_, published in 1525, and _A Brief +and Clear Exposition of the Christian Faith_. A Confession of the +Reformed Church was published in 1534, which is known as the Confession +of Basle. But owing to the controversy touching the Lord’s Supper, and +the efforts made to restore peace, a second Confession was composed +by the Swiss Reformers and divines in 1536, and is usually called the +Helvetian Confession. + +From the very commencement of the Reformation it became manifest that +the Protestants must proceed upon a different method of attaining +knowledge from that followed by the Roman Catholics. The radical +difference between the two, which has continued to become wider down to +the present day, may be shortly stated: The Protestants assert that the +Old and New Testament is the only safe source of religious knowledge, +and forms the sole rule of faith; the Roman Catholic Church assumes +the existence of another source associated with the first, namely, +tradition. The Roman Catholic Church emphatically claims the sole right +of interpreting Scripture; but the Protestant Church concedes this +right, within limits, to every one who has the requisite gifts and +attainments, and in a wider sense to every one seeking after salvation; +she proceeds upon the view that Scripture should be interpreted in its +entirety according to the analogy of faith, and she also allows for the +distinction between a critical and general understanding――between the +common understanding and a deeper insight into the meaning of Scripture. +Having presented a sketch of the antecedents of the Reformation, I +return to the more immediate subject of the work. + + + SECTION II. + + _History of the Reformation in Scotland + to the Death of Cardinal Beaton._ + +WHEN Europe was on the eve of the first stage of the Reformation +struggle, Scotland as we have seen in the foregoing volume, had +lost her king and many of her leading men upon the disastrous field +of Flodden. The citizens of Edinburgh, however, were equal to the +emergency, and they immediately took steps to preserve order and +to defend the capital; and it was at this time that the authorities +resolved to build a wall around Edinburgh.¹ But the fear of an invasion +was soon dispelled as the Earl of Surrey disbanded his host. In October, +1513, the infant king was crowned at Scone, and his mother named +as regent; but her frothy disposition speedily led her into actions +which rendered this arrangement nugatory, as in the following year +she married the young Earl of Angus, which at once deprived her of the +regency. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume I., pages 143‒144, 146. + +Meanwhile a party of the nobles were looking to the Duke of Albany as +a likely personage to take the reins of Government. He was a son of +Alexander Stuart, Duke of Albany, a brother of James III., who after +his forfeiture passed into France, and had attained to a position of +wealth and honour. As a member of the Royal family, after the infant +king, he was next heir to the throne. He was requested to assume the +functions of Governor of the kingdom; but the state of society in +Scotland offered comparatively few attractions to a man habituated to +the gay and fashionable society of France, and he seems to have been +very loath to leave the enjoyments of his adopted country, even in +exchange for the highest office in the Council of Scotland. + +As usual there was strife amongst the nobles; while a fierce contest +was raging among the dignitaries of the Church about the See of St. +Andrews. Gavin Douglas, the provost of St. Giles, John Hepburn, the +prior of St. Andrews, and Andrew Forman, the bishop of Moray, were all +eagerly struggling to obtain possession of the much coveted primacy. +After some very unseemly demonstrations of force, a compromise was +effected by a distribution of benefices amongst the aspirants, and +Forman obtained St. Andrews with the power of _Legate a Latere_, and +the promise of a cardinal’s hat.¹ + + ¹ Buchanan’s _History of Scotland_, Book XIII., chapter 48; + _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, Volume I., pages 125‒127. + +In May 1515 the Duke of Albany arrived in Scotland, and received a warm +welcome from the people, as they hoped to enjoy greater tranquility +under his rule. The task, however, of restoring order amongst the +nobles was exceedingly difficult. Although the new governor’s talents +were above the average of his class, he laboured under the disadvantage +of being French in manner and habits, and of being quite unacquainted +with the usages and feelings of the Scots. He began his government +with bold measures. Offenders of high rank were seized, imprisoned, and +executed. But these proceedings failed to produce the intended effect, +and were too much out of the usual course. In a short time Albany +discovered the hopelessness of his task. He repeatedly returned to +France to be free of the turmoil; and after a fluctuating sway of eight +years, his regency terminated in 1524.¹ + + ¹ Buchanan’s _History of Scotland_, Book XIII. Among modern + historians Tytler has treated the regency of Albany at + greatest length. _History of Scotland_, Volume V. pages + 101‒174; 1834. + +The persistent interference of Henry VIII. with the internal affairs +of Scotland added another element of anarchy, and he appears to have +had a special animus at the Duke of Albany, continuing to tease and +torment Scotland throughout his reign. Henry’s intrigues and projects +were unceasing; he endeavoured to get the young King into his hands +by encouraging his sister to flee with her children into England. He +kept a number of paid spies and agents in Scotland for the express +purpose of exciting popular tumults, private quarrels, and rekindling +the jealousy of the nobles, in order to distract and discredit the +government of Albany. Project after project arose in his passionate +breast, which his ambitious and brutal nature pursued with unrelenting +and murderous severity; sometimes his hobby was political, sometimes +religious, at other times matrimonial, and in almost every instance +he inflicted great suffering upon the people of Scotland. During the +regency of Albany, the Earl of Angus, having previously been forced to +leave the country, entered into a paction with the English Government +in ♦1524, and returned to Scotland.¹ + + ♦ “1224” replaced with “1524” + + ¹ _State Papers_, reign of Henry VIII., Volume IV., throughout. + Tytler’s _History of Scotland_, Volume V., pages 99, 117‒119, + 182. + +At this time the chief nobles were much divided; and the Earl of Angus +quickly matured his plot. Having secured the concurrence of the Earl +of Arran and others, he seized the young King, and, as had often been +done before in similar circumstances, he shortly concentrated in his +own hands all the power of the Crown. Angus kept the King in close +restraint, and revelling in his usurped authority, he exercised a +severe tyranny on all who dared to oppose him. The kingdom remained in +this state for several years, though two attempts were made to rescue +the King from the grasp of the bold noble, in one of which the Earl +of Lennox lost his life, while the chains of the captive were more +firmly rivetted than before. The Douglases were complete masters of the +situation, Angus himself was chancellor, his uncle treasurer, and they +compelled the King to sign all deeds which they presented to him, while +the revenue and the law of the country were wholly under their control. +At last, with the assistance of Archbishop Beaton, James escaped from +Angus in May 1528, and from that time to the end of his reign, he +pursued the Earl and his adherents with relentless severity.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., pages + 301, 307, 312, 330; ♦Lesly’s _History Of Scotland_, pages + 134, 136, 140; Buchanan’s _History of Scotland_, Book XIV., + chapter 33. + + ♦ “Lesley” replaced with “Lesly” for consistency + +In September a parliament met and passed an act of attainder against +the Douglases, and Angus was forced to flee into England. The King +appointed the Archbishop of Glasgow chancellor, the Abbot of Holyrood +treasurer, and the Bishop of Dunkeld, keeper of the privy seal.¹ These +appointments indicated that the tide was turned against the aristocracy, +and that the policy of the young King would be strongly influenced by +the circumstances in which he had been placed. James soon manifested an +unmistakeable intention to curb the nobles, but it must be added that +he entered upon his purpose without a full and proper appreciation of +the difficulties of the task; he seems to have greatly under-estimated +the power of the nobles, and accordingly he had to pay the penalty. +Whenever the nobles were excluded from the government of the kingdom, +they began to show a leaning towards the doctrines of the Reformation; +they were extremely dissatisfied with the king, and hated the clergy +on account of their influence over him, and their control of the +government. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., pages + 322‒323, 324; _Diurnal of Occurrents_, page 11. + +But the causes and circumstances which tended to promote the +Reformation in Scotland demand a more minute examination. In the +tenth chapter of this work it was noticed that the wealth of the +Church gave the clergy much power in public affairs and the government +of the country; it was also observed that the clergy generally +ranked themselves on the side of the Crown in its struggles with the +aristocracy. This deep-seated antagonism of interests between the +clergy and the aristocracy was one of the chief external causes of +the Reformation in Scotland; and in the development of Protestantism, +the motives of this aristocratic connection finally issued in curious +and instructive results. James V. was not insensible to the prevailing +abuses of the Church, nor was he averse to moderate remedies, but he +never entertained the idea of forsaking the religion of his fathers. +He, however, incited Buchanan to lash the mendicant friars in the +Satire of the Franciscans, and he encouraged by his presence the public +performance of Sir David Lindsay’s Satire of the Three Estates, which +was acted at Linlithgow in 1540. It was reported that he exhorted +the bishops to reform their lives, and threatened if they neglected +his warning that he would treat them after the manner of the King +of England; still he was a faithful son of the Catholic Church, and +pretty well under the influence of the clergy. Many of the nobles, +from motives of self-interest, professed a willingness to embrace the +reformed opinions, and gradually ranked themselves on the side of the +Reformers; as time passed, and the prospects of the division of the +church lands approached, they became more and more ardent in their +adherence to the principles of the Reformation. + +But strong as the influence of the nobles was in hastening on the +Reformation, or rather the destruction of the Roman hierarchy, it +is a misinterpretation of the historic phenomena to attribute this +revolution to them alone. Besides the religious ideas and sentiments +which the Reformers themselves honestly held and preached, there were +also the domestic, the social, and the moral causes of the Reformation, +and which comprised all the relations between the clergy and the people +that had arisen and accumulated since the introduction of Christianity. +The tenor of these relations and exactions have already been partly +noticed in the Introduction and in the fourth and tenth chapters of +this work, and again generally touched upon in the preceding pages of +the present chapter, and I must now discuss the results which they more +or less distinctly produced on the feeling and mind of the nation. + +The exactions connected with the Roman Catholic rite of burial were the +most teasing and heartless. They were known under the terms of “The +Kirk Cow,” “The Uppermost Cloth,” and “Corse Presents,” that is, dues +exacted by the parochial clergy on the deaths of their parishioners. +These dues were sometimes taken from the surviving relations in cases +of the most abject poverty, and however much concern the survivors of a +father or a mother might have for the souls of the departed, surely it +was a short-sighted piece of policy to lay on a heavy exaction at such +a time, irrespective too of the circumstances of the parties. For these +and many other obvious reasons the mortuary dues were the most hateful +and galling to the people. On the eve of the Reformation (1559) a +provincial council of the Catholic clergy enacted a canon relieving +the poor from the mortuary dues, but they were to be exacted from those +immediately above the poor in a modified form. The concession, however, +came too late.¹ Then there were the paschal offerings, the Sunday +penny, the penny offering, the christening pennies, and the lights +at Candlemas for the feast of the purification of the Virgin Mary. +At first these were free gift offerings, according to the benevolence +of the giver; but in course of time they became obligatory, and the +churchmen enforced the payment of them, when necessary, by fulminating +the sentence of cursing and debarring the refractory from the +sacraments of holy Church. The priest also claimed the right of common +pasture for his cattle throughout the parish.² + + ¹ _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, Volume II., pages 44, + 273‒274, 167‒168, 305‒306. + + ² _Ibid._, Volume II., pages 31, 45, 148‒149, 274‒275. + +The right of the Church to enforce the payment of tithes under +penalties had been long established in Scotland as elsewhere, but this +often led to disputes between the clergy and the people. An uncounted +tithe was a tax on the fruits of industry, increasing in amount with +the increase of production and wealth; and however much the hard +toil of a man or a family might produce, the tenth part thereof had +always to go to swell the riches of the Church. This exaction pressed +extremely hard upon the class of tenant farmers and the toilers of the +soil, who amid all their difficulties and struggles could not fail to +see that the services of the clergy scarcely repaid them for the worry +and loss of so large a deduction from the products of their industry. +Such thoughts naturally would have arisen in the minds of the people, +for strong as their religious feeling was, yet it had a limit, beyond +which it could not be drawn upon with any chance of safety. Then the +tithes were extended not only to include all kinds of farm produce, +live stock, and poultry, but also the produce of gardens, descending to +flax, leeks, and cabbages; tithes of pasture and hay, tithes of mills +and fishings, tithes of wool and everything else.¹ That the collection +of all these dues must have been a constant source of annoyance to +the people cannot be doubted, or that it occasioned many disputes and +quarrels was not surprising. + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume II., pages 21‒23; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume I., page 47. + +But from another point of view the practice of the Roman Catholic +Church had issued in a social corruption of the clergy and the +religious orders which was too palpably inconsistent to endure. +Touching the principle of celibacy, it was briefly noticed in the +fourth chapter that the clergy of Scotland had not strictly practised +the rule of the Church; and in the sixteenth century this blot on the +clergy was not a matter of doubt or dispute, it was a notorious fact +and patent to the eyes of all. The result in Scotland was this, the +rule of celibacy was enjoined by law but abrogated in practice among +those of the clergy who were rich enough to support a household; +council after council protested against it, canon after canon called +upon the bishops and the clergy to put away their concubines, but +all was in vain, on the failing of incontinence they seemed to be +utterly irredeemable. Cardinal Beaton had five children; his successor, +Archbishop Hamilton, had three; William Gordon, Bishop of Aberdeen, had +several children, and one of his daughters married the Laird of Udny; +Bishop Chisholm of Dunblane had children, in 1542 one of his daughters +married Sir James Stirling of Keir, and her father gave her a dowry +of £1000, and also bound himself to keep her and her husband for five +years. The Bishop of Moray, when Prior of St. Andrews had three sons, +legitimated in 1533; when Bishop of Moray he had five sons legitimated +in 1545, and two daughters in 1550――making ten of a family. In fact +most of the bishops and many of the abbots and monks had children at +the period immediately preceding the Reformation. The statutes passed +in the Provincial Council of the clergy held at Edinburgh in 1549, +were prefaced with a confession that the cause of the troubles and +heresies which afflicted the Church were the corruption, the lewdness, +and the gross ignorance of churchmen of almost all ranks. “The clergy, +therefore, were enjoined to put away their concubines under pain +of deprivation of their benefices; to dismiss from their houses the +children born to them in concubinage; not to promote such children +to benefices, nor to enrich them, the daughters with doweries, the +sons with baronies, from the patrimony of the Church. Prelates were +admonished not to keep in their households manifest drunkards, gamblers, +whoremongers, brawlers, night-walkers, buffoons, blasphemers, and +profane swearers. The clergy in general were exhorted to amend their +lives and manners; to dress modestly and gravely; to keep their faces +shaven and their heads tonsured; to live soberly and frugally, so as to +have more to spare to the poor; to abstain from secular pursuits, and +especially trading. + +“Provision was made for preaching to the people; for teaching grammar, +divinity, and canon law in cathedrals and abbeys; for visiting +and reforming monasteries, nunneries, and hospitals; for recalling +fugitives and apostates, whether monks or nuns, to their cloisters; +for sending from every monastery one or more monks to a university; for +preventing unqualified persons from receiving orders and from holding +cure of souls; for enforcing residence and for restraining pluralities; +for preventing the evasion of spiritual censures by bribes or fines; +for silencing pardoners or itinerant hawkers of indulgences and relics; +for compelling parish clerks to do their duty in person, or to find +sufficient substitutes; for registering testaments and inventories of +persons deceased, and for securing faithful administration of their +estates by bringing their executors to yearly account and reckoning; +for suspending unfit notaries, and for preserving the protocols +of notaries deceased; for reforming the abuses of the Consistorial +courts.”¹ This is a very formidable array of abuses to reform brought +forward by the Roman Catholic clergy themselves; but the proceedings +and canons of subsequent councils show that they were not carried into +effect――indeed it would have been marvellous if the churchmen had +complied with the canons of 1549. Sir David Lindsay in the Satire of +the Three Estates makes Spiritually say―― + + “Howbeit I dar not plainlie spouse a wife, + Yet concubeins I haif had four or five, + And to my sons I have given rich rewards, + And all my daughters maryit upon lairds.” + + ¹ _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, Volume I., pages 149‒150, + 173; Volume II., pages 15, 17, 28, 35, 42, 48, 51, 55, 65, + 81‒88, 89‒118, 128, 153‒156, 301‒303. _Register of the Great + Seal_, Book 26; _Acts of the Lords of Council and Session_, + Book 36; Lord Lindsay’s _Lives of the Lindsays_, Volume I., + page 201; Gordon’s _History of the Earldom of Sutherland_, + pages 172, 478; W. Fraser’s _Stirlings of Keir_, pages 39, + 40, 378. + +Again Diligence announces―― + + “From this day forth our barons temporall + Sail na mair mix thair noble ancient blood + With bastard bairns of stait spirituall.”¹ + + ¹ Lindsay’s _Poetical Works_, Volume II., pages 88, 119. + +This must have tended to lower the character of the clergy in the +popular estimation; there seems also reason to believe that the example +of the dignified clergy sporting with their damsels in the face of +society had an injurious effect in other directions, by weakening +the feeling of chastity and modesty in the relations of the sexes, it +encouraged immorality among all ranks of the nation, it lowered and +tended to discredit the whole group of feelings and sentiments which +should be concentrated around the domestic circle, and which really +forms the foundation of social well-being and virtuous life. + +Celibacy and monasticism, and the associated group of ascetic and +sanctimonious notions, originated from the same principle. Looking on +the subject from the standpoint of history, and from the broad ground +of morality and freedom, it is not necessary at this time of day to +argue that the State should suppress and prohibit monasteries and +nunneries. All that the State should be fairly called upon to perform +is to see that protection is afforded to those who are forcibly seized +and detained in such establishments. But circumstances might arise when +it would be necessary for the government to interfere; in well-ordered +communities, however, where public opinion has its proper influence, +such instances would rarely happen. If men and women voluntarily +resolve to shut themselves up within the walls of a building, it +is best, perhaps to let them follow their special hobby; when the +dominant idea and feeling of their minds lead them to adopt this mode +of life, it may be pretty safely assumed that such persons would form +comparatively useless members of society. It is not therefore on the +ground of any theory of government that the system of monasticism is +here discussed; but upon the principles of human nature, morality, the +rational and harmonious exercise of the varied faculties of the mind in +the development of civilisation. + +It is true that the ascetic sentiment has often entered largely into +other religions as well as Christianity. This is especially true of +the great religions of the East, but it is not unknown in some of the +less developed forms of religion. When Mexico and Peru were conquered +by the Spaniards in the first quarter of the sixteenth century, they +were amazed to find among the inhabitants of these countries religious +customs and practices which much resembled some of those of the old +world. The resemblance was most noticeable in relation to monasticism; +as some of the customs of the natives corresponded pretty closely with +the Christian monastic institutions.¹ In Africa and Asia the monastic +type of religion has always existed; the horrifying macerations and +ascetic rites of the Buddhists surpass those of any Christian order. + + ¹ Viscount Amberley’s _Analysis of Religious Belief_, Volume + I., pages 98‒108. Hereafter it will come within my purpose to + give a more detailed criticism of this work, especially the + second Book, which deals with the Religious sentiment itself. + Although the candour, the talents, the industry, and the + literary culture of the author are worthy of all admiration, + it must be admitted that his elaborate performance lacks the + logical grasp of principles and ideas which characterise the + highest minds, and that before all other qualifications is + necessary to one who aspires to revolutionise the religions + and theologies of the human race. It may also be stated that + his sympathies were rather feeble to enable him to fathom + the real sufferings and the inner pangs of the heart of + mankind, or to reach and faithfully represent the deepest + chords which have throbbed in the soul of humanity. This + weakness of sympathy is most apparent in his treatment of + Jesus Christ. He devotes about 240 pages to an account of + Jesus and his sayings; but even from the standpoint of the + school to which he belongs, the criticism is uncommonly + contorted and flippant. Sometimes he condescends to sneer + at the ignorance of Jesus――“His intellectual weakness, his + irrational prejudices,” and so on. He was evidently much + offended because the moral doctrines of Jesus did not assign + more respect to wealth and rich men――it was a sad error on + the part of Jesus not to extol them; since from these and + such-like reasons the author is led to the conclusion that + Jesus had only a very imperfect sense of justice, “crude + ideas of social connections,” and no proper esteem for the + aristocracy. The work in its historical character is also + defective in consecutive continuity and in the appreciation + of internal sequence. Volume I., pages 254‒496. + +The monastic system was first introduced from Egypt into Christendom +about the beginning of the fourth century. By the end of that century +the system was in vogue and growing rapidly. “At first it called into +existence a class of men who for self-denial, sincerity of purpose, +heroic endurance, and unyielding fanaticism, have rarely been matched. +They abandoned all the ties of home and friendship, renounced all +the pleasures and even most of the necessaries of life; they scourged +and macerated their bodies, lived in loneliness and desolation, and +wandered half-starved and half-naked through deserts, till they had +almost extinguished every natural feeling and every human sentiment +within their breasts. No affliction could move them, no sympathy for +suffering stirred their heart; they embraced misery with an ardent +yearning; they gloried in multiplying forms of loathsome penance and in +trampling upon every natural desire. To promote the interests of their +church was their only passion, and to gratify it there was no torture +that they were not ready to endure or to inflict.”¹ The monastic +system under various orders of monks, but all founded on the theory of +mortification, continued to develop till it reached enormous dimensions; +and as centuries passed, the first enthusiasm of the monks died away, +the monasteries became rich, and then multitudes entered into them +merely to escape the burdens of life. At last the monasteries, instead +of being the abodes of saints and holy men and women entirely devoted +to the service of God, had become dens of corruption and of luxury; +yet until near the end of the fifteenth century the ascetic theory of +life, the philosophy of mortification, was everywhere held throughout +Christendom; asceticism still represented the highest point of moral +dignity, and Protestantism was the first effective declaration against +it. + + ¹ Lecky’s _History of Rationalism_, Volume II., pages 28‒29, + 396; Montalembert’s _Monks of the West_, Volume I. + +According to every worthy conception of the philosophy of human nature, +man has been constituted with feelings, emotions, sentiments, and ideas, +which naturally seek gratification; and the chief question is how their +varied claims should be subordinated and developed. Every feeling and +emotion and idea has an unquestionable right to seek gratification, +subject to the necessary limitations, on the ground of reasonable +subordination in the interest of development on the lines of harmonious +inclusion, instead of exclusion and unnaturally attempted extinction. +The most advanced thinkers, moralists, and educators now recognise this; +and history presents masses of evidence against the principle of rigid +exclusion and asceticism――the method of maiming the body, dwarfing +the human sympathy, and starving the mind, in order to save the soul. +The results of this may be seen in the establishment of caste, in +Oriental religions and despotisms, in oligarchies and aristocracies, +in imperialism and fatalism, and in many other forms. + +In the history of the form and the manifestation of the religious +feeling and aspiration there has been a tendency in many quarters to +draw the lines too sharply between the teachers of religion and the +body of the people. This has often resulted in the establishment of a +class specially charged with the oracles and message of God; and once +the idea began to be entertained, sentiments and habits associated with +it sprung up and accumulated around it, till the priesthood finally +assumed a strong and commanding position. They were supposed to be the +holy servants of God, and they should therefore show to the profane +world of the flesh that they were exalted above the most natural +and deeply rooted feelings of mankind. Accordingly they proceeded to +renounce the idea of marriage, and to forego all the touching domestic +feelings and duties associated therewith; the members of the priesthood +from the highest to the lowest must forsake all such earthly pleasures; +the salvation of the human race having been committed to them by heaven, +they in sooth must rise to the height of their sublime calling. The +intoxication of power inevitably asserted its supremacy, and then they +declared themselves to be the final legislators for this world and the +next. If a point of morals, a case of mutual association among any body +of men, or a novel opinion were expressed, or a tradition or article +of the creed which time had consecrated, were called in question, then, +on all such matters, they alone were the arbiters who could pronounce a +true verdict. + +A celibate clergy among a rude people would probably command most +influence. The priest with no family ties was supposed to have +abandoned the engrossing interest of earthly enjoyments, to have +devoted himself to his God, and to care only for the salvation and +eternal welfare of his flock. With nothing else to divert his energies +or to ruffle the serenity of his soul, he professed to toil for the +benefit of his fellow-creatures. Many priests of all religions have +earnestly laboured in such work; the Roman Catholic priesthood have +rarely shrunk from facing danger and toil in the cause to which they +have devoted themselves. It is, however, possible for the priests +to make too stringent rules of self-denial――rules which aim at +extinguishing the natural feelings of our common humanity, and by +pushing this to extremes, instead of enhancing their influence, they +may degrade themselves. It is possible to be over holy, by publicly +professing to believe doctrines and to obey rules which in practice are +continually broken by some of their number. Now this was exactly what +happened in Scotland, celibacy was the rule and law of the Church but +in practice the clergy disregarded it. It may well be asked, why should +any class of men be placed in such a position? why should rules be +imposed upon the clergy whereby their human feelings become twisted and +tied down? Why should their humanity be shorn and mangled as if this +was a necessary part of their calling? + +The most sympathetic races are those among whom monogamy has been long +established. All genuine social feeling and sentiment begins in the +family circle, and this is the altar where, if anywhere, love should +reign supreme. There the little ones looking up to their father with +all the simplicity of a primitive faith, are full of trust and ready +to be impressed with reverence. Those who do not love their own, will +never care much for any doctrines of religion or morality, however +clearly they may be understood. We have no faith in the son who rails +against his father and mother; for the best part of our nature is +almost unconsciously formed during our earliest years, while all those +feelings and sentiments that assist in sustaining the development of +the moral character and the finer emotions of the heart, those touches +of kindness which sweeten human life and cheer the soul of humanity are +the result of family life. + +The family must ever be the foundation of society, the first link +in the great chain of order, virtue, progress, and civilisation. +It was the root from which the most complete social and political +organisations have sprung; and the nations which have recognised and +adopted this institution have had by far the happiest and most glorious +careers of national life. But celibacy, monasticism, and the modern +hospital establishments for the young, all discarded it, and proceeded +on a single line of characteristic isolation. To retire from the duties +of life and bury oneself in a monastery cannot contribute much to the +onward movement of society, though it may suit the peculiar mind and +circumstances of some individuals. + +The evidence of history and psychology both point to the conclusion +that monasticism, celibacy, and the hospital system, all violate +and trench upon the fundamental principles of social development and +healthy society. These systems ignore the doctrine that teaches us +to cultivate and develop all our powers and feelings in harmonious +subordination to a life of activity and energy, of untiring struggle +and conflict with surrounding difficulties, of honest effort and +endeavour, of toil and thought. No one has a right to shrink from his +duties, and no one should be deprived of any of the enjoyments which +our country and age afford. + +In connection with these matters, the social miscalculations and +economic errors, as formed and taught by the Socialists and Communists, +bears a rather close resemblance in some points to the monasticism of +the Middle Ages. The modern theories are not all equally impracticable; +but the ideas of absolute equality of right, community of goods +and property throughout a nation, must be characterised as utterly +visionary. In the history of Christianity from the fourth to the +fifteenth century there had been innumerable attempts to establish a +sort of Communism in societies unripe for its reception, which ended +in the results indicated in the preceding pages. All the theories of +modern Socialists for the immediate reconstruction of society are based +upon equally delusive notions; no theory can have a chance of practical +influence and realisation, unless it work through existing forms of +social life, and not by isolation from them. A higher moral standard, +a clearer idea of justice, and a far greater willingness to look at +both sides of a trade question must be attained, even before a great +development of simple co-operation can be effected. + +Having indicated the external, the political, and social causes of +the Reformation, I proceed to consider what may be called the inner +or religious causes. They are more difficult to realise than the other +causes, and more important, because they are deeper and more intense. +The first class of causes were transient and rather selfish, and +when the aims which had stimulated their activity were gained, they +fluctuated, and shortly ceased to operate. But the purely religious +sentiment and aspiration were constant in their action, and persistent +in their manifestation in the face of fearful odds; until they attained +a complete triumph in the recognition of toleration and religious +freedom. + +The religious feeling and idea, then, were the constant and the real +causes of the Reformation, though these contained immense social and +political issues which were hardly foreseen by the politicians of +that age. The political movements and combinations prompted by mixed +motives, and often by selfish ends, in some quarters accelerated, +and in others retarded, the religious upheaval, but all the political +powers in the world could neither have accomplished nor prevented +the final consummation of the principles of the Reformation. For no +external power can extinguish the internal operations of the human +mind. From the dawn of history, political power has been characterised +by duplicity and a lack of honest principle; diplomatic jugglery and +concealed falsehood, have reigned along the whole line of empires +and nations down almost to the present century. The proof of this may +be read in the records of every government that has existed, and in +the honest testimony of the historians of the world. In the sixteenth +century no political government had truth enough in its constitution +to bring about this great religious revolution; no government had +sufficient strength of moral purpose for so mighty a task; and at the +utmost governments could only directly hinder or hasten it. Though +the Reformation bore on its surface many marks of contact with the +political powers, it may be affirmed that the religious feeling and +the moral principle were the supreme influences of the movement; as +these were its heart and life, the internal and invisible springs of +its vigour, and the glorious features of its reality and truth. + +There have been politicians who have laid down their lives in testimony +of their adherence to political ideas, but they are few in number +compared with the army of men and women who have cheerfully endured +the tortures of martyrdom for the sake of their religion. Here, then, +we have the grand influence and the motive power of this religious +movement――an aspiration and a moral sentiment, the inner craving of +the mind which ever seeks a Being worthy of its adoration. + +In 1525, Parliament passed an Act prohibiting the importation of +Luther’s book, and the propagation of his opinions. The Act stated that +damnable opinions have been spread in several countries by the heretic +Luther and his disciples; but that Scotland and her people has always +firmly believed in the holy faith and never yet admitted any opinion +contrary to it. It then declared that no person arriving with ships +at the ports of the kingdom should bring any books of this heretic, +nor dispute, nor rehearse, his heresy unless it was to refute it. It +was reported that a translation of the New Testament in manuscript, +was used among the Scots in the reign of James IV. Tyndale’s version +in a printed form was brought into Scotland in 1526, and seems to +have been pretty freely circulated. The first heretical books of any +kind circulated in this country came chiefly from England. In 1535, +Parliament commanded all persons who had heretical books in their +possession, to deliver them up to the authorities within forty days, +under the penalty of confiscation and imprisonment.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., pages 295, + 349; Anderson’s _Annals of the English Bible_, pages 111‒112, + 495‒501. 1862. + +The first Scotsman who suffered for the profession of the reformed +opinions was Patrick Hamilton, the Abbot of Ferne. While sojourning +in Germany, he had received the proscribed doctrines from the lips +of Luther himself. He returned to Scotland in 1527, and began to +disseminate his opinions and doctrines. Early in the following year he +was taken and imprisoned in the Castle of St. Andrews, and there tried, +convicted, and condemned for heresy. On the 29th of February, 1528, +he was led to the stake and burned to death before the College of St. +Andrews.¹ It appears that he was married and had a daughter.² He left +a short treatise in Latin, which contained a summary of his leading +doctrines. + + ¹ Knox’s _Works_, Volume I., pages 14‒18, Laing’s edition. + + ² Lorimer’s _Life of Hamilton_, pages 123‒124. + +This treatise was translated into English shortly after Hamilton’s +death by John Firth, an Englishman, who added a preface to the reader. +As a reward for his zeal he was burnt at Smithfield in 1533. The +book contains the ten commandments and eighteen propositions, mostly +quotations from the Scriptures, which are put into the form of +syllogisms. The doctrine of the Gospel is set forth and contrasted +with the law, the doctrine of faith――faith in Christ, free grace, or +justification by faith; good works are held neither to save nor to +condemn the sinner; a comparison is made between faith, hope, and +charity; and finally, “He that thinks to be saved by his works calleth +himself Christ, for he calleth himself a saviour, which appertains only +to Christ. What is a saviour but he that saveth? And thou sayest, I +save myself, which is as much to say as I am Christ, for Christ is the +only Saviour of the world.”¹ + + ¹ Hunt’s _Religious Thought in England_, Volume I., page 4; + 1870. A copy of Firth’s translation of Hamilton’s treatise + is inserted in Knox’s History. _Works_, Volume I., pages 20, + 21‒35. + +Three editions of Firth’s translation were published at London, +probably before 1540. John Firth was one of the earliest and most +consistent of the English Reformers. “He had embraced the rational +views of the sacraments that had been taught by ♦Zuinglius. He reasoned +that if the body of Christ ascended into heaven it could not be in +the Eucharist, for it was impossible for a body to be in more places +than one at one time.... Firth complained that the error prevailing +in his day was too much trust in the outward signs, as if by them was +accomplished what could only be done by faith. He denies that the sign +gives the Spirit of God or grace. Those that come rightly to baptism +have grace already. The ordinance is a witness that they are in a state +of grace. The life of a true Christian is a continual baptism. One +result of attaching so much importance to the outward sacrament was +the consigning of unbaptised infants to everlasting pain.” + + ♦ “Zwingle” replaced with “Zuinglius” for consistency + +It was mostly among the lower orders of the clergy that the new +doctrines were embraced. The friars were the chief preachers of the day, +and they occasionally inveighed boldly against the prevailing abuses +of the priesthood. A friar named Erth preached a sermon in Dundee, +in which he touched upon the licentious lives of the bishops, and the +evils connected with excommunication and miracles. The armed followers +of the Bishop of Brechin immediately buffeted him and called him a +heretic. Naturally the friar was displeased at this treatment, and he +proceeded to St. Andrews to consult John Mair, the well-known doctor of +the Sorbonne and the author of numerous works, whose word at that time +was regarded as an oracle in matters of religion; and he assured the +friar that such a doctrine might well be defended, and that he would +defend it, for it was not heresy. The friar then intimated to all who +were offended with his sermon that he would again preach it in the +parish church of St. Andrews. On the appointed day all the regents and +masters of the University, and other notable persons, attended to hear +him. He ascended the pulpit, and took for his text the words, “Truth is +the strongest of all things.” He spoke of excommunication, how fearful +a thing it was when rightly applied, that it should not be rashly used +for every light cause, but only against open and incorrigible sinners. +“But now,” said he, “the avarice of priests and the ignorance of their +office has caused it to be altogether vilified; for the priest, whose +duty and office it is to pray for the people, stands up on Sunday +and cries: ‘One has tint a spurtle; there is a flail stolen from them +beyond the burn; the goodwife on the other side of the street has +tint a horn spoon; God’s malison and mine I give to them that knows of +this gear and returns it not.’” The people, he said, merely mocked at +such excommunication. This part of the friar’s sermon was confirmed by +acts of Parliament passed about the same date, in which it was stated, +“that the dishonesty and misrule of churchmen, both in wit, knowledge +and manners, was the reason and cause that the Church and clergy were +slighted and contemned; and also that the damnable persuasion of the +heretics and their perverse doctrines gave occasion to despise the +process of excommunication and other censures of the holy Church.”¹ + + ¹ Knox’s _Works_, Volume I., pages 36‒40; _Acts of the + Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., page 341, 342, 370. + +Friar Erth, however, did not renounce the Catholic faith, but his plain +preaching necessitated his flight to England, where he was imprisoned +by Henry VIII. for defending the authority of the Pope. In Scotland, as +in other countries, there was a number of earnest Roman Catholics who +wished to reform the existing abuses and discipline without destroying +the Church or forsaking their ancient faith, but things had come to +such a crisis that their efforts in this direction were overborne and +rendered futile; it was too late in the day, the time for compromises +had passed. John Mair, noticed above, was for sometime a regent in the +University of Glasgow, but in 1523 he became a regent in the University +of St. Andrews. In 1525 he left St. Andrews and went to Paris; but +in 1531 he returned to St. Andrews, and resumed his lectures. He +was appointed Provost of St. Salvator’s College in 1534, an office +which he held till his death in 1550. About the same time Gavin Logie +was principal of St. Leonard’s College. Under him many of the early +Scottish Reformers were educated at St. Andrews. In this connection +might be reckoned Alexander Myln, the Abbot of Cambuskenneth, who +was appointed the first President of the Court of Session in 1533; he +manifested commendable zeal in religion, and died in 1548. At the same +time John Winram was sub-prior of St. Andrews, and afterwards became +one of the chief Reformers; and Robert Richardson, a canon-regular +of Cambuskenneth, though an adherent of Catholicism, preached with +great energy against the scandalous and immoral lives of the higher +churchmen, and denounced the intemperate habits which prevailed amongst +the monks. Alexander Seton, a black friar, and confessor to the king, +preached during the time of Lent, with remarkable boldness against the +corruptions of the Church, and especially against the life and conduct +of the bishops. The favour of the King shielded him for a time from the +wrath of his brethren, but he was at last obliged to retire, and sought +refuge in England about the year 1536.¹ + + ¹ Brunton and Haig’s _Senators of the College of Justice_, + pages 7, 8; Knox’s _Works_, Volume I., pages 36, 37, 45‒52, + 150, 530‒533; Mair’s _History of the Scots_ (Scottish + History Society), edited, 1892. + +For some years after the fall of the Earl of Angus, the anarchy on +the Borders, the disturbance in the Highlands, and the harassing +conflict between the Crown and the nobles, fully occupied the time and +attention of the leading churchmen of the day, so that heretics were +comparatively little disturbed. The king, as we have seen, had thrown +the government almost entirely into the hands of the clergy, who found +sufficient employment in watching the nobles. These, neglected by the +king and excluded from the offices of the State, were now manifesting a +still stronger inclination to listen to the new opinions. But great as +the power of the Church was during the reign of James V., it was not in +a position to accuse and try any one of the great nobles for heresy. + +In justice to the character of the leading Catholic churchmen of the +age, it should be remembered, however, that their ideas and sentiments +were very different from those of the present day, and in relation +to the persecution of heresy this was specially noticeable. To take +the life of a single human being for holding certain opinions on any +subject whatever is a great and fearful crime; but in the sixteenth +century it was deemed the highest virtue to cut off the obstinate +heretic. This throughout Christendom was the common view. It is +therefore unjust to judge them by the ideas and sentiments of the +nineteenth century. The prevailing Roman Catholic creed seems to have +produced upon the character of its most ardent professors an almost +absolute indifference to the suffering of those outside the Church; and +amongst men of this frame of mind and feeling it was regarded as their +first duty to cut off the heretics, and to extinguish them root and +branch for the glory and honour of God, the purity of the faith, and +the good of society. These notions were so deeply ingrained into the +prevailing religious creed and feeling that it was hardly possible for +the Reformers to emancipate themselves from them; hence we find that +Calvin openly avowed and took credit to himself for his share in the +persecution and burning of Servetus. Calvin’s action in this matter +was applauded by all sections of Protestants, and warmly approved by +his most intimate contemporaries. Calvin, Beza, and others, wrote books +on the lawfulness of persecution;¹ so difficult was it for even the +greatest minds to disentangle themselves from the current trains of +thought and associated sentiments of their age. It is deserving of +remark, however, that the persecution in Scotland was not nearly so +severe as in some of the other countries of Europe. + + ¹ Tulloch’s _Leaders of the Reformation_, page 185; Hallam’s + _Introduction to the Literature of Europe_, Volume II., + pages 101, 107‒116; Dyer’s _Life of Calvin_. Compare Lecky’s + _History of Rationalism_, Volume II., pages 35‒61. 1865. + +King James continued attached to the Church, and countenanced the +persecution of the heretics. Henry Forest, a Benedictine monk, was +taken, tried, condemned for heresy, and burned at St. Andrews in 1532. +In 1534, the Bishop of Ross, under a commission issued by the primate, +held a court in the Abbey of Holyrood, and many suspected persons were +summoned to appear before it; and the king himself attended several +of the sittings clothed in scarlet. A number of the accused, both men +and women, “burned their faggots,” that is, renounced their erroneous +opinions; while some fled to England, and to other countries. On the +other hand Norman Gourlay, a priest, and David Straiton, a layman, +firmly adhered to their heresy, asserted their innocence, and +vindicated their faith to the last, and in consequence were both +condemned, and on the 27th of August suffered for their opinions, being +burned at Greenside in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh.¹ In the case of +Straiton there was a quarrel with the clergy about the tithe of fish. +He had a boat in which his servants went to sea and fished, and when +the collector insisted for the tithe of the fish, Straiton bade his +servants throw every tenth fish into the sea again, and let him seek +their tithe where he found the stock. Yet despite these executions the +new opinions continued to spread, and between the years 1534 and 1537 +many persons were accused of heresy. Some of ♦the accused abjured their +opinions, while a considerable number of them fled out of the country.² + + ¹ _Diurnal of Occurrents_, from 1513 to 1575, pages 18‒19. “And + also there was sharp inquisition and punishment of heretics + in Edinburgh, the king himself assisted thereto. Master + Gourlay being adjured before, and Straiton obstinate in + his opinions, were burned. The Sheriff of Linlithgow, and + Captain James Borthwick, and divers others, fugitives from + the law, were convicted for heresy.”――Lesly’s _History Of + Scotland_, pages 149‒150; Knox, Volume I., pages 56‒60. + + ♦ missing word “the” inserted + + ² Knox, Volume I., pages 54‒57, 526‒531; M‘Crie’s _Life of + Knox_――Works, Volume I., pages 317‒323. + +Henry VIII. was extremely anxious that the young king of Scotland +should imitate his example and shake off the authority of the Pope. In +1535, he sent ambassadors into Scotland with a proposal for a marriage +between his daughter and the Scottish king, and suggested that James +should meet him at York, where they could confer together and cement +the ties of friendship. Much showy flattery was used towards James to +induce him to follow out the proposals of his uncle; various presents +were sent to the king, consisting of horses, offers of the garter, and +a copy of a book entitled “The Doctrine of a Christian Man.” A specimen +of Henry’s efforts to convert James may be given from his instructions +to Bishop Barlow and Thomas Halcroft, his ambassadors at the Scottish +court in October, 1535: the following touches on the encroachment of +the Pope on kingly prerogatives and royal authority――“That within the +limits of your realm, such spiritual promotions and ecclesiastical +dignities as appertain to the collation of your prerogative royal, your +clergy have appropriated to the Bishop of Rome for to give and sell +them away by prevention, at his own pleasure, without your licence, +rather choosing to receive them of a foreign usurper, than of their +own natural prince, to the intent your grace should have no liberty in +their kingdom. And divers of them have encroached so large possessions, +that in richness and yearly revenue they seem able to compare with +you; and as for pre-eminent authority they far surpass your highness; +which in no condition should be suffered by so noble a prince as your +grace is, whom God has endued with prudent wisdom and discretion much +excelling many of your noble progenitors, so that nothing is to be +desired in you, save only a fervent love of God’s word, whereby without +difficulty ye shall know the office of a king, righteously how to rule +and not to be ruled of your subjects; which kingly office of God’s +ordinate institution most highly preferred, Scripture depaindeth from +the first creation hitherto. When God had created Adam and set him +in paradise, subduing to his obedient subjection all creatures, and +having no superior under God, without any restraint of free liberty +save only to obey God’s precept, what was it otherwise than a perfect +demonstration of a king’s majesty, to be in his realm as Adam was in +paradise, lord over all.” After citing various examples of kings from +Scripture, for the instruction of his nephew, which the ambassadors +were instructed to beat into his head with all their eloquence and +force; and then the practical application was presented to the young +king, thus:――“And therefore this good King Josias, only attended +to God’s word, the established foundation of princely governance, +without any contrary respect, delayed not his royal power, effectually +furthering a due reformation, whereby God’s pleasure accomplished, he +prosperously reigned over the people; exhibiting an evident example +unto your grace, both of courage and necessity, valiantly now in +the clear revelation of God’s word, to enterprise a like reformable +redress of your spiritual (so named) clergy, which as it shall be to +the glorifying of God’s honour, so must it needs be to the advancement +of your realm, also to such augmentation of inestimable riches and +unrestrained freedom of your royal liberty, as never none of your noble +progenitors hitherto could attain. How should not your treasure be +inestimably augmented, if unto your highness, as of duty ought to be, +were restored the title, jus, advowson, patronage, gifts and grants +of all spiritual promotions, with free interest in their goods, lands, +rents, revenues, and possessions, as rightfully belong to your regality, +whereof so long season they have injustely dispossessed you by their +subtle submission to the Bishop of Rome? What a kingly liberty were +it to have them subdued under your obedience and subjection, which by +unseemly sufferance are lords over you within your own dominion, whose +visured holyness is hypocrisy, and their flattering fidelity nothing +else save false dissimulation! If they feign humble submission of +allegiance, they show it for a facid intent, to be exalted above your +royalty. If they seem to motion you to justice, it shall be to revenge +their cruel quarrels. If they offer to assist you with their riches, it +is to maintain their extortionate causes. Finally, whatsoever purpose +they compass about, always the principal respect is their private +commodity, being a kingdom within themselves, confedered together +without any profitable consideration of your common public weal.” + +James V. replied to Henry in these words――“As to the matter shown by +your said ambassadors, we may not of our conscience but first keep our +part toward God and our obedience to Holy Kirk, as all our forefathers +had done these thirteen hundred years by past.”¹ + + ¹ Hamilton Papers, Volume I., pages 20, 22, _et seq._ 1890. + +All the artful policy of Henry failed; the meeting between the +two kings was indefinitely postponed by the advice of the Scottish +clergy, and James remained firmly attached to the Roman hierarchy. +The agents of the English Government assert that James was completely +under the control of the clergy; and Barlow, the bishop of St. Asaph, +characterised them thus――“his spiritual unghostly councillors, who, I +dare boldly affirm that, if they might destroy us with a word, their +devilish endeavour should not long fail.... Also, I am sure that the +Council, which are only the clergy, would not willingly give such +advertisement to the king for due execution upon thieves and robbers; +for then ought he first of all to begin with them in the midst of +his realm, whose abominable abused fashion, so far out of frame, a +Christian heart abhorreth to behold. They show themselves to be in all +points the pope’s pestilent creatures, very limbs of the devil, whose +popish power violently to maintain their lying friars cease not in +their sermons, we being present, blasphemously to blatter against the +verity, with slanderous reproach of us, who have justly renounced his +wrong usurped papacy. Wherefore, in confutation of their detestable +lies, if I might obtain the king’s licence (otherwise shall I not be +suffered) to preach, I will not spare for no bodily peril, boldly to +publish the truth of God’s word among them. Whereat though the clergy +shall repine, yet many of the lay people will gladly give ear.”¹ + + ¹ _State Papers_, Henry VIII., Volume V., pages 1‒7, 10, 14, + 19, _et seq._, and pages 36‒38. The _Diurnal of Occurrents_ + says――“In the month of November there came an English + ambassador, with sixteen horse in his train, to infest this + realm with heresy, which was then in England among them, but + through the grace of God he came no speed but departed with + repulse” (page 19). + +In 1537, Sir Ralph Sadler was sent into Scotland on a mission to the +Scottish court. He was instructed to make every endeavour to induce +James to resist the Pope and to join his uncle in common measures of +defence, and to persuade him to give no heed to the false rumours and +slanderous misrepresentations of the motives of his uncle which were +so industriously spread. He was also to propose that James should meet +with Henry, when they might have a personal interchange of views, from +which much mutual benefit was expected to result.¹ The influences which +controlled the policy of James V. were manifested in various directions. +He went to France in 1536 in search of a wife, and on the 1st of +January 1537, his marriage with Magdalene, daughter of the King of +France, was celebrated at the French court. The King and Queen landed +in Scotland on the 28th of May, amid great rejoicings; but the Queen +had a very delicate constitution, and she died on the 7th of July, the +same year, greatly lamented by the people. Shortly after an embassy was +sent to France, and Mary of Lorraine, a daughter of the Duke of Guise, +was conveyed to Scotland in 1538, and married to the King. She was a +woman of remarkable energy and talents, and played an active part in +the struggles of the Reformation in her adopted country. The house of +Guise, however, was one of the most aspiring and ambitious in France, +and its aims and policy were wholly devoted to the Roman Catholic +Church. The marriage of the King of Scots, therefore, was a plain +indication to Henry VIII. of the direction in which the policy of the +Scottish King would tend for at least some time to come. But it is only +rendering historical justice to state that James V., as compared with +his contemporary across the Border, was a liberal minded king; and when +he countenanced and permitted the execution of heretics he was merely +allowing the law of the kingdom to run its course. He was at variance +with the aristocracy as many of his ancestors had been before him; and +remembering the treatment which many of the occupants of the throne and +even himself had received at their hands, it is not surprising that he +pursued the line of policy naturally marked out for him. There is no +evidence that James was naturally cruel or inclined to push matters to +extremes. Henry VIII. on the other hand persecuted the devotees of the +Pope and the disciples of Luther with equal severity, and endeavoured +to hold the position of Pope and of King, to concentrate the power of +both in his own person, and reign above all law. + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume V., pages 81‒90, 97. + +In the autumn of ♦1539, James Beaton, Archbishop of St. Andrews, died, +and was succeeded by his nephew, Cardinal Beaton. David Beaton, Abbot +of Arbroath in Scotland, and Bishop of Mirpoix in France, was assured +of the primacy in August 1538, and was installed in the See between the +13th and the 25th of February, 1539, six months before the death of his +uncle; a few days afterwards his natural son got a grant of lands in +Angus. Beaton was made a cardinal upon the 20th of December, 1538, and +was exceedingly anxious to obtain from the pope the office of legate a +latere. In December, 1539, he wrote to his agent at Rome to press his +suit for a commission as legate. James V. wrote to the Pope on the 16th +December, 1538, entreating that the office might be bestowed on Beaton, +and again in August, 1539, in June 1540, and in March 1541. In February, +1544, the Regent Arran also wrote to the Pope touching the same matter, +and a month after the coveted office was granted, and Beaton attained +to the summit of his power.¹ + + ♦ “1239” replaced with “1539” + + ¹ _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, Volume I., pages 117, + 129‒133; Sadler’s _State Papers_, Volume I., pages 15‒17; + _State Papers_, Henry VIII., Volume V., pages 156, 443‒445. + Archbishop James Beaton, the cardinal’s predecessor, had + also aspired to a cardinal’s hat and the power of legate + a latere, but he failed to obtain it. David Beaton was the + only Scottish bishop on whom the dignity of a cardinal was + bestowed by the undivided Latin Church. + +About the beginning of the year 1539, several persons, mostly of the +lower orders of the clergy, were accused and apprehended for heresy. +Thomas Forrest, a canon of Inchcolm and vicar of Dollar; two black +friars, named Beveridge and Killor; Duncan Simpson, a priest at +Stirling, and Robert Forrester, a layman, belonging to Stirling, +were tried before a council held by Cardinal Beaton and the Bishop of +Dunblane. They were all condemned, and were burned on the 1st day of +March, in the presence of the king, upon the Castle Hill of Edinburgh. +At the same time nine persons recanted, and many were banished. Amongst +the latter was George Buchanan, who escaped by the window of his +bed-chamber while his keepers were asleep.¹ The same year a friar of +the name of Russel was apprehended for heresy. He had been preaching at +Dumfries and other parts of the country; he was young and intelligent, +and therefore it was not likely that he would be suffered to spread +his heresies. Another youth of eighteen years, named Kennedy, was also +apprehended. Both were brought before the Archbishop of Glasgow, who, +it is said, was reluctant to condemn them. They were both, however, +sentenced to death and burned at Glasgow. Russel before his death is +reported to have spoken the following words:――“This is your hour and +the power of darkness; ye now sit as judges, whilst we stand before +you wrongfully accused and more wrongfully condemned, but the day shall +come when our innocence shall appear, and then ye shall see your own +blindness to your everlasting confusion. Go forward, and fulfil the +measure of your iniquity.”² + + ¹ _Diurnal of Occurrents_, page 23; Knox, Volume I., pages + 62‒63, 521‒522; Buchanan’s _History of Scotland_, Book XIV., + chapter 55; _State Papers_, Henry VIII., Volume V., page 154. + + ² Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume I., page 216; Knox, + Volume I., pages 63‒66; _State Papers_, Henry VIII., Volume + V., page 141. + +These executions were not followed by the results expected. Instead +of stamping out the heresy they only added more intensity to it, +and the proscribed opinions were more firmly held by those who had +embraced them. It has been maintained by some that if a persecution be +sufficiently severe and prolonged it must extinguish heresy. A great +deal depends, however, upon the state of civilisation the people have +reached among whom the heresy exists. If a nation be in a comparatively +low moral and social condition, and lives under a political or military +despotism, heresies or opinions obnoxious to the ruling powers might +be extinguished, or rather banished, from that particular quarter of +the earth. In such circumstances persecution might be carried to a +pitch which would crush the best of causes. But although the usual +means by which heresy is propagated be cut off, it cannot eradicate +what is believed to be the truth from the minds of those who have +cordially embraced it. Oppressive laws and a tyrannical and merciless +administration, if carried on long enough, will no doubt prevent +the expression of heresies, or of any opinion whatever; still it can +hardly be assumed that a heresy is extinguished because its expression +is legally and effectively suppressed, which is the utmost that the +severest persecution can effect. And it is just at this point where the +influences arise in which the human mind derives a peculiar enjoyment +from holding on to opinions that have been prohibited by Church and +State. For there is unquestionably a high degree of inward pleasure +in cherishing proscribed opinions which the judgment and the moral +sense believe to be true, and upon this some of the very strongest +self-sustaining and original elements of character have been developed. +The bond of sympathy that radiated in the hearts of the heretics was +not broken when one or two were burnt, indeed their memory and opinions +began then only to be thoroughly grasped, and were afterwards retained +with a vividness and a faith which their fellow believers alone could +fully realise. If it had been possible to burn the enthusiasm of the +heretic and of the martyr along with their bodies, truth and religion +and morality would long ago have been banished from the world, or +rather the higher characteristics of humanity could not have been +developed. Hence heresy may be cursed and condemned, heretics may be +tortured and consumed to ashes; and yet, as if to mock the limits of +the powers which have vainly assayed to crush them, again and again +heresies have risen up and shone with a lustre all its own, drawing +fresh energy from the manes of the departed. + +A parliament met at Edinburgh in December, 1541, and at once proceeded +to deal with two measures which directly trenched upon the privileges +of the aristocracy. An act was passed confirming the revocation of +all grants of lands, lordships, customs, burgh rents, annual fishings, +donations, life rents, and gifts, which had been made during the king’s +minority. The variety and extent of the transactions which this act +covered must have appeared extremely alarming, especially to those who +had any hand in the Government within the period specified. Another act +declared the Western and the Orkney and Shetland Islands to be annexed +to the Crown, together with the lordships of Douglas, Bothwell, Preston, +Tantallon, Crawford Lindsay, Crawford John, Bonhill, Jedburgh Forest, +♦Glamis, Liddesdale, Evandale, and the superiority of the Earldom of +Angus, with all its forts, castles, and whatever else pertained to it. +Though these measures were within the legal limits of the constitution +of the kingdom, they were far too bold; but if the Crown had been able +to carry them into effect the results would have been beneficial, as +the disorderly state of the inhabitants in the annexed districts would +have been remedied, and peace and order introduced. The Government +was aware of the danger attending the path on which it had entered, +and attempted to appease the ruffled feelings of the nobles and chiefs +by proclaiming a general pardon for all crimes committed down to the +date of the act. This, however, lost much of its calming effect owing +to the clause which excluded the banished Earl of Angus and all his +adherents.¹ The nobles now became nervously apprehensive, and their +feeling soon manifested itself. + + ♦ “Glammis” replaced with “Glamis” + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., pages + 357‒358, _et seq._ + +In a parliament held in March, 1541, new acts were passed against the +spread of heresy. To question the supreme authority of the Pope was +declared to be a capital crime, and even a suspicion of heresy was +deemed sufficient to disqualify any one for office in the Government or +elsewhere; all meetings for the discussion of religious doctrines were +strictly prohibited, and rewards were promised to those who revealed +to the authorities where such meetings were held. The Church was so +solicitous to preserve the purity of her doctrines that no Catholic was +permitted to converse with any one who had embraced a single heretical +opinion. Another statute was passed which tells that one special +feature of the Scottish Reformation had already begun to show itself; +as it was directed against those who broke and cast down the images of +the saints, or otherwise treated them with irreverence and dishonour.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 370‒371. + +While these events were passing at home, Henry VIII. was assuming +a more dictatorial tone, and making demands which no Government of +Scotland could ever entertain. His project of a meeting at York was +again renewed, and James agreed to meet him there. The King, however, +on the advice of the clergy, in the end declined the meeting. Henry was +greatly disappointed, and instantly burst into an uncontrollable rage, +leaping in his fury and raving like a maniac. Nothing short of a war +of conquest against Scotland could appease him. King James’s advisers +would not let him go to York; and they had good reason for distrusting +his uncle’s professed intentions, as the State papers amply testify.¹ + + ¹ _State Papers_, Henry VIII., Volume V., pages 198‒205, 214. + +In 1542, Henry resolved on war, in order to let the Scots feel his +power. The strife began on the Borders with all the old fury. James +mustered his army and marched southwards, but tidings soon came that +the English army had disbanded for want of provisions. The Scotch +nobles refused to follow their king. Their hour was come, and they +determined to show their power by mortifying the man, who had so +ruthlessly punished them, and who, according to their ideas, had +encroached upon the old rights of their class. Although forced to +disband his army, James was very loath to be baulked in his intention +of retaliating upon Henry, and very shortly after it was resolved that +a smaller force should make a raid across the Border――a body which was +said to have numbered ten thousand mustered. They had passed the Esk +and were approaching English ground when a strange fate befell them. It +was at this point that Oliver Sinclair, one of the king’s favourites, +began to read the commission which appointed him to the chief command. +The nobles present were enraged at this new encroachment upon their +hereditary rights, a storm of talk arose among them, and all discipline +and order was forgotten. Lord Dacre, the English leader, was hovering +near with a body of cavalry and a force of three thousand footmen. +When he saw the confusion of the Scots, he ordered his party to dash +in amongst them, and in a moment the Scottish army was scattered in +all directions. A number of the Scots were drowned in crossing the Esk, +many were slain in the pursuit by the English cavalry, and upwards of +a thousand prisoners, including nine nobles, fell into the hands of the +enemy. This severe disaster happened on the 24th of November, 1542, and +became known as the panic of Solway Moss.¹ + + ¹ Lesly’s _History Of Scotland_, page 165; Knox, Volume I., + pages 86‒88. In the fifth volume of the _State Papers_ of + the reign of Henry VIII., there is a list of the Scottish + prisoners taken at Solway Moss, in which the value of their + property and the names of their hostages are stated (pages + 232‒235). See also the _Hamilton Papers_, Volume I., + Appendix to Preface, page 98, pages 307, 311‒313. 1890. + +The tidings of this disaster seems to have broken the spirit of the +king. He brooded over his disappointments and what he regarded as an +unbearable disgrace; and his mind became confused. He continued to +sink lower and lower, and died on the 14th December, 1542. Although +he was hard on the nobles, he was popular amongst the people. The line +of policy which circumstances naturally led him to pursue, cannot be +commended either for its wisdom or sagacity; yet, when everything is +taken into account, James V. appears as a ruler fully equal to the +average of his contemporaries. + +The Crown then fell to an infant, Mary Stuart, born in the Palace +of Linlithgow seven days before the death of her father. She was +destined to become the most famous of the long line of Scottish +sovereigns. In her infancy and innocent childhood she was an object +of extremely fierce contention. Her youth and beauty, her talents and +accomplishments, her success and failure, the strength and weakness of +her character, her imprisonment and romantic escape, her flight into +England, her long captivity and tragic end――all concurred to fill the +story of her life with the most absorbing interest. + +Immediately after the death of the king, Cardinal Beaton made an +attempt to obtain the chief position in the government of the kingdom. +He was to be the head of the Council and the guardian of the infant +princess, associated with the Earls of Arran, Huntly, Moray, and Argyle; +and a proclamation was issued at Edinburgh commanding the people to +obey the Cardinal and the above earls. But early in January, 1543, +the Earl of Arran was named as Governor of the kingdom, and recognised +as next heir to the throne; and his appointment was confirmed by +parliament in March the same year. + +When Henry VIII. heard of the events in Scotland, he assumed that +Providence had given him a great opportunity, and at once formed the +idea of arranging for a marriage between the infant queen and his +son. Matrimonial projects were all-absorbing matters with him, and +if his exploits in this region of activity were not always attended +with honour and glory, he certainly never lost his relish for the +pursuit. His high sense of justice, his love of truth, no less than +the unspotted purity of his motives, suggested to him that the banished +Earl of Angus, and the Scottish nobles taken at Solway Moss might be +made useful agents for the accomplishment of his scheme in Scotland! +Henry proposed to the Earl of Angus and the captive nobles that they +should enter into an agreement with him, to do their utmost to promote +the marriage project, and to deliver the infant queen into his hands +to be kept in England. They agreed to this, and also to recognise Henry +as lord superior of Scotland; they promised to exert their influence +to procure for him the government of the kingdom, and to deliver all +the national fortresses into his hands. This bond between Henry and the +Scottish prisoners was drawn up with great formality and minuteness, +yet, with all his adroitness in taking advantage of the circumstances +in which the Scotch nobles were placed, he gained very little by it.¹ + + ¹ Sadler’s _State Papers_, Volume ♦I., pages 69, 74‒75, 81, 97; + _State Papers_, Henry VIII., Volume V., pages 239‒241. + + ♦ missing Volume number “I.” inserted + +Arran was not a man of great talents, and yielded too much to the +promises and bullying of Henry VIII. The Solway prisoners, on being +released, had promised to do great service for Henry when they returned +to Scotland; and the banished Earl of Angus, and Sir George Douglas, +had undertaken to procure the government of the kingdom for him +and to place the Crown on his head. But the performances of these +Lords greatly disappointed the expectation of this ambitious and +vain-glorious king. In short, his despotic demands were unreasonable +and impracticable; for he demanded that the Cardinal should be seized +and delivered into his hands; that the infant Queen should be betrothed +to his son, and also delivered into his hands; and in truth he wanted +possession of the kingdom of Scotland, although the means which he used +to attain his end, were even more despicable than any which had been +employed by any of his predecessors. In order to secure the support and +confidence of the Governor Arran, in April 1543, Henry offered to give +his daughter, Elizabeth, in marriage to Arran’s son. This he imagined +would certainly secure the Governor to his interest. He said: “For +we have a daughter called Lady Elizabeth, endowed with virtue and +qualities agreeable with her status ... if we shall see him sincerely +to go through with us in all things, to condescend to a marriage to +be celebrated between his son and our daughter, if he shall think it +for his favour and advancement to desire the same, and thereby to take +his son conjoined with our daughter, as our son-in-law, being content +according to that status to bring up and nourish him in our court with +us.... And what honour, what reputation, what worldly glory, it shall +be to him otherwise, for his son to marry a King of England’s daughter, +and to be nourished up thereafter in a King of England’s Court, +we doubt not he can consider.” But the one important condition in +this proposal was that Arran’s son must live in England. Henry was +playing with Arran, for he had no intention of giving his daughter +in marriage to Arran’s son. He continued to clamour for the capture +and imprisonment of the Cardinal, and to scold the released prisoners +and the Earl of Angus that they had done next to nothing in advancing +his designs in Scotland. After much underhand dealing and corruption, +on the 6th of June, with difficulty the conditions of the treaty of +marriage between the infant Queen and Henry’s son, and the treaty +of peace, were agreed to by the Regent and a party of the nobles. In +this transaction the Earls of Huntly, Argyle, and Moray, had no part. +Shortly after, Henry proposed to give the Regent Arran the whole of +Scotland beyond the Tay, but the offer was coldly received. On the 25th +of August, the treaties were ratified at Holyrood by the Regent, in +name of the Queen and the three Estates, in presence of a portion of +the nobles, but the Cardinal and his party were absent. These treaties, +however, were never ratified by Henry himself; and it is evident that +he did not intend to carry his purpose into effect by treaty, but hoped +shortly to take possession of the young Queen and the best part of her +kingdom, unclogged by special conditions. + +The general feeling of the Scots was decidedly opposed to the +interference and domineering spirit of Henry VIII. The Regent and a +section of the nobles lent their support to his schemes for a time, but +at last a coalition was formed against him, and then the Regent sailed +under the canvas of the Cardinal. While Henry professed a desire for +peace, he was actively preparing for an invasion of Scotland. The +course of events had turned against him, his friends were falling off; +and so keen was the feeling against his schemes amongst the citizens +of Edinburgh that they threatened to lay violent hands on Sadler, the +English Ambassador. Henry himself, in his bullying tone, addressed a +letter to them, in which he scolded them thus:――“We have thought good +to admonish you to beware and eschew that outrage, whereby ye might +provoke our extreme displeasure and indignation, and to forbear that +attempt, not only for the detestation of it in all men’s ears, but +also for fear of the revenge of our sword to extend to that town and +commonalty, and all such people as shall by any means come into our +hands, to the extermination of you to the third and fourth generation.” +The ambassador found refuge in Angus’ Castle of Tantallon. Parliament +met at Edinburgh, and on the 11th December 1543, the treaties of +marriage and peace between the two kingdoms were declared to have been +violated by the seizure and detention of Scottish ships by the English, +and were therefore annulled.¹ + + ¹ Hamilton, _Papers_, Volumes I., II.; _Acts of the Parliaments + of Scotland_, Volume II., page 432. + +Henry then prepared to invade Scotland. It was indeed hard that the +Scots could not see his many virtues; it was harder still that they +could not believe in his benign purposes, nor appreciate the many acts +of condescension which he had shown towards them; he had suffered them +long, but his forbearance was at last exhausted, and he must let them +feel the weight of his wrath. On the 10th of April, 1544, he issued +instructions through his Privy Council to the Earl of Hertford, the +leader of the inroads into Scotland; and these instructions were +marked by a ferocity of spirit, a fiendish malignity, and a barbarity +unmatched in the annals of Europe. Hertford was ordered in Henry’s name +to make an inroad into Scotland: “There to put all to fire and sword, +to burn Edinburgh town, to raze and destroy when you have sacked and +gotten what you can out of it, as there may remain for ever a perpetual +memory of the vengeance of God lighted upon it, for their falsehood +and disloyalty.... Sack Holyrood House, and as many towns and villages +about Edinburgh as ye conveniently can. Sack Leith, and burn and +subvert it, and all the rest, putting man, woman, and child to fire and +sword without exception where any resistance shall be made against you. +And this done, pass over to Fife land, and extend like extremities and +destructions in all towns and villages whereunto ye may conveniently +reach, not forgetting among all the rest, so to spoil and turn upside +down the Cardinal’s town of St. Andrews, as that the upper stone may +be the nether, and not one stick stand by another, sparing no creature +alive within the same, especially such as either in friendship or blood +are allied to the Cardinal; and the accomplishment of all this shall be +most acceptable to the majesty and honour of the King.”¹ + + ¹ Hamilton, _Papers_, Volume II., pages 325‒327. Compare _State + Papers_, Henry VIII., Volume V., pages 350‒352, 371‒374. + +The Earl of Hertford followed out his instructions pretty fully, he led +two expeditions into Scotland, the great one in May 1544, and the other +in September, and both were marked by the mere wanton destruction of +life and property. Towns and villages one after another were sacked +and burned, and wherever the English forces marched, death, desolation, +and woe proclaimed the wrath of Henry VIII. The monasteries of Melrose, +Kelso, Holyrood, Jedburgh, Dryburgh, and other religious houses, were +committed to the flames and laid in ruins.¹ + + ¹ _State Papers_, Henry VIII., Volume V., pages 521‒525; + Morton’s _Monastic Annals of Teviotdale_, pages 36, 100, 243, + 301; _Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland_, + Volume I., page 271, _et seq._ + +In the reports of the progress of the expedition of May, Hertford gave +detailed descriptions of the burning and sacking of Edinburgh, Holyrood, +Leith, and many other towns and villages. When the army was encamped +at Leith, he said, “The town of Leith we found to be of good substance +and riches, at the least of Xᵐᵉ li., as we suppose, whereof there was +a great store of grain of all kinds; finding also within the haven +two fair ships of the late Scottish King’s, called the ‘Salmon’ and +‘Unicorn,’ for which I, the lord admirall have taken such order, that +by the suffrance of God, the same shall arrive to your majesty with the +rest of your navy.” From the same place he wrote: “We have daily sent +forth both horsemen and footmen, as well by sea as by land, which have +devastated the country hereabout, and within six miles of Stirling, +in such sort as there shall not only remain a perpetual memory of +our being here, but also, we trust, I, the Earl of Hertford, have so +accomplished the charge committed to me by your highness in that behalf, +as the enemies shall neither be able to recover this damage while we +live, nor yet to assemble any power this year in these parts of the +realm, whatsoever aid be sent to them out of France or Denmark to annoy +your majesty’s subjects, or to make any invasion into your realm of +England.”¹ + + ¹ Hamilton, _Papers_, Volume II., pages 360‒371. + +Henry VIII. evidently had engendered in himself a remorseless enmity +against the Scots; and there was one man whom he detested more than the +rest, and pursued with a venomous malignity. This was Cardinal Beaton, +the most talented and strongest adherent of Catholicism in Scotland, +and a politician, according to the standard of the times, of consummate +ability. The Cardinal had worked hard against the policy of Henry, +and had defeated it. Since the death of James V. Henry had marked out +the Cardinal, and had employed every means to insnare and crush him, +but Beaton was well aware of his venomous designs against him. Henry +lent his influence to a plot against the Cardinal’s life, and at last +promised a reward to the other conspirators who were concocting a +scheme to murder him. As early as 1543 Henry had approved of the plot, +and in the event of its being successful, that is, if the Cardinal +was killed, and his murderers forced to flee to England, then he bound +himself to protect them from all the consequences of their act.¹ But +despite all the efforts of Henry and of those whom he employed the +Cardinal eluded the machinations of his mortal enemies for several +years. + + ¹ _State Papers_, Henry VIII., Volume V., pages 242‒243, + 377, 449‒458, 467, 470‒472, 512; _Statutes of the Scottish + Church_, Volume I., page 142. There is a pretty full account + of the plot against the cardinal in an appendix to the fifth + volume of Tytler’s _History of Scotland_, pages 453‒470. + +While these events were passing and ruffling the surface of society, +the reformed opinions were gradually spreading amongst the people. The +contradictory and vacillating policy of the Regent was well adapted +to weaken the authority of the old religious creed. In March 1543, +Parliament passed an act authorising all men to have and to read the +Old and New Testament in the common speech of the country, English or +Scottish. This liberty, however, was only enjoyed for a short time, and +it is doubtful if any edition of the Scriptures was printed in Scotland +during the brief interval in which the act was allowed to remain in +force.¹ The Regent Arran, in a few months after the passing of this act, +dismissed the two reformed preachers whom he had retained in his family, +and the Cardinal soon obtained a complete ascendency. Those affected +by the new opinions began to manifest their feeling by attacking and +defacing the houses of the Black and Grey Friars in Dundee. About +the same time attempts were made to mar the building of the Black +Friars at Edinburgh, a movement which was repelled by the citizens; and +these outbursts of heretical feeling quickly received a sharp check. A +parliament which met at Edinburgh passed an act declaring――“How there +is great murmour because the heretics more and more rise and spread +within the realm, sowing their damnable opinions contrary to the faith +and laws of the holy Church and the acts and constitutions of the +kingdom.” Therefore all the prelates and ordinaries were exhorted, each +within their own diocese, to inquire after all such heretical persons, +and to proceed against them according to the laws of the Church, and +the Regent promised to be always ready to do everything therein that +belonged to his office.² + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., pages 415, + 425; Craufurd’s _Officers of State_, pages 77, 438. + + ² _Diurnal of Occurrents_, _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume II., page 443. + +The year 1544 began very ominously for the so-called heretics. The +Cardinal was then master of the situation in Scotland, and he was not +the man to let his opportunity slip. About the end of January he held +a court at Perth, and many suspected persons were summoned before it +and accused of heresy. A number of them were banished, but four men, +James Hunter, a flesher, William Anderson, a maltman, James Randlson, +a skinner, Robert Lamb, a burgess of Perth, and his wife, were all +condemned. The four men were hanged, and the helpless woman, Lamb’s +wife, who had a child at her breast, was drowned; she gave her infant +to the attendants, her hands and feet were then bound, and she was +thrown into a deep pool of water where her sufferings were ended.¹ +This was the only instance of a woman being put to death for religious +opinions in Scotland before the Reformation. + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., pages 117‒118, 523‒527. + +George Wishart returned to Scotland in the end of the year 1544. He +was a popular preacher, and was supported by the Earls of Cassillis and +Glencairn, the Lairds of Brunston, Ormiston, and Calder. These men were +deeply in the confidence of Henry VIII., and were plotting the murder +of Cardinal Beaton; but whether George Wishart was concerned in this +plot, is a disputed point. The evidence, however, on which it has +been attempted to show that he was implicated in the plots against the +Cardinal’s life, certainly does not approach to the requisite standard. +The only evidence connecting Wishart, the martyr, with the plot against +the Cardinal’s life rests on the fact that a Scotsman named Wishart +conveyed letters from Crichton of Brunston to Henry VIII., and it is +only conjectured that this individual was Wishart, the preacher of +the reformed doctrines. There are some presumptive circumstances which +seem to point to him, such as his known association with the Laird of +Brunston and others of the conspirators. But even if this conjecture +were true, it would not amount to much, as people in these days did not +view the murder of an enemy of their faith in the light in which we do, +on the contrary, they thought it was rendering a service to God to cut +off an able opposer of the truth.¹ Wishart preached in Montrose, Dundee, +Ayr, Perth, and in other parts of the country. He delivered his sermons +with much vehemence, boldly attacking the errors of the Church and +declaiming against the profligacy of the clergy. Knox first appears in +history in company with Wishart.² + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., pages 125‒138, 534‒537. + + ² Buchanan, Book XV., chapter 32; Knox, Volume I., pages + 125‒137. + +In the beginning of the year 1546, Wishart was in Lothian, and +preached in Haddington, where John Knox accompanied him. On the 16th +of January he was apprehended at Ormiston, in East Lothian, by the Earl +of Bothwell, and conveyed first to Edinburgh, and shortly after to St. +Andrews. He was tried on the 28th of February, condemned, and executed +on the 11th of March. When the fire was prepared, he was led from +the castle to the stake imploring mercy of his Saviour and commending +his soul to Him. He then addressed the people, beseeching them not to +be offended with the word of God, for the profession of which he was +suffering. He said――“For the word’s sake, and the true gospel which was +given me by the grace of God, I suffer this day by men, not sorrowfully +but with a glad heart and mind. For this cause I was sent, that I +should suffer this fire for Christ’s sake. Consider and behold my +visage, ye shall not see me change my colour. This grim fire I fear not, +and so I pray you for to do if that any persecution come to you for the +word’s sake and not to fear them that slay the body and afterwards have +no power to slay the soul. Some have said of me that I taught that the +soul of man should sleep until the last day, but I know surely, and my +faith is such, that my soul shall sup with my Saviour this night ere +it be six hours, for whom I suffer this.” He then prayed for those who +had accused him, saying――“I beseech thee, Father of Heaven, to forgive +them that through ignorance or an evil mind have forged lies upon me; +I forgive them with all my heart; I beseech Christ to forgive those +who have condemned me to death this day.” And finally to the people he +said――“I beseech you, brethren and sisters, to exhort your bishops to +learn the word of God, that at least they may be ashamed to do evil and +learn to do good: and if they will not convert themselves and turn from +their wicked ways the wrath of God shall swiftly overtake them.” He was +then hanged, and his remains burned to ashes.¹ + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., pages 137‒171; Fox’s _Acts and Monuments_, + pages 632‒♦667; _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., + page 20. Wishart produced an English translation of the + Swiss Confession of Faith, which was printed after his death. + + ♦ “267” replaced with “667” + +The burning of Wishart aroused a deep feeling in the popular mind, and +many began to say that they would not suffer the life of innocent men +to be taken away. As the Regent had declined to authorise the execution +of Wishart, all the odium of the deed rested upon the Cardinal, so that +his enemies increased in number and bitterness. Indeed Beaton had been +endeavouring to strengthen his position by the old custom of entering +into bonds of man-rent with many of the nobles; he was secure on the +side of France, and the faction of the Scottish nobles opposed to +his line of policy had been almost put out of reckoning. Soon after +the death of Wishart the Cardinal passed through Angus, and attended +the marriage of one of his natural daughters at Finhaven Castle. When +he was thus enjoying himself, news came that Henry VIII. was again +preparing to invade Scotland. He hurried back to St. Andrews to put his +castle into a state of defence, as he dreaded that it would be attacked. +At that moment his enemies in Scotland were maturing their scheme to +murder him, and the folds of the plot were fast closing around their +victim.¹ + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., pages 147‒174; Lord Lindsay’s _Lives of + the Lindsays_, Volume I., page 201; Tytler’s _History of + Scotland_, Volume V., pages 456‒470. + +The Cardinal was living securely in his own Castle of St. Andrews, +which a number of workmen were engaged in repairing. Early on the +morning of the 29th May, 1546, Norman Lesley, the Master of Rothes, +and two others, slipped into the castle; these were followed by James +Melville and other three, who asked an interview with the Cardinal; +immediately after them the Laird of Grange came up with eight armed +men. The suspicion of the porter at the gate was now roused, but he was +instantly stabbed and thrown into the ditch. Thus in a few minutes the +party were within the walls of the castle; and with surprising alacrity +its few defenders, and the workmen on the ramparts were led out, and +all the gates guarded. The unusual noise had aroused the Cardinal from +his bed, and he was ascending the stair of the castle when his enemies +came upon him and ruthlessly murdered him. Meanwhile the alarm was +given in the city, the common bell was rung, and the citizens, with +their provost at their head, rushed in confusion to the castle, and +loudly called for the Cardinal; but they were too late, and to show +them that the work was done, the murderers exposed the body of the +Cardinal over the castle wall. The conspirators, only sixteen in number, +kept possession of the castle.¹ + + ¹ _State Papers_, Henry VIII., Volume V., pages 560‒561. + Spottiswood. + +Thus perished Cardinal Beaton by the hands of a set of cruel and hired +assassins. The Cardinal was the ablest champion of Catholicism in +Scotland; and John Hamilton, a brother of the Regent, who succeeded to +the primacy, was much inferior in energy and talents to his predecessor. +According to the laws of the Church, Beaton’s moral character was +extremely defective; but then amongst the clerical dignitaries of the +period, the laws of purity and chastity were utterly disregarded, while +the morals of the Cardinal were just those of his day. He has been +often blamed for persecuting the adherents of the reformed opinions, +but when compared with his contemporaries, it appears that the number +of persons put to death by him was not great; and there is no evidence +that he was naturally cruel. That he was much respected and even loved +by many of the citizens of St. Andrews, seems evident. That the men who +put him to death were not actuated by religious motives has long ago +been clearly proved.¹ The feelings, sentiments, and ideas of those who +originated, sustained, and continued the Reformation, were of a very +different character from those which animated the mercenary and greedy +plotters who cut short the life of Cardinal Beaton. + + ¹ Hosack’s _Queen Mary_, Volume I., page 13. When the citizens + of St. Andrews came running to the castle, Knox says they + cried――“What have ye done with my Lord Cardinal? Where is + my Lord Cardinal? Have ye slain my Lord Cardinal? Let us see + my Lord Cardinal!” And when they were told that he was no + more, they cried more eagerly――“We shall never depart till + we see him!” Then his body was shown over the wall “to the + faithless multitude, who would not believe before it saw.” + Works, Volume I., page 178. + + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + _History of the Reformation to the + Overthrow of the Roman Catholic Church._ + + +THE sixteen conspirators who had seized the Castle of St. Andrews +were soon joined by about one hundred and forty of their adherents, +who formed a garrison and defied all the force at the disposal of the +Regent. The Cardinal at the time of his death held the Regent’s son +James, Lord Hamilton, afterwards third Earl of Arran, as a hostage. He +was retained by the conspirators as a pledge for their own advantage; +as the Government were afraid he would be delivered to the English. +John Rough, a reformed preacher, entered the castle soon after the +Cardinal’s death, and began to preach to the garrison. The Regent +besieged the castle from the end of August to December without success. +In April 1547, John Knox had become wearied by wandering from place +to place to avoid persecution, and he felt inclined to visit the +schools of Germany; but having the charge of some gentlemen’s sons, he +entered the Castle of St. Andrews. During the intervals of the siege +a Protestant congregation had been formed in the town, and about the +end of May, Knox consented to assume the functions of their minister. +Rough had been unable to match the debating powers of John Annand, the +principal of St. Leonard’s College, and a firm adherent of Catholicism; +but Knox, according to his own narrative, refuted all the arguments of +the principal, and compelled him to retire behind the authority of the +Church, which had already condemned Lutherism and all other heresies. +After worsting the principal, Knox on the following Sunday preached +his first public sermon in the parish church of St. Andrews, where +were present John Mair, Winram, the sub-prior, many of the canons, and +some of the friars. In this sermon he showed to his own satisfaction +that the Roman Church was the Antichrist, the Man of Sin, and so on. +A discussion then ensued between Knox on the one side, and Winram and +a friar on the other; but neither party was convinced by the arguments +of the other. The Catholic clergy themselves then began to preach +regularly in the parish church every Sunday. Knox continued his sermons +on the week days, and the numbers of those who embraced the reformed +opinions increased. However, this episode in the history of the +Reformation was abruptly terminated.¹ + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., pages 181‒202; _Register of the Privy + Council_, Volume I., pages 26, 31, 33, 38, 39, 44, 47, 58; + _State Papers_, Henry VIII., Volume V., pages 563‒564; _Acts + of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., pages 478, 479. + +Meanwhile, however, the new opinions were spreading. In the month of +June 1546, the Council issued a proclamation warning all persons not to +pillage or destroy monastic and church buildings. It stated that――“In +these troublous times it is dreaded and feared that evil disposed +persons will invade, destroy, cast down, and withhold abbeys, abbey +places, parish kirks, friars’ houses, nunneries, chapels, and other +spiritual men’s houses, against the law of God and man, and contrary +to the liberty and freedom of the holy Church and acts of parliament +made and observed in all bygone times.... All and sundry were charged +that none of them take upon hand any of these kirks, religious places, +or houses, or to withhold, intermot, or take the same at their own +hand by way of deed hereafter, or to spoil the jewels and ornament of +the church ordained for God’s service and dedicated to it, under the +penalty of forfeiture of life, lands, and goods.”¹ The bishops and the +priests were enraged at the proceedings in St. Andrews, and they ran to +the Regent, to the Queen, and the whole Council, with their complaints, +crying――“What are we doing? Shall we suffer this whole realm to be +infected with pernicious doctrine? Fy upon you, and upon us!”² The +Queen and the French ambassador then comforted them with the assurance +that matters would ere long be remedied. On the 19th of March 1547, the +bishops and clergy assembled at Edinburgh, and presented to the Regent +and Council a supplication, calling on them to enforce the laws against +the followers of the pestilent heresies of Luther, which had not only +spread in several quarters of the kingdom, but also in the Court, and +the Regent’s presence, and was sometimes preached openly; and it would +daily increase unless the arm of the civil power assisted the spiritual +authority to arrest its progress. The Regent and the Council acceded +to their request, and desired to be furnished with the names of the +heretics and the teachers of heresy; “and his Grace and the temporal +lords shall take them and cause the laws of the realm to be executed +against them, ay, as he is required thereto, according to the laws of +holy Church, and ordained this deliverance to be inserted in the books +of the Council.”³ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 28‒29. + + ² Knox, Volume I., pages 202‒203. + + ³ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., page 61, 63‒64. + +But the resources at the command of the Regent were not sufficient +to reduce the Castle of St. Andrews, and there the heretics were +practising their own forms of religion. In the end of the month of +June 1547, however, a French force arrived in Scotland, and attacked +the castle by sea and land. After the guns were put into position, and +the batteries opened fire, the bold defenders of the castle were soon +brought to submission. The garrison had imagined that they would obtain +more favourable terms from the French commander and the King of France +than from the Regent Arran and the Council, and surrendered themselves +to the French commander.¹ But they were conveyed to France and treated +as criminals. They arrived at Fecamp, a seaport about midway between +Dieppe and Havre, then passed up the Seine and anchored before Rouen; +and the chief gentlemen who had expected to be liberated were put into +various prisons; while the rest were left in the galleys and hardly +treated, among whom were James Balfour, and his two brothers, and John +Knox. The Catholics both of Scotland and France rejoiced greatly at +the fate of the heretics and the enemies of the late Cardinal. Knox, +along with his fellow-prisoners, had to work on the galleys chained +as a slave. After an imprisonment of eighteen months he obtained his +liberty in 1549, upon the intercession, it was supposed, of the English +Government. Knox came to England, and soon after he was appointed to +preach in Berwick; but in 1550 he was removed to Newcastle, where he +continued his labours. In 1551, he was appointed one of King Edward’s +chaplains, and he remained in England till after the death of Edward VI. +Knox left England in the beginning of March, 1554, and passed to Geneva +to pursue his private studies. Soon after he was called to be minister +to the English exiles in Frankfort, entering on his duties there in +November 1554. But disputes arising in the congregation regarding the +Book of Common Prayer, and other ceremonies, he relinquished his charge, +and in March 1555, returned to Geneva.² + + ¹ _Diurnal of Occurrents_, page 44; Buchanan, Book XV.; Knox, + Volume I., pages 203‒206. + + ² Knox, Volume I., pages 206, 225‒232; Volume III., pages 156, + 215, 380. Lesly’s _History Of Scotland_, page 195. + +On the 28th of January, 1547, Henry VIII. died, but the policy of +aggression towards Scotland was continued. The Duke of Somerset, the +new Governor, invaded the kingdom with a strong army and a naval force; +and on the 10th of September, 1547, the Scots risked a battle, but were +completely defeated. Many of the Scots were slain, while others were +taken prisoners in the flight. This disastrous defeat became known in +history as the Battle of Pinkie; subsequently the Scots were reduced +to great extremities. The English and Scots became much exasperated; +the war assumed a fierce and ruthless character, and acts of shocking +cruelty were frequently perpetrated. In 1548 a French army of seven +thousand men arrived to assist the Scots; while the same year the young +Queen was sent to France, and thus one cause of the war was removed. +After many severe struggles, the French and the Scots drove the English +out of the castles and recovered the southern districts of the kingdom. +Peace was at length concluded in April 1550. + +When the pressure of external enemies was removed the nation breathed +more freely. But the internal political and religious conflict +proceeded; and, as the contest between the old and the new religious +views became closer and clearer, and the shadow of the revolution was +more distinctly seen approaching, the Church and the Government acutely +felt the gravity of the issues involved. When the heretics were few in +number burning might have kept them down or caused them to hide their +faces; but it was now perceived that if heresy was to be extinguished, +other means would have to be employed. The whole body of the clergy, +from the primate to the humblest monk and friar, must then betake +themselves to the proper functions of their calling, and discharge +their varied duties honestly and faithfully. Within the ten years +immediately preceding the Reformation there were four provincial +councils of the Church held in Scotland; and they enacted and adopted +one hundred and thirty-one canons, the greater part of which were +directed against the immoral lives of the clergy, their ignorance, +and the neglect of their essential duties.¹ The provincial council +of 1549 ordered a strict search to be made for heresy and heretical +books, especially poems and ballads; and to make the inquest effective +the inquisitors were supplied with a schedule of the chief points +of heresy. Thus the chief points of heresy enumerated in the canons +were――“Speaking against the rites and sacraments of the Church, +especially the sacrifice of the mass, the sacraments of baptism, +confirmation, extreme unction, and penance; contempt of the censures +of the Church; denial of the reign of the souls of saints with Christ +in glory; denial of the immortality of the soul; denial of purgatory; +denial of prayer and intercession of the saints; denial of the +lawfulness of images in Christian churches; denial of recompense for +works of faith and charity; denial of the authority of general councils +in controversies of faith; neglect of the fasts and festivals of the +Church. Heretical books, especially poems and ballads against the +Church or clergy, were to be diligently sought after and burned.” + + ¹ See under pages 40‒43. Also _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, + Volume II., pages 81‒176. A number of the canons enacted in + the provincial council of 1549 were adopted from the decrees + of the Council of Trent passed in June, 1546, and March, + 1547; _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, Volume I., page 150. + +The part which the popular poems and ballads played in the Reformation +struggle will be illustrated in the chapter on the literature of the +period. One of the canons of the Provincial Council of 1552 stated +that――“Even in the most populous parishes very few of the parishioners +came to mass or to sermon, that in the time of service jesting and +irreverence go on within the church, sports and secular business in +the porch and the churchyard. It therefore enacted that the name of +every person wilfully absenting himself from his parish church, shall +be taken down by the curate and reported to the Rural Dean, and that +all traffic in church porches, in churchyards, or in the immediate +neighbourhood, shall be forbidden on Sundays and other holidays during +divine worship.” + +It was in the Provincial Council of 1552 that the publication of +the Catechism was sanctioned. At that time it was openly confessed +that――“The inferior clergy and the prelates for the most part are not +in the meanwhile sufficiently learned to instruct the people rightly +in the Catholic faith, in things necessary to salvation, or to reclaim +them from the path of error.... This work, since commonly known as +Archbishop Hamilton’s Catechism, was to be read to the people in church, +before high mass, when there was no sermon, as much as would occupy +half an hour, being read from the pulpit every Sunday and holiday +with a loud voice, clearly, distinctly, impressively, and solemnly by +the rector, vicar, or curate, in his surplice and stole. The clergy +were enjoined to exercise themselves daily in reading it, lest their +stammering or breaking down might move the jeers of the people; and +heavy penalties, fine and imprisonment, imposed on all who should fail +to observe any part of the canons regarding it.”¹ + + ¹ _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, Volume I., pages 150, 151, + 154; Volume II., pages 117‒120, 135‒139. + +Thus the party within the pale of the Roman Catholic Church in +Scotland wished to redress gross abuses without demolishing the old +organisations. The Catechism which they produced in the vernacular +for the use of the clergy, was characterised by moderate statement +and graceful composition. But all the canons and the catechism were +of no avail; they were too late, as the fiat had gone forth; the +accumulated corruptions of many generations had resulted in a system +of institutions incapable of reformation from within; the features of +purity, the love of truth and justice had departed from their walls and +altars; the great ethical principles at the heart of all true religion +had waned dim, and there was no glowing rays to lighten up the darkness +which enveloped the Church. + +In the summer of 1550, Adam Wallace, a layman from Ayrshire, a man of +humble rank, had been occasionally engaged in teaching the children of +Cockburn of Ormiston, was accused of heresy. He was seized and conveyed +to Edinburgh, and tried before the bishops, the Regent, the Earl of +Huntly, and others. Wallace was accused for having assumed to preach +without authority, and of reading the Scriptures. He denied having +preached in public, but admitted that he had read the Bible, and +sometimes added a word of exhortation. Then one of his accusers said, +“What shall we leave to the bishops and churchmen to do, if every man +shall be a babbler upon the Bible.” Wallace replied that it would befit +them better to speak more reverently about the Word of God. Questions +were put to him touching the sacraments, prayer for the dead, and other +points; and at last, the Earl of Huntly asked him what he thought of +the mass. Wallace replied that he could find no authority for it in +the Word of God, and therefore it was idolatry in the sight of God. +Then they all cried “Heresy! heresy!” He was condemned, and burned on +the Castle hill of Edinburgh, where he met his doom with firmness and +faith.¹ + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., pages 237‒241; Foxe, pages 627‒628. + +When Paul III. ascended the papal throne in 1834, he signalised the +event by the elevation of several distinguished men to the College of +Cardinals without any other object than that of their personal merits. +Some of the new Cardinals held opinions which inclined to Protestantism; +and by the command of the Pope himself, they prepared a plan for the +reform of the Church. When this became known to the Protestants, they +rejected it because they had already passed beyond its most liberal +proposals. Various other attempts to effect a reconciliation were +equally unsuccessful. + +In connection with the view of the Reformation, it is necessary to +touch briefly on the proceedings of the Council of Trent. As indicated +above, a certain number of thoughtful Catholics were willing to make +considerable concessions in the form of redressing prevalent abuses. +Still a line had to be drawn somewhere, and when it was drawn by the +Council of Trent, the Protestants found themselves beyond it. But +taking a view of the conditions and circumstances of the nations of +Europe, it appeared that the final decision and the conclusions of the +Council of Trent were greatly influenced by political interests. As +religion had been so long and so much mingled with the politics and +the secular affairs of the world, the great majority of the members +of the Council were unable to realise the necessity of such a measure +of disentanglement as the principles of the Reformation implied; while +the strong feeling naturally associated with an inherited belief, the +importance attached to tradition, and the efficacy ascribed to external +ceremonies in the Roman Catholic Church, were so powerful that they +overruled the deliberations of this memorable Council.¹ + + ¹ Ranke’s _History of the Popes_, Volume I., pages 110‒113; + 1847. Buckley’s _History of the Council of Trent_, pages + 68‒76; 1852. + +After many obstacles and circumstances unfavourable to the assembling +of the Council of Trent had been overcome, it was opened in December +1545. There was no representative from Scotland at the Council, +although a provincial council of the Scottish clergy which met at +St. Andrews in March 1546, and imposed a tax of two thousand and five +hundred pounds for the expenses of deputies from Scotland to Trent. +The tax appears to have been paid, but no Scottish delegate attended +the Council. The position of the Church in Scotland was so perilous +that Cardinal Beaton, though thrice summoned by the Pope to share +the deliberations of the Vatican, did not venture to leave Scotland.¹ +When the opening ceremonials and various preliminary matters were +disposed of, they proceeded to discuss revelation and the sources from +which the knowledge of it was derived. At this stage, some proposals +were enunciated in favour of opinions tending towards Protestantism. +The Bishop of Chiogga insisted that nothing but Scripture should +be admitted; he maintained that the gospel contained all that was +necessary. Seripando, the general of the Augustines, also argued that +a distinction should be drawn between the canonical books of Scripture +and those not yet received as canonical, such as the Proverbs and +Books of Wisdom; and that the first class only be used for proving the +doctrines of belief. But they found few supporters, and there was an +overwhelming majority against these views. The Council at last adopted +the resolution that those unwritten traditions which had been received +from the mouth of Christ, or by the Holy Spirit, and preserved by +a continuous succession in the Catholic Church, were to be regarded +with the same veneration and of equal authority with the Scriptures. +The Vulgate was declared to be an authentic translation, and it was +enjoined that it should be printed with the greatest care as soon as +possible.² In the discussion touching the reception of the Vulgate +there was much diversity of opinion expressed in the Council; and +the following example of the line of argument taken by one party +of the Fathers has an interest of its own:――“That if the providence +of God hath given an authentical Scripture to the synagogue, and an +authentical New Testament to the Grecians, it cannot be said without +derogation that the Church of Rome, more beloved than the rest, hath +wanted this great benefit; and therefore that the same Holy Ghost who +did dictate the holy books hath dictated also that translation which +ought to be accepted by the Church of Rome.... And if any should make +dainty to give the Spirit of God to the interpreter, yet he cannot deny +it to the Council; and when the vulgar edition shall be approved, and +an anathema be thundered against whosoever will not receive it, this +will be without error, not by the spirit of him that wrote it, but of +the synod that hath received it for such.”³ + + ¹ _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, Volume I., pages 145, + 260‒269. + + ² _Decrees of the Council of Trent_, Session IV. + + ³ Sarpi, Book I., chapter 2, pages 159, _et seq._; Buckley’s + _History of the Council of Trent_, page 125; Pallavicino, + Book VI., chapter 15. + +Upon the great subject of ♦justification there was much diversity of +opinion manifested in the ♠Council, and the discussions on it were +long and tedious. A section of the members held views nearly similar to +those of the Protestants. This party maintained that justification must +be ascribed to the merits of Christ and to faith alone; charity and +hope they affirmed to be the attendants, and works the proofs of faith, +but nothing more; thus the basis of justification was made to rest +on faith alone. But this primal doctrine of Protestantism had little +chance of even a fair hearing in the Council; it was in vain that +Cardinal Pole entreated them not to reject an opinion merely because +it was held by Luther. The debate waxed extremely hot: a bishop and a +Greek monk from words came to blows. The Council found that it could +not argue the questions raised to any purpose, and the discussions +were confined; still there were marked differences of opinion +expressed among the assembled fathers and divines. Towards the end of +the discussion on justification, Seripando advanced his opinion; he +contended that the doctrine of justification was twofold, or that there +was a twofold righteousness, “the one intrinsic, which he again divided +into two kinds; the first being that, whereby we become friends instead +of enemies of God, and that this is given us with the grace infused +by baptism; the second, whereby man is said to live righteously, which +results from the acts of virtue proceeding from the aforesaid grace. +The other kind of righteousness was outward, and consisted in the +righteousness and merits of Christ, imputed to us by the divine mercy +as if they were our own, not indeed wholly, but to such degree, and +for such effects, as seems good unto God. If it be asked which of +these justifications we must rely on――that indwelling, or that imparted +through Christ――the devout man will reply that we must confide in +the latter only. Our own righteousness is incomplete and ineffective, +marred by its deficiences――that of Christ alone is true and sufficient; +this only is entirely pleasing in the sight of God, and in virtue of +this alone may we trust to be justified before God.¹ These opinions +of Seripando met with little sympathy, only five of the assembled +theologians gave their assent to them; while his peculiar tenets on +justification were combated with great ability, force, and subtlety, +by Cardinal Caraffa,² and the two Jesuits, Salmeron and Laineg.³ The +influence of the Jesuits was strong in the Council, and their opinions +prevailing, the decision of the assembly was in accordance with their +views. There were many and long discussions on the errors of the +heretics in connection with the sacraments; debates respecting the +granting of the cup to the laity; debates touching the mass and +the abuses associated with it; debates concerning the institution +of the priesthood and its various orders; discussions on marriage; +discussions on pernicious and suspected books;⁴ and discussions on +many other matters. But the result of the whole was that after several +adjournments and reassemblings during a period of eighteen years, the +twenty-fifth and last session terminated the Council in December 1563; +the Protestant opinions were excluded from Catholicism, and all hope +of mediation or reunion was utterly abandoned. The seven sacraments as +heretofore were retained; and also purgatory, indulgences, auricular +confession, celibacy of the priesthood, and so on: the incubus of the +Middle Ages and the inherited accretions of the creed of the Roman +Church rested too heavily and firmly upon her to be shaken off; hence +she easily accepted tradition as of equal authority with Scripture; yet +she was still bold in assumption, strong in assertion, and vigorous in +her denunciations; she had always been kept free from error by special +grace; she alone was the true Church, and beyond her walls no religious +body could be acknowledged.⁵ + + ♦ “jusification” replaced with “justification” + + ♠ “Conncil” replaced with “Council” + + ¹ Pallavicino, Book VIII., chapter 11; 1670. Ranke’s _History + of the Popes_, Volume I., pages 152‒153. + + ² Caraffa was elected Pope under the title of Paul IV. in + the year 1555; he was an ardent Romanist. Heresy had been + spreading in Italy as in other places, and it was deemed + desirable that the Inquisition should be reorganised at Rome. + The leading idea of this institution is well expressed in + these words:――“As St. Peter subdued the first Heresiarchs + in no other place than Rome, so must the successors of St. + Peter destroy all the heresies of the whole world in Rome.” + The Pope, by a bull in April 1543, founded at Rome the + Congregation of the Holy Office: six cardinals were deputed + as inquisitors-general of the faith, and their functions + were extended to embrace all Christian nations. They were + empowered to try all cases of heresy, to apprehend and + imprison all suspected persons and their abettors, of every + rank and order; they could nominate officers and appoint + inferior courts in all places, with the same or with limited + powers. One restriction only was imposed on the power of + this inquisition; they had full liberty to inflict all kinds + of punishment, but the right to pardon was reserved by the + Pope himself; they might condemn as many heretics as they + choose, but to absolve those once condemned was in the power + of the Pope alone. The inquisitors were commanded to go on + “enforcing and executing whatever might most effectively + suppress and uproot the errors that have found place in the + Christian community, and permitting no vestige of them to + remain.” Limborch’s _History of the Inquisition_, Volume I., + pages 150‒152; Bromato’s _Life of Paul IV._, Book VII., + Section 3; Ranke, Volume I., pages 157‒158. + + At this time Cardinal Caraffa was the head and leading + spirit of the Inquisition. In this office he worked + vigorously; he appointed commissioners-general for the + different countries; and the rules which he drew up for + their guidance were the following:――“First, when the faith + is in question, there must be no delay, but at the slightest + suspicion rigorous means must be resorted to with all speed. + Secondly, no consideration to be shown to any prince or + prelate, however high his station. Thirdly, extreme severity + is rather to be exercised against those who attempt to + shield themselves under the protection of any potentate; + only he who makes plenary confession shall be treated with + gentleness and fatherly compassion. Fourthly, no man must + debase himself by showing toleration towards heretics of any + kind, above all towards Calvinists.” We are told in the Life + of Caraffa that “he held as a positive axiom this rule, that + in matters of faith one must in no way pause at all, but on + the first suspicion or intimation of this plague of heresy, + proceed by all force and violence to its utter extirpation.” + Ranke, Volume I., pages 158‒159. Such was the iron severity, + inflexible and remorseless, which characterised the Roman + Inquisition of the sixteenth century: can we wonder that + there was also intolerance among the Protestants of that + age? The Inquisition as a whole is the most complete system + of tyranny ever devised; and it is equally exhaustive in + detail, and merciless in the means by which it sought to + reach its end. + + ³ The Society of Jesus was originated by Ignatius Loyola, + a Spaniard, who was gifted with a fund of enthusiasm. The + new Order received the papal sanction in 1540, and they + soon rose to power, and spread over the world; they were + afterwards known by the name of Jesuits. The aims of the + Order may be roundly described to consist in a fixed and + absolute determination to enhance and extend the influence + and power of the Roman Church. Their first and chief + rule was unconditional obedience, total and unhesitating + subjection of their whole being and energies to the + will of their superiors. The Order was to the Jesuit the + representative of divine providence, and consequently + everything else must be sacrificed to its demands. The + society was placed under the guidance of a general, and + its organisation quickly attained a definiteness and a + completeness as yet unmatched. + + The Order was ranked into several classes, each with their + special duties and work. They devoted themselves to the + department of teaching, and the confessional with peculiar + and unrivalled zeal. The Jesuits, in fact, became the + teachers in the colleges and schools in every Roman Catholic + country; and they founded a system of instruction, framed + upon a theological basis, which they impressed upon the + minds of the young with an effectiveness never before + attained. Their scheme of education was methodical and + uniform throughout; the schools were divided into classes, + and the strictest discipline in every branch was observed. + The success of the Order, not only in Roman Catholic + countries, but also in Germany and in other nations which + were partly Protestant, was surprisingly great. The first + Jesuits were an immense element of force to the Roman + Catholic Church; they exhibited in their whole proceedings + a reaction from the looseness both of morals and of creed + which had marked the recent condition of the Church; they + were pious, intensely earnest, and warmly attached to the + Church, because their minds were cast in the mould which + allowed them still to believe firmly in her pretensions. + While they had all the boldness, fervour, and energy of + the Protestant reformers, yet their reform took another + direction; instead of going back to the Bible and St. + Augustine, they chose St. Francis and the mediæval saints + as their models, and rested with unfaltering faith on + the authority of the Roman Church. To reform her by the + formation of a new monastic Order, which made an absolute + surrender of free inquiry and free thought, and absolute + obedience to ecclesiastical authority, was their leading + principle and idea; and before Loyola the founder died, + he had established more than a hundred Jesuit colleges or + houses for training new disciples, and a vast number of + educational establishments under their influence; he had + many thousands of Jesuits in the rank and file of his order. + He had divided the world into twelve Jesuit provinces, in + each of which he had his officer, while the general-in-chief + himself resided in Rome. + + If we inquire why the Jesuits were so successful, the answer + will be found in the state of society and the circumstances + of the age when they began their work. They came into the + field at the very time that men’s minds were being agitated + to and fro, and the general pulsation of society was then + exceedingly accessible and susceptible to the influences + which they brought to bear upon it: the prevailing states + of feeling and emotion, the association of ideas, and the + current trains of half-formed thought, were all especially + amendable to the influences, the dogmatic forms, the + positive affirmations, and the compact creed, which the + Jesuits employed and held up. + + The moral ideas of the Jesuits were entirely subordinated + to the notions of the Church, and they often had recourse to + the most tortuous casuistry. After the Council of Trent, it + was the members of this Order, in particular, who made the + defence of modern Roman Catholicism, both speculatively and + practically, the task of their lives. The Order has produced + many able writers; among others who wrote on doctrinal and + polemical points, may be mentioned Bellarmin and Petavius; + and among those who wrote on dogmatic theology――Canisius, + Salmeron, Maldonat, Suarez, Vasquez, Coster, Becanus, and + others. Some of the Jesuit writers justified and defended + tyrannicide; and a few of them have at times advanced + pretty liberal views. For fuller information of the Jesuits + consult Ranke’s _History of the Popes_; Hallam’s _History + of Literature_, Volume II., pages 196‒200, 1839; Baumgarten; + Michelet; Lecky’s _History of Rationalism_, Volume II., + pages 161‒184; Dallas’s _History of the Jesuits_; De + Sarrion’s _History of the Jesuits_; Brühl’s _History of the + Jesuits_; Liskenne’s _History of the Jesuits_. + + ⁴ It was one of the functions of the Inquisition to look + for and to condemn all books which contained opinions and + sentiments displeasing to the Church. In 1543 it decreed + that no book, either new or old, of any kind should in + future be printed without its permission; and booksellers + were ordered to send in a catalogue of their stock, and to + sell nothing without the consent of the Inquisitors. The + officers of custom also were ordered to deliver no package, + either of printed books or manuscripts, to its address + without first laying them before the Inquisition. In this + way arose the Index of prohibited books; the first examples + appeared in Louvain and Paris, and other lists came out at + Florence in 1552, and in Milan, 1554. The first published + in the form henceforward adopted, appeared at Rome in 1559. + Even private persons were commanded on soul and conscience + to denounce all forbidden books, and to exert themselves + to the utmost to destroy them. The secular power was called + upon to assist the clergy in this matter; and many thousands + of books were confiscated and destroyed. There was a long + discussion on the best mode of dealing with prohibited and + suspected books in the Council of Trent, and much diversity + of opinion on the matter was expressed by the assembled + Fathers; but in the end it was left with the Pope to settle + it according to his judgment. Buckley’s _History of the + Council of Trent_, pages 278‒285; _Decrees of the Council_, + Session XVIII., Session XXV.; Limborch’s _History of the + Inquisition_, Volume II., pages 69‒72, 1731; Bromato’s _Life + of Paul IV._, Book VIII., section 9. + + ⁵ _Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent._ Touching the + history of doctrines the Sessions IV.‒VII., XIII., XIV., + XXI.‒XXV., are of particular importance. The _Catechismus + Romanus_ was composed in conformity with a resolution of + the Council of Trent, Session XXV.; it was drawn up under + the superintendence of three Cardinals, and published + by authority of Pope Pius IV. in 1566. Several editions + and translations of it were published. There was another + Catechism composed by the Jesuit, P. Canisius, which first + appeared in 1554, and it acquired greater authority than + the other one, though it did not receive the sanction of + the pope. + +Although the Council of Trent did not radically reform the creed of +the Roman Church, clerical abuses were corrected and decency enforced. +Provision was made for the education of priests and for their devotion +in future to active duties; the old laxity of morals was to be no +longer tolerated, nor on the other hand, the old diversity of doctrine. +Thus the revolt of the Protestants had at least contributed to bring +about a degree of moral reform within the Roman Church herself;¹ and +for this salutary benefit which the heretics so greatly assisted her +to obtain, the Roman Catholics have not as yet shown much gratitude. +Doubtless, the salvation of the soul and its eternal life is the +highest end of human aspiration; but it can never be permissible to +use immoral means even to obtain eternal life. This is the supreme +doctrine, the very cornerstone of heaven, and without it there can be +no real religion. But Catholics and Protestants alike have often acted +in the teeth of this moral law; and the decline of their authority +and influence must be attributed to the violation of moral ideas and +sentiments more than to aught else. That blind conservatism which +causes institutions to have a tendency to outlive the period of their +usefulness, has never been more forcibly illustrated than in the +history of the Papacy during the last four hundred years. + + ¹ _Decrees of the Council of Trent._ + +When we attempt to fix the exact date of the separation between the +Roman Catholics and the Protestants, we find that it was not strictly +coincident with the first appearance of the Reformers, as opinions +did not at once assume a fixed character; and for some time there +was hope that a compromise between the conflicting principles and +doctrines might be effected. But a little past the middle of the +century any prospect of this had utterly vanished; and the three forms +of Christianity in the West were irrevocably separated. Lutheranism +gradually assumed a severity and exclusiveness unknown to it in +its earlier stages. The Calvinists had departed from it in several +essential doctrines, though Calvin himself in his early days had +been considered a Lutheran. But in hostile contrast to both of them, +Catholicism firmly invested itself with those forms and ceremonies +which still distinguish it. Each of these dogmatic systems sought +eagerly to establish its position; each laboured intensely to displace +its rival and to subjugate the world. The struggle for many years was +desperate. Catholicism after the first shock rallied again, and with +renovated and concentrated resources and power it fought its opponent +with every available weapon, and with a determination and persistence +of purpose, which would have been more worthy of our admiration, if it +had been less cruel and merciless. + +Having briefly indicated some of the varied agencies and the +conflicting influences of the great revolution abroad; I resume the +history of the movement as it manifested itself in Scotland. The +regency of Arran was approaching its close. His government throughout +had been weak and vacillating, and he had now fallen very low in the +public estimation. The Queen-mother aspired to the regency, and in +connection with her design she made preparations for visiting her +daughter in France. In September 1550, along with the Earls of Huntly, +Glencairn, Marischal, the king’s natural sons, and others of the barons +and clergy, she embarked at Leith, and landed in France on the 19th +of the month. The party at the head of affairs in France were eager to +promote her object. It was there agreed to press upon Arran’s notice, +that the revenues of the Crown had been dilapidated during his regency, +that he would be called upon to account when the Queen came of age, and +then it would be difficult for him to obtain an honourable discharge, +should he remain in office. No line of argument could have been more +effective with the weak-minded Regent; and as a compensation for the +demission of office he was offered the Dukedom of ♦Chatelherault. The +Queen-mother, after concluding her business in France, passed over to +the Court of England, and had an interview with Edward VI. She returned +to Scotland in the end of November 1551.¹ + + ♦ “Chastelherault” replaced with “Chatelherault” + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., page 108; + Lesly’s _History Of Scotland_, pages 238‒240; _Diurnal of + Occurrents_, page 50. + +In 1552, the Queen-mother accompanied the Regent on a judicial circuit +through the country. She then reminded him that the time was come +when he had promised to demit his office; but he declined to resign +the government into her hands, and nearly a year was spent in party +recriminations. The Regent’s party, however, dwindled away till only +his brother, the primate, remained; accordingly he resigned in April +1554, and the Queen-mother was proclaimed Regent of Scotland amid +public rejoicings. Mary of Lorraine, as she was familiarly called, +was a woman of exceptional talents. She had acquired some knowledge +of the habits and character of the Scots; but she had many adverse +circumstances and influences to contend against. Being herself a +Catholic, she was most perplexed by the steadily growing strength of +the reformed party. On the whole, however, she ruled with remarkable +moderation, and exhibited sagacity and tact of a high order. As the +Protestants had not yet obtained toleration they gave her government +little trouble.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, pages 600‒603; + Buchanan, Book XVI., chapters 2, 3; Lesly’s _History Of + Scotland_, page 249. + +Edward VI. died in July, 1553, and the throne of England was soon +after occupied by Mary, a daughter of Henry VIII. She was a stanch +Roman Catholic, and the wife of the King of Spain. During her brief +reign the Protestants in England were subjected to an extremely severe +persecution. Mary busied herself in restoring the ancient system and +faith to their pristine glory, inflicting enormous suffering upon the +English people, many of her subjects being mercilessly sacrificed. +A number of Scotsmen who had formerly fled across the Border, now +returned to their own country, where they were comparatively safe +under the mild government of the Queen-regent. Among those came William +Harlaw, who was born about the beginning of the century. He had been +originally a tailor in Edinburgh; but afterwards went to England, where +he had been ordained a deacon in the English Church, and was employed +as a preacher during the reign of Edward VI. Harlaw on his return began +to preach in Edinburgh, and in other quarters of the country. John +Willock was a native of Ayr, and at first belonged to the order of +the friars, but he cast off the monastic habit, and was employed as +a preacher in St. Catherine’s, London, and also as chaplain to the +Duke of Suffolk. He visited Scotland in 1555 concerning some matters +of trade, and took the opportunity of preaching to the people. Knox +himself arrived in Scotland about the end of September the same year, +and came to Edinburgh where he was warmly welcomed by the Protestants. +At this time some of the Protestants still continued to attend mass and +join in the worship of the Catholic Church, partly to allay suspicion +and to avoid giving unnecessary offence. Knox, however, was opposed to +this, and the point was debated at one of their meetings; the Reformer, +however, would listen to no compromise even for the sake of safety.¹ +The time was not yet come for open manifestation of contempt for the +old worship, while possibly the disciples of the Reformer were not +as yet prepared to follow a course which might bring their lives and +estates into jeopardy. + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., pages 244‒248; _Miscellany of the Wodrow + Society_, Volume I., pages 261‒263. + +Knox at the request of John Erskine of Dun, passed to Forfarshire, +where he preached every day to many of the chief men of the county. He +then recrossed the Forth, and lived at Calder House in West Lothian; +while there some of the nobles came and listened to his teaching, and +among them the Prior of St. Andrews, afterwards the Regent Moray. In +the end of the year he preached mostly in Edinburgh; after Christmas +he went to Kyle, and preached in the houses of the local gentry, +and in the town of Ayr. Shortly after Easter, he went to the family +residence of the Earl of Glencairn, where he preached and administered +the communion, whence he again visited West Lothian, and preached to +the people. He once more went to the Laird of Dun, and proclaimed the +opinions of Protestantism with more freedom than before; and many of +the gentry of the Mearns embraced the reformed doctrines.¹ It should +be observed that it was chiefly among the nobles and the gentry that +Knox preached, and in their own houses; the reformed party were not +yet strong enough openly to announce their views; and probably it may +have been the perception that the movement was not ripe for open action +which induced Knox to leave Scotland. The Catholic clergy had become +thoroughly alarmed, and Knox was summoned to appear in the church of +the Blackfriars at Edinburgh on the 15th of May, 1556. He resolved +to appear, and Erskine of Dun and other barons who adhered to the +Protestant opinions met in Edinburgh; whether this was intended to +overawe the authorities, the reader must determine for himself. The +citation of Knox, however, was abandoned, and on the day that he +should have appeared in court, he preached in Edinburgh to a larger +audience than had ever attended to hear him. For ten days he preached +in Edinburgh twice a-day, and on this occasion his followers met in +the Bishop of Dunkeld’s lodgings. In the month of July 1556, Knox +left Scotland and proceeded to Geneva to take charge of the English +congregation in that city.² + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., pages 249‒251. + + ² Knox, Volume I., pages 251‒254. + +Immediately after Knox’s departure the bishops again summoned him, and +when he did not appear, sentence was passed against him, and his effigy +was burned at the cross of Edinburgh. But the reformed doctrines still +continued to spread. Besides the preachers mentioned in a preceding +page, John Douglas, a reformed friar, under the protection of the +Earl of Argyle, preached in Leith and Edinburgh; and Paul Methven, +originally a baker, preached in Dundee with great acceptance; and +others in various parts of the kingdom exhorted the people. They read +the Scriptures to those who assembled to hear them, using the English +Prayer Book of Edward VI. in their worship. A number of the landed +aristocracy――adherents of the Reformation movement for purposes of +their own――had come to an understanding with each other. They had cast +their longing eyes upon the property of the Roman Church, and this, +more than anything else, stimulated them to hasten on the revolution. +In the beginning of December 1557, they resorted to one of the familiar +expedients which they had been in the habit of adopting for centuries, +when they had any great enterprise on hand,――they entered into a bond +of man-rent to assist each other in forwarding the reformation of +religion. This was the first of the new religious covenants, and those +who subscribed it took to themselves the name of the Congregation. +Among the names attached to the document were those of the Earls of +Argyle, Glencairn, and Morton; the Lord of Lorne, and John Erskine of +Dun. It is an extremely vehement piece of writing, and it distinctly +proceeded on the ground that they were the true Congregation of Christ, +while of course the Romanists were the very limbs of Satan.¹ After +consulting together, the Lords of the Congregation agreed to two +resolutions for promoting the reformation of religion throughout the +country. (1) It was deemed requisite that in all the parish churches +the common prayers should be read on Sundays and on festival days, +with the lessons from the Old and New Testament, according to the order +of the Book of Common Prayer; (2) it was also agreed that doctrine, +preaching, and expounding of the Scriptures, should be used quietly +without convening great bodies of the people, until God move the prince +to grant public preaching by faithful and true ministers.² + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., pages 256, 273; Lesly’s _History Of + Scotland_ + + ² Knox, Volume I., pages 275‒276. It is understood that the + Book of Common Prayer mentioned in the text was the liturgy + of Edward VI. + +The Queen-regent acted with great calmness in the trying position in +which she then found herself placed, yet she manifested a disposition +not to push matters to extremes. But it was impossible to hold the +balance evenly between the Protestants and the Catholic clergy, +especially as the latter naturally became much alarmed and excited. +The stealing away of images and damaging of religious buildings in +Edinburgh had begun. The great image of St. Giles was first drowned +in the North Loch, and afterwards burned, incidents which raised an +unusual stir in the capital. The Protestant preachers were summoned, +and they resolved to appear accompanied by their adherents; but +when the authorities saw such a multitude as approached Edinburgh, +a proclamation was issued commanding all those who had come without +liberty to proceed at once to the Borders and remain there for fifteen +days. The gentry were not disposed to submit to this, and they forced +their way into the Queen-regent’s presence to remonstrate. James +Chalmer of Gadgirth addressed her in the following strain:――“Madam, we +know that this is the malice and device of that bastard (meaning the +Archbishop of St. Andrews) that stands by you. We vow to God we shall +make a day of it. They oppress us and our tenants for feeding their +idle bellies; they trouble our preachers, and would murder them and +us. Shall we suffer this any longer? No, Madam, it shall not be;” and +therewith every man put on his steel bonnet. There was nothing heard +on the Queen’s part but, “My joys, my hearts, what ails you? Me mean +no evil to you nor your preachers. The bishops shall do you no harm. +Ye are all my loving subjects. Me knew nothing of this proclamation. +The day of your preachers shall be discharged, and me will hear the +controversy that is between the bishops and you. They shall do you +no wrong.” “My Lords,” said she to the bishops, “I forbid you either +to trouble them or their preachers.” And to the gentlemen, who were +wondrously moved, she turned again and said――“O, my hearts! should ye +not love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind? +and should you not love your neighbour as yourselves?” With these and +the like fair words she restrained the bishops at that time.¹ + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., pages 256‒258; _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, + Volume II., pages 251‒252. + +In the month of April 1558, Walter Mill, an old man over eighty years, +who in early life had been a priest, but had abandoned the Catholic +faith in the days of Cardinal Beaton, was apprehended at Dysart, and +carried to St. Andrews and imprisoned in the primate’s castle. He was +tried before the spiritual court, convicted of heresy, and sentenced +to death; on the 24th of April, he was burned at St. Andrews. This +was an act of great cruelty and extreme folly. The execution of an old +decrepit man for heresy was not at all likely to ♦enhance the respect +of the people for the Catholic clergy or the creed of the Church. +Indeed his execution strengthened the position of the Protestant party, +and they at once sent a remonstrance to the Queen-regent, charging +the Church with cruelty. They also demanded a reformation of abuses, +and the establishment of religion according to their own views. She +received their requests with the regard which the gravity of the +subject urgently required, and promised to tolerate their preachers, +if they would abstain from holding public meetings in Leith and +Edinburgh.¹ The moderation which she showed deserves the highest praise; +for according to the constitution and laws of the kingdom, the Lords +of the Congregation had put themselves into a state of open rebellion; +and however far we may sympathise with the cause of the reform party, +this should not blind us to their real attitude in relation to the +government of the time. It could hardly have been expected that +the Church and the Government would abdicate their functions at the +command of their enemies. Those who talk of the obstinacy of the Roman +Catholics should remember that the holders of power have always and +everywhere endeavoured to retain it to the last. In the end of November +1558, parliament met at Edinburgh, and the Lords of the Congregation +then tendered a protest to the effect, “that seeing they could not +obtain a reformation of religion according to God’s word, they asked +liberty to worship in their own form, until their adversaries proved +themselves to be the true ministers of Christ’s Church. They then gave +open warning that if any tumult should arise among the people owing to +difference of opinion about religion and if it should happen that the +abuses in the Church were reformed by violence, the responsibility of +this must rest upon the shoulders of those who now refused all reform, +and not upon those who are meanwhile struggling to reform all things +according to order; and, finally, they professed to be acting simply +from the promptings of their consciences, with no other aim but the +reformation of religion, and therefore they called upon the government +to protect them from the rage and oppression of their enemies.” This +protestation was read in parliament, but it was not inserted in the +record.² Thus the Reformers intimated to the authorities that force +was contemplated; and it seems probable that the leading men among them +already saw that if once the passions and feelings of the people were +fully aroused, it would be utterly impossible to restrain their riotous +excesses. + + ♦ “enchance” replaced with “enhance” + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., pages 302, 312, 550‒555. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II.; + Spottiswood, pages 119‒120; Knox, Volume I., pages 312‒314. + +Meanwhile important events were passing in other countries which +affected the contending parties in Scotland. On the 11th of October, +1558, Mary of England died, and she was succeeded by Queen Elizabeth; +but for some time it seemed doubtful whether she would declare herself +on the Protestant side or not. One of Elizabeth’s first acts was to +notify her accession to the Pope, and there was negotiation touching +her marriage with the King of Spain. But the Pope, Paul IV., whom +we have before met under the title of Cardinal Caraffa, was by no +means well qualified for winning to his side a doubtful monarch like +Elizabeth. He was incapable of exercising moderation, and instead of +attempting to conciliate the Queen, he returned a contemptuous reply to +her ambassador; “first of all,” said he, “she must submit her claims to +the decision of our judgment.”¹ Now this would certainly have been the +last thing in the world to which the daughter of Henry VIII. would have +submitted. There were, however, various considerations which might have +weighed with the Pope. The French wished to prevent a marriage between +Elizabeth and Philip; while the Guises were especially interested in +this affair, since, if the claims of Elizabeth were rejected by the +Holy See, Mary Stuart, Dauphiness of France and Queen of Scotland, +would then possess the title to the English Crown. If her right could +only be established, the Guises might reign supreme in her name over +the three kingdoms. What a grand prospect for the imagination of a +pious pope and the grasping ambition of the house of Guise. At times +it seemed as if this dream were to be realised, and it was always kept +in view by the parties, and pursued even after it had become entirely +hopeless. But the force of circumstances more than her own disposition +led Elizabeth to take the side of Protestantism. Her own heresy, save +on one or two points, was not of a very decided character; yet it +was sufficient to complete the separation of England from Rome. Hence +Queen Elizabeth became an object at whom the Roman Catholic powers +were extremely anxious to strike a blow. Many schemes and conspiracies +were concocted for her destruction, but all failed, and England at last +emerged from the struggle victorious. + + ¹ Ranke’s _History of the Popes_, Volume I., pages 238‒239. + +The influence of France was now brought to bear upon the Queen-regent. +She acted with more coldness towards the Lords of the Congregation than +formerly; and they began to see that they were losing her countenance. +Still attempts continued to be made to pacify the Protestants by +propositions for reforming the more flagrant abuses of the Catholic +clergy. Early in 1559 the Lords of the Congregation had begun to think +of an alliance with England.¹ + + ¹ _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, Volume I., pages 159‒160; + Knox, Volume I., pages 314‒316. + +Everything indicated that the crisis was at hand. The preachers were +intently engaged in spreading the new opinions; the old clergy were +frightened, and only making feeble efforts to outdo their rivals by +preaching and celebrating masses themselves. The Queen-regent had +informed some of the Lords of the Congregation that they must desert +their principles, as her line of policy was to be shaped according +to instructions which she had received from France. Four of the +chief Protestant preachers were cited to appear before the Court of +Justiciary at Stirling, on the 10th of May, 1559, for convening the +people and preaching erroneous doctrines to them, and inciting them +to seditions and tumults. The Lords of the Congregation resolved to +protect the preachers, and assembled their feudal followers at Perth. +John Knox had landed at Leith on the 2nd of May; he stayed two nights +in Edinburgh, and then proceeded to Dundee, where he joined his +brethren. He received a warm welcome and went to Perth with his friends. +In order to prevent a collision, Erskine of Dun passed forward to +Stirling and endeavoured to effect an agreement with the Queen-regent, +while the Lords of the Congregation and the preachers remained in +Perth. But he was unsuccessful, and when the accused preachers failed +to appear on the 10th, those who had become sureties for them were +fined, and the preachers were proclaimed rebels. The multitude had been +gradually becoming more and more excited, their feelings and passions +had risen to a pitch which neither the preachers nor the magistrates +could regulate, nor could they prevent them from wrecking the +monasteries.¹ + + ¹ Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume I., pages 406‒407; + Knox, Volume I., pages 314‒319; _Woodrow Society_, Volume I., + page 57. + +On the 11th of May, Knox preached a vehement sermon against idolatry +in the parish church of Perth. He enlarged upon the abomination of +the mass and all the accompanying trumpery of the Roman Catholic +form of worship. His hearers had been much excited before, but their +passions and cupidity were now roused to a point far beyond the bounds +of control. Meantime a priest, utterly incapable, as it seemed, of +understanding the state of the people’s minds, uncovered the altar to +say mass. It was an exceedingly rich altar-piece, in which the history +of many of the saints was carved. A number of Protestants were present, +and a youth at the top of his voice, exclaimed,――“this is intolerable, +when God by His word hath plainly damned idolatry, that we should +stand by and see it used in dispute.” The priest gave him a blow on +the ear, and the youth in retaliation threw a stone at the priest, but +it struck the tabernacle and broke one of the images. Very soon the +whole multitude threw stones, and proceeded to tear down the altars +and destroy every vestige of the ornaments in the church. When it +became known in the town that such work was going on, an uproarious +mob assembled, which attacked the four monasteries of Perth, and for +two days the work of destruction proceeded till only the bare walls +remained.¹ The example shown in Perth was followed in the town of +Cupar-Fife. There the people destroyed all the altars and images +in the church. Shortly after the Abbey of Scone was burned; and the +monasteries throughout the country were in an incredibly short time +either defaced or demolished.² + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., pages 320‒323; Buchanan, Book 16, chapter + 28; Spottiswood. + + ² Knox, Volume I., page 361, _et seq._; Buchanan, Book 16, + chapter 33. + +The Protestant reformers have been severely blamed for these excesses +and the destruction of religious buildings. Each party has striven +to lay the blame upon the other, and to exaggerate or extenuate these +excesses, according to their respective standpoints. But it should +be remembered that there never was a revolution without excesses, +the reason of which is not difficult to find. The amount of outrage +and the destruction of property which a revolution may entail mainly +depends on the strength and completeness of the organised moral force +in the country at the time of its occurrence. If the moral sentiments +and ideas of the nation are but imperfectly formed, the guiding and +restraining feelings and influences only partly developed through +the social organisation, and the intelligence of the people is very +limited and dim, and as it were, only awakening to a consciousness that +they have been long deluded, then, in such circumstances, a revolution +cannot be effected without anarchy and excess in various forms. The +same undeviating principle comes into play in this as in everything +else: when the moral organisation of a nation is sufficiently developed +and ripe, the desired and needful reform is gradually brought to pass +by peaceful means. But, from the information we now possess, to talk as +if a peaceful and harmless revolution had been possible in Scotland in +the middle of the sixteenth century, is only a sign of much ignorance. +It is well known, how easy it is to arouse the cupidity of a class, +and how eagerly any body of men pursue a line of action which promises +rapid and great profit; and how fierce the storm of wrath when the +result fails, as it almost always does, to answer the expectations +which had been raised. + +When the Queen-regent heard of these proceedings she was naturally much +offended; and she threatened to inflict severe vengeance on the guilty +parties. But this was a difficult matter to accomplish, and she soon +discovered that her power was not commensurate with her wishes. The +Lords of the Congregation issued several manifestoes to the Regent, +to the French commanders, and to other persons in authority. These +documents were all pervaded by an absolute and dogmatic conviction of +the truth of their cause; and they breathed a spirit of uncompromising +resolution and defiance, and a determination to carry out their views +of reform at all hazards, while they were extremely vehement, and +even coarse and rude in expression. Many examples were drawn from +the Old Testament of how God and His people had punished unjust +and ungodly kings, and these were pressed home as applicable to the +existing circumstances of Scotland. One of their manifestoes concluded +thus――“Yea, we shall begin that same war which God commanded Israel to +execute against the Canaanites; that is, contract of peace shall never +be made, till ye desist from your open idolatry and cruel persecution +of God’s children. And this we signify unto you in the name of the +eternal God, and of His Son Christ Jesus, whose verity we profess, +and whose Gospel we will have preached, and holy sacraments rightly +ministered, so long as God will assist us to gainstand your idolatry. +Take this for ♦advertisement, and be not deceived.”¹ + + ♦ “advertisment” replaced with “advertisement” + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., pages 334‒336. + +At this time the Lords of the Congregation had entrenched themselves +in Perth; while the Regent’s army, mostly composed of Frenchmen, +had approached within twenty miles of them. The Congregation had +a considerable force, but an arrangement was made with the Regent, +mainly through the influence of the Earl of Argyle and the prior of +St. Andrews. The agreement was to the effect that both armies were +to be disbanded, and the town of Perth left open to the Regent; that +none of the inhabitants were to be molested for the late alterations +in religion; that no Frenchman should enter the town, nor come within +three miles of it; and that when the Queen retired no French garrison +would be left in the town. All other controversies were postponed to +the next Parliament.¹ This arrangement was concluded on the 28th of +May, 1559; and the Lords of the Congregation then retired from Perth. +The Queen-regent entered Perth surrounded by a body of French troops +which she called her body-guard; but the Protestants regarded this as +a violation of the agreement. + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., pages 336‒341, _et seq._; Lesly’s + _History Of Scotland_ + +The Earl of Argyle and the prior of St. Andrews then left the Regent, +and joined the Congregation. Numbers of the people from various +quarters of the kingdom gathered round the Lords of the Congregation, +who went boldly on with their work. They invaded St. Andrews, where +the primate had thought of resisting them, but he was forced to flee. +On the 11th of June, Knox preached one of his scathing sermons in St. +Andrews, in which he entreated his hearers to eject the buyers and +sellers from the Temple, according to the Gospel of Matthew and John; +and with all the force of his nature, he applied his examples to the +surrounding circumstances. The altars and the images, the monuments +of idolatry, as they called them, were quickly destroyed in all the +churches of the city.¹ The Regent’s army approached but found the +Congregation too strong; and another arrangement was made between +the contending parties, which was again soon broken off. The Regent +was expecting more assistance from France to crush out the heresy +in Scotland. Meanwhile the heretics were increasing in numbers. One +division of the Congregation re-entered Perth on the 25th of June, and +another under the Earl of Argyle and the Prior of St. Andrews, took +possession of Edinburgh on the 29th of June, while the Regent retired +to Dunbar.² The Congregation demolished the monasteries of Edinburgh, +and seized the coining irons of the Mint. A sort of truce having +been concluded between the conflicting parties, the Regent returned +to Holyrood. Both parties issued proclamations and appeals to the +people. The Regent said she would grant liberty for the exercise of the +Protestant religion, provided that wherever she was dwelling preaching +should cease and the mass be maintained. This was the difficulty, +neither party could tolerate the worship of the other, unless at a +respectable distance; Knox and his followers upon no consideration +would tolerate manifest idolatry; his aim, as he expressed it, was +to “establish God’s eternal verity within the realm.” While these +absorbing matters filled the mind of the nation, the intelligence +came that Henry II. of France was dead, and that the husband of the +Queen of Scots had succeeded to the throne of that Kingdom. This event +foreboded severe opposition to the Congregation; and the reformed party +in Edinburgh were soon in great straits. They departed from the capital +on the 26th of July, and passed to Stirling, from whence on the 11th +of ♦August they issued a short manifesto in which they bound themselves +to stand true to each other. The Earls of Argyle, Glencairn, Lord Boyd, +and other barons, then marched to Glasgow, and “reformed” the city of +the West.³ + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., 336‒350. + + ² _Diurnal of ♠Occurrents_, pages 53‒269; Knox, Volume I., + pages 350, 359, 362. + + ♠ “Occurents” replaced with “Occurrents” + + ♦ “Angust” replaced with “August” + + ³ Knox, Volume I., pages 363‒384. + +John Willock was left in Edinburgh to keep alive the Protestant +opinions, lest the idols might again raise their heads in the capital. +He continued to preach in the Church of St. Giles till the month of +November. In the end of August a thousand armed Frenchmen arrived and +disembarked at Leith, and with the army already there, they began to +fortify the position. On the 24th of September two thousand more French +troops arrived to assist the Queen-regent in the struggle to uphold +the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. The Frenchmen shortly made the +defences of Leith so strong that the Congregation could not hope to +take it.¹ But the leaders of the Congregation took a bold step, they +re-entered Edinburgh in October, and on the 21st of that month they +met in the Tolbooth to deliberate concerning the government of the +kingdom. Lord Ruthven introduced the business of the meeting by asking: +――“Whether she who so contemptuously refused the most humble Request +of the born councillors of the realm, being also but a Regent, whose +pretensions threatened the bondage of the whole community, ought to be +suffered so tyrannously to rule above them?” As this question had not +been debated before in an open assembly, it was deemed right that the +opinion of the preachers should be asked, and John Willock was called +upon to express his sentiments on the point. He said――“That though +magistrates were granted power and authority from God, yet this power +was limited by the word of God; as subjects were commanded to obey +their magistrates, so magistrates must discharge their duties to their +subjects, and the office of both is prescribed in the word of God. +Though God hath appointed magistrates on the earth and honoured them, +yet he never did establish any one who for just reasons might not have +been deprived. That in deposing princes, and those who had been in +authority, God did not always employ his immediate power, but sometimes +other means which His wisdom thought good and justice required.” And +therefore he concluded――“That since the Queen-regent denied her chief +duty to the subjects of this realm, which was to administer equal +justice to them, to preserve their liberty from the invasion of +strangers, and to suffer God’s word to be freely and openly preached +among them; seeing moreover that the Queen-regent was an open and +obstinate idolatress, and finally, that she utterly despised the +council and requirements of the nobility, he could see no reason why +they, the born councillors, nobility, and barons of the realm, might +not justly deprive her of regime and authority amongst them.” The +opinion of Knox was then asked, and he concurred with Willock, adding +that the iniquity of the Regent ought in no way to withdraw their +hearts, nor the hearts of other subjects from the obedience due to +their sovereign, and that when she was deposed, if she repented and +submitted, she might be restored to her former place and honour. Then +every one present was requested to express his opinion freely, and to +vote according to his conscience. A document was drawn up and agreed +to, deposing the Queen-regent of all authority within the kingdom, +proclamation of which was made at the Cross of Edinburgh.² + + ¹ Knox, pages 388‒399; Tytler’s _History of Scotland_ Volume + VI., pages 163‒167. + + ² Knox, Volume I., pages 437‒452; Spottiswood. + +After this, skirmishing immediately began between the Frenchmen at +Leith and the Congregation. In these encounters the forces of the +Congregation were generally defeated; and they were again forced to +retire from Edinburgh on the 7th November 1559, when they retreated to +Stirling. The undisciplined followers of the Lords of the Congregation +were unable to cope with the efficient and well handled French troops; +so that the Protestant party were reduced to extreme difficulties. The +voice of Knox, however, never ceased to exhort and encourage them; he +called upon them to put their trust in “the Eternal God, the Lord of +Hosts,” and that in the end they would assuredly prevail; he pointed +out to them the examples in the Old Testament touching the sufferings +and the afflictions of God’s people for their sins. In concluding one +of his sermons at Stirling he said――“Whatever shall become of us and +our bodies, I doubt not but this cause, in spite of the devil, shall +prevail in the realm of Scotland. For as it is the eternal truth of the +eternal God, so shall it prevail, however for a time it may be impugned. +It may be that God shall plague some, because they delight not in the +truth, albeit for worldly considerations they seemed to pursue it. Yea, +God may take some of his dearest children away before their eyes see +greater troubles. But neither shall the one nor the other hinder this +action, but in the end it shall triumph.”¹ + + ¹ Knox, Volume I., pages 452‒473; Sadler’s _State Papers_, + Volume I., page 554. + +The Protestant party found it absolutely necessary to make more urgent +requests to the English Government for assistance. They had long +been in communication with the leading men in England, but something +effective was urgently needed; and they therefore sent William Maitland +of Lethington to London, with instructions to explain their condition +to Queen Elizabeth and her Council. Long before this time Knox +himself had been in constant communication with the chief ministers +of Elizabeth, and had very earnestly urged upon them the wisdom of +rendering support to the Protestant party in Scotland, in order to +enable them to overcome the schemes of the Roman Catholic powers.¹ +The negotiations with the English Government proceeded favourably, +notwithstanding the natural reluctance of Elizabeth to lend assistance +to rebellious subjects. The chief men of England were well aware of the +relative position and state of parties in Europe at this momentous and +critical period, and hence they were extremely anxious and determined +to come to an understanding with the Protestants in Scotland. Knox +exerted himself to the utmost to secure their aid, and Lethington had +an eloquent and diplomatic tongue. On the 23rd of January the English +fleet appeared off the coast of Fife, and rendered effective aid to +the Congregation. After much diplomatic talk the treaty of Berwick was +concluded on the 27th of February, 1560, between the English Government +and the Lords of the Congregation; its avowed purpose was to expel the +French from Scotland. This was as much calculated to secure the safety +of England itself as the liberties of the former kingdom.² + + ¹ Knox, Volume VI., pages 15‒21, 28‒♦29, 31‒32, 35‒36, 40‒43, + 35‒49, 63, 63‒71, 74, ♠79, 81, 89, 91, 92, 98, 101, 189; + Sadler’s _State Papers_, Volume I., pages 601, 684. + + ♦ “28” replaced with “29” + + ♠ “69” replaced with “79” + + ² Fœdera, Volume XV., page 569; Calderwood’s _History_, Volume + I., pages 574‒578; Knox, Volume II., pages 13, 38‒45. + +An English army, six thousand strong, entered Scotland in the end of +March 1560, and they were soon joined by the Scots who adhered to the +Lords of the Congregation. The united forces proceeded to besiege Leith, +and skirmishing ensued between them and the French. The French had made +their defences very strong, and the attacks of the allied forces were +repeatedly driven back with great loss. The Frenchmen exhibited more +skill than the besiegers; months passed, and still little progress +was made towards the reduction of Leith. But the current of events was +working changes in other quarters, and the critical condition of France +itself soon began to tell upon the course of affairs in Scotland. +Negotiations were commenced to bring the war to an end, but the +circumstances being of a peculiar character, the preliminaries required +much discussion and deliberation.¹ + + ¹ Hayne’s _State Papers_, Volume I., pages 272‒273; Buchanan, + Book XVI., Chapters 55, 57, 58; Knox, Volume II., pages + 66‒72. + +The negotiations resulted in the conclusion of the treaty of Edinburgh +on the 6th of July, 1560. This treaty dealt with a variety of matters +touching France and England, some of which were never ratified. The +articles more immediately affecting the cause of the Congregation +were mainly these――that the French troops should return home; that +no foreigners hereafter should be employed in Scotland without the +sanction of Parliament; that an act of oblivion should be passed for +all injurious deeds committed against the laws of the kingdom from the +6th of March, 1559, till the 11th of August, 1560; that a general peace +should be made amongst the lords and all the subjects of the kingdom, +so that those who were of the Congregation, and those who were not, +should have no cause of quarrel with each other for the things done +since the above date. That a Parliament should be held on the 10th of +July, and adjourned to the 11th of August; and that this parliament +should be as valid as if it had been expressly summoned by their +majesties the King and Queen, provided that nothing be treated before +the 1st of August.¹ Peace was proclaimed on the 8th of July, and a few +days afterwards the French and English troops departed from Scotland. + + ¹ Fœdera, Volume XV., page 593, _et seq._; Keith, Volume I., + pages 298‒306. + +The Queen-Regent had removed into the castle of Edinburgh on the +approach of the English army. She was wearied with the responsibilities +of her position, and, worn out, she died on the 10th of July, 1560. On +her death-bed she showed a nobleness of feeling and a magnanimity of +soul which moved the minds of the hardest reformers; she called for +Willock, the reformed preacher, and freely and cheerfully heard such +exhortations as he deemed suitable for the occasion;¹ and thus she +gave an example of religious humility and liberality unmatched in that +fierce intolerant age. The important place which she naturally assumed +in Scotland at this crisis, and the attitude which various associations +and influences led her to take up, have often been overlooked in the +heat of controversy; and she has been blamed for not acting in a way +which her position, and the circumstances of her connections precluded +her from attempting, even apart from her hereditary tendencies and her +domestic feelings and sentiments. She had often said that, if she had +been permitted to act according to her own wishes and judgment, she +would have ended the dissensions and settled the kingdom in peace. + + ¹ Sir James Melville’s _Memoirs_, page 29; Buchanan, Book XVI., + Chapter 61; Knox, Volume II., page 71. + +The reformed preachers, most of whom were in Edinburgh, were actively +engaged preparing matters for the parliament. They met in St. Giles’s +church on the 19th of July, and offered up solemn prayers for their +deliverance.¹ About the 20th of July, the first appointment of +ministers and superintendents to the chief towns and districts of the +country was made. + + ¹ Knox, Volume II., pages 84‒87. + +The parliament met at Edinburgh in the beginning of August 1560. All +had been summoned who had a right by law or custom to be present, +and there was an unusually large attendance. Some time was spent in +discussing whether it was a legal meeting of the Estates. The leaders +of the Reformation had prepared a document containing what they deemed +necessary for reforming the Church. This they placed in the form of a +petition before the parliament. It was a rather sweeping production, +and extremely vehement in expression. One part of it referred to the +patrimony of the Church, but the parliament waived this important and +practical question of dealing with the revenues of the hierarchy; and +then requested the Reformers to lay before the House a summary of the +doctrines which they proposed to establish. The party selected for this +task proceeded rapidly with their work; and in four days they produced +a Confession of Faith which touched upon many subjects, and delivered +opinions upon some of the most difficult and speculative points which +have ever tasked the powers of the human mind. It was, however, only +a body of doctrine, and when on the 17th of August this Confession of +Faith was read in parliament, it was adopted without hesitation “as +wholesome and sound, and grounded upon the infallible truth of God’s +word.” Only three Earls voted against it, on the ground that they +would believe as their fathers believed before them, and no otherwise. +The spiritual estate, the bishops and the clergy, said nothing;¹ and +there is some reason to think that they had not formed any adequate +conception of the immense issues of the revolution which was being +enacted before their eyes――the rending the foundations of the Roman +Catholic Church. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., pages + 525‒534; Knox, Volume II., pages 89‒92, 220‒222. A far + greater number than usual of the lesser barons attended this + parliament; and their names were inserted in the roll after + the commissioners of the burghs. The Roman Catholic clergy + were represented in it by twenty-eight names, among whom + there were six bishops. A contemporary chronicler makes the + following mention of the Confession: “And upon the 20th day + of the said month, the whole Lords passed to the Tolbooth, + and there, after long reasoning of sundry matters concerning + the commonweal of this realm, the ministers presented in the + same a tractate called the Confession of our Faith, which + being read was received and admitted therein.”――_Diurnal of + Occurrents_, pages 279‒280. + +This parliament passed an act against the mass, and another abolishing +the authority of the Pope in Scotland. By the first act, any person who +said mass or attended to hear it was liable to have all their moveable +goods confiscated, and to be otherwise punished at the discretion of +the magistrate; for a second fault, banishment; and for the third, the +punishment of death. It was declared that in future the Bishop of Rome, +called the Pope, should have no jurisdiction in Scotland, nor should +any bishop or persons whom he might appoint, dare to act, under the +penalty of proscription and banishment from the kingdom.¹ The Scottish +nobles had now done their work. They had at last laid the Church of +their fathers in the dust; hereafter we shall see what was the real +depth of their religious feelings and convictions, and how true and +faithful they were to the religion which they had professed to fight +so hard to establish. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., pages + 534‒535. + + + + + CHAPTER XV. + + _The Creed and Organisation of the Reformed Church._ + + +THE Confession of Faith, ratified by the Parliament of August 1560, was +composed by John Knox, John Winram, John Spottiswood, John Willock, +John Row, and John Douglas. It comprised twenty-five very short +chapters; and a brief preface, which stated that the Scottish Reformers +had long desired to proclaim to the world the sum of the doctrine which +they professed, and for which they had faced danger and infamy. In the +preface it is announced:――“If any man will note in our Confession any +article or sentence repugnant to God’s holy word, we humbly request him +to admonish us of the same, in writing, and on our honour we faithfully +promise him satisfaction from the Scriptures, or else reformation +of what is proved to be amiss.” This is an indication of fairness +and reasonableness; but it must be regretted that the Reformers +seldom acted in the spirit of the rule which they here recognised. The +preface concluded thus:――“And therefore by the assistance of the mighty +Spirit, our Lord Jesus, we firmly purpose to abide to the end by this +Confession of our Faith.”¹ + + ¹ Knox, Volume II., pages 95‒96; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume III., pages 14‒22. + +The Confession opened with the belief in one God, Father, Son, and +Holy Ghost. God is eternal, infinite, unmeasureable, incomprehensible, +omnipotent, and invisible; one in substance, and yet divided into three +persons. It treated concisely of the creation of man, his fall, and +original sin; the promise of a Saviour, and the continuation of the +faithful from Adam to the coming of the Messiah. As to the Incarnation, +Christ is declared to be truly God and truly man, having two perfect +natures united in one person. On this doctrine they condemned――“The +damnable and pestilent heresies of Arius, Marcion, Eutyches, Nestorius, +and all others who deny the eternity of His Godhead, or the verity of +His human nature, or confound them, or divide them.” This wonderful +conjunction of the persons of the Godhead, “did proceed from the +eternal and immutable decree of God, whence also our salvation springs +and depends. For God, the Father, of His mere mercy had elected us +in Christ Jesus, before the foundation of the world was laid, and +appointed Him to be our Head. So we confess and undoubtedly believe +in His Passion, Death, and Burial; his Resurrection and Ascension, His +session at the right hand of God, whence He shall visibly return at the +day of judgment.” + +There are chapters on the Holy Ghost, the cause of good works, on +what these consist, the perfection of the law and the imperfection of +man; on the true Church, the power and the authority of the Scriptures; +on the immortality of the soul, the sacraments and their right +administration, the gifts freely given to the Church; and on the civil +magistrate. + +The Confession recognised empires, kingdoms, and cities, to be distinct +realities and ordained by God. Emperors, kings, dukes, and magistrates +of cities, each in their proper rank and place, are to be regarded +as the holy ordinance of God, established for the manifestations +of His own glory, and the good of mankind. So those who go about to +destroy the existing constitution of the State, or to confound the +government of a kingdom, are not only the enemies of mankind, but they +also wickedly fight against the expressed will of God. Such persons +therefore as are placed in authority, should be loved, honoured, feared, +and held in the most reverent estimation. But then it is the duty of +kings and magistrates to reform and purge religion, and to suppress +all idolatry and superstition, according to the examples of the Old +Testament, as in the case of David, Ezechias, Josias, Josaphat, and +others, most worthy of being imitated. + +“Arise, O Lord, and let thy enemies be confounded: Let them flee from +thy presence that hate thy godly name: give thy servants strength to +speak thy word in boldness: and let all nations attain to thy true +knowledge. Amen.”¹ + + ¹ Knox, Volume II., page 120. + +The six men who drafted the Confession of Faith, also composed the +First Book of Discipline; but it never received the sanction of the +government. It was divided into nine heads, and treated of doctrine, +polity, discipline and education.¹ It is a production embodying views +on various important points that penetrate deeply into the strata of +society, and wield a far-reaching influence over its destiny. + + ¹ The _First Book of Discipline_ is printed in the second + volume of Knox’s Works, pages 183‒257: and it is also + included in the _Collection of Confessions_, published in + 1722. + +The first head announced that the Gospel should be freely and openly +preached in every church and assembly of the kingdom; and that all +doctrine repugnant to this should be utterly suppressed, “as damnable +to man’s salvation;” that the books of the Old and New Testament +contained all things necessary for the instruction of the Church, and +for perfecting of the man of God: all laws and constitutions imposed +upon the consciences of men, without the expressed command of God’s +word, such as vows of chastity, celibacy, superstitious observance of +fasting days, keeping of saints’ days, prayer for the dead, and other +feasts, were therefore declared to be abolished in Scotland, and that +obstinate maintainers of these abominations ought not to escape the +punishment of the civil magistrate. + +The second head asserted that there are only two sacraments, Baptism¹ +and the Lord’s Supper, that the people should be instructed in the +language which they understood before participating in the sacraments, +and that in Baptism the element of water only should be used, oil, salt, +wax, conjuration, crossing, and all inventions of men were forbidden. +At the Lord’s Supper, sitting at a table was declared to be the most +suitable posture, because our Lord Himself sat with His disciples. It +was further directed that the people should partake both of the bread +and of the wine, that the officiating minister should break the bread, +and distribute it to those next to him, commanding the rest, every one +with reverence and sobriety, to break with each other, and that during +this action, some comforting passages of Scripture should be read, +which brought to mind the death of Christ Jesus, and the never-ending +benefit flowing from it to mankind. + + ¹ The Canons of the Roman Scottish Church on Baptism may be + seen in the _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, Volume II., + pages 174‒175, 307‒309. + +The third head required the abolition of idolatry with all its +monuments, such as abbeys, monasteries, friaries, nunneries, chapels, +chantries, cathedral kirks, canonries, and colleges, excepting those +used as parish churches and schools, and all the mansions and dwelling +places attached thereto, with the gardens and orchards. It should be +observed that it was only the monastic system, and the extinction of +its pertinents, which was really a consequence of the establishment of +Protestantism; not at all the mere wanton destruction of the buildings: +in the circumstances it was necessary to remove the ornaments and the +internal furniture of the Roman Catholic churches and establishments +of every description, as these were all intimately connected with the +worship of the system. It is always easy for people to be wise after +the event, but if those who now blame the Reformers had been upon the +scene at the time, their wisdom would in all probability have proved +of little avail. Under idolatry was included the mass, invocation of +saints, adoration of images; and finally, all honouring of God not +authorised in His holy word. + +The fourth head dealt with the ministers and their lawful election. +In a reformed Church, it was said, no one ought to preach or to +administer the sacraments, till he be called. The ordinary vocation of +a minister was said to consist in election, examination, and admission. +It pertained to the people and to each congregation to elect their own +minister. Examinations must be in public, by the ministers and elders +of the Church: the applicant should be examined openly in the presence +of the people on all points of controversy between the Protestants and +the Catholics, Anabaptists, Arians, and other enemies of the Christian +religion, that all may hear and understand. After he has given evidence +of his soundness in doctrine, and evinced his ability to convince the +gainsayers, he must then appear before the congregation whom he is +intended to serve, and in the presence of his flock should deliver +several sermons, touching the articles of faith, jurisdiction, the +office of Christ Jesus, the number, the effect, and the use of the +sacraments, and finally, explain the whole Protestant conception of +religion. But great care should always be taken not to thrust any man +upon a congregation, if they were not satisfied with him; this point +was repeatedly stated in the First Book of Discipline. + +Touching the form of admission of members to their charge, a sermon +should be preached by some specific member concerning the duties of +the office; and an exhortation should be given both to the minister +to be admitted and to his congregation. Any other ceremony was deemed +unnecessary, only the approbation of the people, and the declaration of +the presiding minister that the person then presented was appointed to +serve his particular church. Although the apostles used the imposition +of hands, yet seeing that the miracle ceased, this ceremony was +unnecessary. + +The Scottish Reformers experienced much difficulty in the work of +organising their Church, from the paucity of qualified ministers +then in Scotland; to overcome this, they adopted the only expedient +of employing other two classes of persons in the work of religious +instruction, called exhorters and readers. In churches where no +ministers could be had, readers were to be appointed, persons who +could read distinctly the common prayers and the Scriptures; and +afterwards, some of these, if found qualified, might be advanced +to the position of ministers. The exhorters were a class between +the readers and the minister. As the name imports, they gave some +explanation or application of the parts of Scripture which they read +to the congregation. + +The fifth and sixth heads are very important, and related to the +distribution of the possessions, rents, and patrimony of the church, +and provision for the ministers. It was exactly in these matters that +the strength and weakness of the reformation spirit in Scotland would +be tested; it is necessary therefore to indicate the scheme proposed +by the leading men among the Protestant clergy. It is very obvious +from what has already been stated, that some of the expedients which +they adopted were merely intended to meet the exigencies of the +circumstances, and to bridge over the great difficulties springing +out of the revolutionary changes of the religious movement. Owing to +the scarcity of qualified ministers the Reformers had recourse to the +expedient of selecting a number of persons with power to plant and +erect churches, and to appoint ministers within the bounds of their +respective provinces. To effect this they divided the country into five +districts, each of which was placed under a superintendent.¹ These men +were not to live idly as the bishops had often done; they had to preach +themselves three times every week, to labour incessantly and to travel +from place to place, till all the churches within their district were +provided with ministers, or at least with readers. Till they had gone +over their district, they were not to remain longer in one place than +thirty days. They were to examine into the life and diligence of the +ministers and readers, the order of their churches, the manners of the +people, the state of the poor, and the instruction of the young. + + ¹ The names of the persons chosen were John Carswell, for + Argyle and the Isles; John Erskine of Dun, for Angus and + Mearns; John Spottiswood, for Lothian and Tweeddale; John + Willock, for Glasgow and the West; and John Winram for + Fife――five in all. As this number of superintendents was + never increased, the General Assembly from time to time + appointed commissioners or visitors for special districts. + Their duties were of a very arduous nature, and their + stipends were not great. They had no superiority over their + brethren, and like other members they were entirely subject + to the General Assembly. Their special office was to plant + churches, and assist in the great labour of organisation. + At this time three or four churches were sometimes grouped + together, having a minister in one and readers in the others, + under the superintendent; and this continued for many years, + till a sufficient number of qualified ministers could be + obtained. + +It was proposed to regulate the scale of stipend according to the +condition and circumstances of the ministers. The superintendents +were to get more than the ordinary minister of a parish, a minister +more than an exhorter, and the reader less than an exhorter. Proposals +were made for securing a provision for the wives and families of the +ministers; burghal privileges were demanded for their children, and +a special preference to be accorded to their sons in the schools and +colleges, with regard to the presentation of bursaries. Thus far, +touching the personal wants of the new clergy and their families. + +It was proposed that a portion of the property of the Church should be +applied to national education. “Seeing that all men came into the world +ignorant, and God had ceased to illuminate them miraculously, a system +of education for the whole people was therefore a necessity.” A school +was to be attached to every church, and when a schoolmaster could +not be got, the minister or the reader was to teach the children and +the young people of the parish, and instruct them in the rudiments +of education, especially in the Catechism as translated in the Book +of Common Order, called the Order of Geneva.¹ They further proposed +that those who were unable to keep their children at school, should be +assisted out of the funds of the Church, especially the people in the +landward parts of the country. + + ¹ The reference here is to the translation of Calvin’s + Catechism. In another part of the First Book of Discipline + it is called the most perfect catechism that ever was used + in the Church. It was approved and adopted by the Reformed + Church of Scotland, and commonly printed with the Book of + Common Order. A translation of this catechism was reprinted + at Edinburgh in 1564, and it was long and widely used among + the Protestants of Scotland. There is a notice of early + editions in the sixth volume of Dr. Laing’s collected + edition of Knox’s works, page 341. Calvin’s Catechism was + divided into fifty-five parts, one for every Sunday, so that + the whole of it was gone through in little more than a year. + It contains three hundred and seventy-three questions and + answers. + + The Palatine Catechism used by the reformed Churches of + Germany, and taught in the schools, was translated into + English, and printed in 1591 by public authority for the use + of Scotland; and it was sometimes printed with the Book of + Common Order and the Psalm Book. This catechism had three + chief headings――“1. Of Man’s Misery; 2. Of Man’s Deliverance; + 3. Of Man’s Thankfulness.” It was divided into fifty-two + parts, one for each Sunday of the year, and contains one + hundred and twenty-nine questions and answers. It was + printed in the _Collection of Confessions_, published at + Edinburgh in 1722, Volume II. pages 273‒352. + + There was a little catechism in Latin which was used in the + grammar schools. It embraced forty-one questions and answers. + In 1592, the General Assembly authorised a Catechism, which + was drawn up by John Craig, with the assistance of Robert + Pont, Thomas Buchanan, and Andrew Melville; its title is――“A + form of Examination before the Communion.” The Assembly + ordered it to be used in families and to be taught in + schools. _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 574, 784, 788. + It is known by the name of Craig’s Catechism. It has twelve + headings, and contains ninety-six questions and answers. + The eighty-sixth question is this――“What is the office of + the Christian magistrate in the Church? A. He should defend + the true religion and discipline, and punish all troublers + and contemners of the same.”――_Collection of Confessions_. + Volume II., pages 363‒377. A new edition of Craig’s + Catechism was prepared and issued some years ago by W. T. G. + Law of the Signet Library, Edinburgh. + +The state of the poor labourers of the ground was noticed, with the +remark that they had been long oppressed. The Reformers were grieved +to see that some of the barons were so cruel to their tenants, and +extorted from them as much, and even more, than the priesthood had done; +and they argued earnestly that this class should now be relieved of a +part of the burdens which had so long pressed upon them. It was also +firmly maintained in the First Book of Discipline, that the poor and +the helpless ought to be supported and sustained from the property of +the Church. + +The seventh head treated of ecclesiastical discipline. A distinction +was drawn between crimes which should be punished and put down by the +State, and those which fell under the discipline of the Church. All +capital crimes ought to be punished by the civil power; but drunkenness, +excess in eating, oppression of the poor by cruel exactions, or +cheating in buying and selling, properly appertained to the Church +to punish as God’s word commanded. Owing, however, to the confusion +introduced by the Roman Catholic system: “The Church of God is +compelled to draw the sword against such open and manifest offenders, +cursing and excommunicating all such, as well as those whom the civil +sword ought to punish as the others, from all participation with her in +prayers and sacraments, till open repentance manifestly appears in them. +As the form of proceeding in excommunication ought to be grave and slow, +so when once it is pronounced against any person, whatever their rank +and condition may be, it must be kept with all severity. For laws made +and not kept engender contempt of virtue, and bring in confusion and +liberty to sin.” The same sharp and inflexible rules of discipline were +to be applied to all ranks in the kingdom, to the rulers as well as +to the ruled, and even to the preachers themselves as well as to the +humblest in the nation. Here at least there was a thorough recognition +of equal justice and no respect of persons. + +The eighth head related to the election of elders and deacons. The +most intelligent, faithful, and honest men that could be found within +the Church should be nominated for election, and their names publicly +announced by the minister to the whole congregation. Regarding the +form of voting, so that every man might give his vote with freedom, +each congregation was left to adopt such rules as seemed most likely +to attain the end. They were to be elected yearly, but those in office +the preceding year might be re-elected. The elders were to assist the +minister in all the public affairs of the church, in judging causes, +and in admonishing the licentious; for by the gravity of the elders, +the levity and unbridled life of the immoral should be corrected and +restrained. They were to observe the life, diligence, and study of +the minister himself, to admonish and correct him, and when necessary, +with the consent of the congregation and the superintendent, they +might depose him. The office of the deacon was to receive the rents +and gather the alms of the church, and to keep and distribute them as +should be appointed. They were also to assist the minister and elders +in deciding causes, and they might be admitted to read publicly, if +required, and found fit to perform that duty. The deacons personally +should be sober, humble, lovers of concord and peace, and examples of +godliness to all. The elders and deacons were to receive no stipend, +because they held office only from year to year, and because their +services to the Church did not prevent them from attending to their +private business. + +The ninth head referred to the polity of the Church, which embraced +those things that might bring the rude and ignorant to knowledge, +inflame the learned to greater fervency and to retain the Church in +good order. It was then stated that there were two kinds of polity, the +one necessary, the other merely expedient and amenable to circumstances. +The first required that the word should be truly preached, the +sacraments rightly administered, and the common prayers publicly +offered; that children and rude and ignorant persons should be +instructed in the chief points of religion, and offenders punished, as +without these there was not the face of a visible Church. The second +touched upon such matters as that psalms should be sung, that certain +portions of Scripture should be read when there was no sermon, and +that on this or the next day of the week, few or many, the congregation +should meet for worship. Regarding points of this character each +congregation was permitted within limits to frame rules suitable to its +circumstances. It was required, however, that in all the chief towns +there should either be a sermon or common prayers every day, with some +exercise of reading the Scriptures. In every notable town it was also +required that there should be sermon and prayers on one day of the week, +besides Sunday; and during the time of this service both masters and +servants should cease from their business and labour. In all places +the Sunday was to be regularly kept: in the forenoon the Word was to +be preached, the sacraments administered, and marriage solemnised; +and in the afternoon the children should be taught in their catechism +and examined in the presence of the people, as thereby the old as well +as the young might be better enabled to understand the questions and +answers propounded, and the doctrines of Christianity. To promote this +great end every church should have an English Bible, and the people +were commanded to convene at befitting times to hear it read and +interpreted, and thus by degrees to dispel the grovelling ignorance +and thick darkness which had so long enslaved their bodies and minds. + +Concerning marriage, it was found that the existing relations of +the different sex were of the most lax and immoral character. Under +the Roman Catholic system, the practice of divorce, of dissolving +marriage by granting dispensations on various grounds, tended to foster +immorality and to encourage crimes of the most atrocious description, +more especially among the upper classes.¹ The Reformers, therefore, +endeavoured to frame regulations calculated to remedy this class of +social evils. Henceforth marriage must be publicly celebrated in the +face of the Church; and to avoid all suspicion, the banns should be +proclaimed on three successive Sundays. On no consideration should +secret marriages be permitted; the ceremony should be solemnised +publicly. + + ¹ _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, Volume II., pages 130‒131, + 297. + +Touching burial it was stated:――“In all ages it has been held to +signify that the same body that was committed to the earth should not +utterly perish, but should rise again.” From what immediately followed, +it is pretty clear that the Reformers were reluctant to abolish all +the forms and ceremonies which till then had been associated with +the burial of the dead. This is not surprising, as veneration for the +memory of the departed is one of the strongest and deepest sentiments +of human nature; it touches those tender strings of the heart which +are at once the source of the purest emotions and the noblest feelings +of our common humanity. In Scotland, as elsewhere, from the earliest +period there is ample evidence of this respect for the memory of the +deceased, and it was keenly felt by the Reformers themselves. At the +same time they were more strongly impressed by the baneful results +which superstitious notions and practices had produced; and thus +without much discrimination they put a ban on the expression of one +of the most affectionate features of human character, when, to avoid +all superstition, they enjoined――“that the dead should be conveyed to +the place of interment with some honest company of the Church, without +either singing or reading; yea, without any kind of ceremony hitherto +used, other than that the dead be committed to the grave, with such +gravity and sobriety as those that be present may seem to fear the +judgment of God, and to hate sin, which is the cause of death.” + +The First Book of Discipline concluded with an article concerning the +punishment of those who profane the sacraments and contemn the Word +of God. It suggested that very severe measures should be adopted for +the repression of all such abuses within the kingdom. This Book of +Discipline was not sanctioned by parliament, but it was approved by +an act of the Privy Council in January, 1561, and about thirty of the +nobles and gentry subscribed it. The Reformers failed to obtain any +settled provision or adequate allowance for the new clergy out of the +confiscated lands of the Church; and none of the Acts of the Parliament +which abolished the Roman Catholic religion were ever sanctioned by +Queen Mary. + +The Book of Common Order, mentioned in the First Book of Discipline, +was a kind of directory of public worship.¹ It contained a form of +prayer for the ordinary meeting of the congregation. At that time +extempore prayer was not common in Scotland, nor anywhere else +among the reformed clergy. The book also gave directions for the +administration of the sacraments; a form of marriage; a prayer to be +said at the visitation of the sick; and instructions on the order of +ecclesiastical discipline.² There were also two treatises, the one on +fasting, and the other on excommunication. These, however, were written +and adopted by the Church a few years later, and will fall to be +noticed in connection with other influences which affected the people. + + ¹ It was an adaptation of the Order of Geneva――the forms of + worship which had been received by the English congregation + in that city. Of this congregation Knox was for some time + pastor, hence it was sometimes called the Order of Geneva. + The Geneva edition of 1558 was reprinted at Edinburgh in + 1562, and again in 1564, and it was approved and sanctioned + by the General Assembly; the subsequent editions were + numerous, and commonly printed with the old metrical version + of the psalms. _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 30, 54. + In Dr. Laing’s edition of Knox’s Works, accurate and minute + details on these points will be found. + + ² _Collection of Confessions_, Volume II., pages 372, 468; + 1722. Knox’s Works, Volume VI., pages 275‒333. + +The system of doctrine and polity of the Reformed Church of Scotland +as presented in the Confession, the First Book of Discipline, +the Catechism, and the Book of Common Order was pretty distinct, +although on several points rather crude and imperfectly developed. The +doctrines of Calvin were adopted by the Scottish Reformers with little +modification, and it was at this time that Calvinism seized the minds +of men with irresistible power.¹ The Calvinistic modes of belief and +thought were decidedly more opposed to the Roman Catholic tenets than +the doctrines of Luther. Of this fact, the Catholics themselves were +well aware, and hence the intense bitterness that eventually prevailed +everywhere, when Calvinists and Romanists came into conflict with each +other. In Scotland amongst the Protestants heresy was for a long time +quite unknown; the disputes which arose within the Reformed Church +in this country were always about points of polity or external forms, +or the limits of the liberty and power of the Church. The first brunt +of the battle was directed against the Roman Catholic system; and +it is vain and untrue to deny that the Protestants persecuted the +Catholics. The moral ideas and sentiments of the sixteenth century +were comparatively narrow and imperfectly developed, and Knox and his +associates would most assuredly not have taken it as a compliment, if +they had been told that they tolerated the Catholics. The Reformers +distinctly, emphatically, and constantly, proclaimed that it was +the duty of the State and the Church to punish and extinguish the +confessors of the mass and other forms of idolatry. The proceedings +of the General Assemblies, the Acts of Parliament, and other national +records, contain endless evidence of this. What else could have been +expected? A nation does not spring up to an elevated moral position in +a day or in a few years; and the ultimate results of a great revolution +cannot justly be measured by its immediate effects. On the contrary, +the movement must be followed century after century ere its truth and +glory can be fully apprehended. + + ¹ On the re-establishment of Protestantism in England at the + accession of Queen Elizabeth, the English bishops would + have gladly dispensed with Episcopacy, and the ceremonies + which the Queen imposed were barely tolerated. In regard to + the great question of the real presence the majority of the + bishops agreed with the Swiss Reformers. Hunt’s _Religious + Thought in England_, Volume I. pages 39‒41. For further + evidence of the influence exerted by Calvin on the Reformed + Church, see Hagenbach’s _History of Doctrines_, Volume II., + 178‒183, and Ranke’s _History of the Popes_. Blunt, + _Dictionary of Doctrinal and Historical Theology_ + +The first General Assembly met at Edinburgh on the 20th of December, +1560. There were only a few ministers present, but a number of lay +commissioners attended. The Assembly enumerated and recorded the +names of those who were deemed best qualified for preaching the word +and administrating the sacraments, and reading the common prayers in +all the churches. The ministers and readers together did not exceed +sixty in number; and it can easily be seen that the difficulties +and obstacles which the leaders of the Protestant revolution had to +overcome, were something enormous; but they boldly proceeded to meet +the necessities of the circumstances, in the way already indicated, +by placing a man over a district to organise and appoint readers and +exhorters to the churches where ministers could not be obtained.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 3‒6. + +Another General Assembly met at Edinburgh on the 26th of May, 1561. It +passed an act for the suppression of the Catholic worship throughout +the kingdom; and measures were proposed for strengthening the hands of +the superintendents. A supplication was sent to the government calling +on them to take order――“With the pestilent generation of that Roman +Antichrist within the realm, who was again threatening to erect their +idolatry.” The Privy Council acceded to their request and passed +an act thereon; and the Protestants went forward with their work of +suppression and reorganisation.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 8‒10. + + + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + _Reign of Queen Mary._ + + +WHILE the Protestants were still uneasy and somewhat alarmed by the +intelligence that France had firmly refused to confirm the Treaty +of Edinburgh, or to ratify any part of the proceedings of the last +Parliament, the welcome tidings reached Scotland that Francis II. had +died on the 6th of December, 1560. As this event broke and limited +the sway of that scheming and ambitious house of Guise, the death of +the young king was hailed with undisguised satisfaction by the leaders +of the Protestants. The work of the Reformation in Scotland proceeded +without serious interruption from any quarter; and the nation began to +look for the early return of their Queen without misgiving. + +A considerable section of the people still professed to adhere to +the old religion, and they were headed by the Earl of Huntly. This +noble was then almost the supreme ruler in the north and north-west of +Scotland; and he put himself forward as the representative of the Roman +Catholics. John Lesly, the parson of Oyne, and afterwards bishop of +Ross, was deputed in April 1561, to proceed to France and represent the +views of the Catholic party to Queen Mary. He suggested that she should +land at Aberdeen, where twenty thousand troops would be ready at her +command; and with these a blow might be struck against the Protestants. +This plan was not followed by the Queen; but it had some connection +with events which happened shortly after her return to Scotland.¹ + + ¹ Lesly’s _History Of Scotland_, page 294; Dr. Burton’s + _History of Scotland_, Volume IV., page 166. + +The prior of St. Andrews, Lord James Stuart, the Queen’s natural +brother, passed through England on his way to France, as the deputy of +the Protestant Lords; and was warmly received by the Queen. After many +interviews with her brother, concerning the state of Scotland, Mary +informed him that she intended to return to the home of her ancestors. +She embarked at Calais on the 14th of August, 1561, and landed at Leith +on the 19th of the month. Her arrival was announced by the sound of +cannon; and all ranks of the people hastened to meet her and to welcome +her home. The loyal citizens of Edinburgh endeavoured to enliven her +first night at Holyrood by a musical performance, in which fiddles +with three strings were the leading instruments. This serenade seems to +have grated on the ears of her French attendants; and indeed the whole +people and their surroundings must have presented a strange contrast +to the luxury, the external polish, and the enchanting pleasures, which +had encircled Mary during the palmy days of her life in France. Many +of the citizens of the capital, however, were anxious to show their +goodwill towards her, and on the 2nd of September they presented to +her a cupboard which cost two hundred marks. The expense of the town in +connection with the banquet, the triumph, and gift to the Queen on the +occasion amounted to four thousand marks.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume III., pages 119‒122; + _Diurnal of Occurrents_, pages 67‒69; Knox, Volume II., + pages 269‒270. + +The exceeding interest of the events crowded into the history of the +succeeding seven years, the tragic, and often dark character which +they assumed, and the vital importance of the main issue involved, +have induced me to attempt a concise explanation of the causes which +controlled the current of events, and ultimately led to the flight +of Queen Mary into England. This part of our history has often been +ably treated in the narrative form, and with every point of detail, +especially in reference to the character of Queen Mary herself; but +in nearly all the writings on this period there is rather much of the +partisan spirit, and too keen a tendency to rest the issue of the +momentous revolutionary movement on points of merely secondary weight +and import. The questions as to whether there is evidence that Mary +was implicated in the plot to murder her husband, whether this or +that noble was concerned in the plot to murder Riccio and Darnley, +whether Mary’s marriage with Bothwell was voluntary, or forced by +violence; how this King or Queen struggled to outwit and befoul another; +or how this statesman and that confounded each other, by framing +misrepresentations――such are the questions and matters which mostly +fill the literature on the reign of Queen Mary. But without by any +means ignoring the relative value of the literature, the chief aim +of this chapter will be to reach the underlying ideas, not of the +literature itself, but of the Reformation movement. + +It is quite unnecessary to dwell on the charming beauty, the varied +accomplishments, and the unquestionable talents of Mary Stuart, Queen +of France and Scotland. But once for all it must be stated that I am +not a hard and fast apologist of Mary throughout her chequered career; +although on the other hand, I have been unable to discover that she +was so deceitful, immoral, and wicked, as she has often been painted. +If she be measured by the standard of morality common amongst her +contemporaries of the sixteenth century, she will not suffer by a +comparison with the best of them. The cupidity and faithlessness of +the royal families and many of their counsellors, who were then trying +to sway the destinies of Europe, had reached a height of enormity +which would be incredible, if it were not attested by piles of +unimpeachable evidence. Everywhere the suffering of the lower classes +had became almost unbearable; and this was a time of destruction, of +revolution, and of renovation. In these circumstances it is unjust, and +historically false to single out Queen Mary because she was unfortunate, +as baser and worse than her compeers. + +The Scottish nobles had long been accustomed to fight against the +Crown; and they had at last laid one of the strongest arms of the +throne in the dust. They had abolished the old Church and seized its +landed property; and what they had thus taken, they intended to retain, +while they eagerly looked for more. Most of them had joined with the +Reformers for no higher aim than the enlargement of their estates; and +the whole of their subsequent proceedings were quite consistent with +the origin of their reforming spirit. John Knox was smarting under the +sting of blasted hopes and defeated schemes. He at least acted from +honest intention and firm conviction. He believed that he was following +out the will of God, and delivering His message to Scotland. His whole +heart and soul was in his work, and he struggled with all his energy to +enforce what he deemed to be “the eternal truth of God.” Yet like other +men, he was intolerant, overbearing, and greedy of power. The party who +faithfully adhered to him were naturally suspicious, and dreaded that a +reaction might be attempted; and for the protection of their own lives, +and the safety of the reformed faith, they were always on the outlook +and ready to frustrate the machinations of those who were opposed to +it. That the utmost vigilance was necessary for the success of their +cause, they were well aware. Their scheme of life was narrow, and many +of their ideas extremely crude. But the Reformation on the other hand +embraced the elements of a social and religious revolution. It went +to the roots of evil, stirred the inmost thoughts of men, and aimed +at the elevation of society, from the humble tiller of the ground +to the occupant of the throne. Underneath all the rudeness of the +reformed preachers, there was the moving, invisible flow of the moral +principle――the consciousness of a God before and above all, and the +conviction of the justice of their cause. They believed that the +decrees of the Almighty were irresistible in their sweep. It was +chiefly in the “eternal decree” that the intensity of Calvinism rested; +and this absolute dogma was the secret of the influence which Calvin +so long wielded over the minds of men. So long as there was no question +touching the power of the mind to discover this decree, its influence +had full swing, and remained unimpaired. + +The nobles and barons had gathered from all quarters to welcome Queen +Mary; but the trying circumstances in which she was placed, soon became +apparent. Though her personal talent for government was conspicuous, +she never had a fair chance as a Queen in Scotland. On Sunday, four +days after her arrival, when the preparations began to be made for the +celebration of mass in the royal chapel, the Reformers were greatly +offended. The more zealous of them openly asked whether this idol +should be again suffered, even in the Queen’s chapel. When it appeared +that there would be an attack upon the priest, the Queen’s brother, the +Lord James, guarded the chapel door during the service. After it was +over, John and Robert Stuart, other two natural brothers of the Queen, +took the priest between them and conducted him safely to his chamber.¹ + + ¹ Knox, Volume II., pages 270‒271. + +The following day a proclamation was issued, announcing that the +Queen was to make no alteration in the form of religion which she had +found existing when she returned to her kingdom, without the consent +of parliament. The people were enjoined to make no attempts either +publicly or privately to change the form of religion; but at the same +time the proclamation commanded that no one should molest any of the +Queen’s French followers or servants, for any cause whatever, under +the penalty of death.¹ On the following Sunday Knox inveighed against +idolatry, and declared what terrible plagues God had sent upon the +nations who indulged in this false worship. He had a special hatred +at the service of the mass, and dreaded the effects of allowing the +Queen to engage in the exercise of the Roman Catholic worship. In the +circumstances there was reasonable ground for his apprehension.² + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 266‒267; + 1877. + + ² Knox, Volume II., pages 296‒277, Anderson’s _Collections_. + +Queen Mary was naturally extremely annoyed at the outspoken proceedings +of the preachers, and resolved to try the effect of her wit upon +Knox himself. The Reformer had a long dialogue with the Queen which +is reported in his history. The Queen tackled him on a variety of +points, chiefly political; and even according to Knox’s report, clearly +held her own in the argument, showing at every turn a quickness of +perception and a dialectic tact which brought out the unyielding and +intolerant features of Knox’s character.¹ + + ¹ Knox, Volume II., 277‒286. + +Mary’s government, notwithstanding the alarm of the Protestants, was +for some years conducted with unusual success. Her brother, Lord James, +was placed at the head of affairs; and Maitland of Lethington, a man +of ability, was Secretary of State, and played an active part in the +Government. In September Mary made a progress to Linlithgow, Stirling, +Perth, Dundee, and St. Andrews, and was everywhere well received by +the citizens. She returned to Edinburgh in the end of September; but +Knox complained that she had polluted the places she had visited with +idolatry. Means were taken to punish the lawless Borderers and to +restore order amongst them, but with little success.¹ + + ¹ _Diurnal of Occurrents_, page 69; Volume II., page 287; + _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 163‒165, + 167, 168, 184. + +As yet the Reformed Church was merely on sufferance; the head of the +State was a confirmed Roman Catholic; and there was no provision made +for the Protestant preachers. Knox and other ardent reformers had been +much mistaken when they supposed that the Lords of the Congregation +who had so actively assisted in pulling down the Roman hierarchy, would +also be ready to transfer its property to the new Church. The preachers +had rather foolishly imagined that the nobles, who at first had stuck +so close to the good cause, were really actuated by pure religious +motives and honest convictions. When the practical proposals for the +disposal of the lands and the wealth of the old establishment came +under their consideration their eyes were opened. The reformed clergy +desired the Parliament and Queen to ratify the First Book of Discipline, +but the reforming lords now asked in jeering tones――“How many of +those who subscribed that book would be subject to it?” Maitland +of Lethington said――“Many subscribed it in _fide parentum_, as the +bairns are baptized.” In the face of the remonstrances of Knox himself, +another of the lords said――“Stand content, that book will not be +obtained.” Then said Knox, “Let God require the lack which this poor +commonwealth shall sustain of the things therein contained from the +hands of such as stop the same.”¹ + + ¹ Knox, Volume II., pages 295‒298. + +By an Act of the Privy Council, 22nd of December, 1561, it was proposed +to appropriate a third of the revenue of all the benefices in the +kingdom to the Crown. The Catholic bishops and clergy who were still in +possession, were to retain the rents and proceeds of their benefices, +except the third which was to be applied to the purposes of the Queen +and the government of the country, and to making a reasonable provision +for the Protestant ministry. The rentals of all the benefices in the +kingdom were ordered to be given in at a specified time, that the +amount of the thirds might be ascertained and the arrangements carried +out. A Royal Commission was appointed with power to carry the Act +into effect, but those who were in possession of the benefices seem +to have paid little or no heed to it. On the 12th of February, 1562, +the Council complained, “That the Queen’s Majesty and the Council, +and others appointed by her for receiving the said rentals, have +continually since the said 24th of January awaited upon the receiving +thereof; yet only a very small number of them have produced their +rentals, contemning thereby not only Her Grace’s ordinance and +proclamation, but also herself and her authority, like as if they +were princes and not subjects, expressly against reason, equity, and +justice.” Her Majesty and the Council therefore resolved to appoint +factors to intromit, gather, uplift, and receive the rentals in all +cases where they had not been given in according to the ordinance.¹ +The reformed clergy were extremely displeased with this arrangement, +and Knox expressed his opinion on its defects as usual with great +freedom: “Well, if the end of this order pretended to be taken for the +sustentation of the ministers be happy, my judgment faileth me; for I +am assured that the Spirit of God is not the author of it; for, first, +I see two parts freely given to the devil, and the third part must be +divided between God and the devil. Well, be witness to me, that this +day I say it, or it be long, the devil shall have three parts of the +third; and judge you then what God’s portion shall be.” Many were +offended at this language, and some were not ashamed to affirm that, +“After the ministers were sustained the Queen will not get at the end +of the year as much as to buy her a pair of new shoes.”² Knox was +pretty near the truth, for by grants of lands, long leases, alienations, +pensions, actual seizure by force, and other means, the nobles and +gentry swallowed up the greater part of the property and revenue of the +Roman Church.³ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 192‒194, + 196, 199, 201‒203, 204‒206. Among the public records there + are several volumes of accounts of the collectors of the + thirds of benefices, beginning in 1562. + + ² Knox, Volume II., page 310. + + ³ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 287‒288, + 412‒413, 477‒479, 487‒488, 573‒575, _et seq._ + +The stipends granted to the reformed ministers were not large. The sum +fixed for the ordinary ministers was to range from one hundred marks +to three hundred. But from various causes even this small sum was very +irregularly paid, and the ministers were constantly complaining in the +General Assembly. Some persons had the audacity to tell them that many +of the barons had not so much to spend as they had; but this comparison +was deemed unfair and inapt, as a baron might augment his rent by +engaging in other business, while a minister had no other source of +income but his stipend, and required books and quietness in order to +study and work to edify the Church of Christ. When the clergy put these +reasons before the authorities and complained of their poverty, they +were told that the Queen could not spare greater sums. The preachers, +however, often sounded into their ears――“O, happy servants of the devil, +and miserable servants of Jesus Christ, if after this life there was +not a hell and a heaven! For to the servants of the devil, to your dumb +dogs, and horned bishops, to one of these idle bellies, ten thousand +a-year was not enough; but to the servants of Christ who laboriously +preach the Gospel, a thousand pounds; how can that be sustained?” +Lethington, the Queen’s secretary of state, said that the ministers +were paid so much every year by the Queen, and he asked, “Was there +ever a minister that gave thanks to God for her Majesty’s liberality +towards them.” Then “one smiled and answered, Assuredly, I think that +such as receive anything gratis of the Queen, are unthankful if they +acknowledge it not, both in heart and speech; but whether the ministers +be of that rank or not I greatly doubt. Gratis, I am assured, they +receive nothing, and whether they receive anything at all from the +Queen wise men may dispute. I am assured that neither the third nor +two parts ever appertained to her predecessors within the realm these +thousand years bypast; neither has the Queen a better title to that +which she usurps, be it given to others, or taken to herself, than such +as crucified Christ Jesus had to divide his garments among them. And if +the truth may be spoken, she has not so good a title as they had; for +such spoil used to be the reward of such men, and in that point these +soldiers were more gentle than the Queen and her flatterers, for they +parted not the garments of our Master till that he himself was hung +upon the cross; but she and her flatterers part the spoil while poor +Christ is yet preached amongst you.... Let the Catholics, who have the +two parts, some that have their thirds free, and some that have gotten +abbacies and feu lands, thank the Queen, and sing _Placebo Dominæ_. The +poor preachers will not yet flatter for feeding their belly.”¹ + + ¹ Knox, Volume II., pages 311‒313; _Book of the Universal + Kirk_, pages 16, 17, 23, 30, 47, 48. + +But dissatisfied as the Protestant ministers were with Mary, her +proceedings were probably much more displeasing to the magnate of +the north, the Earl of Huntly. The Earldom of Moray was detached from +Huntly’s possessions and conferred on Lord James, who was henceforth +known as the Earl of Moray. Huntly had not changed his religion, but +throughout the religious struggle his chief aim had apparently been +to retain his vast territories and his influence in the north. Various +incidents and circumstances indicated that Moray had resolved to +crush him. The house of Huntly had long ruled supreme over the smaller +chiefs in the northern Highlands, and had sometimes committed acts of +oppression and injustice amongst them. In August, 1562, the Queen and +Moray moved northwards; Huntly suspected that mischief was brewing +against him, and sent his wife to Aberdeen to meet the royal party +and to ascertain their purpose. The Countess invited the Queen to +♦Strathbogie Castle, but Mary declined, and proceeded by Rothiemay, and +onward to Inverness. The gates of the Castle of Inverness were closed +against the Queen, but it was besieged, and taken, and the garrison +hanged. Some of the clans, including the Clan Chattan, the Camerons, +and the Monros who had been under Huntly, now that they had an +opportunity, deserted his standard and joined the Queen. When the royal +party were returning to Aberdeen, Huntly with a body of his retainers +followed them, marching well up along the heights to the Hill of Fare, +in Midmar, where the battle of Corrichie was fought on the 28th of +October, 1562. The royal troops under Moray were victorious, and the +Earl of Huntly himself was slain, his followers scattered, and two +of his sons captured. Two days after the battle, five gentlemen of +the Gordon clan were hanged on the Castlegate of Aberdeen; and three +days later, Huntly’s son, Sir John Gordon, was executed at the same +place, “greatly pitied, for he was a manly youth, exceedingly handsome, +and just in the opening bloom of life.” George Gordon, the late +Earl’s eldest son, was seized and imprisoned in the Castle of Dunbar. +Strathbogie Castle was then rifled. Many of its rich furnishings and +ornaments were taken to Holyrood House; others of them were carried by +Moray to the Castle of Darnaway to fit up his newly acquired residence +in this ancient Earldom, which was once held by James Stuart, a natural +son of James IV. George Gordon was tried for treason, convicted, and +sentenced to be executed. But in 1565 he was pardoned by the Queen, and +restored to his titles and lands as fifth Earl of Huntly. Thus Moray +managed to crush and humble the great house of Huntly only for a time. +Early in November, 1562, the Queen proceeded from Aberdeen southward +by Dundee, Perth, Stirling, and reached Edinburgh on the 21st of the +month.¹ + + ♦ “Stratbogie” replaced with “Strathbogie” + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 218, 219, + 220, 222; _Diurnal of Occurrents_, pages 73, 74; Buchanan, + Book XVII., chapter 36, 37. + +The Court stayed in Edinburgh during the winter. The gaiety of the +Queen and her courtiers gave much offence to Knox and the reformed +preachers; and they were extremely outspoken touching the excessive +banqueting and dancing of the Court. It was said that some of the +dances then fashionable in the Queen’s Court were indecorous and +immoral, and that it was against these that Knox declaimed. It is +evident, however, that from the first the reformed clergy of Scotland +went too far in limiting and in denouncing almost every form of +amusement. But Knox had also a suspicion that Queen Mary’s dancing +was the expression of her heterodoxy and malignancy. As, “among other +things, he was assured,” he said in a sermon, “that the Queen had +danced excessively till after midnight, because she had received +letters that persecution was begun in France, and that her uncles +were beginning to stir their tails, and to trouble the whole realm of +France.” When the Queen heard of this sermon, she sent for Knox, and +accused him of having spoken irreverently of the Queen, of endeavouring +to make her an object of hatred and contempt amongst her people, and of +having exceeded the limits of his text. In self-defence, the Reformer +proposed to rehearse from memory what he had said in the pulpit; and +proceeded to deliver one of the most plain and vehement harangues ever +uttered in the presence of a monarch. “The complaint of Solomon is +this day most true, to wit: That violence and oppression do occupy the +throne of God here in this earth: for, while murderers, blood-thirsty +men, oppressors, and malefactors dare be bold to present themselves +before kings and princes, and the poor saints of God are banished and +exiled, what shall we say? But that the devil has taken possession in +the throne of God, which ought to be fearful to all wicked doers, and a +refuge to the innocent and oppressed. And how can it be otherwise? For +princes will not understand; they will not be learned as God commands +them. But God’s law they despise, His statutes and holy ordinances +they will not understand; for in fiddling and flinging they are more +exercised than in reading and hearing God’s most blessed word; and +fiddlers and flatterers are more precious in their eyes than men of +wisdom and gravity, who by wholesome admonition might beat down into +them some part of that vanity and pride whereinto all are born, but +in princes it takes deep root and strength by wicked education. And +dancing, Madam, I said, that albeit in Scripture I find no praise +of it, and in profane writings, that it is termed the gesture rather +of them that are mad and in phrensy than of sober men: yet I do not +utterly condemn it, provided ♦two vices be avoided; the former, that +the principal vocation of those who use that exercise be not neglected +for the pleasure of dancing, and secondly, that they dance not, as +the Philistines their fathers, for the pleasure that they take in the +displeasure of God’s people.” The Queen looked around and said――“Your +words are sharp enough as you have spoken them; but yet they were told +to me in another manner. I know that my uncles and you are not of one +religion, and therefore I cannot blame you, albeit you have no good +opinion of them.”¹ + + ♦ “too” replaced with “two” + + ¹ Knox, Volume II., pages 330‒335. + +The idea of religious toleration was adopted by the Protestants +in practice, no more than it was by the Roman Catholics. The only +difference between them was, that the first had introduced a principle +which would ultimately develop a spirit of toleration; whereas on this +point the principle of Romanism never changes, however circumstances +may modify its practical operation. As might naturally be expected +there was still a considerable section of the people unconverted to the +Protestant opinions, especially in the north, where the power of the +local Catholic ruler was only newly broken. In several other quarters +of the kingdom, where the influence of the local chief was on the +side of the old religion, the Catholic worship still prevailed. The +Protestant clergy insisted that the laws against the Romanists should +be enforced; but the government was negligent, and the preachers +threatened to take the matter into their own hands; as they firmly +believed themselves to be justified according to the command of God +to extinguish all idolatry. They apprehended some priests in the west, +and intimated to others that punishment awaited them. The Queen again +sent for Knox and once more tried her wit and policy upon him; and +this time she managed him far better than usual, and the two parted +on good terms. She promised to summon the offending Catholics, and to +show the Reformer that she would administer justice; and he blessed +her and departed.¹ The Catholics were accordingly summoned to appear at +Edinburgh before the Justiciary Court on the 19th of May, 1563. There +were about forty-eight persons brought before the court, and amongst +them the Archbishop of St. Andrews. They were accused of celebrating +and attending mass. Most of them were imprisoned in Edinburgh and +Dumbarton, and some in other places; but none of them was executed.² +It need hardly be said that the Queen was unwilling to punish the +professors of her own religion, but she yielded to the clamour of the +Protestants thus far, for the sake of other advantages. + + ¹ Knox, Volume II., pages 370‒376; _Diurnal of Occurrents_, + pages 75‒76. + + ² Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume I., page 472; _Diurnal_, + page 75; _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume III., pages + 160‒161. + +Parliament met at Edinburgh on the 26th of May, 1563, but it did little +to strengthen the walls of the reformed Church. Articles were presented +for moderating the excess of dress, and for the reformation of other +enormities; but they were all shuffled aside. The Acts of 1560 which +abolished Catholicism were not even mentioned. But an Act was passed +which gave full protection to all who had been connected with the +rebellious proceedings between the 6th of March, 1558, and the 1st of +September, 1561. This Act afforded much satisfaction to many of the +nobles, as it in a measure secured to them the lands on which they +had laid hands during the period of conflict and confusion: but the +preachers were not pleased with it, nor with any of the acts of this +parliament. Other enactments were passed touching the punishment of +witchcraft, adultery, and the restitution of the glebes and manses +to the ministers of the Church;¹ yet this did little to appease the +wrath of Knox. Before parliament dissolved, he preached a sermon in +the presence of the nobles, and spoke very plainly. “The Queen, say ye, +will not agree with us: Ask ye of her that which by God’s word ye may +justly require, and if she will not agree with you in God, ye are not +bound to agree with her in the devil. Let her plainly understand so +far of your minds, and steal not from your former stoutness in God, and +ye shall prosper in your enterprises. But I can see nothing but such +a recoiling from Christ Jesus, as the man that first and most speedily +fleeth Christ’s banner, holds himself most happy. Yea, I hear that some +say, that we have nothing of our religion established either by law or +parliament. Albeit that the malicious words of such can neither hurt +the truth of God, nor yet us who thereupon depend, yet the speaker for +his treason committed against God, and against this poor commonwealth, +deserves the gallows. For our religion being commanded, and so +established by God, was accepted within this realm in public parliament; +and if they will say that was no parliament, we must, and will say, and +also prove, that that parliament was as lawful as ever any that passed +before it within the realm.... And now, my Lords, to put an end to all, +I hear of the Queen’s marriage: dukes, brethren, to emperors and kings, +strive all for the best game; but this, my Lords, will I say (note +the day, and bear witness after) whensoever the nobility of Scotland +professing the Lord Jesus, consents that an infidel (and all papists +are infidels), shall be head to our sovereign, ye do so far as in ye +lieth to banish Christ Jesus from this realm; ye bring God’s vengeance +upon the country, a plague upon yourselves, and perchance ye shall do +small comfort to your sovereign.”² + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., pages + 536‒538. + + ² Knox, Volume II., pages 382‒386. + +This came rather near an assumption of the gift of prophecy. There is +an element of supreme boldness, intense earnestness, and not a little +arrogance in it. But Knox had unquestionably a clearer view of the real +difficulty and danger which was then menacing the reformed Church, than +any other man in Scotland. That his language was strong, seething, and +sometimes rebellious, must be admitted; yet underneath it all he had +an unbending, unswerving, and true moral conviction, which he followed +with an unflinching resoluteness of will rarely equalled. He was +well aware that Catholicism in other countries was beginning to show +unmistakable signs of fresh activity and power; it had reorganised its +armies, and was rapidly recovering from the effects of the first shock +of the Reformation; in many things indeed Catholicism had reformed +itself. Though the fascinating smiles and enchantments of Queen Mary +had failed to cast their spell over Knox, they had won for her the +hearts of many. Day by day the prospects of the Protestants in Scotland +were becoming darker; and Knox adopted a special form of prayer for the +conversion of the Queen, the good of the kingdom, and the preservation +of the light of the word of God.¹ The prayer for the Queen was couched +in an extreme strain of phraseology, and it is not surprising that it +offended her. The current of events in Scotland seemed likely soon to +engulf the Protestant party and their Church in a sea of trouble. The +Queen was meditating and preparing for her marriage with a branch of +the Lennox family. The Earl of Lennox, after twenty years of banishment, +arrived at Edinburgh on the 23rd of September, 1564. Parliament met in +December and restored to him the family estates and titles. In the end +of the year the General Assembly met at Edinburgh, and petitioned the +Queen to put the laws in execution against the sayers and hearers of +mass, who were then so numerous throughout the kingdom.² + + ¹ Knox, Volume II., pages 387‒392, 428. + + ² _Diurnal of Occurrents_, page 77; Keith, Volume II., page + 228; 1845. _Book of the Universal Kirk_, page 53. + +Henry, Lord Darnley, the eldest son of the Earl of Lennox, came to +Edinburgh on the 12th of February, 1565. A few days after, he visited +the Queen at Wemyss Castle in Fife; and soon found himself at a height +of fortune far too dazzling for his poorly gifted nature. He was quite +a youth, blooming and handsome, vain and full of ambition, but utterly +void of ability and moral character; and before he had been many weeks +at the Scottish court, he had made the Protestant lords his enemies. +The Earls of Moray, Morton, and Glencairn disliked him; and Moray, +who had been at the head of affairs since the return of the Queen from +France, soon began to feel that his influence and power were slipping +away. Darnley was a Roman Catholic, which further intensified the +complications throughout the nation. Moray at length began to concert +measures to prevent his marriage with the Queen.¹ A special meeting +of the nobles and chief officers of State was held at Stirling in +May 1565; and Mary announced to it her intention to marry Darnley. +The Protestants became greatly alarmed. They seemed to think that a +reaction was impending, and that at any moment the Queen might proclaim +the restoration of Catholicism. The Queen had intended to hold a +parliament at Perth to sanction her marriage; but the attitude which +Moray and his party assumed, rendered the step unsafe.² + + ¹ Keith, Volume II., pages 263‒265, 268‒275. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 334‒336; + Knox, Volume II., pages 478‒482. + +The General Assembly met at Edinburgh on the 23rd of June, 1565, and +at once proceeded to adopt measures for the suppression of the mass and +other Catholic practices. They demanded that all popery, idolatry, and +jurisdiction of the Pope should be utterly extinguished throughout the +kingdom, not only among the people but also in the Queen’s own person +and household, without any exception. Mary’s answer to this demand +was very candid. She said, that she did not believe in the Protestant +religion, nor that there was anything wrong in the mass, that she +believed the Catholic religion to be well grounded; and she therefore +desired her subjects not to press her to receive any religion against +her conscience; as she had never pressed them, they should not press +her. She also stated that if she changed her religion, she would lose +the friendship of the King of France and other great princes, who +were her firm allies, to whom she could look for support in all her +necessities and difficulties; and that she would be indeed extremely +reluctant to hazard the loss of all these advantages in an instant.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 59, 67. + +Meanwhile the Earl of Moray had broken off from the court, and +meditated a rebellion. On the 15th of July, he and his party met at +Stirling to consult upon their project. The same day the Queen issued +a proclamation at Edinburgh, announcing that she intended to make no +change in religion, and intimating to all her loyal subjects to prepare +themselves to attend her for fifteen days in the field, and to be ready +to appear the instant they were charged. The Queen and her adherents +were too active and numerous on this occasion for Moray and his party. +Seven days later a general muster of the Crown vassals was ordered. +Offers were made to Moray to appear before the council and obtain +satisfaction; but in vain. Mary ordered her intended marriage to be +publicly proclaimed; and on the 29th of July she and Darnley were +joined in wedlock amid rejoicing at Holyrood.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 339, 343, + 345, 346; _Diurnal of Occurrents_, pages 79‒80. + +Various rumours were afloat as to the conflict between the Queen and +her nobles. Some said that it had its origin in envy, ambition, and +hatred, rather than in religion. The newly married pair, however, began +their reign by adopting vigorous measures. Moray and the Protestant +nobles who had joined him, were declared rebels: and to crush them +swiftly, the feudal vassals of the Crown were at short intervals +summoned anew to muster and rally round their King and Queen. Their +majesties also raised considerable sums of money from the citizens and +burgesses for licenses to absent themselves from the army. The disloyal +nobles, the Duke of Chatelherault, the Earls of Moray, Glencairn, +Argyle, Rothes, and other barons, had mustered about a thousand of +their followers. They soon found that the Queen and her party were too +strong for them. Mary at this time was exceedingly well served, and the +action of her government was prompt and decisive.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 347, 348, + 349, 350, 353‒363; _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume + III., pages 198, 200, 201, 202‒203. This old feudal mode of + raising an army then began to be felt a severe burden, and + ♦people in business were glad to pay a sum of money to be + allowed to remain at home. But those who remained away from + the army without license, were brought before the courts + and fined; and it appears that a number of persons had not + answered the Queen’s calls to join the host. _Diurnal of + Occurrents_, pages 80‒81; Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, + Volume I. + + ♦ “pesple” replaced with “people” + +The provost of Edinburgh was an adherent of the Protestant Lords, and +the Queen at once commanded the town council to discharge him from his +office, and named another to be elected in his place. About the same +time the court had ordered the magistrates of the capital to suspend +Knox from preaching, but this the council firmly refused to do; and +several of the citizens fled to the banished Lords. On the other hand, +Lord George Gordon was restored to honour and to the Lordship of Gordon, +by royal proclamation at Edinburgh. The Queen now recalled Bothwell, +whom Moray hated, and had contrived to keep out of Scotland for several +years. He was then residing in France, and landed at Eyemouth on the +17th of September. He immediately proceeded to the court, and was there +graciously received by Mary, who restored him to all his hereditary +titles and offices. Along with the Earl of Lennox, he was appointed +commander-in-chief of the army, which the Queen and Darnley personally +accompanied. The rebellious lords after various moves and efforts found +themselves unable to face the royal army in the field. They retired to +Dumfries, and there issued a manifesto on the 8th of September, 1565, +calling upon the Protestants to rally round them. But few joined their +standard. They had rashly calculated on receiving assistance from +England, but none came; and on the approach of the Queen’s army, led +by Bothwell, they disbanded their followers, and retired beyond the +Border.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 369, 372, + 379, 384; _Diurnal of Occurrents_, pages 80‒84. In regard to + Knox the town council of Edinburgh came to this conclusion + ――“On the 23rd of August, 1565, the bailies, council, and + deacons, being convened in the council-house, after long + reasoning upon the discharge of John Knox, minister, to + forbare preaching, during the stay of the king and queen in + this town, all in one voice concluded and delivers that they + will in no manner of way consent or grant that his mouth be + closed or he discharged from preaching the true word, and + therefore willed him at his pleasure, as God should move his + heart, to proceed forward in true doctrine as he had done + before, which doctrine they would approve and abide at to + their life’s end.”――_Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume + III., pages 199‒200. + +The Queen and her government were now victorious, and many of the +Protestants dreaded that the Reformation would soon be extinguished in +Scotland. At the time there were many schemes and plots on hand among +the Roman Catholic States of Europe, and more in the fountain head――the +Curia of Rome――for the total overthrow of heresy and all its works. +Spain was deeply interested in the recovery of Britain to the Holy +See;¹ but the stream of events swept away this dream. + + ¹ Ranke’s _History of the Popes_, Volume I., page 406, + _et seq._ + +The marriage of the Queen with Darnley turned out to be extremely +unfortunate. She discovered when too late that her husband was a +vicious, vain, and childish fool, utterly unfitted to be her companion +and guide. Their domestic quarrels soon became notorious. The Queen +had several foreigners in her service. One of them named Riccio acted +as her foreign secretary. He seems to have enjoyed her confidence, +and was occasionally consulted by her on important matters. Darnley, +however, began to think that Riccio was his enemy, and fancied that he +had prevented the Queen from granting to him the Crown matrimonial. He +ran from one silly thought to another, until he came to the conclusion +that Riccio had frustrated his aim.¹ This is characteristic of all +weak-minded and naturally vain persons. They fancy that some one has +set himself purposely to defeat them; while all the time the cause of +their defeat is in their own defects. The Scottish nobles at once saw +Darnley’s weakness, and seeking a way to restore the rebel lords, they +fixed upon him as their tool, and on Riccio as their victim. + + ¹ Sir James Melville’s _Memoirs_, pages 132‒134, 136‒140; 1827. + +A parliament was summoned to meet at Edinburgh on the 4th of March, +1566, to confiscate the lands of the banished lords. They had many +friends in Scotland and even in the government; but, although they +had made incessant efforts to obtain pardon and to be restored, the +Queen still held out against them. The Scottish nobles have never been +deficient in devising bold plots for the overthrow of their enemies +and the attainment of their ends. Accordingly Morton the Chancellor, +Lord Ruthven, Lord Lindsay of the Byres, and others, now entered into +a bond with Darnley for the murder of Riccio and the restoration of +the banished Lords, Moray and his associates, and pledged themselves +in return to procure for him the Crown matrimonial, on which he set +so much store.¹ It is plain, however, that Darnley was a mere tool in +the hands of the nobles. They had no intention of elevating him to the +throne. Their chief aim was to prevent the meeting of parliament, and +thus preserve intact the estates of the rebel lords. Probably they +foresaw that Darnley would prove false, and thus throw himself outside +the bond. + + ¹ _Ibid._, page 148; Keith, Volume III., pages 260‒263. + +The plot was exceedingly well matured and everything was prepared for +its realisation. On the 7th March, 1566, parliament was opened by the +Queen in person. Darnley, instead of accompanying her, rode off to +Leith to enjoy himself among his companions. The first business of the +parliament was to summon the exiled nobles to appear before it on the +12th of March; but they were already moving towards Edinburgh. + +The evening of the 9th of March was fixed by the conspirators for the +consummation of their dismal deed. The Earl of Morton commanded a body +of one hundred and sixty armed men, and took possession of the inner +court of the palace and secured all the gates; a party of these men +took up their position in the royal audience chamber on the ground +floor; thence Darnley ascended to the Queen’s apartments and Lord +Ruthven followed him. They found their victim sitting with his cap on +his head in her Majesty’s presence, along with a small social party +in the Queen’s supping-room. Some parley and sharp talk passed between +the Queen and Ruthven; but suddenly more of the conspirators rushed +in, instantly the tables and chairs were overturned in the scuffle, +and David Riccio was seized and dragged to an outer room, and there +stabbed to death. A guard was placed over the Queen; but in spite of +their vigilance several gentlemen escaped, and warned the citizens +of Edinburgh. The common bell was wrung, and the people rushed to the +palace with torch lights. They demanded the instant deliverance of the +Queen; but she was not permitted to speak to them: Darnley appeared and +assured the citizens that the Queen was quite safe, and commanded them +to go home. Darnley and Ruthven then prepared two proclamations to be +issued next day in the name of the King, the one ordering the citizens +of Edinburgh to keep order in the streets, and the other dissolving +the parliament, and commanding all the members to leave the city within +three hours, except those whom the King might request to remain. Lord +Ruthven placed men to watch the gates and all the private passages; +but in spite of the utmost vigilance of the conspirators, the Earls of +Bothwell and Huntly managed to escape during the night.¹ + + ¹ Sir James Melville’s _Memoirs_, page 149; _Diurnal of + Occurrents_, pages 89‒90; _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, + Volume III., page 214; Keith, Volume II., pages 414‒418. + +The following day, Sunday, the banished lords arrived in the evening, +and were ready to make the most of the peculiar circumstances. They +took possession of Edinburgh, and frustrated the proceedings of +parliament. But Mary soon disengaged her husband from the nobles, who +had murdered her favourite, and there can be no doubt that he was duped +by the Queen as well as by the nobles. He had neither the ability, the +resolution, nor even the recognised rough honesty of his day, to carry +him through such a plot. Mary and he slipped out a little past midnight +on Tuesday morning, and rode to Seton House, whence they were escorted +to Dunbar Castle.¹ + + ¹ _Diurnal of Occurrents_, pages 92‒98; Sir James Melville’s + _Memoirs_, page 151. + +When the confederate nobles rose that morning they found that they had +been completely outwitted, and that they were in imminent danger. A +large force quickly rallied round the Queen, who at once advanced upon +Edinburgh. The opposing party of nobles were unprepared to meet her +army, and immediately dispersed; Morton and Ruthven fled to England, +others fled to the Highlands, and some of them went home to their +estates. After a short time the Queen pardoned Moray, and some of his +associates; but on those directly concerned in the murder of Riccio, +she seemed determined to be revenged. Darnley exhibited the baseness of +his nature by loudly denouncing his fellow-murderers. His treachery he +hoped would win back the esteem and regain for him the love of his wife. +In reality it only made him loathsome to her, while the nobles regarded +him as an object of hatred and utter contempt.¹ When the Queen returned +to the capital, Knox left it and went to Kyle. Many persons were +apprehended in Edinburgh and accused of being concerned in the murder +of Riccio, but only two men were executed――Thomas Scott, Sheriff-Depute +of Perth, and Henry Yair.² On the 8th of June, 1566, the Council passed +an act commanding the people not to receive or entertain the Earl of +Morton, Lord Lindsay, the Master of Ruthven, and other thirty persons +named, because they were implicated in the vile and treasonable +slaughter of David Riccio, her Majesty’s French Secretary. All these +and some more of their accomplices were denounced as rebels and outlaws, +for not appearing before the Council and answering to the charges +against them.³ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 446‒437, + 456‒457. + + ² Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume I., pages 480, 481. + + ³ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 462‒464. + +The Queen retired into the castle of Edinburgh, and on the 19th of +June, 1566, James VI. of Scotland and I. of England, was born. After +this event the Queen showed a disposition to listen to the suggestions +for reconciliation with the nobles who had rebelled against her. Moray, +Argyle, Glencairn, and others of the Protestant party, were re-admitted +to a share in the administration, although Bothwell and Huntly were +at the head of the government. Mary rewarded Bothwell for his very +important service by appointing him Keeper of Dunbar Castle.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., pages 374, 464, 468; _Burgh Records of + Edinburgh_, Volume III., page 219. + +The series of events leading up to the murder of Darnley, the ♦marriage +of the Queen with Bothwell, and her subsequent imprisonment, have often +been detailed at great length. All that can be attempted here is to +indicate the motives of the chief actors and the circumstances which +controlled the form of the drama. On the one hand, we have the Queen +and her husband; Mary was a good Catholic and really wished to stand +well in the eyes of the Pope and the other Catholic rulers of Europe. +She was a woman of great energy and remarkable talents. Up to the time +of the birth of her son, she may be said, when everything is taken into +account, to have acted in the government of the country with surprising +moderation and fairness. But her feelings were extremely keen, her +sentiments tender and kindly, her emotions and passions strong; withal +she was a woman of exceptional polish and commanding presence. On +the other hand, Darnley had acted in a very singular way towards his +wife. He had exhibited so much folly, falsehood, depravity, and such +utter stupidity, that he must have completely alienated the Queen +from him; while on the other side, he had unpardonably offended +the pride and aroused the hatred of a party of the nobles, whose +revenge was deep and never slumbered. His doom was therefore settled. +Indeed, the aristocracy had long been following a line of policy +which tended directly to depress the authority of the Crown, and +they were not likely to let the opportunity slip, which a concurrence +of circumstances was now offering, without turning it to their own +advantage. + + ♦ “marrriage” replaced with “marriage” + +The plot for the murder of Darnley, which seems to have originated with +Lethington, was soon concocted. According to custom a bond was drawn +up by Sir James Balfour, an experienced lawyer, and a firm friend of +Bothwell. This bond declared that Darnley――“was a young fool and tyrant, +and unworthy to rule over them.” They therefore bound themselves to +remove him by some means or another, and each engaged to stand true +to the other in this deadly enterprise. The bond was subscribed by +the Earls of Argyle, Huntly, and Bothwell, Lethington the Secretary +of State, Sir James Balfour, and others who joined in the conspiracy. +Their victim had become sick, and was visited by the Queen at Glasgow, +whence he was conveyed to Edinburgh on the last day of January 1567. He +was put into a house close to the city wall, called Kirk-of-Field, and +here the Queen was very attentive to him and for several nights before +the murder slept in the room immediately below him. At last everything +seems to have been prepared, and the evening of Sunday the 9th of +February, was fixed for his murder. When the day arrived everything at +the court was going on in the most natural and joyful fashion; the Earl +of Moray had left to join his wife at St. Andrews; and on the evening +fixed for the murder a marriage was to be celebrated between two of +the Queen’s servants. Meanwhile the servants of Bothwell and the Earl +himself were intently engaged in making the final preparations for the +horrible deed. The conspirators had resolved to blow up the house with +powder. After dark they placed a large quantity of that destructive +element in the room below the king, Bothwell himself superintending +the operations. About ten o’clock in the evening the Queen arrived from +Holyrood to join her husband, and passing the door of her own bedroom, +entered the apartment of the king. Some agreeable conversation passed +between them; and then the Queen recollected that she had promised to +attend the ball to be held that night in honour of her two servants’ +marriage. She bade the King farewell and departed, with Bothwell and +Huntly and her attendants to Holyrood; and apparently only two of the +conspirators remained behind at the King’s lodgings. In spite of all +the care that had been taken by the contrivers of this dolesome plot, +there appears to have been a hitch in their proceedings. It is pretty +evident that Darnley and his servant had discovered their danger and +attempted to escape, and had got some distance away when they were +caught in the garden and strangled. Bothwell with a company of his +followers returned from the palace about midnight, and joined the two +conspirators, who had already lighted the train. The explosion shook +the earth for miles around, and all the inhabitants of Edinburgh were +aroused from their sleep. The murderers had to escape swiftly. Bothwell +ran to his apartments in the palace and immediately went to bed, only +to be awakened as if from slumber half an hour afterwards, by a message +informing him of the tragedy. He then, like an innocent man, shouted +“Treason! treason!” and along with the Earl of Huntly called on the +Queen to tell her what had happened.¹ + + ¹ Sir James Melville’s _Memoirs_, pages 173, 174; Keith, Volume + II., pages 501‒507; _Diurnal of Occurrents_, pages 105, 106; + Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume I.; Chalmers’s _Life + of Queen Mary_, Volume I. And a very full account of all + the proceedings in the fourth, fifth, and sixth chapters of + Hosack’s _Mary Queen of Scots_, 1870. + +It was well known at the time that the chief actor in this great +crime was Bothwell, but at the moment no one would have been safe to +accuse him. Many of the nobles were directly, and others indirectly, +implicated in it. The confused state of feeling and belief, and the +traditional policy of the nobles introduced a variety of motives into +the breasts of these desperate men.¹ The murder caused great excitement +among the people, owing more to the unusual way in which it was +committed, than to any feelings of compassion or humanity. Voices were +heard at night in the streets of Edinburgh denouncing the murderers. On +the 12th of February, a statement emanated from the Privy Council which +announced “that two hours after midnight, the house where the late +King’s grace was lodged, was in an instant blown in the air, while he +was sleeping in his bed, with such force and vehemence that the whole +lodging was destroyed and driven to dross to the very ground stone; +and not long thereafter the bodies of his grace and of a servant were +found dead within a short space of the same lodging.” A reward of two +thousand pounds and a grant of lands was offered to any one who should +discover the murderers of the King; but no one ventured to claim the +reward by an open accusation, although a bill was fixed to the door +of the parliament house, naming Bothwell, Balfour, Chambers, and +John Spense, as the guilty parties; and another placard named others +of the inferior actors in the tragedy. On the 14th of the month the +remains of the King were privately interred in the Chapel of Holyrood. +The following day the Queen, with Huntly, Argyle, Bothwell, and +the Archbishop of St. Andrews, removed to the house of Lord Seton; +and it was observed at the time that more inquiry was made for the +authors of the placards than for the murderers of the King. Bothwell +himself, surrounded by fifty armed men on horseback, rode from Seton +to Edinburgh, paraded the streets, and, with hideous oaths and furious +gestures, openly declared “that if he knew who were the authors of the +bills, he would wash his hands in their blood.”² + + ¹ “The conduct of the leading nobility of Scotland in the reign + of Mary Stuart has no parallel in the history even of that + turbulent country. We have seen that during her residence in + France, they assumed the right of disposing of her Crown. We + find them afterwards rising in rebellion against her because + she married Darnley; and yet a few months later, we find the + very same men conspiring to dethrone her and to bestow the + Crown upon her husband. Failing in this, they next resolved + to murder him; and after they effect their purpose, they + first recommend their chief accomplice as a new husband for + their Queen; and they then combine to punish him for the + murder. But it is easy to perceive that the conduct of the + great nobles, which at first sight appears so inconsistent, + and even inexplicable, was guided throughout by a fixed + determination to depress the authority of the Crown.... + James V. had, during his brief reign, struggled manfully + against the common oppressors of the people and the Crown, + but he perished in the unequal struggle. The duty of + reducing the nobles to obedience next devolved upon his + daughter; and although possessing many qualities for the + task, she too found at last that it was beyond her strength. + So long as she suffered the dominant faction to exercise + the whole powers of the government, she was allowed to reign + in peace; but as soon as she adopted an independent course + by determining to marry, they turned against her, under + the pretence that their religion was in danger; and we find + them engaged in one desperate conspiracy after another, + until they finally succeeded in depriving her of her Crown. + We have no example, in ancient or modern times, of men + so utterly unscrupulous as those by whom this revolution + was accomplished. Combining as they did all the energy of + the North with more than the perfidy of the South, courted + at the crisis of the Reformation as well by England as by + France, they were equally ready to clutch the bribes and + betray the interests of both. At home the circumstance of + two minorities following in succession had greatly aided + their power, and they now had every prospect of a third. It + was only necessary to destroy the reputation of the Queen in + order to secure the triumph of the ruling faction for many + years.”――Hosack’s _Mary Queen of Scots_, Volume I., pages + 331‒332. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 498, 500; + _Diurnal of Occurrents_, page 106; Tytler’s _History of + Scotland_, Volume VII., page 90. + +Touching the never-ending question of the guilt of the Queen in +connection with the murder of Darnley, it must be admitted that while +many of her enemies in Scotland were prepossessed against her, and +others of them were eager to assume that she was guilty, there is +evidence that she was informed of a proposal which had been under +the consideration of a party of the nobles for removing the King out +of the way; but no direct evidence has been found that she gave any +encouragement to the plot or in any way sanctioned it. The point has +been often fully argued on both sides; but much of the whole evidence +which has from time to time been adduced, is utterly worthless and +irrelevant. After a careful examination of the case I am compelled to +state that the circumstantial evidence is strong on the count that Mary +knew something about the plot; but that she encouraged or sanctioned +it seems to me improbable. In that direction there is no real evidence +against her. Indeed, she had too much judgment to commit herself to +anything of this character; and a mere silent acquiescence in what +was to be done, was in all probability the relation in which Mary +stood to the murderers of her husband. But even this was sufficient to +compromise her, while immediately succeeding events, and her relations +with the chief actor in the tragedy, tended to stain her character. + +Rumours immediately began to arise that the Queen was about to +marry Bothwell, and that she was not innocent of the King’s death. +A correspondence was opened between her and the Earl of Lennox, who +naturally insisted that the parties who had murdered his son, should be +brought to justice, and distinctly called upon the Queen to take steps +to effect that end. At last, Lennox himself was charged to attend the +trial of Bothwell, as a party to the action; and on the 28th of March, +1567, the Queen consulted the Council concerning the application of +Lennox, as to the trial of Bothwell and others for the murder of the +King. The Council ordered them to be tried by a jury; and accordingly +the trial of Bothwell was fixed for the 12th of April.¹ The trial, +however, was a mere farce. The court sat in Edinburgh, and Bothwell had +three thousand of his armed retainers on the streets of the capital. +Certain forms of law were gone through, but no witnesses appeared +against him, and he was of course acquitted. He then published a +challenge, boldly offering single combat to any one, noble or commoner, +rich or poor, who dared to affirm that he was guilty of the murder of +the king. This had at least a touch of rather grim humour about it; and +as no one responded to his challenge, he could then aver that he had +satisfied the law and the ancient custom of his country.² + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., page 404; Sir + James Melville’s _Memoirs_, page 175. + + ² Keith, Volume II., page 563; _Diurnal of Occurrents_, pages + 107‒108. + +Parliament met at Edinburgh on the 14th April, two days after the +trial of Bothwell, and he bore the crown and sceptre before the Queen +when she rode to the parliament house. A number of acts were passed, +chiefly relating to ratifications of grants of land. John Erskine got +a ratification of the earldom of Mar, the regality of the Garioch, and +other lordships. There were also ratifications of lands to the Earls +of Huntly, Moray, Crawford, Morton, Rothes, and other barons, and +formal reductions of the forfeitures against the Earls of Huntly and +Sutherland, and a number of gentlemen of the name of Gordon, were gone +through. Bothwell got a grant of lands with the castle of Dunbar; and +an act was passed against the makers and up-setters of the placards and +bills which had given Mary and Bothwell so much annoyance. An act was +also passed which purported to recognise religious toleration.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., pages + 545‒590. + +The relations of the Queen and Bothwell quickly developed. On the day +after parliament rose, Bothwell invited the nobility to a banquet at +an hotel in Edinburgh; and a large party of the nobles responded to +his hospitable call. After the red wine had been freely quaffed which +warmed all their hearts and quickened the circulation of their blood +till their faces smirked with joy, he placed before them a bond and +kindly requested them to subscribe it. This document stated that some +of Bothwell’s ill-willers and private enemies had malignantly slandered +and accused him of being art and part in the heinous murder of the late +king; but now that he was acquitted, and had also according to ancient +custom offered to prove his innocence by single combat, and having a +due regard to the nobleness of his house, and the good and honourable +service rendered by his predecessors, and more especially by himself to +her Majesty the Queen, “in the defence of her realm against the enemies +thereof;” considering moreover that it was ruinous to the kingdom +for the Queen to remain a widow, the bond then went on to recommend +Bothwell, a married man, as the most suitable match she could obtain +amongst her own subjects. All the nobles present, except the Earl of +Eglinton, who managed to slip away, signed the bond. They undertook +upon their honour and faith――“to promote, further, advance, and +set forward the marriage to be solemnised and completed between her +Highness and the said noble lord, with our votes, counsel, strength, +and assistance in word and deed, at such time as it should please her +Majesty to fix, and as soon as the law shall allow it to be done.” They +thus bound themselves to risk their lands and lives against all who +might oppose the marriage.¹ + + ¹ Keith, Volume II., pages 562‒565; Hosack’s _Mary Queen of + Scots_, Volume I., pages 301‒304. + +On the 21st of April the Queen went to Stirling to visit her son, and +remained two days. When returning to Edinburgh on the 24th, she was met +by Bothwell at the head of a company of his own retainers, and conveyed +to the castle of Dunbar. Whether the Queen was taken by Bothwell +against her will and forcibly detained, is a point which has long been +vehemently contested. Both sides have argued their special views at +great length, but with little decisive results.¹ Without venturing to +pronounce any dogmatic opinion upon the matter, it should be remembered +that in those days there was hardly anything too daring for a Scottish +noble to undertake if there was a chance of success and the object +interesting and important, and that obstacles which would now be +deemed insurmountable, were then often disregarded, and the main +aim pursued with a recklessness of consequences almost incredible. A +little attention to this feature in the character of the aristocracy +of the period might tend to clear the capture of Mary of some of its +difficulties; we should be prepared to see that neither honesty nor +consistency were essential features of the aristocratic character of +the age, and allowance should be made for the play and action of this +throughout the whole of the revolutionary movement. But when all the +circumstances are taken into account, and every corollary duly weighed, +it is rather difficult to believe that Mary was not aware of the +intention of Bothwell to lead her to Dunbar. If she had not been so, +there was no necessity for her yielding to him at the Bridge of Almond; +and even when in the castle of Dunbar, a woman of her mental resource +and energy could easily have found means of discarding him, without +leaving any disgrace upon her brow. Although Bothwell was a profligate +and unscrupulous man, it is not likely that he would have murdered the +Queen if she had resisted his advances. + + ¹ _Diurnal of Occurrents_, page 109; Sir James Melville’s + _Memoirs_, page 177; _Birrel’s Diary_. + +But according to the Queen’s own account, it was against her will +that Bothwell conveyed her to Dunbar castle. The Earl of Huntly, the +Chancellor, Lethington the Secretary, and Sir James Melville, were in +attendance upon her when she was carried to Dunbar. Melville said that +Bothwell boasted that he would marry her, “who would or who would not; +yea, whether she would herself or not;” and he also said that the Queen +could not help marrying Bothwell, after he had publicly carried her +off and dishonoured her. Mary was kept for a week a close prisoner in +Dunbar castle. Although the exact character of the acts and proceedings +which occurred between Mary and Bothwell during these seven days, can +never be accurately known, yet there is evidence that Bothwell was +permitted and even encouraged by many of the nobles――to shamefully +handle the Queen. + +Whether Mary was passionately in love with Bothwell before the murder +of Darnley, seems a difficult question to settle. At a later stage, +an attempt was made to prove that she was by “The Casket Letters,” and +thus directly to connect her with the murder of Darnley, as a partner +of Bothwell’s guilt in the deed. Much has been written about these +letters, and great ingenuity has been shown both by the defenders +of Mary, and by her assailants. The one party have maintained that +these letters were forgeries――fabricated by the accusers of the Queen; +while another party have maintained with more or less confidence that +they were genuine letters of Mary’s addressed to Bothwell, or which +passed between her and him. Some of them are harmless, others are +incriminating. But the latest authority who has carefully examined +them and the related circumstances, Mr. Henderson, seems to have some +doubts about their genuineness; although he attaches much importance to +Morton’s recently discovered declaration concerning them. My own view +is that they are not genuine letters of Queen Mary to Bothwell, though +some parts of letters of hers may have been infused into them. + +Bothwell conducted the Queen to the castle of Edinburgh on the 29th of +April, and preparations for their union were rapidly pushed forward. +He obtained a divorce from his own wife on the 7th of May, 1567, upon +the ground of consanguinity, and for adultery on _his_ part. The banns +of marriage were proclaimed on the 12th of May; and on the 15th of the +month the marriage was celebrated in the palace of Holyrood.¹ + + ¹ Sir James Melville’s _Memoirs_, pages 178, 179; _Diurnal + of Occurrents_, page 111. Schiern’s _Life of James Hepburn, + Earl of Bothwell_, pages 237‒242. For full accounts of + the divorce between the Earl of Bothwell and his wife, see + Anderson’s _Collections_; Keith, Volume II., pages 571‒575; + and Riddel’s _Peer, and Consistorial Law of Scotland_, + Volume I., pages 392‒394, 433, 434, 437. + +But unfortunately the stream of events soon began to disturb the +happiness of the newly wedded pair. It was surely a cruel destiny that +so swiftly overtook them, and led to their final separation. For three +weeks after their marriage, they remained at Holyrood, and on the 4th +of June the Privy Council passed an act in the form of a declaration +from the Queen, upon the groundlessness of the rumours and fears of +the people. “Her Majesty, considering and thinking upon her own state, +and the government of her realm, over which Almighty God has placed +her supreme head and lawful inheritor, and moreover, recalling what +great alterations and strange accidents have from time to time occurred +during her Majesty’s reign; but especially since her highness entered +this realm and took the management and government of the affairs +thereof on her own person, which, all praise be to God, were happy +and quietly settled down by her Majesty: And God so prospered the +work in her hands, as well to her own honour as the satisfaction +and contentment of all her good subjects, that all the time of her +Majesty’s personal reign, they have never felt the force of foreign +enemies, but lived in good peace ... so that they may justly compare +their state during her Majesty’s reign to the most happy time that has +occurred within the memory of man. But as envy is the enemy of virtue, +and that seditious and unquiet spirits for ever seek occasion to stir +up trouble and strife; so however sincerely and uprightly, or however +perfectly her Majesty direct her doings, instead of thankful hearts +and good obedience, her Highness’ clemency is commonly abused and +recompensed with thwartness and ingratitude; and when she is thinking +least of any innovation, always some clamour is raised that alterations +are to be introduced, and the people persuaded to believe it; as if +her Highness’ care of the nation were lost, that she meant to subvert +the laws, to reject the counsel and assistance of her nobility, and +to handle all things without discretion, and contrary to the ancient +customs. But last, it is most grevious and offensive of all, when it +is said, that the health, preservation, sure custody, and guardianship +of her most dear and only son the prince, now in his infancy, has been +neglected by her Highness.”¹ Most people will be ready to exonerate the +Queen from the foolish slanders that she ever intended any harm to her +infant. + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 514‒516. + +This declaration plainly shows that troubles had been gathering round +the unhappy Queen. She had ordered the feudal array to assemble at +Melrose on the 15th of June, for an attack upon the insolent and +disorderly borderers; but there was no appearance of the order being +obeyed. In fact, the ball was taking another turn. A party of the +nobles, including the Earls of Morton, Mar, Athole, and Glencairn, +Lords Lindsay, Hume, the Laird of Grange, and others, were then uniting +for a struggle against Bothwell, and, as the issue showed, also against +the Queen herself. The Queen and Bothwell left Edinburgh on the 7th of +June, and passed to Borthwick Castle, a place of great strength about +ten miles south of the capital. Two of the confederate leaders, the +Earl of Morton and Lord Hume, with a considerable force immediately +appeared before the castle, and Bothwell and the Queen with difficulty +escaped to Dunbar. The pair were now much alarmed. They issued a +proclamation commanding the Crown vassals of the district to muster +immediately. The confederates took possession of Edinburgh, and +proceeded to make themselves secure; and having managed to come to +an understanding with Sir James Balfour, the governor of the Castle, +they at once assumed all the functions of the government. On the 11th +of June, they issued a proclamation from the Canongate, touching the +crisis of affairs and ordering the people of all ranks, but especially +the burgesses and inhabitants of Edinburgh, to muster and assist +in rescuing the Queen from thraldom, “to preserve the prince’s most +gracious person from all such as would invade him, and to try and +purge the kingdom of the most cruel and abominable murder of his late +father,” by bringing the guilty parties to punishment.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 516, 517, + 519, 520; _Diurnal of Occurrents_, page 114; _Burgh Records + of Edinburgh_, Volume III., page 231. + +Meanwhile the Queen and Bothwell had mustered between two and three +thousand men, and advanced on Edinburgh. The confederate lords resolved +to meet them, and marching from the capital, the two parties came +in sight of each other near Musselburgh. Bothwell had posted his men +on Carberry Hill. After a day’s manœuvering and treating, the Queen +surrendered herself to the nobles, and Bothwell was allowed to ride +off in the direction of Dunbar. The Queen was taken to Edinburgh, and +when she at last saw herself a prisoner in the hands of a party of +the nobles, she was extremely displeased. She surrendered on the 15th +of June, and on the 17th was conveyed a captive to Lochleven, on the +alleged ground that she had refused to abandon Bothwell.¹ + + ¹ Teulet, Volume II., page 313; Tytler’s _History of Scotland_, + Volume VII., pages 135‒137. + +The confederate nobles soon developed their scheme, which was in +harmony with their traditions and previous history. It consisted in +taking the rights of the Crown into their own hands. They ordered all +the members of the Court of Session to resume their business; they +issued proclamations against Bothwell, and demanded the surrender +of the Castle of Dunbar; they gave instructions that those who were +suspected of being concerned in the King’s murder should be seized and +tortured; and all this was done by the very men who were themselves +more or less implicated in the murder of the King, and many of whom +had sanctioned the marriage of the Queen with Bothwell. They issued +a proclamation also against the inhabitants of Crail for abetting +Bothwell and furnishing him with boats; and the Bishop of Moray they +punished for harbouring him in the Castle of Spynie.¹ Yet, it may be +doubted if the confederate nobles really desired to take Bothwell; +he would have been a very dangerous prisoner in their hands. Probably +they merely wanted to drive him out of the country, and in this they +succeeded. + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 523‒525, + 526‒528, 530, 531. + +The plans which the party then at the head of affairs had determined +upon, rendered it necessary to treat the Queen with great severity. +They had resolved to depose her, to place the crown on her infant son, +and to appoint the Earl of Moray regent during the prince’s minority. +In the Island of Lochleven on the 23rd of July they presented two +documents to the Queen, which they requested her to subscribe; the one +was a renunciation of her crown, and the other appointed Moray to the +regency. These were hard terms for a young high-spirited princess; but +such pressure was put upon Mary that she yielded and signed the two +deeds, which were then ratified by parliament. When Queen Elizabeth +heard of the treatment which the Queen of Scots had received at +the hands of her rebellious subjects, she was extremely wroth and +threatened to inflict condign punishment upon them, but her boasting +ended in nothing. For some time after her imprisonment in Lochleven +Mary was very strictly guarded, and hardly any one was admitted to +visit her.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, pages 531‒534, 537‒541; + _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., page 11, + _et seq._; Lord Lindsay’s _Lives of the Lindsays_, Volume I., + pages 285‒287. + +In the summer of 1567, the General Assembly held two meetings, and the +reformed clergy threw the whole weight of their influence on the side +of the confederate nobles. They first met at Edinburgh on the 25th +of June, George Buchanan being chosen moderator. Knox, who had been +for some time absent from the chief centre of activity, then returned +to Edinburgh; and the members of the Assembly resolved to meet again +on the 20th of July, and meantime to send letters to all the earls, +lords, barons, and other brethren, to attend upon that day. The letters +sent out to the nobles indicated the matters which it was intended to +discuss at the ensuing Assembly. The Assembly met at the appointed time. +John Row, minister of Perth, was elected moderator. The Earl of Argyle +sent in a letter to the Assembly, stating that as he had not joined the +confederate lords, who were then surrounded with an army in Edinburgh, +he could not attend the meeting of the Church; and for the same +reason Lord Boyd and the commendators of the abbacies of Arbroath and +Kilwinning refused to attend the Assembly. In the list of the nobility +present were the names of the Earls of Morton, Mar, and Glencairn; Lord +Hume, Lord Ruthven, Lord Lindsay, Lord Graham, Lord Innermaith, Lord +Ochiltree, Sir James Balfour, James M‘Gill, Tulliebardie, and a large +number of the smaller barons and lairds; but the body of the higher +nobles had as yet stood aloof from the proceedings against the Queen. +A number of articles were laid before the lords and barons who were +present, and they subscribed them. The articles were then recorded in +the Register of the Privy Council. These articles embraced a variety of +matters touching religion: the thirds of benefices, the distribution of +the patrimony of the Church, and the social state of the people. They +bore that at the first lawful Parliament the nobles and barons should +exert themselves to the utmost to establish and promote the reformed +religion within the kingdom; that Parliament must do something to +relieve and lighten the extreme burdens of the poor labourers of the +ground; that all vice, crimes, and offences against God’s law should be +severely punished according to the Scriptures; that the horrible murder +of the King, which was odious in the sight of God and the whole world, +should not be hushed up, and that the Signatories bound themselves +to punish all persons who should be found guilty of that crime. The +articles concluded――“The nobility, barons, and others of the Church +under-subscribed, in the presence of God have faithfully promised to +convene their power and forces, and then to root out, destroy, and +utterly subvert all the monuments of idolatry, namely, the odious and +blasphemous mass, and thereafter to go forward throughout the whole +kingdom, to all and sundry places wheresoever idolatry is fostered, +haunted, or maintained, and chiefly where mass is said, to execute +the reformation aforesaid, without exception of place or person; and +shall to the uttermost of their power remove all idolaters and others +that are not admitted to the ministry of the Church from all function +thereof, as well private as public, that they hinder not the ministry +in any manner of way in their vocation. And in the place of the +premises shall set up and establish the true religion of Jesus Christ +throughout this whole realm by planting churches, superintendents, +ministers, and other needful members of the Church, then the rest of +the lords shall pass through the whole country to this effect, and +also shall proceed to the punishment of idolaters according to the +laws thereupon pronounced; and in like manner they shall punish and +cause to be punished all other vices that presently abound within this +realm, which God’s law and the civil laws of the kingdom command to +be punished, and chiefly the murder of the King lately committed. And +likewise faithfully promise to reform the schools, colleges, and the +universities, and to expel and remove the idolaters that have charge +thereof, and others who as yet have not joined themselves to the true +Church of Christ, and plant faithful instructors in their places, to +the end that the youth be not infected by poisoned doctrine at the +beginning which after cannot be well removed away.”¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 93‒97, 100‒103, 106‒110; + _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 534‒537. + +It is in these proceedings that we see the real spirit which animated +the reformed clergy, who had a great influence with the people; and it +was this that gave the confederate nobles success against the Queen. +Her own conduct again, was such that it was often turned against her. +But after all it is very questionable whether she would have been able +to remain upon the throne of Scotland much longer, even though her +conduct had been far more exemplary. + +Her reign was characterised by many and great difficulties. There +were not merely political matters demanding wise management, but also +difficult and pressing religious and social questions, springing from +the Reformation movement. With the latter, Mary, when she came to the +throne, was not in a position to deal satisfactorily; being a Catholic +herself, to have attempted to deal with them would have been contrary +to her belief, her education, her ideas of authority, and to the +aims of the Pope, and all her Roman Catholic allies. Thus it is not +surprising that she failed to hold the reins of government in Scotland. +Many of the nobles opposed her for their own ends, and exerted +themselves to the utmost to destroy whatever influence she had among +the people; and their success was complete. + +Having imprisoned and deposed the Queen, the Lords next proceeded +according to custom to place her son upon the throne. The infant King +was crowned in the parish church of Stirling on the 29th of July, 1567. +The two deeds which Mary had signed at Lochleven were publicly read, +and the Earl of Morton took the Coronation oath for the prince and +Steward of Scotland, whom the bishop of Caithness then anointed “the +most excellent Prince and King of this realm.” The proceedings were +wound up by John Knox with a sermon which he delivered in his most +vigorous style.¹ The following day the King’s authority was proclaimed; +and the reign of Queen Mary in fact and law terminated. + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 537‒543; + _Diurnal of Occurrents_, pages 118‒119; _Burgh Records of + Edinburgh_, Volume III., page 238. + + + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + _History of Protestantism in Scotland, + and the Conflict of the Clergy with the Government._ + + +THUS far the revolutionary movement awakened and stirred society to +the core; but as yet the nation was much divided. On the one hand, +the Earls of Morton, Glencairn, Athole, Mar, Lord Lindsay, Lord Hume, +and others, with Moray as their leader, were supported by the reformed +clergy. On the other hand, a section of the Protestant nobles who +disapproved of the treatment of the Queen, still stood aloof and +were assuming a decided attitude; while the Roman Catholic party were +constantly active and looking for their opportunity. On all sides the +elements of conflict were apparent. + +On the 11th of August, 1567, the Earl of Moray, who had been recalled +from France by his party, arrived in Edinburgh. After conferring with +his friends, he consented to accept the regency, but before formally +assuming the office, he wished to have an interview with the Queen. He +was accompanied to Lochleven, by Morton, Athole, and Lord Lindsay; but +the Queen naturally desired to see her brother alone, and her request +was granted. What passed between them, is rather hard to ascertain. +It has been reported that he reproached her for her conduct in the +severest manner, that the Queen was extremely afflicted, and that after +a long interview he left her to ponder over what he had said. Next +morning the Queen and Moray again met. There was more sympathy between +them; and at the Queen’s request Moray agreed to accept the regency.¹ + + ¹ Sir James Melville’s _Memoirs_, pages 193‒194; Hosack’s + _Queen Mary_, Volume I., pages 373‒375. + +On the 22nd of August, Moray formally assumed office in the Tolbooth +of Edinburgh, and having taken the oath required by the constitution, +was proclaimed Regent. The following day the Council issued an order +calling in all the seals, that they might be broken and destroyed, and +new ones made with a legend appropriate to James VI.¹ The new Regent +exerted himself to the utmost to restore order and administer justice +in the nation. He commanded the leading men of the Merse to appear +before the Council on the last day of August to concert measures +for the quiet administration of justice within the East March. The +Hamiltons offered some opposition to his authority within their +territories, but it was easily overcome. Moray’s next aim was to get +possession of the castle of Edinburgh. The Governor, Sir James Balfour, +was bought over by a bribe, and the castle was then committed to Sir +William Kirkaldy the laird of Grange. The Regent also struggled hard +for the castle of Dunbar, and it fell into his hands about the end of +September. The castle of Dumbarton, however, still held out for the +Queen. Orders were issued for the surrender of many other castles; and +great efforts were made to establish peace and order throughout the +kingdom.² + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 548‒551. + + ² _Ibid._, Volume I., pages 551‒576; Stevenson’s _Selections_, + pages 283, 291‒294. + +Moray summoned a parliament which met at Edinburgh in December, 1567, +“to treat on the affairs tending to the glory of God, the setting forth +of the King’s authority, and for establishing good and necessary laws +in the kingdom.” This parliament ratified the most important steps of +the Reformation. The acts passed in 1560 which had never received the +royal assent, were confirmed, and the Confession of Faith was inserted +in the record of the parliamentary proceedings.¹ Henceforward the great +revolution which had substituted Protestantism for Romanism in Scotland +may be regarded as secured; though there were still many weighty and +interesting matters relating to the polity and rights of the reformed +Church, and the claims of her clergy, remaining to be settled, which +afterwards led to a protracted struggle with the Crown. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 3‒45. + +The General Assembly met at Edinburgh on the 25th of December, 1567. +All the members present agreed to a proposition that a certain number +of ministers should be appointed to meet at any time with such members +of parliament or of the Privy Council as the Regent should name, as +a committee to advise on the affairs of the Church.¹ The reformed +Church gave the Regent a firm and undivided support; and his government +required all their aid. It was said that he took great trouble to +pounce upon the thieves and vagabonds who distressed the people, and +held courts of justice throughout the country; but that he took no +such care to settle the differences and whims of the nobility, and thus +failed to draw them into obedience to the King. For all the Regent’s +energy and the success of his government, the army still required to +be kept in the field. On the 14th of February, 1568, the lead on the +cathedral churches of Aberdeen and Elgin, part of which had already +been stolen, was ordered to be stripped off and sold, and the proceeds +applied to maintain the King’s troops.² The Queen’s party continued +exceedingly active. A considerable section of the people were still +dissatisfied, and the Regent was often warned that trouble was brewing. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, page 113. + + ² Sir James Melville’s _Memoirs_, pages 198‒199; _Register of + the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 599, 608‒614. + +In the beginning of May, 1568, the Queen escaped from her imprisonment +in Lochleven, and proceeded to Hamilton. Her chief adherents were +the Earls of Argyle, Huntly, Rothes, Cassillis; the Lords Harris, +Livingston, Fleming, and Claud Hamilton.¹ In a few days she was at +the head of a force of four or five thousand armed men. When the +intelligence of Mary’s escape reached him, the Regent was at Glasgow +holding justice courts. On the 3rd of May he ordered a muster of all +the Crown vassals, for the preservation of the King’s authority and +person, and for establishing justice and peace in the kingdom. He +resolved at once to meet the danger, and marching out of Glasgow, took +up a position at Langside. On the 13th of May the followers of the +Queen gave him battle. His victory was complete, and Mary herself fled +towards the Border;² and in an unhappy hour determined to throw herself +upon the hospitality of the Queen of England. + + ¹ Keith, Volume II., pages 797‒799. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 620‒622. + +After the flight of the Queen, the Regent continued his efforts to +restore order in the kingdom. This was no easy task. He had a host of +enemies, and was always making more, for the peculiar position into +which he had allowed himself to be put, necessarily multiplied his foes. +When parliament was summoned to meet in July, 1568, the keenness of the +struggle was intensified as soon as it became known that the enemies +of the Regent’s government would be subjected to forfeiture. The +Archbishop of St. Andrews was cited to appear before the Council, and +having failed to appear, was declared a rebel and outlawed. The Earl +of Crawford and others were also proclaimed rebels. Parliament met at +the appointed time, but it was immediately adjourned to August, when +proceedings of forfeiture were to be begun against the opponents of the +government. From motives of policy, however, only a few were condemned, +and hopes were held out to others, with the view of inducing them to +submit.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 624‒634, + 638; _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., + pages 47‒58. + +The General Assembly met at Edinburgh on the 1st of July, 1568. John +Willock was chosen moderator, and the members proceeded to the business +before them. They presented a number of articles to the Regent and +craved reform of abuses. Among other things they complained that +their stipends were not fully paid; and requested that the College of +Aberdeen should be reformed, the corrupted office-bearers removed and +others appointed in their places, so that the youth might be instructed +in letters and godliness. They desired the Regent to adopt measures +for the suppression of vice, that the plague of God might thereby be +withdrawn from the nation. The Regent listened with respect to their +requests and returned a favourable answer. This Assembly resolved that +all the Catholics, who after due admonition refused to join themselves +to the Reformed Church, should be cast out of the society of Christ’s +body and excommunicated. But the Assembly which met in February the +following year, presented to the Regent a series of similar articles +praying that remedies might be adopted; and in reference to the +Regent’s former proposal touching vice and crime, they added――“If his +grace send us to the Justice-Clerk, experience has sufficiently taught +us what he has done in any such matters.”¹ They meant that he had done +nothing at all. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 123, 126‒129, 139, 140. + +In the end of September, 1568, the Regent, accompanied by the Earl +of Morton, Lord Lindsay, and other leading men of his party, passed +to England to attend the conference at York touching Queen Mary. But +it does not fall within the scope of my work to follow the story of +that unhappy Queen after her flight to England; although it has been +intensely interesting to some minds, it is not sufficiently important +in its bearing upon the main subject to justify its introduction.¹ + + ¹ This matter is treated in the histories of Tytler and Burton, + very fully in Hosack’s _Queen Mary_, and in many other works + which need not be enumerated. + +When the Regent returned from England in the beginning of February 1569, +he found his position in Scotland to be one of extreme difficulty. In +the interval the Queen’s party had become more powerful and restless, +and were employing every means in their power to harass his government +and the unhappy people. Moray continued to act with energy, but some +of his supporters deserted, and his enemies multiplied. Maitland of +Lethington, who had fallen under the suspicion of the Regent, joined +the Laird of Grange, the governor of the Castle of Edinburgh. Both of +them threw in their lot with the cause of Mary, and thus the strongest +and most important fortress in the kingdom passed into the hands of her +party. It was mainly owing to this circumstance that the supporters of +the Queen were able to hold out so long in Scotland. The other centres +of her party were Huntly and the Gordons in the north, the Hamiltons +and Argyle in the west, and some of the border clans. Thus hemmed in +and hard pressed on every side, the Regent struggled on, and if his +career had not been cut short, he would in all probability, with the +assistance of the money of England, have overcome his enemies; but +in the beginning of the year 1570, as the castle of Edinburgh was in +the hands of the Queen’s adherents, he set out for Stirling; and on +the 13th of January, when returning through Linlithgow, he was shot by +Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh. The bullet passed through his body, and he +died in a few hours. The assassin escaped on a fleet horse and rode to +Hamilton Castle. Moray’s death was bewailed by the people and by the +reformed clergy, who both regarded him as the arm of their safety.¹ +To the party of the young King Moray’s death was a severe blow. He was +an unscrupulous man, and his character will not bear close inspection; +but he had great energy and some of the qualifications of a successful +ruler; and with such means as he could command, he struggled bravely +and worthily to maintain order and to administer justice. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume III., page 259; + Buchanan, Book XIX., chapters 51‒54; _Register of the Privy + Council_, Volume I., pages 644‒649, 654, _et seq._; Volume + II., pages 11, 20, 25, 37‒44, 51, _et seq._ + +For several years after the death of Moray, the factions of the King +and Queen kept the country in an incessant turmoil. The adherents of +the Queen still held the castle of Edinburgh; and in May, 1570, the +English Government sent a small force to Edinburgh, but instead of +restoring order, it intensified rather the general wretchedness. The +passion and hatred of the opposing parties went on increasing, but at +length the enthusiasm of the Queen’s followers spent itself. In July, +1570, the Earl of Lennox was elected Regent. His election was approved +by the English Government, and he received the unswerving support of +the reformed clergy. + +The General Assembly met at Edinburgh on the 5th of July, and passed +an act commanding all the ministers throughout the kingdom to pray +publicly in their churches for the preservation of the King’s person +and authority, and to proclaim to the people that he should be +universally obeyed. The Assembly further unanimously agreed to appoint +a commission of their brethren to attend any conventions of the +nobility which might be held, and to assist and consent to everything +that should be treated, which tended to promote the glory of God, the +preaching and ministering of the true religion, the authority of the +King, and the common good of the nation. The Assembly also, having +regard to the troubled state of the kingdom, appointed a number of +their brethren to be sent to all the earls, barons, and gentlemen who +had fallen off from the King’s authority, and by every lawful means to +endeavour to win them back and to reconcile them to the government of +his majesty.¹ + + ¹ Bannatyne’s _Journal_, pages 23‒28; _Book of the Universal + Kirk_, pages 177‒178, 182; Tytler’s _History of Scotland_, + Volume VII., pages 327‒329. + +In the midst of the strife in Edinburgh, about the middle of October, +1570, Knox sustained a shock of apoplexy, which impaired his speech; +but he recovered so far as to be able to preach on Sundays. In one of +his sermons in the month of December, he made some personal remarks on +the proceedings of the Laird of the Grange, the governor of the castle, +which led to a bitter quarrel between him and his old friend. Knox +defended himself and insisted on his freedom of speech in the pulpit, +but anonymous libels were circulated against him. He was accused of not +praying for the Queen, and for maligning her name and her adherents. +His brethren and friends prevailed upon him to leave Edinburgh for his +own safety, and he went to St. Andrews early in May, 1571. The bishop +of Galloway, Alexander Gordon, then filled his pulpit in Edinburgh, +and preached in a strain more acceptable to the Queen’s party. It was +reported that he prayed for the Queen on the ground of her extreme +wickedness, thus――“All sinners ought to be prayed for: If we should not +pray for sinners, for whom should we pray, seeing that God came not to +call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. St. David was a sinner, +and so was she: St. David was an adulterer, and so was she: St. David +committed murder in slaying Uriah for his wife, and so did she: but +what is this to the matter; the more wicked that she be, her subjects +should pray for her, to bring her to the spirit of repentance.”¹ + + ¹ Bannatyne’s _Journal_, pages 54, 70‒88, 107‒120, 139‒141, + 144; Dr. M‘Crie’s _Life of Knox_, pages 250‒256; 1855. + +The Castle of Dumbarton was taken from the Queen’s party in the +beginning of April, 1571; and Hamilton, the archbishop of St. Andrews, +was among the prisoners who surrendered. The Regent Lennox brought +him to Stirling, where he was tried, condemned, and hanged on the 9th +April. He was the last Roman Catholic Bishop ♦of St. Andrews. He had +never ceased to assert his rights, and was therefore obnoxious to the +reformed clergy and the King’s party. He was an active and able man in +public life; and Lennox was glad of the opportunity to put him out of +the way, but his execution was an act of cruelty and gross injustice.¹ + + ♦ duplicate word “of” removed + + ¹ ♠Buchanan, Book XX., chapter 34; Dr. Grub’s _Ecclesiastical + History of Scotland_, Volume II., pages 168‒169. + + ♠ “Buchannan” replaced with “Buchanan” + +Both parties issued proclamations and counter-manifestoes, and there +was much skirmishing about Edinburgh, which produced little result. The +Regent summoned a parliament to meet at Stirling in August, 1571. The +General Assembly met in the same town on the 6th of August. Knox, being +unable to attend the meeting, sent a letter to his brethren. In this he +referred to the graceless libels which had been circulated against him, +and called on the Assembly to judge the matter as they would answer +to God. As his natural strength was daily decaying, and he was looking +for a sudden departure to that land where the weary find rest, he +earnestly exhorted his brethren to be faithful to the flock over +whom God had placed them, and to resist all tyranny to the last. The +battle, he said, would be hard, “but they must withstand the merciless +devourers of the patrimony of the Church.... God give you wisdom and +stout courage in so just a cause, and me a happy end.”¹ This Assembly +repeated the injunctions that prayer should be offered up for the King, +and that the people should submit to his authority. Complaints were +made, touching the oppression of the ministers and the people in the +counties of Aberdeen and Banff, by the Earl of Huntly and his servants, +and of their neglect to pay the stipends of the ministers.² + + ¹ Knox’s Works, Volume VI., pages 604‒606; _Book of the + Universal Kirk_, pages 198‒199; Lord Lindsay’s _Lives of the + Lindsays_, Volume I., pages 260‒291. + + ² _Book of the Universal Kirk_, page 201. + +Parliament assembled at Stirling on the 25th of August. About the +same time the Queen’s party held their parliament in Edinburgh. In the +Queen’s parliament sentences of forfeiture were passed against the Earl +of Morton, and other chiefs of the King’s party; while in the King’s +parliament an act was passed which ratified all former acts in favour +of the liberty and freedom of the reformed Church. Acts were also +passed in favour of Morton and Lord Lindsay, as a reward for their +resistance to the open enemies of the King, and in favour of those +who had taken the castle of Dumbarton from the enemy. While the King’s +party were thus helping themselves and mutually congratulating each +other, a company of the Queen’s adherents, under the command of the +Earl of Huntly and Lord Hamilton, marched from Edinburgh upon Stirling, +and on the 4th of September, surprised them, and slew the Regent Lennox. +Ten days after the death of Lennox, the Earl of Mar was elected Regent; +but the Earl of Morton had by this time become the real leader of the +King’s party.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_ Volume III., pages 58, + 61, 65‒78; Bannatyne’s _Journal_, pages 247, 255‒258, 260; + Calderwood, Volume III., pages 136, 138‒141. Calderwood says + that the rebels in their parliament at Edinburgh forfeited + upwards of two hundred persons. + +The regency of Mar was of short duration. He died on the 28th of +October, 1572. The Earl of Morton was then elected Regent; since the +death of Moray he had been the ruling spirit of his party. Morton had +been more or less deeply implicated in all the plots and political +murders of the past twenty years. He was an ambitious, greedy, crafty, +and unscrupulous man; but brave and determined like all his ancestors +of the Douglas tribe. He courted the friendship of the English +government; and in the spring of 1573, concluded an arrangement by +which fifteen hundred English troops and a train of artillery entered +Scotland, and assisted in the reduction of the castle of Edinburgh. +The Queen’s party throughout the country were broken up, and most of +the leaders submitted to the Regent. Her adherents in the castle held +out bravely, but were at last reduced to despair, and surrendered in +the end of May, 1573. The common soldiers were dismissed. Lethington, +who had served so many masters, and attempted to play so many parts, +died about the 7th of June, a week after the castle fell. The laird +of Grange, William Kirkaldy, the governor of the Castle, was tried, +condemned, and hanged at the Cross of Edinburgh.¹ Mary’s party in +Scotland never after raised their heads. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., page 77, + _et seq._; Calderwood, Volume III., pages 281‒285; _Register + of the Privy Council_, Volume II., pages 213‒219, 236, 237. + +Maitland of Lethington’s recent biographer, has with much ingenuity and +great literary power, attempted to prove that he was one of the very +greatest statesmen of the period. “In fine, Maitland’s was one of the +governing minds of the time in which he lived. The number of such men +at any particular period is as a rule extremely limited――much more so +than is commonly supposed. I am inclined to hold that, at the period +of which I am writing, there were not above three or four men of +distinctly original and creative force in the whole island, from John +o’ Groats to the Land’s End. In England they had Cecil; in Scotland, +John Knox and William Maitland. Cecil’s ‘brothers in Christ’――the +envoys and emissaries of the English Government――were men of a +specifically inferior order, who derived their inspiration from their +master, and who, when deprived of his guidance, of the habitual support +of his cautious but fertile brain, showed themselves, almost without +exception, extraordinarily helpless.... There are eminent writers who +would be prepared to place the Earl of Moray beside Knox and Maitland +and Cecil. It appears to me that Moray belongs to another class +altogether,――the class of men whose mutual processes are slow, involved, +and dependent. It was a common saying, when he came to be Regent, +that Moray was the hand and Morton the head; and during the earlier +and brighter years of Mary’s reign, it might have been said quite as +truly――with even greater truth indeed――that if Moray was the head, +Maitland was the heart. + +“I have said that a statesman in Lethington’s position must be judged +less by his actions than by his aims. What were his aims? We shall +see that they involved the determination of political and religious +questions of the first importance:――How to diminish the power of an +anarchical nobility, how to promote the union of the nations, how to +secure the succession to a Scottish prince (to the throne of England), +how to establish a religious peace on tolerable conditions――these were +the problems to which, as a Scottish Protestant and a Scottish patriot, +Maitland addressed himself.... His field was comparatively narrow; but +the issues of the conflict in which he was engaged were momentous and +far reaching.” + +The aims of Lethington as stated above by Skelton, invites comment:――1. +There is no evidence that Lethington ever made any real effort to +reduce the power of the nobles; but there is evidence that he used the +influence of his official position, and also exerted his talents and +wit, to enhance the power and the wealth of the nobles in connection +with the landed property of the old Church. In the face of such +evidence, it is surprising that his elegant panegyrist should have +ventured to advance this, as one of the leading aims of the great +statesman of the period. 2. It may be true that Maitland aimed to +promote the union of the Crowns of England and Scotland; yet it is +evident that some of his efforts in this direction were short-sighted, +impracticable, and inconsistent. 3. Touching his aim to establish +a religious peace in Scotland on tolerable conditions, it may be +fairly questioned whether he was capable of appreciating and realising +the real conditions of the problem. Most of Lethington’s efforts in +this department were imperfectly conceived, or unrealisable in the +circumstances, and consequently proved utter failures. It seems a +rather curious historic phenomenon that one of the three greatest +governing minds of the Reformation period in Britain, has somehow left +so few traces on the nation of the result of his faculties. The fact +is, that Lethington was a clever, glib, and scheming politician, but +in no sense a great and wise statesman; and his recent biographer has +glorified the Laird of Lethington by investing him with many virtues, +which are quite inconsistent with his public career.¹ + + ¹ _Maitland of Lethington_, By J. Skelton, Volume I., pages + 333‒336. + +The polity of the Reformed Church so far as yet developed, tended +to leave a blank in the chief council of the nation. As the bishops, +abbots, and other orders of the Roman clergy died out, the spiritual +estate ceased to be represented in parliament. Knox was not decidedly +opposed to a gradation of rank among the ministers of the Church; +the democratic polity of presbyterianism was not matured in the First +Book of Discipline, nor in any work emanating from the Reformed Church +of Scotland in the reformer’s lifetime. At this stage, however, the +most interesting point centred around the territorial possessions and +the wealth of the ancient hierarchy. The nobles, the old orders of +clergy, and the reformed preachers, were all scrambling according to +the measure of their power and opportunity for what each imagined to +be their share of the endowments which the piety of bygone generations +had consecrated to religion. For all the preaching against idolatry and +the monuments thereof, there was one idol not as yet extinguished――the +golden calf. The aristocracy had recourse to various expedients to +reach the revenues of the great benefices, and it must be admitted that +in the end they succeeded. + +For the settlement of this matter, an extraordinary meeting of the +barons, superintendents, and ministers, was held at Leith in January, +1572. They assumed the powers of a General Assembly, and resolved to +hand over the business to a committee of six, viz.:――John Erskine, +John Winram, David Lindsay, John Craig, Andrew Hay, and Robert Pont, +authorising any four of them to meet with those appointed by the Privy +Council, the Earl of Morton, Lord Ruthven, the Abbot of Dunfermline, Mr. +James M‘Gill, Sir John Bellenden, and Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, and +to ratify whatever they might determine agreeable to their instructions. +The joint committee met on the 16th of the same month, and agreed +upon a form of polity for the Church, known as the Leith Concordat. It +was agreed that the names and titles of archbishops and bishops, and +the bounds of the dioceses, should not be altered, at least until the +King’s majority or the parliament consented to another arrangement. The +document went on to state, that persons promoted to bishoprics should +as far as possible have the requisite scriptural qualifications; that +they should be elected by a chapter or assembly of learned ministers; +that archbishops and bishops should have no greater jurisdiction than +the superintendents already had, and that they should be subject to the +church and the General Assembly in spiritual matters, as they were to +the Crown in temporal; that in the admission of persons to spiritual +functions in the Church, they should at least take the advice of six +of the best learned of the chapter; that all the archbishoprics and +bishoprics then vacant or which hereafter became so, should within a +year and a day after the vacancy be filled up with qualified persons +not under thirty years of age; and that the dean, or failing him, +the next in dignity among the chapter, should be vicar-general during +the vacancy. Concerning the abbacies, priories, and nunneries, it was +concluded that no disposition of these benefices should be made, nor +any grants out of the funds of the same till it was ascertained what +portion of the rents consisted in churches and tithes, and what portion +of temporal lands, and until provision was made for the ministers +properly belonging thereto. Touching the person holding the title and +receiving the fruits of the benefice, it was agreed that he should +fill the place of one of the ecclesiastical Estate in parliament, and +have the style of abbot, prior, or commendator; that all such should +be learned and qualified for their office, and that to secure this end, +on the recommendation of the King, they should be tried and admitted +by the bishops. It was further agreed that when the present members of +the convents were all departed this life, the ministers of the churches +belonging to the abbey or priory should then act as the chapter of +the commendator in the administration of the property and rents of the +establishment, and that if these commendators should be found worthy, +they might be promoted to act as senators for the spiritual estate in +the Court of Session. + +There were proposals also for dealing with the rights of lay patrons, +with benefices in the patronage of the Crown, and for the disposal +of the smaller benefices throughout the kingdom. The latter were to +be conferred only on duly qualified ministers, and churches were to +be planted throughout the realm, residence secured, and pluralities +prevented. The revenues of provostries, prebendaries, and chaplainries +in college churches, if founded upon lands or annual rents, it was +proposed to apply to the maintenance of bursars at the grammar schools +and universities; and a form was drawn up for the election and +appointment of bishops.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 203‒205, 207‒232. It + is very justly observed by Dr. Grub, that the scheme agreed + on at Leith bore a remarkable resemblance to the external + polity of the church as it existed before the Reformation + in Scotland. _Ecclesiastic History of Scotland_, Volume II., + page 179. Regarding the confused and anomalous points of the + system as then proposed from the Episcopalian standpoint, + see Russel’s _History of the Church in Scotland_, Volume I. + page 300, and for a strictly Presbyterian view of the matter, + compare Dr. M‘Crie’s _Life of Melville_, Volume I., pages + 145‒151. + +The proposals of the Committee, were immediately confirmed by the +Regent and the Council, and an attempt was forthwith made by the +government to carry out the scheme they embodied. On the 6th of +February, 1572, the chapter of St. Andrews met and elected John Douglas +to be archbishop of that ancient see. Douglas was also rector of the +university and provost of St. Mary’s College, and besides, he was a man +advanced in years. Knox merely protested against the accumulation of +offices in the person of one man. Some of the other sees were filled +up, but the new bishops were simply the tools of their patrons. They +had consented to assume the title with only a very small portion of +the episcopal revenues, the greater part being retained in the hands +of their masters――the nobles.¹ To secure the richest portion of the +benefices to the court, the nobles, and their friends and dependents, +was the motive in which the whole scheme originated; and if the +Reformed Church had yielded it would have destroyed its usefulness, +and ended in a despotism of a degrading character. But a strong party +of the clergy were thoroughly opposed to the scheme, and although the +struggle between them and the Crown was protracted and severe, the +liberties of the Church and the freedom of the nation eventually +triumphed. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, page 241; Calderwood, Volume + III., pages 205‒207; Bannatyne’s _Journal_, pages 269‒285, + 286, 323, 324. + +When the Articles came before the General Assembly, which met at +Perth in August, 1572, that body unanimously agreed that such names +as archbishop, dean, archdeacon, chancellor, and chapter sounded +scandalous to the ears of many of the brethren, and recalled the ring +of popery, and protested that while recognising the names, it did +not mean to ratify, consent, or agree to any kind of superstition, +but wished rather that the titles should be changed for others less +offensive. The Assembly protested also that the articles and heads of +the Leith Concordat were only to be received as interim, till a more +perfect order could be obtained at the hands of the King, the Regent, +and the nobility, for which they were to press whenever an opportunity +occurred. + +Knox addressed a letter to the Assembly containing a number of +suggestions. He exhorted them to contend earnestly for the truth and +for the liberty to express it, to endeavour to recover the patrimony +of the Church, to petition the Regent to have all the vacant bishoprics +filled up according to the order agreed on at Leith, but especially to +complain that the bishopric of Ross was given to Lord Methven. He urged +also that the Assembly should pass an act, ordering all the bishops +admitted under the new articles to give an account of the whole rents +of their sees and their intromissions therewith once every year; and +that the present Assembly should determine the jurisdiction of the +Church, as that part of the polity had long been postponed.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 244, 246, 247‒250; Knox’s + _Works_, Volume VI., pages 619‒622. + +For some time Knox had been in feeble health, but his spirit continued +vigorous to the last. When the strife between the two contending +parties was at its height, he had retired to St. Andrews, as we have +seen, but by the end of August, 1572, he had returned once more to +Edinburgh and resumed his preaching in St. Giles. When the intelligence +of the massacre of the Protestants in Paris on the 25th of August +arrived, he was deeply moved. A proclamation was immediately issued +in the Regent’s name, calling on the Protestants to meet at Edinburgh +on the 20th of October. Every congregation in the kingdom was directed +to send one or more commissioners to consult and deliberate upon such +matters and overtures as might be proposed, tending to protect and +mutually to defend the professors of the Gospel within the kingdom, +“from the furious rage and lawless cruelty of the bloodstained and +treasonable Catholics, the executors of the decrees of that devilish +and terrible Council of Trent.”¹ On the appointed day a number of the +ministers and barons assembled. Among other things, they proposed that +a national fast should be held, to begin on the 23rd of November and +continue to the end of the month, that thereby the wrath of God might +be mitigated. They desired that all the Catholics without exception +should be summoned before the Council and the commissioners of the +Church, to give confession of their faith, and that all who did not +conform to the reformed religion, should be punished according to the +acts of parliament. For resisting the Catholics in and without the +country, they proposed that a league should be made with England and +other reformed kingdoms, for their mutual defence, and the maintenance +of the true religion against all its enemies; as it was only by banding +themselves together that they could hope to thwart and frustrate the +endless machinations which were constantly forming against them. “At +this time the ministers then in Edinburgh did most vehemently inveigh +against this most beastly and more than treasonable fact; whereat +the French ambassador, called La Crocke, was not a little displeased, +because that his master the King of France should be called a traitor, +and a murderer of his own subjects, under promise and trust; but +especially against John Knox, who had pronounced in his sermon, and +had declared the same to the ambassador to tell his master, that the +sentence is pronounced in Scotland, against that murderer the King of +France, that God’s vengeance shall never depart from him nor his house, +but that his name shall remain an execration unto the posterity to come, +and that none that shall come of his loins, shall enjoy that kingdom in +peace and quietness, unless repentance prevent God’s judgments.”² + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume II., pages 168‒169. + + ² _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 252‒254; Calderwood, + Volume III., pages 227‒230; Bannatyne’s _Journal_, pages + 401‒402. + +On Sunday the 9th of November, 1572, Knox officiated at the induction +of James Lawson as his colleague and successor. His voice was weak, +and he never again appeared in public. On the 11th of the month he was +seized with a severe cough, but continued cheerful. Richard Bannatyne, +his faithful servant, attended him. He was surrounded by his family, +and visited by many warm friends. He died in peace and full of hope on +the 24th of November, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. On the 26th +of the month his body was laid in the grave in the churchyard of St. +Giles.¹ + + ¹ Bannatyne’s _Journal_, pages 262‒254; Knox’s _Works_, Volume + VI., pages 634‒560. In these full details of the last days + of the Reformer’s life are given. + +The character of Knox is manifested in his work, although the manner +of performing it is a fair subject for criticism. But there is a +prior point which must be noticed. In that and in all ages of recorded +history, when a revolution is preparing and even after it is carried +through, those who oppose it with all their power and still strive +to resist its outcome, and those who struggle with all their energy +to hasten and accomplish it, cannot both be animated by identical +ideas, principles, and sentiments. The two contending parties must +be influenced and swayed in varying degrees according to the strength +or the feebleness of their sentiments, the firmness of their belief, +the clearness of their ideas, and the grasp which they have of their +principles; or their course of action may be partly controlled by the +object and ends towards which they look, as these may be conceived from +different points of view: as when one party regards the commemoration +of the saints as an essential article of religion while the other does +not, and so on through many other articles of belief. If then the God +of the one party is exactly the God of the other, they at least desire +to take different ways of approaching Him. It is the distinctive and +characteristic glory of Roman Catholicism to proclaim that it has never +changed its creed nor its principles; both are constantly assumed to +be infallible. But Protestantism admits of change, and recognises the +laws of development and progress, of corruption and decay, in religious +systems as in everything else; and endeavours by a process of gradual +elimination to advance towards the conception of a supreme moral ideal +to which all theology should eventually subordinate itself. + +Those who looked upon the Reformation as an evil, and on Protestantism +as a heresy which deserved to be condemned and stamped out, could +see in Knox only an embodiment of wickedness. For this reason their +libels on his character may be justly disregarded. It is a fashionable +thing to talk in modern phrases about toleration, and then proceed to +stigmatise the Reformers of the sixteenth century for their bigotry, +dogmatism, narrowness, and ignorance; but this is neither just nor +in accordance with true historical ideas. In the great religious +revolutions of the world toleration has had little place; and for +ages the expression of difference of religious opinion has been +punished as a crime. There is only one way of fairly appreciating the +character of all great religious Reformers. To form a true estimate +of their character, a thorough knowledge of the state of society +in which they lived, and of all the associated circumstances, is a +preliminary requisite. It is in the degree which the Reformer’s ideas +and sentiments rise above those of his own age that his character must +be measured, not by the standard of a later age. That Knox’s ideas were +higher and purer than those current among the ruling class of Scotland +is a fact, which any one who desires may verify for himself. That he +was animated by a firm belief in a righteous and just God who rules the +universe, cannot be doubted. His moral ideas were in some respects in +advance of those of his age, but some of them were crude, erroneous, +and even savage, and as a thinker he takes no rank. Owing, however, to +his natural sagacity and shrewd common sense, and to his deep feeling +of the realities and the responsibilities of human life, some of his +practical views were singularly clear, far-reaching, and well developed. + +In common with all great men and religious reformers, Knox exercised a +wonderful sway over his followers, and inspired them with confidence in +the hour of danger and of battle. He always avowed his opinions openly, +and acted on them with a bold and fearless independence; yet in matters +of doctrine he was not rigidly dogmatic. The Reformation Confession of +Scotland is remarkable for the acknowledgment of its own fallibility.¹ +It was only what he emphatically believed to be the inspired word of +God, and necessary for the Church and the good of the nation, that he +insisted on being adopted by others. To blame him for not embracing +a tolerant policy is simply to forget the state of society and the +circumstances of the times; and if he had followed such a course, +the Reformation in Scotland would never have been accomplished, while +he himself would certainly have been crushed. He was greedy of power +and impatient of the least opposition. But he believed that he had a +message from God, and that it was his imperative duty to proclaim and +enforce it, and in this he toiled with untiring industry and energy. +There are some of the lighter shades and graces of life which he seems +to have been incapable of appreciating, and he certainly showed a +disposition to limit the amusements and the enjoyments of others; +but this arose from his deep sense of the realities of human life +and the gravity of its manifold duties. Among his friends, and in the +family circle, he could on occasion unbend and disport himself in an +exceedingly social and agreeable manner; he had indeed a humourous and +peculiar comic side which comes out in many forms in his writings. + + ¹ See under page 104. + +John Knox, in conjunction with his contemporaries, brought blessings +to the people of Scotland which they have never forgotten. Although he +was extremely strong in assertion and firm in his own convictions, it +should be remembered that he was still stronger in denial and negation. +He swept off at once the accumulated mass of legends, traditions, and +ceremonies which had enslaved the mind and obscured the glory, purity, +and truth of Christianity. + +Much of the energy of the leading men among the clergy was still +devoted to the improvement of the polity of the Church, and to the +planting and the organisation of congregations throughout the country. +As yet the practical establishment of the reformed worship was in many +places only imperfectly accomplished. The disorder which accompanied +the revolution itself, and the internal struggle of the contending +factions of the King and the Queen which followed it, had all +contributed to leave the Church in a state of disorganisation. The new +clergy, with all the power and means at their command, were ardently +and incessantly labouring to remedy these evils; but they were met at +every turn with the inexorable fact, that it is a much easier matter +to destroy the forms and institutions of a religious system than to +construct others to replace them. The history of mankind has shown that +the genius of destruction is more common than the genius of appropriate +construction; hence the curious spectacle presented in the history +of Scotland, the constantly recurring tendency and the efforts of +the party at the head of the government to return to the forms and +modes of the old system of church polity. As the practical solution +of the problem involved great secular as well as religious issues, +it was hotly contested between the Crown and the clergy for many +generations. There was an element of democracy inherent in the very +heart of the Reformation; but the Reformers in Scotland went beyond +their contemporaries in the admission of democratic principles. +Knox maintained that the King and the ruling political powers were +responsible to the people, and that if they abused the trust committed +to them, the people might lawfully depose them and appoint others +in their place. Similar principles were taught by Buchanan. Thus it +was that the Reformation in Scotland assumed an intensely political +importance, but always in connection with religion and the polity of +the Church. + +The rarity of original construction among the leaders of the +revolutionary movement is very remarkable. Even by Calvin, the greatest +master of dogmatic form that the Reformation produced, religion, +secular government, and morality were all mixed up and regarded as +integral parts of one and the same system. In fact, it could hardly +have been otherwise, for philosophy had no separate and independent +existence. A Church distinct from and independent of the State was a +conception quite alien to the modes of thinking which prevailed among +the Reformers. On the other side, a government distinct and independent +of the Church was an idea scarcely entertained by the statesmen of the +sixteenth century. They all seemed to be more or less possessed with +the notions common to theocracies, that the Church and the State as +being both under the direction of God, should be associated together. +The idea of a theocracy is grand and inspiring in contemplation, but +in practical operation it turns out that the Church and the State +both claim a supremacy; and they often come to hold very different +views as to what is, or is not, the will of God. For the intelligent +apprehension of the history of Scotland during the next one hundred +years, it is necessary to have a clear conception of this theocratic +principle. The struggle of the Crown to establish Episcopacy, and the +opposition of the Presbyterian clergy; the Covenants, the Solemn League +and Covenant, with many of their attendant tragedies, had their origin +in the theocratic notions which were gathered out of the Old Testament, +and attempted on both sides to be applied to forms of society and +circumstances which were beyond their scope. + +After the fall of the castle of Edinburgh, the Regent Morton succeeded +in restoring comparative quietness in the kingdom. He was known to +be inclined towards the hierarchy of bishops; not from principle but +from ambition and greed. The management of the thirds of benefices he +took out of the hands of the collectors appointed by the Church, and +then united a number of parishes under one minister, who was assisted +by readers to whom a trifling stipend was paid. When the Church +complained of these abuses, he accused the ministers of seditious and +treasonable speeches, refrained from attending their assemblies, and +began to question their right to meet and pass acts without his express +permission.¹ But crafty and astute as Morton was, he miscalculated his +power, and utterly failed to comprehend the intense earnestness and +honesty of purpose by which the reformed clergy was animated. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 292‒293, 296‒305; + Calderwood, Volume III., pages 304‒306. + +The General Assembly met at Edinburgh in March, 1574, and concluded +that the bishops should be subject to the discipline of the Assembly, +the same as the superintendents in all points. Among the evils which +this Assembly enumerated and desired the assistance of the government +to remedy, were specified some books issued by the Jesuits and others +which contained manifest blasphemies against God and His revealed truth, +and were daily brought into the country by Poles and others to the +offence of the Church. The Assembly passed an act against simony in the +Church, and unanimously declared――“That all such persons as either buy +or sell benefices, or use any other kind of bargaining thereon, either +directly or indirectly, should be deprived of all function in the +Church; and the discipline of the Church to be laid upon them with the +utmost rigour and severity; and the buyers and sellers, or otherwise +coupers of the benefices to lose the same for evermore.”¹ This act was +much required. It is reported and recorded in many forms that Morton +and the nobles carried the traffic in benefices to an enormous length.² + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 294, 306, 310‒311. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume II., pages 445, + 585‒587; 184‒185, _et seq._ + +It was daily becoming more manifest that the clergy would throw off +what remained of the forms of Episcopacy. The existing state of the +Church was extremely confused and unsatisfactory. A convention of the +Estates in the beginning of March, 1575, voted that inconveniences +had arisen, and were likely to increase, from the want of a proper +government in the Church; and a committee was appointed to draw up a +form of polity agreeable to the Word of God, and adapted to the state +of the kingdom.¹ The General Assembly met on the 7th of March the +same year, and appointed a committee of their number to meet with the +Regent’s commissioners, and to reason and confer on the jurisdiction +and polity of the Church. The draft of whatever scheme was proposed the +committee were directed to lay before the Assembly. Andrew Melville was +a member of this committee, which was reappointed from time to time, +and at last produced the Second Book of Discipline.² + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 89, 90. + + ² _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 326‒332; Dr. M‘Crie’s + _Life of Melville_, Volume I., pages 158, 159; 1819. + +The Assembly met again at Edinburgh in August, 1575, and according to +custom the trial of the bishops and superintendents was begun, when +John Dury, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, rose and protested that +the trial of the bishops should not prejudge what he and others had +to propose against the name and office of a bishop. At a subsequent +sederunt Andrew Melville addressed the Assembly in support of Dury’s +proposition; his speech was attentively listened to, and it produced a +marked impression. The question was next proposed, Whether the bishops +as then placed in the Church of Scotland had their function in the Word +of God or not; and whether the chapters appointed for electing them +should be tolerated in a Reformed Church? For the better discussion +of the questions, the Assembly appointed John Craig, minister of +Aberdeen, James Lawson, minister at Edinburgh, and Andrew Melville, +principal of the University of Glasgow, on the one side; and George +Hay, commissioner of Caithness, John Row, minister of Perth, and +David Lindsay, minister of Leith, on the affirmative side of the +subject. In two days the committee reported that they did not think it +expedient at present to answer the first part of the question directly; +but they were of opinion that if any bishop was chosen without the +qualifications which the Word of God required, he should be tried by +the Assembly anew and so deposed. Touching the office of a bishop or +superintendent, they reported that the name of bishop is common to all +who are appointed to have the charge of a particular flock in preaching +the word and administering the sacraments, and exercising discipline +with the consent of the elders; and that this is the chief function +of bishops according to the Word of God. But out of this number some +might be chosen to visit and oversee, besides their own congregation, +within such reasonable bounds as the General Assembly might appoint to +them; and in these districts to admit ministers, with the consent of +the other ministers, and the approval of the congregations concerned: +and also to admit elders and deacons when necessary, with the consent +of the people; and to suspend ministers for reasonable causes, with +the consent of their brethren of the province. A full discussion of +the report was deferred to the next Assembly.¹ There were six bishops +present in the Assembly, none of whom seems to have offered any defence +of Episcopacy. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 331, 340, 342‒343; + Spottiswood, Volume II., 200‒201. + +When the Assembly again met at Edinburgh in April, 1576, the +question of the bishops was discussed anew. After a long debate the +propositions laid by the committee before the last Assembly were +affirmed; and the bishops who had not as yet received the charge of +a particular congregation were ordered to make choice of one. There +was much reasoning touching the districts of the various bishops, +superintendents, and commissioners. It was agreed that the existing +districts were too large for them to overtake, and it was arranged to +allot only such a district to each as he could duly oversee, and with +this aim a new distribution of districts was proposed. The persons who +visited such districts whether called bishops, superintendents, or by +other names, were interrogated at every General Assembly, and required +to render an account of their proceedings.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 352‒356, 358‒359. + +Questions and points concerning the patrimony of the Church came before +almost every Assembly. At this time it was asked, whether the Assembly +should proceed against those who unjustly possessed the patrimony of +the Church and the poor, and if so, how far? The Assembly unanimously +concluded that they might be proceeded against, first by way of +doctrine and admonition, and if in this way no remedy was obtained, +then to try the censures of the Church against them. The Assembly +reappointed the committee on the polity of the Church, and enjoined its +members to hold meetings at St. Andrews, Montrose, Glasgow, Edinburgh, +and Stirling, and to invite all ranks of the people to attend and give +their opinion on the proposed polity.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._ pages 360‒362. + +The French Protestants who had taken refuge in England from persecution, +addressed a letter to their brethren in Scotland, bewailing their +sad condition, and desiring that the money which had been collected +for them among the Scots should be sent to them. The Assembly had +delayed sending it, because much of what had been promised, was not yet +collected; but it was resolved to forward at once the sum in hand to +the persecuted Frenchmen.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, page 356. + +In 1577 the General Assembly met twice at Edinburgh, and on both +occasions the book on the polity and jurisdiction of the Church was +discussed. The various heads of the subject were put into form and read +in the Assembly, and sanctioned by the majority; but the book itself +was still reserved for further reasoning. The Regent was asked to +attend the Assembly, but he excused himself on the ground that he was +otherwise occupied. The Assembly, however, resolved to lay the proposed +polity before him. Morton, however, who had never been very popular, +was now tottering towards his fall. Early in 1578 he resigned the +regency; and the government was committed to a Council of twelve men +and the young King, then in his twelfth year.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 115‒117, 120; _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume II., + pages 677‒679; _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 383‒385, + 391, 393, 394. + +The popular party of the clergy were very active. In 1578 they held +three General Assemblies. These enacted that the bishops in the +Reformed Church of Scotland should henceforward be called by their own +names, and the chapters were prohibited from making any new elections +of bishops, under the penalty of deprivation of their offices. All +the bishops were ordered to submit themselves to the General Assembly +for reformation, and if they refused after admonition, they were +to be excommunicated; indeed the ruling party in the Church pursued +the bishops with astonishing energy. In the General Assembly which +met at Dundee in July, 1580, the subject of bishops was proposed for +discussion, and full liberty given to all the members to reason on the +matter and express their opinion. After this the Assembly unanimously +found that the office of a bishop, as then used and commonly understood, +had no warrant nor ground in the word of God. It was therefore declared +that this pretended office should be terminated, as being unlawful +in itself――a corruption and an invention of men. All the bishops were +charged to demit their office at once, to cease from preaching or +administering the sacraments or in any way exercising the functions of +pastors, until they received admission anew from the General Assembly, +under the penalty of excommunication. So energetic were the measures +of the Church that within a year all the bishops had submitted except +five;¹ the democratic spirit had become so strong and determined +that the Episcopal party had no longer any chance of retaining their +position in the Church. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 408, 409, 413, 423‒425, + 432, 433, 453; Dr. Grub’s _Ecclesiastical History of + Scotland_, Volume II., pages 210, 211; Dr. M‘Crie’s _Life of + Melville_, Volume I., pages 162, 163. + +In 1579 the General Assembly had presented a long address to King James +VI., putting him in remembrance of things pertaining to the advancement +of God’s glory, the welfare of the Church, and the common good of the +nation. In this they pointed out to him his duties to the Church, and +warned him of his perils. Referring to the translation of the Bible, +which under the direction of the Assembly, had been newly printed and +dedicated to his highness, they went on to say:――“This holy book of God +should be set forth, and printed within your own realm, to the end that +in every parish church there should be kept at least one, to be called +the common book of the Church, as a most meet ornament for such a place, +and a perpetual register of the Word of God, the fountain of all true +doctrine, to be made patent to all the people of each congregation, as +the only rule to direct and govern them in matters of religion, as also +to confirm them in the truth, and to reform and to redress corruptions +wherever they may creep in; certainly we have great occasion both to +glorify the goodness of God towards this country, and highly to extol +and commend your highness’s most godly purpose and enterprise. Oh! +what a difference may be seen between these days of light, when almost +in every private house the book of God’s law is read and understood in +the Vulgar language, and the age of darkness, when scarcely in a whole +city, without the cloisters of monks and friars, could the book of God +ever be found, and that in a strange tongue of Latin, not good, but +mixed with barbarisms, used and read by few and almost understood and +expounded by none; and when the false named clergy of this realm abused +the gentle nature of your highness’s grandfather of worthy memory, made +it a capital crime to be punished with the fire to have read the New +Testament in the Vulgar tongue; yea, and to make them more odious to +all men, as if it had been the detestable name of a pernicious sect, +they were called New Testamenters.... Call for the wisdom of Solomon to +endue your grace with a spiritual spirit, as well in the civil policy +as in advancing the spiritual policy of the Church; imitate the fervent +faith of Jehosaphat putting his whole trust in the Lord and believing +his prophets; imitate the diligence of Jehoash, in repairing the +house of the Lord; follow godly Ezekias in rooting out all monuments +of idolatry, making the book of the law of God, a long time ignored +and left in silence, yea, utterly forgotten, to be publicly read and +accepted by the people and recommended to their posterity. To such +diligence as this did the prophets of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi +exhort the princes of the Jews.... This is a matter most worthy of your +royal heart, a purpose proper for the exercise of the vivacity of your +divine and high genius.... All other glory at last shall decay, and +all commendations that result from other princely acts, are either not +of long duration, or commonly mixed up with such things as are also +deserving of blame; but the honour of this act shall endure for ever, +and shall be fully approved by Him whose judgment must be equal and +right, who is the eternal Lord of lords and King of kings; whom with +most humble hearts and instant prayers we beseech to bless your majesty +with continual and daily increase of His abundant blessings both +spiritual and temporal; and to maintain in wealth and prosperity your +princely estate to the praise and glory of His holy name, your assured +salvation, the comfort and quietness of this country, the overthrow of +the power of Satan and the advancement of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. +Amen.”¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 441‒448. + +While the clergy were busy abolishing the remaining fragments of +Episcopacy, they were, as we have seen, intently engaged in maturing +their own scheme of church polity. It had been laid before several +Assemblies, and its various chapters and heads had been discussed, +altered, amended, and rendered as perfect as possible. It was adopted +by the Assembly which met at Edinburgh in April, 1578. This polity, +which then became the authorised form of church government in Scotland, +is known by the title of the Second Book of Discipline; it was placed +before the King, but it was not ratified by the Privy Council nor by +Parliament. The Reformed Church, however, acted upon it, and inserted +it in the Register of the Acts of the General Assembly in 1581.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._ pages 408, 409, 432, 487‒512; Calderwood, Volume + III., pages 414‒418; Melville’s _Diary_, pages 87‒116. + +This book of polity is a comparatively short but logical and compact +treatise. It contains thirteen chapters, each of which is again divided +into a number of short expository statements of the different points of +the general heading or doctrines to be established. It is essentially +a deductive work, and presents an admirable example of that method of +exposition. In the general scope and spirit of the book there are many +points of difference between it and the First Book of Discipline: the +earlier book was a meritorious and comprehensive production, but some +parts of it were ill arranged and not fully developed, and several +other matters were simply introduced to meet the exigencies of the time. +There is a notable difference in the view taken of the authority of +the civil power in the two books, touching ecclesiastical matters; in +the latter the distinction between the Church and the State is far more +fully worked out than in the earlier work. The first book, as we have +seen, gave a large share of power to the people in the election and +control of their ministers; the second book also gave a share of power +to the people, but divided it between the judgment of the eldership and +the consent of the congregation. It deals less with doctrine and more +with the external form and order of the Church than the first book. +But according to the second scheme, the Church would be altogether +independent of the civil government, and the civil government would in +things spiritual be subject to the orders of the Church. “This power +and ecclesiastical polity is different and distinct in its own nature, +from that power and policy which is called the civil power, and belongs +to the civil government of the Commonwealth; albeit they are both +of God, and tend to the same end, if they be rightly used, namely, +to advance the glory of God, and to have godly and good subjects. +This power ecclesiastical flows immediately from God and the Mediator, +Christ Jesus, and is spiritual, not having a temporal head on earth, +but only Christ, the only spiritual King and Governor of His Church. +Therefore this power and polity of the Church should lean upon the Word +of God immediately as the only ground thereof, and should be taken from +the pure fountains of the Scriptures, hearing the voice of Christ, the +only spiritual King, and being ruled by His laws.... Notwithstanding, +as the ministers, and others of the ecclesiastical estate, are subject +to the civil magistrate, so ought the person of the magistrate in +spiritual matters to be subject to the Church, and in ecclesiastical +government. + +“The Civil power should command the Spiritual to exercise and perform +their office according to the Word of God. The spiritual rulers should +require the Christian magistrate to administer justice and punish +vice, and to maintain the liberty and quietness of the Church within +their bounds.... The magistrate ought neither to preach, minister the +sacraments, nor execute the censures of the Church, nor yet prescribe +any rule how it should be done, but command the ministers to observe +the rule commanded in the Word of God, and punish the transgressors +by civil means. The ministers do not exercise civil jurisdiction, but +teach the magistrate how it should be exercised according to the Word.” +This style of illustration by contrast is much employed in the Second +Book of Discipline. “The magistrate ought to assist, maintain, and +fortify the jurisdiction of the Church. The ministers to assist their +princes in all things agreeable to the word, provided they do not +neglect their own charge, by involving themselves in civil affairs. + +“So it appertains to the office of the Christian magistrate to assist +and fortify the godly proceedings of the Church in all behalfs, and to +see that the public estate of the ministry be maintained and sustained, +according to the Word of God. To see that the Church be not invaded nor +hurt by false teachers or hirelings, nor their places occupied by dumb +dogs and idle bellies. To assist and maintain the discipline of the +Church, and to punish them civilly that will not obey the censures of +the Church. To make laws and constitutions agreeable to the Word, for +the advancement of the Church and her polity, without usurping anything +that does not belong to the civil sword, but belongs to the offices +that are ecclesiastical.... And although kings and princes who are +godly, sometimes by their own authority, when the Church is corrupted +and all things out of order, may place ministers and restore the true +service of the Lord, after the example of some of the godly kings +of Judah, and divers godly kings and emperors also in the light of +the Gospel; yet where the ministry of the Church is once lawfully +constituted, and those that are placed in offices perform their duties +faithfully, all godly princes and magistrates ought to hear and obey +their voice, and reverence the majesty of the Son of God speaking by +them.”¹ + + ¹ The _Second Book of Discipline_ is printed in the _Book of + the Universal Kirk_; in James Melville’s _Diary_; and in the + third volume of Calderwood’s _History of the Church of + Scotland_. + +This treatise laid down the lines of Presbyterianism, that form of +church government and organisation which has taken the firmest hold +upon the national mind. For some time the Assemblies had been taking +steps and labouring incessantly to complete this organisation, but +much still remained to be done and various obstacles had yet to be +overcome. The most pressing difficulty was the want of a sufficient +number of qualified ministers. In 1567 there were upwards of a thousand +parishes and churches in Scotland under the charge of two hundred and +fifty-seven ministers, one hundred and fifty-one exhorters, and four +hundred and fifty-five readers. Thus a number of parishes had neither +ministers nor readers. There were only 868 persons, including the +superintendents, for all the churches of the country. In 1574 there +were two hundred and eighty-nine ministers and seven hundred and +fifteen readers engaged in the religious instruction of the people, +but there were many complaints that a number of those who had charge +of churches were not qualified for the office. To meet the aim of +the Presbyterian polity in 1581 a rearrangement of the parishes +was proposed. Excepting the Diocese of Argyle and the Isles, it was +resolved to reduce the number of parish churches to six hundred, and +to divide these into fifty presbyteries――“twelve churches to every +presbytery, or thereabout.” But for some time it was found to be +impracticable to carry this scheme fully out, although the unwearying +perseverance of the leading ministers was rewarded with a considerable +measure of success. It was agreed to abolish the office of reader, and +gradually to replace it by regularly ordained ministers. The General +Assembly of 1580 concluded that all the readers who had been two years +in office should be tried and examined by the superintendents and +commissioners, and if they were found unqualified to be pastors and +to preach the word, to depose them; and in 1581 it was resolved that +no new readers should hereafter be admitted in the Church. We find, +however, that there were still readers in the Church at the end of the +century. Many of the readers had belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, +but they were not allowed to administer the sacraments or to solemnise +marriage. Still there was a lack of qualified ministers. This was owing +partly to the small and uncertain provision assigned to the ministry, +and partly to the disturbing circumstances of the times. Even in 1596 +there were four hundred churches destitute of ministers. In Argyle +and other parts of the Highlands the doctrines of the Reformation were +only very imperfectly introduced, and in some of these portions of the +kingdom the people long remained Catholics. “Besides the Diocese of +Argyle and the Isles, of which no rentals were ever given up, there +are in Scotland nine hundred and twenty-four churches.” But several +of them were very small, and many of the churches were demolished. The +Diocese of Argyle and the Isles seems to have stood in a rather distant +attitude towards the Reformed Assemblies of the Church. In 1586, one +of the petitions presented by the Assembly to the King ran――“That the +bishops and commissioners of Argyle and the Isles may be subject to +attend upon the General Assemblies, and to keep their synodial meetings +as in other parts of the realm, which is a furtherance of the King’s +majesty’s obedience, since otherwise they appear to be exempted out of +his dominions.” Since the Reformation, however, the means of diffusing +religious instruction had been immensely increased; and the facilities +for acquiring information were steadily widening.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume II., pages 6‒7, + 261‒264, 351‒352; _Miscellany of the Wodrow Society_, Volume + I., pages 325‒328; _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages + 455‒457, 479, 480‒487, 523, 530‒533, 549, 513, 535, ♦627, + 661. + + ♦ “927” replaced with “627” + +Although Morton had resigned the regency, he was still greedy of power +and struggled to regain it; but his enemies were closing in around him +and plotting his ruin. The young King naturally had his favourites. +They were constantly with him, and aroused the suspicion of the +Protestants and the clergy. In the year 1579 Eme Stewart, a cousin +of the king, arrived from France. He was kindly received by his royal +kinsman, with whom he soon became a great favourite. The two were +always together, and whatever interested the King and engaged his +attention was sure to interest his cousin. The result was that Eme +Stewart speedily rose to greatness. First, he was made an Earl, and +shortly after, Duke of Lennox. Then he was appointed High Chamberlain; +and in order that his wealth might be commensurate with his rank, the +once rich Abbey of Arbroath was freely granted to him. To complete +his influence in the councils of the kingdom he was made governor of +the Castle of Dumbarton. About the same time a Captain James Stewart, +another of the King’s favourites, came upon the scene. In the spring +of 1581 he was elevated to the rank of Earl of Arran, and put in +possession of a portion of the estates of the house of Hamilton. +As long as Morton was at liberty, however, these two upstarts were +insecure; they therefore contrived to compass his destruction.¹ The new +Duke of Lennox was known to be a Roman Catholic, and it was whispered +that he had come to Scotland as a secret emissary of the Pope. To allay +the suspicion of the clergy he professed that he was converted and +joined the Reformed Church. But the popular mind was not satisfied. It +was still feared that a scheme was being formed among those about the +court to bring back the old religion; and to calm this apprehension, at +the request of the King, a document was prepared, and signed by himself, +the Duke of Lennox, and the other members of the royal household in +March, 1581. Hence this paper has sometimes been called the King’s +Confession, the First Covenant, and in later times the Negative +Confession, from its extremely condemnatory character. It was a most +vehement protest and denunciation of many of the tenets of the Roman +Church, and it concluded with these words, “And because we perceive +that the peace and stability of our religion and Church depends +upon the safety and good behaviour of the King’s majesty, as upon a +comfortable instrument of God’s mercy granted to this country, for the +maintenance of His Church, and the administration of justice among us: +we protest and promise solemnly with our hearts, under the same oath, +hand write, and pains, that we shall defend his person and authority +with our goods, bodies, and lives, in the defence of Christ’s Gospel, +the liberty of our country, the administration of justice, and the +punishment of iniquity, against all enemies within and without this +realm, as we desire our God to be a strong and merciful defender to +us in the day of our death, and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: to +whom with the Father and with the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory +eternally. Amen.”² + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 237, 248‒254; Spottiswood, Volume II., page 266, _et seq._ + + ² _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 515, _et seq._; + Calderwood, Volume III., pages 501‒505; _Collection of + Confessions_, pages 101‒107. 1722. This confession was drawn + up by John Craig, one of the ministers of Edinburgh. + +About the beginning of the year 1581 the Duke of Lennox accused +Morton of complicity in the murder of Darnley, the King’s father; and +the fallen regent was taken and imprisoned, first in the Castle of +Edinburgh, and afterwards in Dumbarton Castle. He was brought to trial +on the 1st of June; and on his own confession that he was privy to +the plot for the murder of Darnley, was condemned and beheaded on the +2nd of June. Morton faced death as he had faced life, and died with +characteristic firmness.¹ + + ¹ Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume II.; Melville’s _Diary_, + pages 116‒118. + +Lennox and Arran were now supreme in the court and in the government. +But, as usual in the history of Scotland, a party of the nobles entered +into a bond against the favourites to crush them, take the King into +their own hands, and hold the reins of government themselves.¹ Some +time, however, elapsed before the project was matured. This interval +afforded Lennox an opportunity of trying his skill in the affairs +of the Church. On the death of Boyd, the Archbishop of Glasgow, the +disposal of the see was given to Lennox; and although the regulations +which recognised Episcopacy had been abrogated by the General Assembly, +and virtually abandoned by the court, they were revived by an act of +the Privy Council. The Duke offered the see to various ministers upon +the condition of their giving over to him the revenues, and agreeing to +accept an annual pension; and at last the offer was accepted by Robert +Montgomery, the minister of Stirling. To the reformed clergy this +simoniacal paction was extremely odious. The matter came before the +Assembly in October, 1581, and in spite of Lennox, the court party, +and the King, Montgomery was subjected by the Church to a form of +treatment which made him glad to submit, and in the end to supplicate +for permission to take the charge of a congregation, instead of the +Archbishopric of Glasgow. The King’s favourites and the court party had +not reckoned on the determined stand which the clergy made against them; +and were greatly enraged at being defeated.² + + ¹ The bond contained the names of the Earls of Gowrie, Mar, and + Glencairn, Lord Lindsay, the Master of Glamis, and a number + of others. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume III., pages 474‒477; + _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 524, 525, 529, 532, 539, + 541‒547, 557‒566, 569, 571, 575, 578, 580, 583, 590, 599, + 607, 609, 691, 700‒701, 709. + +The feeling of uneasiness amongst the people, springing out of a fear +that the Catholics were preparing plots, continued. The adherents of +the old faith were very active; some of the most ardent of those who +had fled to the Continent after the Reformation were then returning; +and the court was showing a decided leaning towards Episcopacy. The +reformed ministers were not silent. They frequently expressed their +sentiments and opinions in the pulpit with irritating plainness. Walter +♦Balcanquhal, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, in a sermon which he +preached in October, 1581, said,――“That within these few years Popery +had entered into the country, not only in the court, but in the King’s +hall, and was maintained by the tyranny of a great champion, who was +called Grace; and if his grace would oppose himself to God’s Word, he +should have little grace.” For this sermon he was called before the +King’s Council, but he declined to recognise their right to try him for +anything which he had spoken in the pulpit, and offered to submit the +matter to the General Assembly. His case came before the Assembly, and +his brethren, after inquiry among the preacher’s session, unanimously +found that there was nothing wrong in his sermon; “but that it was +solid, good, and true doctrine.”¹ + + ♦ “Balcanquhall” replaced with “Balcanquhal” + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 527‒529, 540, 542‒543. + +By the freedom which they took in the pulpit the ministers of Edinburgh +were extremely annoying to the dominant faction, who had the King’s ear. +John Dury charged the King himself to his face for exchanging presents +with the Duke of Guise, “that cruel murderer of the saints.” When he +ascended the pulpit, he made the church resound with his denunciations +of the bishops, the King, and his favourites, who ruled the kingdom. +Dury was at first an exhorter in Leith, and though not a learned man, +he had much energy and intense earnestness of purpose. He could wield +a weapon on the field of battle, as well as preach a sermon in the +pulpit. It was on the evening of Wednesday, the 23rd of May, 1582, in +the Cathedral Church of Edinburgh, that he made his great attack upon +the court faction. “I pray you,” he said, “what should move Guise, +that bloody persecutor, that enemy unto all truth, that pillar of the +Pope, to send this present by one of his trustiest servants to our +King? not for any love, no, no, his pretence is known.... What amity +or friendship can we look for at his hands who has been the bloodiest +persecutor of the professors of the truth in all France, neither was +there any notable murder or havoc of God’s people, but what he was at +in person. And yet for all this, the Duke and Arran will needs have +our King to take a present from him. If God did threaten the captivity +and spoil of Jerusalem because their King Hezekia did receive a lure +and present from the King of Babylon, shall we think to be free when +committing the like or rather worse?” In his prayers, he prayed that +the Lord would either convert or confound the Duke. For his sermon +he was called before the Privy Council, and banished from Edinburgh +by an Act of Council. When the General Assembly met in June, 1582, he +placed the whole process against him before it, and the members of the +Assembly found nothing amiss in what he had spoken. “The whole Assembly +found nothing in him but sound, true, and wholesome doctrine; and +that he was upright and honest in his life and conversation.” As the +King had banished him from the capital, the Assembly gave him liberty +to preach wherever providence might cast his lot, until he should be +restored to his own flock.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 576, 578, 580; + Calderwood, Volume III., pages 620, 622‒625; _Register of + the Privy Council_, Volume III., pages 335, 489. Dury was + called before the King and Council at Dalkeith――“Where he + narrowly escaped being slain by the duke’s cooks, who came + out of the kitchen, with spits and great knives to take his + life, as he often told me.”――Melville’s _Diary_, page 129. + +The plot against the King’s favourites was at length ripe for +execution. The King was very fond of hunting, and on August 22, 1582, +his Majesty, by invitation, proceeded to the grounds of Ruthven Castle, +in the neighbourhood of Perth, to enjoy his favourite amusement. When +the sport was concluded for the day, he went to Ruthven Castle as +the welcome guest of its noble lord. Everything passed off in the +most agreeable fashion, and his Majesty at last retired to rest. The +following morning, when he arose and looked abroad, he was alarmed by +the throng of armed men around the place, and when he wished to depart, +discovered that he was a captive. The Earl of Arran was seized and +imprisoned; and the Duke of Lennox was warned to leave the country +without delay. This affair is known in history as “The Raid of Ruthven.” + +The King was permitted to step about, but he was attended by a body +of well-armed followers to preserve his royal person from danger. In +a few days he was removed to Stirling, and in October was conveyed to +Holyrood House. A Parliament was then held at Edinburgh on the 19th +of October, and an act of indemnity, or rather a vote of thanks to the +chief actors in the enterprise, was passed. This was a farce which the +aristocracy often played. They proclaimed that, under the providence of +God, they were moved to attempt the reform of many abuses in the State, +which threatened to subvert the established religion, and were equally +perilous to his Majesty and the crown.¹ By the most ardent Protestants +and the clergy, “The Raid of Ruthven” was regarded as a deliverance +for the Church, and the ministers declared their satisfaction from the +pulpits. When the General Assembly met at Edinburgh on the 9th October, +1582, the members heartily approved of the proceedings of the Earl +of Gowrie and his adherents, and passed an act declaring “that the +prosecution and following out of the said good and godly cause, all +particulars put aside, is and shall be most acceptable to all that +fear the majesty of God aright; and to all who tender the preservation +of the King’s Majesty, most noble person, and estate, and loves the +prosperous and happy success of this troubled nation.” The members of +the Assembly were therefore recommended to explain the affair, and the +proceedings of the noblemen connected with it, to the people throughout +the country.² + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 326‒331. + + ² _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 591‒592, 594‒596; + Melville’s _Diary_, page 134; Sir James Melville’s _Memoirs_, + pages 282‒283. + +During the time that the King was in the hands of Gowrie and the barons +who joined him, the government was carried on pretty much in accordance +with the views of the Church. When ambassadors arrived from France +in January, 1583, the Presbytery of Edinburgh appointed some of the +ministers to go to the King and admonish him to beware of them. The +King thanked the preachers for their friendly admonition, but said that +he must show the common courtesies to the ambassadors of his old ally, +the King of France; but promised, however, to use no great familiarity +with them. The ♦distinguished strangers were permitted to celebrate the +mass, and their celebration of it excited the popular displeasure; the +ministers of the capital declaimed bitterly against them, especially +against La Motte, a knight who wore a white cross on his shoulder, +which they called the badge of Antichrist. Indeed, such was the feeling +aroused against them that the representatives of the King of France +could scarcely appear on the streets without being followed by the +jeers and hooting of the mob. The King desired the magistrates to +entertain them at a banquet before they departed; but the ministers +were extremely opposed to it, and immediately proclaimed a fast to +be kept on the day of the banquet. On that day the preachers in St. +Giles made the walls resound with their denunciations. Three ministers, +in succession, mounted the pulpit, and, without intermission for +four hours, thundered out maledictions against the nobles and the +magistrates who waited on the ambassadors, and took part in the +banquet.¹ + + ♦ “distintinguished” replaced with “distinguished” + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume III., pages 694, 697, 698, 699, 700; + Spottiswood, Volume II., page 298. + +Despite the vigilance of his keepers, the young King contrived to +escape in the end of June, 1583, and to throw himself into the Castle +of St. Andrews. The power of the Ruthven party was shortly after +terminated. The King issued a proclamation on the 30th of July, +touching the Raid of Ruthven, and announcing that he had resumed +his independent authority. Referring to the Raid, he expressed +his willingness to forget the offence and grant forgiveness to all +concerned in it, if they should timeously profess their penitence; and +for some time several of the nobles implicated in the Raid continued +members of the Privy Council. But on the 23rd of August the Earl +of Arran reappeared in the Council, and shortly resumed his power +and influence in the government; and he seems to have instigated the +young prince to prosecute to the utmost those concerned in the Raid of +Ruthven, and at last, on the 31st of March, 1584, it was denounced as +high treason. By this time, a number of those implicated in the Raid +had been tried one by one or collectively, and sentenced to banishment +or imprisonment, and disgraced. But the hatred of the Earl of Arran’s +rule had become general, and a new plot, sanctioned by a bond, was +formed against him, in which the Earls of Mar, Angus, and Gowrie, the +Lords Lindsay, John Hamilton and Claud Hamilton, the Master of Glamis, +and others, were associated. They resolved to seize Stirling Castle, +and then to raise a general insurrection. On the 10th of April, Mar +and Glamis, with a body of their followers, captured Stirling Castle; +but on the 15th of April, the Earl of Gowrie was arrested by Colonel +Stewart at Dundee, and immediately conveyed to Edinburgh. The capture +of Gowrie somewhat disconcerted the insurgent nobles. Arran, with a +strong force, advanced against them, and on the 24th of April, they +fled from Stirling, leaving only a garrison of twenty-four men in the +Castle. The following day, a proclamation was issued for the pursuit +and capture, dead or alive, of the Earls of Mar and Angus, the Master +of Glamis, and other rebels; but they escaped by Lanark to Kelso, +and crossed the border into England. The King and his army appeared +before Stirling, the small garrison left by the insurgents surrendered +the Castle, and on the 28th of April, their captain and other three +men were hanged. On the 2nd of May, the Earl of Gowrie was tried for +treason at Stirling by a jury of his peers, including ♦Argyle, Arran, +Crawford, and others; he was convicted, and beheaded the same day +beneath the castle wall. The same month an Act of Parliament was passed +for disinheriting his posterity, and in August an act of forfeiture was +passed against the Countess of Gowrie. From May 1584, till Midsummer +1585, Arran was the supreme ruler of Scotland, and his policy was +clearly manifested in the two short sessions of what is known as the +“running” Parliament, and in the proceedings of the Privy Council +during the brief period of his sway.¹ + + ♦ “Argyll” replaced with “Argyle” for consistency + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 301‒304; _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume III., pages + 574, 585, 590, 602, 608, 611, 614, 644, 651‒662. + +Meanwhile the apprehensions of the clergy had risen to an unusual +height. They had applauded the Raid of Ruthven, and some of them still +continued to reiterate their former sentiments on that enterprise. John +Dury, who had returned to Edinburgh, was ordered to retire beyond the +Tay, and to abide in Montrose. In the middle of February, 1584, Andrew +Melville, one of the chief leaders of the clergy, was cited to appear +before the Privy Council, touching seditious language which he had +uttered in his sermons. When he came before the Council, he at once +offered to give an account of the sermon upon which he was accused, and +after he had done this, the Council resolved to proceed with the trial. +Melville then protested and declined to answer, on the ground that +the case ought in the first instance to be tried by the Presbytery. +The reading of his protest seems to have greatly irritated Arran and +the King. On the second day of the trial Melville lost his temper, and +told the King and Council that they had taken too much on themselves to +control the servants of a Master far higher than they were. That they +might see their rashness, he took a Hebrew Bible from his girdle, and +throwing it down on the table challenged his judges to try conclusions +on that and then they would see their folly. The record states that +he “proudly, irreverently, and contemptuously declared that the laws +of God and the practices observed within the country were perverted +and not observed in this case.” The court ordered him to enter as +a prisoner into the Castle of Blackness within ten hours, under +the penalty of being proclaimed a rebel and an outlaw; but Melville +preferred to choose his own place of imprisonment, and immediately fled +to Berwick, which in those days was the city of refuge.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume III., page 631; + Melville’s _Diary_, pages 141‒144; Scott’s _Narrative_, + page 51. + +The contest between the Crown and the clergy had now reached a +crisis. Archbishop Adamson, acting in concert with the King and Arran, +was busy concocting a plan for the reintroduction of Episcopacy and +the destruction of the Presbyterian polity, which had been rapidly +completing its organisation. Adamson drew up a series of articles for +the constitution of the Church and the acceptance of the Government. +According to this scheme, which recognised in emphatic terms that the +King was head of the Church, and that it was therefore his prerogative +to appoint the order of her polity, the government of the Church +consisted, subject to the headship of the King, in the power and +authority of the bishops, whose office is of apostolic institution +and in accordance with the primitive purity of the Church of God. On +the other hand, it was pointed out that presbyteries in which laymen +associated with the ministers, were in fact a continual source of +sedition. No General Assembly was to be allowed to meet without a +license from the King.¹ These ideas were instilled into the mind of the +young King at this impressionable period of his life, and throughout +the rest of his career he never ceased to hold and enforce them to the +utmost of his power. + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume IV., pages 53‒55; Dr. Grub’s + _Ecclesiastical History of Scotland_, Volume II., pages + 232‒234; Melville’s _Diary_, pages 151‒153. + +Rumours of impending calamities to the Church and the nation filled the +land. In the beginning of May several of the most energetic preachers +fled to Berwick, and joined Melville and the banished lords. When +Parliament met at Edinburgh on the 19th of May, 1584, these gloomy +forebodings were fully realised. A series of acts were passed which +placed in the hands of the King powers quite unprecedented in Scotland. +One act declared that the King had an absolute power and authority over +all ranks in the kingdom, and that he was supreme judge in all matters +civil and religious. Another enacted that to speak against any of the +proceedings of Parliament should be accounted treason; a third, that +all the acts and judgments of the church courts, if unsanctioned by +Parliament, were to be held as unlawful, and all meetings of the people +to consult and deliberate on any matter, either civil or ecclesiastical, +without the King’s special licence, were declared criminal and +deserving the severest punishment. A fourth act placed the chief +ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the hands of the bishops. A fifth +commanded that no person whatever should dare to comment upon the +proceedings of the King and Council, either in sermons or declamations, +in public, in private, or in familiar conversation; nor at all presume +to utter any false and slanderous statements to the reproach, the +disdain, or the contempt of His Majesty, or to the prejudice and +dishonour of his highness and his parents and worthy progenitors, under +the penalty of the laws against the makers and tellers of lies. And +that these royal prerogatives which by the gift of heaven belonged to +his highness and to all his heirs and successors on the throne should +continue unimpaired, it was deemed absolutely necessary to condemn +Buchanan’s _History of Scotland_ and his _Jure Regni apud Scotos_; +and therefore all persons who possessed any copies of these books +were ordered to deliver them to the royal officers within forty days, +“that they might be purified of the extraordinary matters which they +contained.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 292‒296; Calderwood, Volume IV., page 38, _et seq._ + +The clergy had become aware that these acts were preparing, and some +of them went to the Parliament House, with the intention of protesting +for the rights of the Church, but the doors were closed against them. +When the Acts were proclaimed at the cross of Edinburgh, three of the +ministers, Lawson, Pont, and Balcanquhal, protested publicly against +them as injurious to the former liberties of the Church. These acts had +been passed in great haste, the parliament having sat but two days, and +passed forty-nine acts; and the King and Arran made a bold attempt to +carry them into effect. For some time nothing was heard of but arrests, +trials, hornings and forfeitures. These measures unquestionably +expressed the intentions of the party in power. Orders were issued to +apprehend the preachers who had protested against the acts, but they +had saved themselves by flight. Soon after more than twenty ministers +took refuge in England; and there was then a pretty large party of +Scots in Berwick, Newcastle, and other parts of that kingdom.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume III., page 668; + _Miscellany of the Wodrow Society_, Volume I., pages 411‒419; + Calderwood, Volume IV., pages 64‒65, 72; Melville’s _Diary_, + pages 167‒172. + +The King and his party having now asserted their supremacy, resolved +to crush the rebellious nobles and the bold preachers. Parliament +again met in August, 1584, and passed thirty-eight acts to strengthen +the hands of the government. A process of treason against the banished +lords and others associated with them was carried through, and their +property was forfeited to the Crown. An act was passed which commanded +all beneficed men, ministers, readers, masters of colleges and +schools, to subscribe and faithfully promise that they would humbly and +dutifully submit to the King, and obey the acts of the last parliament; +and to show their submissive spirit, they were ordered at once to obey +the bishops and the commissioners appointed by the King to rule over +them in all religious matters, under the penalty of forfeiting their +stipends.¹ All the ministers between Stirling and Berwick were summoned +to appear at Edinburgh, on the 16th of November, 1584, there to attest +their submission to the will of the King. This was a very hard measure, +and many of the ministers refused to comply with it. When Craig and +other leading preachers were before the court, Arran asked them, how +they durst venture to be so bold as to find fault with the acts of +parliament; Craig answered that they durst find fault with anything +which was repugnant to God’s Word. Upon this Arran started to his feet +and threatened that, “he would shave their heads, pare their nails, cut +their toes, and make them an example to all rebels.” After some further +debate, Craig and the most of his brethren signed the deed, with a +clause which was added――“agreeable to the Word of God.” Erskine of Dun, +the venerable superintendent, also signed it, and used his influence +in persuading others to conform. On the 2nd of January, 1585, it was +proclaimed that all those who had not subscribed the acts of parliament +were then offered the last opportunity of doing so; and that in the +event of their declining, their stipends would be withheld, and their +persons punished for contempt of the laws.² + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 331‒333, 336‒346, 347. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume III., pages 701‒704, + 712, _et seq._; Calderwood, Volume IV., pages 198‒200, + 209‒211, 246‒247; Fifth Report of the Commissioners on + Historical manuscripts, page 636. + +But neither the rage of Arran, nor the kingcraft of James, could +stifle thought and feeling. The ministers, however, were extremely +hard pressed. The laws against them were rigorously enforced; and even +the wives of the refractory preachers were turned out of their houses, +and commanded to leave the country.¹ By such means the King and his +associates fondly imagined that they would crush the spirit of the +clergy and the people; and an onlooker might well have thought that the +clergy were completely subdued; but the inner springs of the movement +the King with all his craft and acts was unable to touch. It was here +that he failed. He could enforce compliance with certain things; but +it was beyond his power to control the motives, the ideas, and the +convictions; and it is these which ultimately prevail. + + ¹ _Miscellany of the Wodrow Society_, Volume I., pages 432‒437. + +One of the inner political peculiarities of the history of Scotland +appears in the rapid rise and fall of the factions of the nobles who +ruled the country, or rather the king. This process of action and +reaction was always at short intervals producing sudden and unexpected +changes at the centre of authority. Looking merely at the external +features of these manifestations, they seem to be capricious, irregular, +and extremely confused; but when we extend our view over a series +of centuries, and learn to appreciate the position and the power of +the aristocracy, these surprising changes in the government become +intelligible and full of sequence. In this light, the long series of +unforeseen changes in the government, the seizures, the imprisonments, +the depositions, and the murders, of the kings are seen to be the +results of a movement springing out of the social and political +organisation of the nation. In other words, the aggregates of society +in Scotland had for ages circled round the nobles, but often in +separate and conflicting groups; hence the comparative weakness of the +Crown arose partly from its having to contend with the freaks of these +natural and traditional centres of power. + +Lord Maxwell had been for many generations the leading local noble +in Dumfries and its neighbourhood, and had frequently held the office +of Warden of the Western March. On the 29th of April, 1581, John, +Lord Maxwell, was appointed to that office by the King and Council. A +supporter of Lennox and Arran, immediately after the execution of the +Regent, he was created Earl of Morton, and on the 5th of June, 1581, +he obtained a charter granting the Earldom to him. The new Earl was +at feud with John Johnstone of Johnstone, a powerful border laird, +and formerly a Warden of the Western March; and on the 26th of May, +1582, a royal proclamation ordered them not to appear with their +armed followers in Edinburgh――“to a day of law appointed to be held +on the last day of May.” On the 19th of November the Earl of Morton +was deprived of the Wardenship of the Western March, and his rival, +Johnstone of Johnstone, was appointed to the office. The Earl of Morton +was subsequently charged with many misdemeanours, and denounced as +a rebel. In the winter of 1585 he appears as the leader of a border +revolt against Arran’s government; and in April a muster of the loyal +vassals of the Crown was ordered, and then to proceed against him, +while the gift to Maxwell of the Earldom of Morton was revoked; and +therefore he was at war with the King and his government. Maxwell +had a thousand armed men in the field, and the banished Lords at once +saw their opportunity, and joined him. In the beginning of November, +1585, they returned, and having collected their adherents, met Maxwell +at Selkirk. Thence they marched on Stirling with a force of eight +thousand men. The King and Arran were at Stirling when the rebels +appeared before it. Arran fled towards the Highlands; while the King, +notwithstanding all his craft and the astuteness of his favourites, had +no alternative but to receive the proffered homage of his rebellious +nobles, and pardon them.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume III., pages 376, 487, + 531, 534, 540, 739; Bannatyne _Miscellany_, Volume I., page + 119; Melville’s _Diary_, pages 223‒225; Sir James Melville’s + _Memoirs_, pages 384‒385. + +With the nobles most of the exiled preachers had returned, and the +hopes of the Protestant clergy were somewhat brightened. But if they +expected much aid from the party whom they had befriended, they were +quickly disabused. The nobles told them that first of all their own +estates must be restored, and that when they were, they would work +intently for the Church. This was the characteristic form of the policy +of the aristocracy towards the reformed clergy, when a party of the +clergy had interests of their own at stake, they were ready to promise +assistance to the clergy; but, excepting a few individual nobles who +appeared from time to time, there was no real religious principle or +living conviction amongst them from the beginning to the end of the +conflict. The clergy themselves, however, continued to struggle on, +and fought manfully for the redress of their grievances. The Parliament +met in the beginning of December, 1585, and restored the estates of the +nobles who had been disinherited for their rebellion. But the despotic +acts of 1584 were left untouched. The only act in favour of the Church +was one which restored all the ministers and masters of colleges to +their offices and possessions.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 383‒387, 395. + +It has become apparent that the King had an enormous amount of +self-conceit; and that he was filled with a passion for polemics. He +had been so flattered and puffed up by those who had lately associated +with him, that he verily thought he could settle theological questions, +make a commentary, or handle a text better than all the preachers and +professors in the kingdom. About the beginning of the year 1586 he +attended worship in the High Church of Edinburgh, when Balcanquhal the +minister made some derogatory remarks touching the authority of bishops. +James immediately rose from his seat and asked him what Scripture he +had for his assertions. The preacher said he could adduce sufficient +proofs from Scripture for what he had stated. The King vehemently +denied this, and offered to pledge his kingdom that he would prove the +contrary, and he added that it was the practice of preachers to busy +themselves with such matters in the pulpit, but he was aware of their +intentions, and would look after them. The interlude continued for a +quarter of an hour, after which the King resumed his seat and heard the +sermon to the end. Balcanquhal was subsequently sent for, and in the +palace his Majesty had the satisfaction of engaging him for more than +an hour.¹ It should be stated, however, that the preachers sometimes +provoked the King. A short time before this incident, James Gibson, the +minister of Pencaitland, preached a sermon in Edinburgh, and uttered +the following statement――“I thought that Captain James Stewart, Lady +Isabel his wife, and William Stewart, had persecuted the Church, but +now I have found the truth, that it was the King himself. As Jeroboam +and his posterity were rooted out for staying of the true worship of +God, so I fear that if our King continue in his present course, he +shall be the last of his race.” For this, Gibson was brought before +the Privy Council and imprisoned. He was afterwards liberated, and for +a time suspended by order of the General Assembly.² + + ¹ M‘Crie’s _Life of Melville_, Volume I., pages 340‒345. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_, December, 1585; _Book of the + Universal Kirk_, pages 688, 690, 699, 709‒712. + +The General Assembly met at Edinburgh in May, 1586. The King attended +at the election of the moderator, and gave his vote in favour of +David Lindsay, the minister of Leith, who was in consequence chosen. +There had been no General Assembly for a long time, and there was much +business to transact; but the proceedings ended in a compromise which +was satisfactory to neither party. Discussions were held concerning +the office of a bishop, the discipline of the Church, the limits of +the jurisdiction of the Synods and Presbyteries, and a scheme for +the division of the whole country into Synods and Presbyteries was +adopted. The King’s Commissioners and the members of the Assembly +held long communings; the King had one chief object always in view――to +keep the Episcopal element in the Church. Bishop Adamson, who had been +irregularly excommunicated by the Synod of Fife, appeared before the +Assembly and submitted. He promised to behave himself for the future, +and to submit his life and doctrine to the trial, the judgment and +censure of the General Assembly, and upon which, and no other condition, +were bishops to be recognised in the Church.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 645‒684. “In this + Assembly was first seen what fear and flattery of the Court + could work among weak and inconstant ministers.” Calderwood, + Volume IV., page 583. Compare Melville’s _Diary_, page 249. + +But the nation was not as yet fully under the discipline of the +Reformed Church. A considerable section of the people still adhered +to the Roman Catholic religion in the remote districts of the West and +North. There was also, as we have seen, a lack of qualified ministers +to overtake the work throughout the country. Besides, the reformed +system of organisation had scarcely come into full operation when the +diverging views of the King and his government began to obstruct its +development.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 658‒661. + +At this time a number of French Protestant ministers had taken refuge +in Scotland from the severe persecution which was raging in their +own country. The General Assembly employed Andrew Melville to write +a letter assuring the exiled preachers that the Assembly would do +everything in its power to assist them and to render their sojourn +agreeable. The magistrates of Edinburgh allowed the French refugees +to meet for worship in the common hall of the College, and allotted +stipends to their ministers. Collections also for them and their +brethren in England were made in the parishes throughout the kingdom.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 655‒657. + +When it became known in Scotland that Queen Mary was to be executed, +the King issued an act of council ordering the ministers at all their +preachings and meetings to pray for his mother in this form, “The +Lord illuminate and enlighten her spirit, that she may attain to the +knowledge of His truth, for the safety of soul and body, and preserve +her from the present peril.” Some of the ministers, especially those of +Edinburgh, refused to pray but as the spirit moved them. The King seems +to have been disappointed at this, and on the 3rd of February, 1587, +he appointed Archbishop Adamson to preach in St. Giles, and after a +little scene, the bishop was allowed to go on with his prayer and his +sermon. The truth is, that James was far more concerned and interested +about his own succession to the English throne than about his mother’s +death.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume IV.; Calderwood, + Volume IV., pages 606‒607; Moysie’s _Memoirs of the Affairs + of Scotland_. + +The unfortunate queen herself was endowed with a courage and a +spirit which, in the final scene of her chequered career, astonished +and dismayed all her enemies. Never had martyr exhibited a grander +spectacle of fortitude than did Mary Stuart in the closing act of her +fitful life. And she has had her reward. Her bearing upon the scaffold +shed a glory around her which has been transmitted and worshipped by +her admirers down to the present. But amongst the people of Scotland +she was at the time of her execution but little regarded. + +The parliament which met at Holyrood House in July, 1587, ratified all +the acts passed in favour of the reformed religion during the minority +of the King. An act was passed against seminary priests and Jesuits, +and all the enemies of the reformed religion. The temporal lands of the +bishoprics, abbacies, and priories, which then remained unappropriated, +were annexed to the crown; but the chief gainers by this act were the +nobility, as it secured to them the lands which they had obtained since +the Reformation. By this measure, whether the King perceived it or +not, a severe blow was given to Episcopacy, as it really divested the +bishops of the right to sit in parliament by their landed titles, and +thus cut from beneath them the strongest ground for their continuance.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 429‒437. + +Meanwhile the Presbyterian clergy were persevering in their attacks +on the bishops, and were fast becoming masters of the field. They +were making incessant efforts also for the utter suppression of the +adherents of Catholicism. An extraordinary meeting of the General +Assembly was convened at Edinburgh in February, 1588, for the purpose +of arousing the nation to a sense of its danger from the threatened +Spanish Armada. Andrew Melville, as moderator of the last Assembly, +opened the proceedings with an address, in which he explained the +reasons for their meeting. The alarming nature of the crisis had +attracted a great concourse of members who were all animated with one +spirit. They drew up an extremely dark picture of the state of the +kingdom: “It was an exceedingly great grief to all such,” they said, +“as have any spunk of the love of God and his Christ, to see Jesuits, +seminary priests, and other teachers of popery and error, to be so long +suffered to pollute this land with idolatry, corrupt and seduce the +people, and spread abroad their poisonable doctrine; to see practisers +and traffickers against the true religion, and the present liberty +of this realm, to be received, maintained, and entertained; to bring +to pass their most dangerous devices and plots, and the receivers, +the entertainers, and the maintainers, and the professed favourers of +both the one and the other, so to abound everywhere; and not only to be +tolerated with impunity, without executing of the laws of the country +against them, but also to have special credit, favour, and furtherance, +at the court, in the session, in the burghs, and throughout the realm, +in all their affairs. And, on the other hand, to behold the true +Word of God contemptuously despised by the great multitude; His +holy sacraments horribly profaned by private, corrupt, and unlawful +persons; the discipline of the Church disregarded, the persons of the +ministers and the office-bearers within the same stricken, menaced, and +shamefully abused, themselves beggared, and their families shamefully +hungered. And yet, notwithstanding, neither the laws against idolatry +nor vice were put into execution, neither sufficient laws made for the +liberty and welfare of the Church, nor such as are made put into effect +for removing of these fearful enormities.” The records then enumerate a +number of Catholics by name who were spread throughout the country. In +the north, where the Earl of Huntly was supreme, the reformed religion +had as yet taken comparatively little hold upon the people. Many of +the parishes in this region had no ministers, and even where there were +readers and pastors, they found it extremely difficult to perform their +functions. In Lennox, at this time, there were twenty-four churches, +and not four ministers amongst them all.¹ The Assembly appointed a +commission to visit the north, south, and west, to introduce order and +discipline, plant qualified ministers, and establish the authority of +the Church. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 703, 715‒724. + +The Scots made every preparation which their limited means afforded to +defend themselves, if the Spaniards should attempt to land in Scotland. +For some time great uneasiness was felt among all ranks of the nation. +Time passed on, and the Spaniards at last landed in Scotland, but +not in the character of a conquering army. Early one morning, before +the fate of the Armada was known, James Melville, the minister of +Anstruther, was informed that a ship filled with Spaniards had entered +the harbour and were imploring aid, and the authorities requested +his advice as to how they should act towards them. The principal +inhabitants of the town were at once assembled, and when the real +condition of the Spaniards was ascertained, the Scots treated them +with all the kindness and hospitality in their power. Afterwards they +obtained a license and safe conduct from the King to return to Spain.¹ + + ¹ Melville’s _Diary_, pages 260‒264. + +But the reformed clergy continued their endeavours to put down the +Jesuits and seminary priests, who were protected by some of the local +nobles. A convention of the chief ministers was held at Edinburgh in +January, 1589, to devise and recommend measures to the government. +Andrew Melville was chosen chairman of the meeting, and his nephew +James acted as clerk. The meeting petitioned the government to purge +the land of all Jesuits and priests; and before separating they +appointed a number of their brethren as commissioners to meet every +week in Edinburgh, and consult upon matters relating to the Church. +In the spring of this year the Earl of Huntly and other Catholic lords +broke out into rebellion. They collected their followers and met at +Aberdeen in April, but the King marched in person against them, and the +insurrection was for a time suppressed.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 740‒744; Pitcairn’s + _Criminal Trials_, Volume II., page 171, _et seq._; + Calderwood, Volume V., pages 54‒55. + +The Presbyterian party was now almost masters of the position. The +Synods and Assemblies were enforcing the discipline of the Church +with a firm hand. They demanded conformity of polity and doctrine, and +the discipline was brought to bear upon the highest as well as upon +the humblest in the land.¹ In the pulpit the ministers were extremely +outspoken and freely rebuked the King and the chief officials of the +government. Mr. Robert Bruce, when preaching a sermon in Edinburgh +in the presence of the King said――“What could the great disobedience +of this land mean now while the King was at home, seeing that some +reverence was borne to his shadow when he was absent? He answered, it +meant a universal contempt of the subjects; therefore he willed the +King to call to God, before he either ate or drank, that the Lord would +give him a resolution to execute justice upon malefactors, although it +should be with the hazard of his life. Which if he would courageously +attempt, the Lord would raise anew to assist him, and all these +obstacles would vanish away, otherwise he would not be suffered to +brook his crown, but every man will have one.” Others of the ministers +were equally explicit in warning the King of his sins.² + + ¹ _Book of Universal Kirk_, pages 771, 773, 777, 781. + + ² Calderwood, Volume V., pages 129‒130, 139. + +The King himself was in a state of almost utter poverty. During the +revolutionary period the revenue of the Crown had decreased; and the +unseemly squabbles in the court, together with the King’s inability +to punish notorious criminals, and his leniency towards the Catholic +Earls, had all tended to lower him in the eyes of the people. Harassed +by these circumstances and uncertain which way to turn, the idea seems +to have crossed his mind that he might regain the esteem of the people +by cultivating the friendship of the Church. The leaders of the clergy +were only too eager to let such an opportunity slip. When the General +Assembly met in May, 1592, it was resolved to petition Parliament to +pass an Act which should recognise the polity and the liberties of the +Church.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 786‒787; Calderwood, + Volume V., pages 140‒162. + +Parliament met at Edinburgh in June 1592, when the petition of the +General Assembly was laid before it. The Assembly craved that the acts +passed against the discipline and the liberty of the Church in the year +1584, should be repealed, that the discipline which had been in use +should be ratified, and that the act of annexation should be reduced, +and the patrimony of the Church restored. An act was accordingly passed +which confirmed all the liberties and privileges granted by the King +and the regents in his name to the Reformed Church as then established +in the kingdom. The act recognised and sanctioned the general +assemblies, synods, presbyteries, and particular sessions of the Church. +The General Assembly was to be allowed to meet once a-year, or oftener, +if necessary, the time and place of the next meeting to be fixed by the +King or his Commissioner, or if neither of them should be present, by +the Assembly itself. Then followed a special abrogation of acts passed +in bygone ages in favour of the Roman Catholic Church, which were +prejudicial to the Reformed Church and her discipline within the realm. +Acts of the Parliaments of James II. and James III. were specially +pointed out as recognising the authority of the Pope and holy days, but +these and all other acts authorising the interference of the Pope were +declared to be for ever annulled. It was distinctly stated that the +act passed in the Parliament of 1584, concerning the royal supremacy, +should be in no way derogatory to the privileges of the office-bearers +of the Church, touching the heads of religion, points of heresy, +excommunication, appointment or deprivation of ministers, or any +censures warranted by the Word of God. The act of 1584 relating +to the bishops was also repealed.¹ Thus the legal establishment of +Presbyterianism, for which the leading men among the clergy had so +long fought, was at last obtained. Although the settlement was far +from complete, it has always been regarded by the Presbyterian body +of Christians as an important step in national reformation. But the +Reformed Church of Scotland did not consider either this, or any other +Parliamentary sanction as the basis of her religious constitution. +This had already been laid down and so far fixed in her Confession +and in her Books of Discipline; but all her internal regulations she +considered to be founded upon higher grounds than any earthly authority. +Still in that age, when the traditions of the old system were by no +means extinct in the country, and while the energy of Roman Catholicism +was successfully recovering its lost ground in other parts of Europe, +it will be seen that it was no small advantage for the Reformed Church +of Scotland to obtain a firmer and more public establishment of the +principles of Protestantism. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 541‒543. + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + _Continuation of the History of Protestantism._ + + +THOUGH the clergy had obtained the sanction of the government to their +form of Church polity, the public mind was still agitated. The air +was filled with rumours of plots and conspiracies on the part of the +Jesuits, and of projected invasions for the overthrow of the Reformed +religion and the massacre of the Protestants. The zeal of the clergy +against the Catholics was intense and implacable. They were much +annoyed at the lenity of the King towards the Catholic Earls of Huntly, +Errol, and Angus, and were constantly on the outlook for their enemies. +In the month of November, 1592, they appointed a committee to sit in +Edinburgh during the emergency in order to watch over the Church. To +sharpen the feeling of the people, they proclaimed a fast to begin on +Sunday, the 17th of December, “That by true humiliation and unfeigned +repentance, the fearful judgments of God that hang over this land may +be prevented.” During the fast the pulpits resounded with denunciations +of the Catholics, the decrees of the Council of Trent, and the +remissness of the King and the government in not executing justice +upon malefactors and murderers. According to Calderwood, the effect of +the fast was immediately manifested in the apprehension of George Ker, +a doctor of laws, who was connected with a strange conspiracy. On the +27th of December, Andrew Knox, the minister of Paisley, having learned +that Ker was ready to proceed to Spain, traced him to Glasgow, thence +to the Island of Cumbrae, and apprehended him on the ship in which +he was about to sail. Ker’s baggage was searched, and some packets +of letters of a suspicious character being found, he was conveyed a +prisoner to Edinburgh. Among the letters, several signatures of the +♦Earls of Huntly, Errol, and Angus, were found at the bottom of blank +slips of paper. Graham of Fintry, an associate of Ker’s, was shortly +after apprehended. Ker was tortured, and on the first stroke of the +boots confessed the conspiracy. This mode of extracting information +destroys any degree of credit which might otherwise attach to the +statements of the accused individual, but it was enough in the heated +temper of the clergy and the people, to arouse their passions and +feelings to a pitch of great excitement. The Privy Council, after +examining the letters, had no doubt of their authenticity. The King, +then at Stirling, was requested to return to Edinburgh. The people +clamoured for the trial and execution of Ker; and the authorities +issued a proclamation ordering all Jesuits and excommunicated persons +to depart from Edinburgh within three hours, under the penalty of +death. Upon Sunday the 7th of January, 1583, the King attended church, +and Robert Bruce, the preacher, exhorted him “that now was the time +to execute justice,” or else, said he, “the chronicles will keep in +remembrance King James VI. to his shame.” A meeting of the Protestant +barons and ministers was held, and they called upon the King to +prosecute and punish the traitors. Ker escaped; but Graham was +convicted of conspiracy, and on the 10th of February, he was executed +to appease the rage of the people, but in vain. On the night after his +execution, a bill was posted up in a conspicuous part of the capital, +which asserted that all the preparations against the Catholics would +end in nothing, for the greatest criminals had been allowed to escape +by the connivance of the Court.¹ + + ♦ “Early” replaced with “Earls” + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume V., pages 167, 168, 171‒193, 214‒230; + Melville’s _Diary_, pages 306‒307. + +Towards the end of February, 1593, the King, at the head of an army +made a demonstration against the Catholic Earls, but it resulted +merely in the Earls of Huntly and Errol withdrawing to Caithness. Many +circumstances indicated that the King intended to treat them leniently, +and there were obvious reasons for this policy in the existing state of +things. The Crown of Scotland was never strong, and the craft of James +VI. was little fitted to enhance its importance. The nobles, on the +other hand, were unusually distracted by feuds and factions, springing +out of a variety of causes, social and political, as well as religious. +Since the Reformation their landed possessions had frequently changed +hands. The national records of the time are full of forfeitures, +revocations, and confirmations, of landed estates; and naturally +the plots of those who had been defeated and ruined were incessant. +About one-third of the nobles were still more or less firmly +attached to the Roman Catholic religion.¹ From these circumstances +a mass of difficulties arose which reduced the Crown to the most +miserable straits, and placed the King in the most ridiculous plights. +Unfortunately, James had neither the sagacity to appreciate the +tendency of his age, and to follow and moderate it, nor grasp of +principle and firmness of character to turn it aside. His thin narrow +mind was filled with little conceits and possessed with the most +childish notion of his own power and prerogatives; while the moral +side of his character was even worse than the intellectual, indeed, he +had little regard either for truth or honesty. Yet, he was continually +tampering with the Church, and in his own underhand and crafty fashion +endeavoured to impress his notions upon her, and to install the bishops +as executors of his will. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III. + throughout; _Register of the Privy Council_; Tytler’s + _History of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages 65‒111, 376‒382. + +The reformed clergy boldly insisted on the complete submission of +the Catholics, and the entire extirpation of their faith. The General +Assembly which met at Dundee in April, 1593, called upon the King and +the government to punish all the Catholics in the country, according +to the laws of God and the laws of the realm. They insisted “That +Parliament should declare all the Jesuits and trafficking Catholics to +be guilty of treason, and that the same penalties should be enforced +against all persons who harboured them, not for three days, as the law +then stood, but for any time, however short. That all those whom the +Church found to be Catholics, although not excommunicated, should be +debarred from holding any office in the kingdom; and also debarred from +all access to his Majesty, and from the protection of the laws; and +that the consequences of horning and all other social penalties should +follow upon such a declaration, as upon the sentence of excommunication: +that an act of council should be immediately made thereon, till the +next Parliament, when it should be passed into a law.”¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, 798‒799, 802‒803. + +When the petition in which these demands were embodied came before the +King, he refused to grant it. In his answer he reminded the petitioners +of his right to appoint the day and the place of the Assembly, and +desired them to pass an act prohibiting every minister from declaiming +in their pulpits against himself or the proceedings of his council. He +also wished the ministers to name six of the wisest of their number, +that from these he might select two to serve in his own household. +Nothing, he said, would afford him more pleasure than to hear through +the clergy what was doing in all parts of the country, for whoever +were their enemies, were his enemies; he would be highly delighted, +not only to hear from time to time about the practices of the Catholics +and the Spanish faction, but also about Bothwell, whenever they +had any information of him, because his whole course of action was +directed against his Majesty’s person, and the total subversion of all +religion.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 805‒806. + +Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell, was a near relative of the King. But +he was restless, daring, and unscrupulous; and had repeatedly thrown +the King into fits of terror for his life, by sudden and unexpected +attempts to make him a prisoner. Bothwell was known to have entered +into plots with the Catholic party, the Protestant party, and +with Queen Elizabeth; but he lacked the strength of character and +intelligence to carry out any great enterprise; while his exploits +with the King, although extremely annoying and fearful to the royal +personage himself, often assumed a rather ridiculous and comic form, +and had no effect whatever on the main current of history.¹ + + ¹ Sir James Melville’s _Memoirs_, pages 414‒416; Calderwood, + Volume V., pages 117‒132, 138, 140, 134, 177, 258; + Melville’s _Diary_, pages 277, 294‒326. + +Parliament met in July 1593, but the process against the Catholic +lords failed. The King’s advocate informed the commissioners of the +Church that the summons was informal, and the evidence against them +insufficient, and that it was impossible then to forfeit them. An act +was passed against the mass, and a searching inquisition was ordered +to be made for all Catholics. But this did not satisfy the clergy; and +they freely expressed their sentiments in the pulpits to the people. +On the Sunday after the close of the parliament, John Davidson said in +his sermon, “It was a black parliament, for iniquity was seated in the +high court of justice: the arch traitors having not only escaped, but +in a manner were absolved, as it was alleged that no evidence could +be adduced against them. The absolving of the wicked, imported the +persecution of the righteous, except God restrained the adversaries. +Let us pray, that the King by some sanctified plagues, may be turned +again to God.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV.; + Calderwood, Volume V., pages 255‒256. + +The King was still averse to proceed to extremities against the +Catholic Earls. But the more ardent Protestants and the clergy had +come to the conclusion, that it was impossible for the old and the +new religion to exist together in Scotland. They therefore deemed it +necessary to employ the power of the Church against the Catholics. The +Synod of Fife met at St. Andrews on the 25th of September 1593, and +agreed to a resolution to excommunicate the Earls of Huntly, Errol, +Angus, Lord Home, and others of their adherents. This sentence was +ordered to be intimated in all the congregations throughout the kingdom. +The Synod concluded its proceedings by exhorting the pastors to prepare +themselves by prayer and diligent study of the word, for the solemn +fast which was to be observed in every parish of the realm.¹ + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume V., pages 259‒265; Melville’s _Diary_, + pages 309‒310. + +The excommunication of the Earls highly displeased the King, and there +was much contention between him and the clergy concerning it. The +Earls themselves then supplicated the King to put them on their trial +for conspiracy, and complained that they had been excommunicated and +were treated as traitors, without having been offered an opportunity +of vindicating themselves. When everything is taken into account, it +certainly was hard that they should be compelled either to renounce +their own religion and sign the Protestant confession, or submit to +banishment and utter ruin. These, however, were the alternatives which +the clergy were determined to exact. From the standpoint of modern +ideas, the proceedings and the demands of the Protestants would be +pronounced wholly wrong; but at the time the prevailing ideas, and +the religious notions of truth and error, were far more influenced by +the pressure of circumstances than they are in the present. With their +aim, and from their point of view, the single line of policy which they +followed was thoroughly logical and honest according to their light. +On the 17th of October the leading ministers and their adherents met +at Edinburgh to consult and prepare to face the threatened danger. They +appointed six of their number to request the King to take order with +the excommunicated Earls, and they freely expressed their regret that +he had permitted those cast-off persons to come into his presence. The +King gave them no thanks. He upbraided the members of the Synod of Fife +for excommunicating the Earls. But the representatives of the clergy +told him, that if their enemies took up arms, they had resolved to meet +them face to face. “This,” they said, “we are minded to do, although it +should be with the loss of all our lives in one day; for certainly we +are determined that the country shall not brook us and them both, so +long as they are God’s professed enemies.”¹ + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume V., pages 270, _et seq._; Melville’s + _Diary_, pages 110, 111; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume IV., page 44. + +Matters were rapidly running to a crisis. Both parties were mustering +their followers in all parts of the country. To the religious elements +of the struggle, there were added the bitter and revengeful feelings +springing out of long-standing family feuds, and if once the swords +were drawn, the results would prove disastrous in the extreme to all +alike. This was well known to the government; and a committee of the +Three Estates, along with six of the leading clergy, met to deliberate +on the state of affairs. After some animated debates, the King, on the +26th of November, pronounced what was called “The Act of Abolition,” +touching the accused Earls. This act stated that the true religion, +which was established in the first year of his Majesty’s reign, should +be the only one professed in Scotland; and that those who had never +embraced it, and those who had declined from it, should either conform +to it, before the 11th of February, 1594, or depart from the country +to such places as the King should direct, and there to remain till they +professed the truth and satisfied the Church. During their banishment, +they were to retain the full possession of their estates. All +accusations against them were annulled. The Catholic Earls were ordered +to inform the King and the Church, before the 11th of January, which of +the alternatives they meant to accept.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV., pages + 46‒48; Spottiswood. + +This act pleased neither party. The Earls were not disposed to renounce +their religion, nor to retain it only at the cost of exile: while the +clergy and their adherents were extremely annoyed at this temporising +line of action, and immediately expressed their disapproval of it from +their pulpits. On the 30th of November, 1593, Mr. Balcanquhal touched +upon the practices of the court, in his sermon, and recalled the +judgments of God that had fallen upon some of the chief actors――“as +upon Bothwell who had died like a dog; and upon the Queen who was +beheaded that day twenty years, after she had caused her husband to be +murdered.” On the 4th of December, the ministers of the Presbytery of +Edinburgh met to consult upon the Act, and many faults were found in it. +Some proposed to amend it, but Pont thought it should be disannulled, +for the reason that if they amended it, it would be called their work. +Upon Sunday, the 16th of December, Mr. Robert Bruce in his sermon, in +the presence of the officers of State and the Justice-Clerk, said “The +King’s reign would be troublesome and short if he did not abolish the +Act of Abolition.”¹ + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume I., pages 288‒290; Melville’s _Diary_, + pages 312, 313. + +The clergy stood constantly on their watch-towers, ready to descry +the enemy. When the General Assembly met at Edinburgh in May, 1594, +Andrew Melville was chosen moderator, and the Assembly immediately +proceeded to deal with the case of the Catholic Earls. Some persons +in Perth, who had resetted them, were sharply called to account for +their conduct; but they confessed their offence, and satisfied the +Church. The Assembly unanimously avowed and ratified the sentence of +excommunication passed by the Synod of Fife against the Catholic Lords, +and ordered this to be intimated to every congregation in the kingdom. +As the Catholic Earls had disregarded the Act of Abolition, and +were persisting in their unholy and unlawful courses, the Assembly +petitioned the King to confiscate all their lands, and annex them to +the Crown; and then to muster the feudal array of the realm for the +purpose of pursuing and defeating them.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 819‒821, 828‒834. + +Parliament met in June 1594, and though the Catholic nobles were then +in open rebellion, they had friends in Parliament. Andrew Melville +appeared for the Church before the Lords of the Articles, and insisted +upon strong measures being taken. He told the King to his face, “That +many thought it a matter of great weight to overthrow the estate of +three so great men. I grant that it is so; but yet it is a greater +matter to overthrow and expel out of the country three far greater, +to wit, true religion, the quietness of the commonwealth, and the +prosperous state of the King.” Addressing the Lords, he said――“If ye +can get us a better commonwealth than our own, and a better King, we +are content that the treacherous lords be spared; otherwise we desire +you to do your duty.” The majority of the Lords of the Articles voted +for the forfeiture of the Earls, Parliament passed the act, and they +were proclaimed traitors and rebels. The Earl of ♦Argyle was commanded +to assemble his vassals and to wage war against them. But the Earls of +Huntly and Errol attacked the hastily collected and undisciplined army +of ♦Argyle in Glenlivet, on the 13th of October, and after a severe +struggle, ♦Argyle was completely defeated, and his followers fled in +confusion.¹ + + ♦ “Argyll” replaced with “Argyle” for consistency + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV., pages + 56‒61; Tytler’s _History of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages + 168‒172; Dr. M‘Crie’s _Life of Melville_, Volume II., pages + 48‒50. + +The King had advanced to Dundee when tidings of ♦Argyle’s defeat +reached him, and he at once pushed forward with his army to Aberdeen. +There some of the local chiefs, who were at feud with Huntly, joined +him. On this occasion, Andrew Melville and a number of the most ardent +preachers accompanied the army, and by their exertions and example +contributed to bring the expedition to a successful issue. Huntly +found himself unable to face the royal army and fled to Caithness. His +stronghold, the Castle of Strathbogie, was dismantled; the Castle of +Slaines, the seat of the Earl of Errol, and other mansions were also +defaced. On returning to Aberdeen, the King caused a number of the Earl +of Huntly’s adherents to be executed, and proclaimed a general pardon +to all who had been with him at the Battle of Glenlivet, providing they +paid the fines imposed by the Council. After making arrangements with +the view of securing peace in the north, the army was disbanded, and +the King returned to Stirling on the 14th of November, 1594.¹ + + ¹ _Register of Privy Council_; Melville’s _Diary_, pages + 318‒322; Calderwood, Volume V., pages 348‒357. + +The Catholic Earls were reduced to despair, and they quitted the +country in the month of March, 1595. The Protestants, however, did not +relax their efforts. They knew that the Catholics would renew their +plots. When the General Assembly met at Montrose in June, 1595, an +order was issued to the presbyteries throughout the country to proceed +against the Catholics within their bounds and excommunicate them, and +to enforce the penalties of the law upon all who had offended, and +on any who held intercourse with those who were absenting themselves +from the sacraments on the plea that they were at deadly feud with +their neighbours; indeed there was still a considerable amount of +social anarchy in the country which seemed to defy all restraints +and remedies.¹ Owing to the enormous iniquity and sins of the nation, +the Assembly ordered a general fast to be held in all the churches +throughout the kingdom on the first two Sundays of August. The +ministers were enjoined to put the causes of the fast fully before +the people. They were chiefly――“The great and present danger that +the Church, the commonwealth, and the King standeth in through the +wrath of God, not only kindled against us, but also justly burning and +devouring us up already by sundry fearful plagues and punishments ... +the deep conspiracies and daily confederacies of the faction of the +known adversaries to religion, to the King, and to the country, and +threatening to root us out from being any more a nation, and the +breaking and removing of our two estates of Church and Commonwealth.” +The Assembly also resolved that it was their duty to sympathise with +the Protestants of other Churches.² + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 846‒848. + + ² _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 853‒854. + +The clergy were in continual fear of the return of the Catholic nobles +and the renewal of their intrigues. When the General Assembly met at +Edinburgh in March 1596, the King attended in person, and is reported +to have delivered a speech in which he regretted that the ministers +were so poorly paid. A list of the crimes, the sins, and the iniquities, +of all ranks in the nation was drawn up by this Assembly. It presents a +frightful state of society, and will be more fully examined elsewhere. +The King, we learn, was in the habit of swearing, and set a bad +example to all around him. He had also a habit of conversing with those +beside him in the church during the time of sermon, and was therefore +earnestly recommended to hold private meditation with God in spirit +and conscience. The offences in the court and judgment seat were:――“a +universal neglect of justice both in civil and criminal causes――by +a system of granting remissions and respites for slaughter and other +hideous crimes; and no execution of the laws against vice, nor in +favour of the Church. Most of the judges in civil matters were declared +unqualified for their office, either in respect of knowledge or +conscience, or both; and when any office became vacant, the worst +men were advanced to it both in high and low positions. The Court of +Session was charged with buying pleas, delaying justice, and bribery, +which was palpably to be seen by sudden conquests――by the extraordinary +quickness in obtaining property which had become so common.”¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 859, 872‒878. + +In the summer of 1596, the Catholic Earls had secretly returned, and +there were indications that the government would restore them. Huntly +had forwarded overtures to the King offering submission and praying to +be absolved from the sentence of excommunication. At a meeting of the +nobles and some of the clergy it was agreed that Huntly might, under +certain conditions to be drawn up by the King and the Privy Council, +be received. But the majority of the clergy were opposed to this +resolution; and the commissioners of the last General Assembly met at +Cupar in Fife, and sent a deputation to remonstrate with the King on +the evil consequences which were likely to result from the measures +which his Council were pursuing. The King assured the ministers that +the Catholic Earls should obtain no favour, until they had satisfied +the Church. The ministers, however, had no faith in the King’s promises; +and sixteen of their number from different parts of the country were +selected to sit in Edinburgh, and along with the ministers of the +capital, to watch over the reformed religion. This body immediately +proceeded to action, and summoned Seaton, the President of the Court +of Session, to appear before the Synod of Lothian to answer for his +conduct, touching the recall of the Earl of Huntly. The President +offered some resistance, but found it necessary to come forward and +satisfy the Church.¹ + + ¹ Melville’s _Diary_, pages 368‒371; Calderwood, Volume V., + pages 439‒450. + +The King quickly saw an invasion of his royal prerogatives in these +proceedings. He endeavoured to convince the clergy of the justice and +mercy implied in his proposals to restore the Catholic Earls, but in +vain. The clergy were inexorable; and their firmness strengthened him +in his intention to remodel the government of the Church, whenever +an opportunity occurred. While the feelings of both parties were +running high, and recriminations were passing from mouth to mouth, Mr. +Black, one of the ministers of St. Andrews, delivered a sermon on the +threatened triumph of idolatry in Scotland. Alluding to the prelacy +established in the adjoining kingdom, he said: “The Queen of England +was an atheist; the religion professed in that kingdom was nothing +better than an empty show, gilded by the injunctions of the bishops; +and not content with this pageant at home, they were persuading the +King to set it up in Scotland. As for his highness, none knew better +than he did of the meditated return of the Catholic Earls, and therein +he was guilty of manifest treachery. But what could they look for? Was +not Satan at the head of both court and council? Were not all kings +devil’s bairns? Were not the Lords of Session miscreants and bribers, +the nobility cormorants, and the Queen of Scotland a woman whom for +fashion’s sake they might pray for, but in whose time it was vain to +hope for any good.”¹ + + ¹ Moysie’s _Memoirs_, page 128; Calderwood, Volume V., pages + 453‒454. + +For this Black was summoned to appear before the Privy Council. But +the ministers knew that a blow was aimed against the liberties of the +Church, that the King was bent on limiting freedom of speech in the +pulpit; and they therefore advised him to decline the authority of the +Council, in the first instance, on the ground that it was a spiritual +subject. On the 10th of November, 1696, he obeyed the summons and +appeared before the Council; but he denied that the court had any right +to try him. “He was ready,” he said, “to give a confession and stand to +the defence of every point of the truth of God which he had uttered ... +yet seeing I am not at this time brought to stand before your Majesty +and council, as a judge set to cognise and discern upon my doctrine; +and though my answering to the said pretended accusation might import +with the manifest prejudices of the liberties of the Church, and +acknowledging also of your Majesty’s jurisdiction in matters that are +merely spiritual, which might move your Majesty to attempt further +in the spiritual government of the Church”; and so on. Afterwards he +gave his reasons at length for declining the jurisdiction of the court. +Enraged at this refusal of the preacher to recognise his supremacy, the +King issued a proclamation commanding the commissioners of the Church +to leave the capital and return to their flocks within twenty-four +hours, under the penalty of rebellion. At so critical a time the +ministers were not disposed to obey this royal order, as it was deemed +rather arbitrary. They resolved therefore to remain and watch over the +safety of the Church. Some of them went to the King to try the effect +of a personal interview, but he insisted stoutly that they should +allow his claim of supreme jurisdiction, as the condition of stopping +the process against Black. The ministers could not agree to this, +which would have been almost equivalent to a renunciation of their +Protestantism; so the charge against Black was recast, and his trial +proceeded. He was found guilty, and the measure of his punishment +referred to the King; meanwhile he was ordered to be confined beyond +the North Water.¹ The ministers then proclaimed a fast to avert +the impending danger and judgments, “When the doctrine was sounded +powerfully, and stirred up a mighty motion amongst the people of God.” +The King seems to have considered this as a personal affront, and +issued an order commanding the commissioners to depart from the capital; +and announced that the ministers must subscribe a bond to obey the King +and the Privy Council, before they received their stipends. At the same +time Black was ordered to enter into ward.² + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, November and December; + Calderwood, Volume V., pages 454‒498. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_; Calderwood, Volume V., pages + 498‒502; Melville’s _Diary_, pages 510‒515. + +The commissioners left Edinburgh on the 15th of December, 1596, and +were no sooner gone than the King again thought of trying his craft on +the ministers of the capital, who he imagined would be more manageable +when alone. He accordingly invited them to an interview, but in reply +they said that unless the commissioners were recalled as openly as they +had been dismissed, there could be no communication between the court +and them. The King’s flatterers continued to keep him upon the line +of thought towards which he had always inclined; and he next commanded +twenty-four of the most ardent Protestants among the citizens to leave +Edinburgh within six hours. The excitement in the capital then became +extreme. On the 17th of December a rumour spread that Huntly had been +at the Palace of Holyrood, and the alarm of the preachers was intense. +Balcanquhal was ascending the pulpit for the week-day sermon when +this story was told to him, and unaware of its falsehood, he commented +on it in his discourse, and aroused the feelings and passions of the +congregation to the highest pitch. At the close of his sermon, he +called on the barons present not to disgrace their names and their +ancestors, but to meet the ministers immediately in the Little Church. +A crowd had already collected there, and when the barons were seated, +the preacher addressed them on the dangers to which the Church was +exposed by the return of the Catholic lords. He reminded them of the +rigour lately shown to the faithful professors of the reformed religion, +and desired them to hold up their hands and swear to defend their faith +against all opposers.¹ + + ¹ Spottiswood, Calderwood, Volume V., pages, 510‒511. + +A deputation was sent to the King, who at the moment was in the +Tolbooth with the Lords of Council. When admitted, they informed him +that they were sent by the barons convened in the Little Church, to +lay before his Majesty the imminent dangers which threatened religion. +“What dangers see you,” said the King, “and who dares to assemble +against my proclamation?” Lord Lindsay replied, “we dare do more than +that, and will not suffer religion to be overthrown.” The clamour +increased, and a number of the people rushing into the room, the King +started to his feet in great alarm, and without giving any answer, +ran down the stairs and ordered the doors to be shut. The deputation +returned to the Little Church, where one of the ministers had been +reading the story of Haman and Mordecai; and when it was announced that +the King had given no answer, the multitude were furious. The tumult +thickened, and Lord Lindsay shouted at the top of his voice not to +separate, that their only hope of safety was to remain and send notice +to their friends to come and assist them. Some cried “to bring out the +wicked Haman;” others shouted, “the sword of the Lord and of Gideon.” +One of the crowd cried, “Fy, Fy, save yourselves, the Catholics are +coming to massacre you, To arms! to arms! bills and axes.” The seething +mob rushed hither and thither in wild confusion. Some fancied that +the King was a prisoner, and ran to the Tolbooth; others, imagining +that their ministers were being murdered, flew to the church; some +knocked on the Tolbooth door, and called for President Seaton and other +councillors to be delivered up to them, that summary punishment might +be executed upon the misdoers. At last the provost of the city arrived. +He addressed the multitude, and advised them to go quietly to their +homes; and thus the uproar which threatened to be dangerous was quelled +without serious mischief.¹ + + ¹ Moysie’s _Memoirs_, page 131; Calderwood, Volume V., pages + 512‒513; Bruce’s _Sermons_, pages 173‒176, 1843; Birrel’s + _Diary_. + +After the King’s courage had revived, he determined to let the +ministers and the citizens feel the weight of his wrath. The +following morning he left Edinburgh for Linlithgow; and there issued +a proclamation which described the disturbance of the preceding day as +a treasonable uproar, excited by the ministers; and ordered the courts +of law to leave the capital, which was no longer a fit place for the +administration of justice. At the same time he commanded all the barons +to depart to their own homes, and not dare again to assemble until they +had received his permission.¹ + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume V., pages 514, 515. + +This unexpected move on the part of the King, cowed the citizens and +cooled their ardour. The burgesses and craftsmen saw in it the decay +of the town, and the loss of their trade, and were therefore ready to +yield, and implore his Majesty’s clemency. The clergy, on the other +hand, were prepared to brave the tempest. When all the people were in +despair, Mr. Robert Bruce ascended the pulpit, and upbraided them for +their timidity. He said, “A trial shall go through all men, from the +King and Queen to the council and nobility, from the session to the +barons, from the barons to the burgesses, yea, to the very craftsmen. +The love of all men shall be seen, both towards God and the religion. +Sorry am I that I should see such weakness in many of you, that ye dare +not so much as utter one word for God’s glory and the good cause.... +I am heartily sorry that our holy and gracious cause should be so +obscured by this late tumult, and that the desperate enemies should be +emboldened to pull down the crown off Christ’s head.... Let us suffer +cheerfully, and in the meantime stand to the cause. The Lord so bear us +out that, if the greatest were sitting there, we shrink not to admonish +them with all reverence.... The Lord prepare us in mercy, enlarge the +narrow bounds of our wretched hearts that they may be capable, and +multiply His holy and divine unction on them, that His glory may break +out, and shine on our constancy and holy perseverance; and, on the +other side, that the tokens of His hot and just wrath may break up and +begin in the heart of the enemy, and awaken their conscience, and open +their mouths to confess their own turpitude, to the honour of the good +cause, and the glory of Christ for ever.” The ministers invited Lord +Hamilton to place himself at the head of those who had embraced the +cause of the Church; but he modestly declined the honour, and sent the +letter of invitation to the King. The citizens of Edinburgh dispatched +humble messages to the King to appease his wrath, and solicited him to +return to his capital, but in vain. The only answer he returned was an +announcement, that ere long he would come to Edinburgh, and let them +know he was their King. The Provost was meantime ordered to imprison +the ministers; and the tumult was declared to be treason by an act of +the Privy Council. A rumour arose that the city was to be sacked, razed, +and sown with salt. But on the 1st of January 1597, the gates and +streets were occupied with bodies of armed men, and the King re-entered +the capital with all the pomp and circumstance of a conquering hero. +The magistrates and the citizens offered the most complete submission, +but the King declined to accept it. A convention of the Estates at +Holyrood anew denounced the disturbance as a treasonable riot and +ordered the Provost and Bailies to be imprisoned in Perth before the +11th of February, and there to remain till they were tried.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_; _Register of Privy Council_; + Birrel’s _Diary_; Calderwood, Volume V., pages 515‒521, 530, + 535‒538. + +The day of the trial was at last fixed for the 5th of March, 1597; +and the case was then put into this form:――two of the bailies, the +treasurer, the dean of guild, four of the council, the town clerk, +and four of the deacons, were summoned to attend their trial, as +representing the city. On the appointed day they all appeared, except +one, who, it was alleged, had the King’s dispensation; but the plea was +overruled, and they were all found guilty of not fulfilling the order +of the council, which required thirteen to be present. The city was +denounced, the burgesses declared rebels, and all their public property +forfeited to the crown. This sentence filled the capital with dismay; +the magistrates threw up their offices and refused to act, and for +fifteen days the city was without either magistrates or ministers. +After this the provost, the magistrates, and the deacons were admitted +into the King’s presence at Holyrood, and on their knees besought +his highness to take pity on the city as they had thrown themselves +entirely upon his mercy. The King severely reprimanded them, and after +expatiating long on the enormity of their offence, he ordered them to +retire, till he should resolve upon their doom. When recalled, they +were commanded to give up to his Majesty the houses in the churchyard +where the ministers used to dwell, who were henceforth to live +separately; to protect the Lords of Session during their sittings under +a penalty; to give up the lower council house for exchequer chambers, +and to pay a fine of twenty thousand marks.¹ Such was the enormous +punishment which the wisdom of James VI. deemed it necessary to inflict +upon the inhabitants of Edinburgh for a harmless hubbub, which it was +impossible for them to have foreseen or prevented, and for which the +King himself and his courtiers were more to blame than any one else in +the kingdom. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume IV., pages 103‒109. + +This severe punishment of the people of Edinburgh enabled the King to +extend his influence and power over the Church. For a time the chief +ministers of the capital were silenced and put out of the way. Two of +the most active had fled to England, and other two were in Fife. James +had thus gained ground in the direction of the object which he had +in view――the establishment of Episcopacy. He was aware that any overt +attempt to reintroduce the bishops would be firmly resisted; and in +accordance with the statecraft and pedantry on which he prided himself, +a series of fifty-five questions were drawn up and published in the +name of the King,¹ touching the polity of the Church, and appointing +a General Assembly to be held at Perth on the last day of February, +1597. Those questions were drawn up by Secretary Lindsay, and they were +issued with the intention of casting discredit upon the established +government of the Church. The points raised in this long string of +questions involved among other matters the great and difficult problem +of the relations of the Church and State, a subject on which the +King and the clergy held directly opposite views. The Church, in all +spiritual things, claimed a supremacy over the civil government, as +Jesus Christ was her Head and King, and the word of God her guide, to +these only was she bound to render obedience. But the weak side of this +principle, as then understood, came out clearly in the realities of +political and practical life. The proceedings of the Church were held +to be independent of the civil government in form and doctrine; and +yet, according to the theory of the Church, the civil authorities must +enforce the decisions of the spiritual courts by the infliction of +secular penalties, as when a person was excommunicated all the legal +machinery of the land was to be employed to crush him. This singular +confusion of ideas was one of the main embittering stings in the +long conflict of the Church and State in Scotland. It seems to have +originated from the theocratic conception embedded in the Old Testament, +already noticed, as influencing the form and spirit of the reformed +religion. Thus it was that the Church and the King both claimed to be +directly under God, and each consequently thought they were supreme. +According to some of the notions of the time the King was accountable +to God alone, and therefore his authority must be above all persons +and courts in the kingdom. At this period the social advantages of the +contention were nearly all on the side of the Church, and it was with +the aim of turning the balance in his own favour that the King proposed +the questions. + + ¹ They are printed in the _Book of the Universal Kirk_, and in + Melville’s _Diary_, pages 390‒403. + +The clergy of the age had no idea of a Church existing separately from +the State. They were continually calling on the King and the government +to pass laws relating to the establishment of the Church, and also on +points of discipline and doctrine; and many acts of parliament, and of +council, were passed on these matters from the Reformation to the end +of the century. But the conditions of society, and the circumstances +in which Protestantism found itself placed, rendered the sanction and +support of the State necessary to its existence; and even if an idea of +the complete separation of the Church and State had arisen in the minds +of the Reformers, it could not have been realised anywhere in Europe +for long after their day. + +The King’s questions were industriously circulated among the +presbyteries and synods. The leading ministers, however, were opposed +to the discussion of them, because they wished to hold by the existing +polity and discipline. The Synod of Fife drew up instructions for the +guidance of the commissioners of all the presbyteries within its bounds, +who were to attend the ensuing Assembly at Perth; and the Presbytery of +Edinburgh did the same. The tenor of these instructions were directly +adverse to the renewed discussion of the polity of the Church.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 903‒911. + +When the Assembly met at Perth, after a long debate on the manner of +appointing a General Assembly, the majority agreed to hold the meeting +to be a lawful General Assembly. The proposals submitted by the King +were then considered. They were hotly contested; but in the end the +King gained his object. It was carried by a majority, that the King +or his commissioner might propose any point of the external polity of +the Church which he desired to be reformed; that the ministers in their +sermons should refrain from rebuking individuals by name, and from +introducing political subjects in their discourses; that they should +hold no unusual meetings without his Majesty’s consent; and that in +all the chief towns the ministers should be chosen with the consent of +the King. The rest of the King’s questions were postponed to the next +Assembly, on the understanding that in the meantime they should not be +condemned either in pulpits, synods, or presbyteries. These conclusions +were ratified by the parliament then sitting in Perth.¹ The King had +thus gained a footing in the General Assembly, which he retained, until +it became a mere organ of the court, and the clergy opposed to his +measures were kept in the background for many years. + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 895‒896; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume IV., pages 110‒112; Melville’s _Diary_, + pages 403‒411. + +Another General Assembly met at Dundee on the 10th of May, 1597, when +the Assembly at Perth was declared lawful, and its proceedings were +ratified. The court party had made great exertions, but it was with +difficulty that they carried their measures. The King was present, and +he obtained the consent of the Assembly to a standing commission of +fourteen ministers, who were to meet with his Majesty and consult and +deliberate on all matters concerning the Church.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 924‒928. + +The conditions prescribed for the absolution and admission of the +Earls of Huntly, Errol, and Angus, came before this Assembly; and a +commission was appointed to receive them into the Church. The ceremony +of their reconciliation to the Church, and their restoration to their +estates, took place at Aberdeen in the Old Church on the 26th of June, +1597. The church was crowded. Immediately before the sermon, the three +earls publicly subscribed the Confession of Faith. After the sermon, +they rose and with a loud voice confessed their defection and apostacy, +and professed their present conviction of the truth of the Protestant +faith, and their resolution to adhere to it. The Earl of Huntly then +declared before God, the King, and the Church, his penitence for the +murder of the Earl of Moray. The three earls were then absolved from +the sentence of excommunication and received into the bosom of the +Church. They next communicated in the Protestant form, and solemnly +swore to keep order in all respects and to execute justice within their +territories. The following day their reconciliation was proclaimed at +the cross amid a multitude of the people, who shouted for joy, drank +their health, and tossed their glasses in the air.¹ + + ¹ The Laird of Gight was also reconciled. In the garb of a + penitent he threw himself upon his knees before the pulpit, + and there implored pardon for supporting Bothwell, and + prayed to be released from the sentence of excommunication. + Scott’s _Narrative_, page 98; _Analecta Scotica_, page 299; + _Spalding Club Miscellany_, Volume II., page 60. + +The four ministers of Edinburgh, who had sought refuge in flight, were +permitted to return, and began to preach in their own churches in July, +1597. The King was all the more bent on his project of improving the +polity of the Church, as the democratic elements of Presbyterianism +were extremely hateful to him. It was soon shown what he intended +to effect by the commission of ministers. He called them together at +the Palace of Falkland, and having summoned the Presbytery of St. +Andrews to appear before them, they reversed two of its judgments. +The King with his commissioners next proceeded to the University of St. +Andrews, and instituted an inquiry into the teaching of the professors. +The commission manifested an intention to find matter for censure +against Andrew Melville, the rector of the new college and professor of +divinity; and, though nothing was proved against him, he was deprived +of his rectorship.¹ The King had at last got his foot pretty fast +upon the chief university and the Church. He aspired to be the supreme +dictator in literature as well as religion. + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume V., pages 550‒654; Melville’s _Diary_, + pages 417‒419; Dr. M‘Crie’s _Life of Melville_, Volume II., + pages 111‒117. + +Parliament met at Edinburgh in December, 1597, and the Commissioners +of the Church presented a petition, asking that the ministers should +be permitted to vote in parliament as the third estate of the realm. +This was the way which the King took to restore the order of bishops +and episcopacy; and the presbyterian clergy at once saw the drift of +the proposal, and attempted to oppose it. But parliament passed an act +authorising the King to appoint such pastors as he thought fit to the +office of bishop or abbot, and conferred upon them the right to vote in +parliament as in past ages. In keeping with the petty craft of the King, +it was left to himself and the General Assembly to determine the limits +of the spiritual jurisdiction of the bishops.¹ It was well known that +there would be much opposition to this act among the clergy, and the +commissioners endeavoured to represent what they had done in the most +favourable light. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV., pages + 130‒131. + +When the Assembly met at Dundee in March 1598, the question of the +bishops, and their voting in parliament in the name of the Church, was +hotly discussed. The King’s party had made great efforts to pack the +Assembly, yet there were still members present whom his majesty wished +to exclude from the debate. At the beginning of the Assembly, when +Andrew Melville’s name was called, the King challenged it, and said +that he could not agree to the admission of one whom he had restricted +from attending on Church courts. Melville, of course, defended his +right to be there; and was supported by the venerable Mr. Davidson, who +reminded the King that he was present only as a Christian, and not as +the President of the Assembly. The King then, with his characteristic +tactics, declared that he would not allow the business of the Assembly +to proceed till Melville retired; and accordingly he was ordered +to confine himself to his lodgings; but when it was found that his +brethren repaired to him, he was charged to quit Dundee under the +penalty of rebellion. After a week spent on the complaints given in +against the commissioners, and a number of other matters, the chief +question was introduced by a speech from the King. He reminded the +Assembly of his own services to the Church; how he had laboured to +remove controversies, restore discipline, and increase the patrimony +of the establishment; and how that in order to secure this, it was +now necessary that she should have a voice in parliament. He therefore +desired the members to discuss every point of the act lately passed +on the subject. The question whether ministers should have a vote in +parliament was then debated at great length, and the affirmative was +carried by a majority of ten. It was further agreed that the number +of the representatives of the Church should be fifty-one, about the +same number as under the Roman Catholic system. Their election was to +belong partly to the King and partly to the Church; but this and other +details were referred for consideration to the presbyteries and synods, +and then to the delegates of the synods, who were to meet with the +theological professors, and, in the presence of his Majesty, to reason +and conclude on the points undecided; and if they could not agree, the +whole matter was to be again put before the General Assembly.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 932, 940, 942‒946; + Melville’s _Diary_, pages 439‒441. + +The resolutions in the southern Presbyteries and Synods showed a +strong opposition to Episcopacy, and an attempt to confine the powers +of their representatives in Parliament within narrow limits. When +the discussions in the provincial meetings were concluded, and their +deputies chosen for the conference, several meetings were held with the +professors; but the result was not satisfactory to the King. He then +summoned the leading ministers of the kingdom to meet at Holyrood in +November, 1599, where with their brethren of the commission they opened +a debate upon the whole subject. The chief proposition was, whether it +was lawful for ministers of the Gospel to have a seat in Parliament? +A long and hot discussion ensued, which naturally enough ended in +settling nothing. Those who took the affirmative side argued that the +Gospel was not intended to destroy civil polity, that the ministry +were a part of the State, and ought therefore to be represented in +Parliament, as well as any other class; that it was reasonable that +they should assist in framing and passing the laws by which they were +to be governed; that ministers were not prohibited from discharging +the social duties of life, and that to debar them entirely from +secular business would be to carry the doctrine as far as the +Catholics had done, when they forbade the priests to marry. It was +also pointed out that, as matters had actually stood for some time +past, the Commissioners of the Church had waited on meetings for fixing +stipends, and often presented petitions to Parliament, and that General +Assemblies had repeatedly craved that no one should vote in Parliament +for the Church without their commission. Those who opposed the +proposition maintained, on the other hand, that though the Gospel by no +means sought to destroy civil polity, Christianity was distinct from it, +and might exist under any form of government; that a seat in the high +council of a kingdom constituted no part of this religion; and that +the ministry was not a civil corporation, nor recognised as a distinct +body in the State, but only as a portion of the general community, and +the ministers, like their fellow-citizens, were already represented +in Parliament by the commissioners of the shires and the burghs. The +performance of the natural duties of domestic life, and the social +duties which devolved upon them all, was a different matter, they said, +from being directly engaged in the offices of the government; and the +presenting of a petition occasionally, had little resemblance to a +regular attendance in Parliament. They knew little of the importance +of the ministerial function, who thought that it was compatible with +the holding of civil offices, and the worldly titles and dominion +which it was sought to import into the Church were not in harmony, +they maintained, with the injunctions of the Gospel, but opposed to +the leading example of Jesus Himself, who professed that His kingdom +was not of this world. It was suggested that the elders and deacons +might be commissioned by the General Assembly to vote for the Church +in Parliament, if it was necessary, which, however, was not admitted. +It was urged also that no General Assembly, before the last, had ever +solicited a seat for the ministers in Parliament; and since 1580, the +Church had objected to bishops and other ecclesiastical persons sitting +in Parliament in her name. The meeting ended where it began. The King +saw that he could gain nothing by it, on the second day he broke it +up, and announced that he would leave the matter to the ensuing General +Assembly.¹ The scheme for the establishment of Episcopacy meantime +continued to be pushed on. + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume V., pages 745‒761. + +James had at last got the preachers of Edinburgh, who had for long been +rather free in their comments on him and his government, pretty well +under his hand. But he was greatly mortified to meet with a rebuff +in a quarter where he least expected it. He had deprived the popular +preacher, Mr. Robert Bruce, of a part of his stipend. Bruce sued the +Crown before the Court of Session, and got a decision in his favour. +James appealed, appeared at the bar in person, and ordered the judges +to give their votes against Bruce. Seaton, the President, then rose +and said: “It is my part to speak first in this court, of which +your highness has made me head. You are our King, we your subjects, +bound and ready to obey you with our lives and substance; but this +is a matter of law, in which we are sworn to do justice according to +conscience and the laws of the realm. Your Majesty may indeed command +us to the contrary; in which case I, and every honest man on this +bench, will either vote according to conscience, or resign and not vote +at all.” Lord Newbottle next rose and said: “It had been spoken in the +town, to his Majesty’s great slander and theirs, who were his judges, +that they dare not do justice to all classes――a foul imputation, +to which the lie that day would be given; for they would deliver an +unanimous opinion against the crown.” For this the King was utterly +unprepared, and proceeded to use the most childish arguments, taunts, +and threats; but in vain. The judges re-affirmed their decision in +favour of Bruce, and the abashed monarch, flung out of court, vowing +vengeance and raging like a maniac.¹ + + ¹ Tytler’s _History of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages 289‒291. + It is noted by Tytler, that Seaton was a Roman Catholic. + The King, however, by the most deplorable means afterwards + managed to deprive Bruce of this part of his stipend. There + are full details of this matter in the _Life of Bruce_, + published by the Wodrow Society, along with his _Sermons_, + pages 80‒83; and in Dr. M‘Crie’s _Life of Melville_, Volume + II., pages 169‒171. + +Much interest was felt throughout the country in the General Assembly +which met at Montrose on the 28th of March, 1600. Both parties had +exerted themselves to the utmost to bring up their men, and there was a +very full attendance of members. It was well known that the decision of +the Assembly would fix the fate of the establishment. The Presbyterians +were confident of their superiority in point of argument and debating +power. Andrew Melville attended the Assembly as the representative +of the Presbytery of St. Andrews; but he was called before the King, +who asked him why he persisted in coming to the Assemblies after his +Majesty had prohibited him. Melville answered that he had a commission +from the Church, and it was his duty to discharge it, on higher grounds +than the command of any earthly monarch. He was not allowed to take +his seat in the Assembly, but he remained in the town and assisted his +brethren with arguments and advice.¹ + + ¹ Melville’s _Diary_, pages 468, 485; Dr. M‘Crie’s _Life of + Melville_, Volume II., pages 144‒146. + +The debate on the proposition of ministers voting in parliament +was resumed. Many arguments were adduced against it and backed by +references to the Scriptures, the writings of the reformed divines, and +the decision of general councils. The court party finding themselves +fairly vanquished by their opponents in the field of open discussion, +then shifted their ground, and affected to condemn the union of sacred +and civil offices, and asserted that the ministers who were to sit in +parliament, would have no civil charge, but would simply be present +to watch over the interest of the Church. But they were quickly driven +from this position; and at last retired behind the maxims of their +master, and asserted that the King alone makes the laws, and the +estates only gave him advice. When the discussion reached the words of +the act of parliament which restored “the office, estate, and dignity +of bishops,” the discussion became too hot, and the King intimated that +this point had been already settled by the last General Assembly, which +at once terminated the debate. If the general question had been put to +the vote, it seems probable that the scheme would have been defeated; +yet, by one device and another the Assembly sanctioned the measure. +A series of restrictions were framed by the Assembly to keep the +commissioners, who were to vote for the Church to their duty; but +the King had no intention of observing these customs. His object +was the re-establishment of Episcopacy, and he filled up several of +the bishoprics; although, in spite of all his efforts, he failed to +materially alter the presbyterian organisation of the Church, till +after his accession to the throne of England.¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 954‒956; Calderwood, + Volume VI., pages 2‒21. + +However much the policy of James the VI. has been admired,¹ it is a +fact, that for many years he distracted the reformed clergy by his +childish notions and his scheme of Church polity. Much of the energy +of the ministers, which but for him might have been employed in +the instruction of the people, was wasted without producing any +good results. The higher aims of religion were neglected, and the +introduction of the reformed religion into the Highlands was greatly +retarded. + + ¹ “Those who wish to perceive the glory of James’s reign must + carefully attend to this part of his history. It was at + this time that he found a stage on which he could exert his + distinguished talent, and stick the doctor’s chair into the + throne. It was at this time that he acquired that skill in + points of divinity, and in the management of ecclesiastical + meetings, which afterwards filled the English bishops + with both admiration and shame, and made them cry out that + they verily thought he was ‘inspired.’ Never did this wise + monarch appear to such great advantage, as when, surrounded + with his own northern men, he canvassed for voters with + all the ardour and address of a candidate for a burgh; or + when presiding in the debate of the General Assembly, he + kept the members to the question, regaled them with royal + wit, calling one ‘a seditious knave,’ and another ‘a liar,’ + saying to one speaker ‘that’s witch like,’ and to another + ‘that’s anabaptistical,’ instructing the clerk in the true + geographical mode of calling the roll, or taking him home + to his closet, helping him to correct the minutes.”――Dr. + M‘Crie’s _Life of Melville_, Volume II., page 152. + +The reader of Scottish history soon becomes familiar with the plots +of the aristocracy against the Crown. The 5th of August, 1600, +was memorable for an event of this character, known as the Gowrie +conspiracy. The Earl of Gowrie of that time was the grandson of Lord +Ruthven, who acted a leading part in the Riccio tragedy. It seems, for +the evidence is imperfect, that Gowrie intended to imprison the King +and then rule the kingdom in his name, as had often been done before. +Very few persons were aware of the plot; hence the doubts of its +reality, and the natural suspicion that it was got up by the King +himself. The main facts were, that the Earl of Gowrie decoyed the +King to his house; and after dinner conducted him into a room in which +the Master of Ruthven handled him rather roughly, but the nobles who +accompanied the King coming to his rescue, after a short scuffle, the +Master and his brother, the Earl of Gowrie, were both slain in the +house. The family of Gowrie, of course, was utterly ruined. The King +insisted that all men must believe that his escape was miraculous. The +ministers of Edinburgh, who had not quite so high an idea of the King +as he had of himself, refused to admit that there was any conspiracy at +all, and would not give thanks to God for his Majesty’s deliverance in +the exact words dictated to them. Five of them were therefore removed +from the capital. With one exception they afterwards submitted and +professed to believe in the conspiracy. The exception was Robert Bruce, +who refused to believe in this conspiracy, and was banished.¹ + + ¹ Tytler’s _History of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages 329, + 351‒358; _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 1000‒1002; + _Register of the Privy Council_; Bruce’s _Sermons, Life_, + pages 84‒96, 188‒196. + +The King manifested his vanity and want of common sense in connection +with this affair more than in any of his proceedings. Granting that +the conspiracy of the Earl of Gowrie was real, it was not an unusual +occurrence or one which stood alone. At the utmost it was simply one +of those projects which were from time to time attempted by the nobles +against their kings. It is not surprising therefore that some of the +clergy and the people should have failed to see anything miraculous +about the matter; and especially those who knew how great an adept the +King was at making conspiracy and treason out of a harmless affair, +such as the recent example of the tumult in Edinburgh. The King issued +a mandate to change the week-day religious service in all towns to +Tuesday, the day on which the event happened. Nor was he content with +this. An Act of Parliament was passed which ordained that the fifth of +August should be observed yearly――“In all times and ages to come, as a +perpetual monument of their humble, hearty, and unfeigned thanks to God +for his miraculous and extraordinary deliverance from the horrible and +detestable murder and parricide attempted against his Majesty’s most +noble person.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV., pages + 213‒214; _Book of the Universal Kirk_, page 1061. + +Notwithstanding that the King continued his efforts to complete his +scheme of Church polity, his success while he remained in Scotland was +very limited; and he looked eagerly forward to the time when he could +command greater resources for the accomplishment of his projects. + +Queen Elizabeth died on the 24th of March 1603. The same day the King +of Scots was proclaimed her successor. For some time the English had +been looking toward the rising sun; and James immediately prepared +to go and take possession of the throne. If he did not fulfil all the +expectations of his new subjects, this was perhaps more their own fault +than his, for if they had moderated their hopes and expected little, +they would not have been disappointed. On the 5th of April James began +his journey, and entered London on the 6th of May, greeted by the +shouts of his English subjects. + +Before proceeding further, it seems appropriate to ask what is the +ultimate problem of the Reformation in relation to the development +of Civilisation? The first thought that strikes one is the extreme +complexity of the problem. The influence of the Reformation was felt +throughout the entire organisation of the nation. The domestic, the +social, the moral, the political, and the intellectual relations of the +people were affected by it, not less profoundly than their religious +practice and faith. Their whole circle of thought and action was +moved to its centre. This revolutionary movement, then, must have a +connection with the philosophy of the human mind. But the historical +manifestation of the mind, for obvious reasons, is exceedingly +difficult to handle; when it is applied to nations or communities, and +not merely treated as a history of systems. There have been various +elaborate philosophical systems emanating from individuals and schools, +which have had comparatively little effect on the progress of the +race, or on the civilisation of independent nations. The philosophy of +the Reformation, however, whatever it was, deeply affected the people; +and this at least is an indication of its reality. In its essence +the Reformation was a religious movement springing out of the devout +feeling and aspiration of the people, which was then associated with +the belief in the divine revelation of the Bible. It opened to the +individual a free access to the heavenly promises offered in the Gospel, +and thus for the time satisfied the inherent cravings of his being and +the deepest emotions of his mind; warm thrills of joy passed through +his soul, till his nature was renewed and he lived in peace and hope. +Another tendency of the movement was to withdraw the senses from +the mere external emblems and material forms of worship, in order +to concentrate the mind on the essential dogmas and the doctrines of +religion in their ideal modes. Hence religion became more allied with +morality and the understanding; but this was rather a result which +ensued in the subsequent development of Protestantism than a special +aim of the Reformers. + +The search for the ultimate problem of the Reformation suggests +the question of the relative efficacy of the religious feelings, +the moral sentiments, and the intellectual ideas, as factors in the +development of civilisation; in other words, the comparative potency +of religion, morality, and science, in advancing social organisation, +the development, the progress, and the happiness of mankind. Upon the +evidence adduced in the first volume, and especially on the evidence +in the preceding chapters of this volume, the following tentative +deduction is proposed:――That the supreme sustaining power of the +Reformation throughout was the moral sentiments and ideas, coupled +with the religious feeling and aspiration. In the succeeding chapters +of this volume more evidence will be advanced and summarised, and +finally the various steps of the generalisation will be explained and +formulated. + + + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + _The Social State of the People in the Sixteenth Century._ + + + SECTION I. + + PRIOR TO THE REFORMATION. + +IN the preceding volume the characteristics of the government and +the institutions of the kingdom were described; the general traits of +feudalism, the powers and privileges of the nobles, and their action, +as exhibited in the history of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. +Resuming the social history of the people from that period, it is +unnecessary to dwell on matters of a similar kind to those treated +in the foregoing chapters. The aim of this work will be attained by +giving a connected view of the social relations of the people, and thus +present a continuous account of their development, while noting the +causes adverse or favourable to their progress. In the main the present +chapter is a continuation of the chapters in the first volume, with +this difference, that the habits and the institutions of the people +are now assumed to be more familiar, so that only the changes and +modifications, and especially those consequent on the revolutionary +movement, have to be noticed at length. Such is the method which will +be followed, in order to throw light on this interesting department of +human activity. + +The Crown of Scotland had few great royal prerogatives which it could +wield at pleasure; the government was, at all points, essentially +aristocratic. The pretentions to prerogative which the kings sometimes +assumed, were soon dashed to the ground by the dominant faction of +the nobles. While in other nations of Europe the kings were augmenting +their power by curtailing the privileges of their nobles, the Scottish +nobility had gradually, during the last two centuries and a half, been +increasing their power, till, at the time of the Reformation, they +became supreme. But from that time onward other influences came into +operation which slowly undermined their power. + +In 1533 James V. remodelled the Court of Session, as the supreme +court for the administration of justice in civil cases. From this date +the Court of the Lords-Auditors ceased; but the Privy Council still +retained the judicial power of the old Lords of Council. The theory +of these courts seems to have been that the Council could administer +justice by its inherent prerogative, and therefore it should interfere +if the strict rule of law inflicted a wrong; while the Court of Session +was supposed to proceed according to the rules of law. In consequence +of this distinction, the lords of the Privy Council assumed something +like a right of superiority over the Court of Session, and on critical +occasions the former sometimes took a very emphatic and decisive +attitude.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 317‒318, + 520‒526, 620, _et seq._ The Records of the Privy Council for + the greater part of the 16th century are still preserved. + Two volumes of the Register, embracing the period from 1545 + to 1579, have recently been published under the authority + of the Record Commissioners, and these volumes have been + ably edited by Dr. Burton, who has conferred a great boon on + historical students by rendering this valuable record easily + accessible. + +The ordinary official staff of the executive comprised the sheriffs +of the counties and their deputes, the bailies of the hereditary +regalities, baronies, lordships, stewardships, and their subordinate +officers. In time of peace throughout the Lowlands, this organisation +afforded a comparative measure of rough order and security to the +inhabitants, though, even in the best settled parts of the kingdom, +acts of violence and lawlessness were very common, and, owing to the +defective means for detecting and apprehending them, and the want +of simplicity in criminal procedure, the offenders often escaped +unpunished. Upon the Borders and in the Highlands, on the other hand, +the state of society was little removed from intermittent anarchy. In +both regions the small clan system prevailed; feuds were frequent and +bloody. At short intervals, when the excesses rose to an unusual height, +the government proceeded to punish and repress them. The chiefs of +the clans were made responsible for the action of their followers, but +this was soon found to be but a very imperfect restraint. When, as it +frequently happened, the chiefs and their men were both engaged in the +same lawless depredations, it often became necessary for the government +to interfere directly. The usual mode of treating the Borderers was +this: the king mustered an armed force, and proceeded against the +reivers and notorious thieves, and executed justice upon them by +seizing and hanging them on the spot, or by occasionally bringing some +of them to Edinburgh to be hanged. The national records during this +century are full of such raids on the border thieves and reivers. The +mode of dealing with the Highlanders was much the same, only the Crown +often delegated its power to a local noble, as to the Earl of Huntly in +the north, and the Earl of Argyle in the west. + +During the minority of James V. the administration of justice was +wretchedly neglected in every quarter of the kingdom. But in 1530 +disorder on the Borders had risen to such a crisis that the King, +at the head of an army, scoured the glens of Yarrow and Ettrick, and +seized Cockburne of Henderland, and Scott of Tuschielaw, two of the +most notorious offenders. They were taken to Edinburgh, and tried for +extorting black-mail from the poor tenants, and for common theft and +reset. Both were convicted and executed, and their lands forfeited to +the Crown.¹ In connection with this raid the king summoned the Earl +of Bothwell, the Lords of Home and Maxwell, the Lairds of Buccleuch, +Fernihirst, Johnstone, and Mark Ker; all of them were imprisoned, and +Bothwell was at last banished. At the same time the King compelled +about fifty other barons and lairds in the counties of Berwick, +Roxburgh, Peebles, and Selkirk, to find security to appear before the +Justiciary when required. In this way the Crown sought to bridle the +reivers and cattle-lifters by making their superiors and neighbours +responsible for the crimes and depredations of those who lived and +harboured upon their lands.² The same year the King made another raid +on the Borders, partly for pleasure, but at the same time prepared to +punish any noted thief who came within his grip. He was accompanied +by the Earls of Athole, Huntly, Argyle, and many other barons, and it +was reported that they killed eighteen score of deer. It was on this +occasion that the famous John Armstrong was taken, a border marauder +who, it seems, operated chiefly on the English side of the marches. +He is represented as surrounded by his followers, and coming to meet +the king to offer him homage; but when James saw him and his company +mounted on horseback, he ordered the chief and most of his men to be +immediately hanged, without the formality of a trial. Armstrong’s fate +excited great commiseration amongst the people of the district, and his +memory is commemorated in a stirring ballad.³ By repeating these harsh +measures, the King for a time reduced the borderers to comparative +quiet,⁴ but it is doubtful whether the severe punishment he inflicted +on them was at all calculated to promote the permanent peace of the +district. Excessive severity often defeats itself; and, besides, the +lawlessness of the borderers could be effectually remedied only by +changing their circumstances; harsh treatment might aggravate existing +evils, but could not reform them. + + ¹ Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume I., pages 144‒145. There + is an exceedingly spirited and touching ballad――“The Widow’s + Lament”――which is supposed to refer to the fate of Cockburne. + Though rude and turbulent, the Borderers had some fine + traits of character; even this reiver and king of thieves + had some estimable qualities. + + ² Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume I., pages 146‒148. + + ³ Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, pages 152‒154; Veitch’s + _History of the Poetry of the Scottish Borders_, pages + 287‒294; 1878. + + ⁴ Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume I., pages 171‒173. + +After the death of the King the borderers broke out in greater excesses +than ever; and throughout the regencies of Arran and the Queen mother, +they grew worse and worse. In the end of the year 1546 the Council +resolved that the regent should pass with an army towards the Borders +and restore order; but the government being then occupied with the +siege of the Castle of St. Andrews, had not a sufficient force. +Accordingly an Act of Council was passed in March, 1547, calling a +muster of the local forces to accompany the regent to the Borders to +assist in stanching the theft, reif, and oppression of the thieves +and reivers. Five years later the Queen regent again attempted to +remedy the evils of the borders, but the people there daily became +more disorderly. The Master of Maxwell in 1553 declined to accept +the Wardenship of the West Marches which his deceased brother had +held. The government offered him five hundred pounds yearly, and some +other reward, such as a benefice or the like, but he still refused to +undertake the office till the offenders against the public authority +were punished, or a sufficient force was placed at his command +to punish them. This could not be done, and Sir James Douglas of +Drumlanrig took the office, but threw it up in less than a year, and +the troubles of the region thickened.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 28, 57, 64, + 120‒125, 132, 137, 140, 143‒146, 152, _et seq._ + +The social state of the Highlands resembled that of the Borders in +many particulars, but there were some differences between them. The +peculiarities of race which have been made so much of, were in reality +of little consequence. The social condition of the Highlanders was +the result of a long chain of causes, rather than of any peculiarities +belonging to the race. This is well shown by the quickness with which +the Highlanders adapt themselves to the requirements of a higher +civilisation so soon as their surroundings are changed. If they had +been the incapable and erratic savages that some have represented +them, how came it, that on being removed from the mountains and glens, +and placed under a course of training for a few months, they proved +themselves amongst the best soldiers in the British army? If idleness, +thieving, and fighting, for the mere love of such things, had been +essential features in the Celtic population of the Highlands, why +was it that they were so easily and readily cast aside when the +circumstances of the Highlander were changed? The fact is that +the social condition of the Highlands was due to a long chain of +circumstances by which the inhabitants were forced into those habits +of living that characterised them, and which were explained in the +preceding volume. To talk, therefore, of their social condition being +due to their defects or peculiarities as a race is inapt and misleading, +and calculated to distort justice and obscure history. The main +difference between the Borderer and the Highlander consisted in the +more complete dependence of the latter on his chief. The vassals and +dependents of the Highland chief stood by him with a fidelity and love +in misfortune as well as in prosperity, which we do not meet with among +the Borderers. In this respect, one of the moral elements of clanship +was decidedly higher in the Highlands than on the Borders. + +The heads of the clans Cameron and Ranald having failed to appear +before the Council at Inverness, the case of the latter was entrusted +to the Earl of Argyle. In 1552 Argyle reported to the government that +the captain of the clan was loyal to their authority, and that he +would have attended before the justiciary if the charge had reached him +previous to his departure for Ireland. Argyle was ordered to continue +his proceedings, and to cause the head of the clan to appear before the +regent and council before Christmas, and take their orders for the good +government of the district. If he failed, Argyle was to make war upon +the clan, and to pursue them with fire and sword, according to the Act +passed at Inverness. At the same time the Earl of Huntly was ordered to +proceed against the Camerons and to pursue them in the same fashion.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 125‒126. + +In the autumn of 1553 it was recorded that for a long time there had +been great slaughter, reifs, enormities, and oppression, committed +upon the people in the northern quarters of the kingdom, and especially +by the strife between the Earl of Caithness and M‘Kay, and their kin +and adherents. The Earl of Caithness was summoned to meet the Earl +of Huntly and the Bishop of Ross at Inverness, in order to concert +measures for restoring order in the county; but he neither appeared +nor condescended so much as to answer the Regent’s letters. The Council +then directed the officers at arms to charge the Earl of Caithness to +come to Inverness and meet the Earl of Huntly and the Bishop of Ross, +and to bring sufficient pledges for himself, his kin, and his allies, +that he would maintain better order in future, under the penalty of +rebellion and horning.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, page 147. + +There was one enemy of peace and civilisation common in the Highlands, +the Borders, and the Lowlands; this was the numerous feuds which had +sprung up and accumulated during centuries of internal strife, till +they were spread throughout the entire nation. The bonds of manrent by +which the different clans and families became bound and banded together, +and against one another in all their causes and quarrels, constantly +tended towards anarchy and confusion. An injury, or the slaughter of +a member of the clan, was never forgotten by the surviving kin; and +an intense feeling of revenge had been fostered so long that it had +assumed an almost incredible strength, as the feud had in many cases +been transmitted from father to son, and from kindred to kindred, +through many generations. In Catholic times the Church recognised its +power by leaving the right hand of male children unchristened, that it +might deal the more unhallowed and deadly a blow to the enemy.¹ This +sentiment now appears to us extremely shocking, but it is one which +belongs to all stages of predatory society. It was nursed, not only +among the Highlanders and the Borderers, but also among the Lowland +aristocracy, and was encouraged and prolonged by the weakness of the +central authority. The feuds among the Lowland nobles in the sixteenth +century were notorious, and often formed the subject of parliamentary +enactments and acts of Council.² Some of the bonds which they entered +into for gaining their ends through deeds of violence have long been +matter of history. The habits of the Scottish nobles always tended +towards lawlessness. Whatever party was at the head of affairs, there +was always sure to be another party plotting, scheming, or fighting +against them, and thus the nation was continually kept in a state +of insecurity. Revolutions in the government followed each other +so rapidly that no encouragement whatever was afforded for peaceful +industry among the people. + + ¹ Scott’s _Minstrelsy of the Scottish Borders_; Veitch’s + _History of the Poetry of the Scottish Borders_, page 299; + Evan’s _Ballads_, Volume III., page 106. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III.; _Register + of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 133‒134, 150‒151. + +During the half century immediately preceding the Reformation, the +national records disclose a deplorable state of crime among all ranks +of society. Murder, slaughter, mutilation, and theft in the form of +cattle lifting, were extremely prevalent. Theft in these times often +led to assault, which usually ended in slaughter, or something like +robbery and murder. Parliament passed many Acts against these crimes, +and the phraseology of the Acts themselves vividly recalls the state of +society. Homicide and slaughter were so common that many respites and +pardons were granted every year. In the end of the year 1501 the Master +of Errol, the son of the Earl of Errol, and three others, were granted +a remission for stealing thirty-one oxen from Sir William Keith of +Inverugy. In 1508 a remission was given to Lord Oliphant and two of his +accomplices for the oppression of Lord Drummond, by casting down the +dykes between the lands of Drymane and Balloch, “and for the murder of +John, Earl of Buchan, in Perth, after the slaughter of James Oliphant, +committed by the said Earl and his accomplices, and for all other +oppressions, felonies, and crimes.” Here we see the action of the +feeling of revenge; the Earl of Buchan had murdered an Oliphant, Lord +Oliphant then murdered the Earl, and we may pretty safely assume that +Lord Drummond was an ally of the Earl of Buchan. To grant pardons for +these crimes was perhaps the best thing that the government of the +time could do. If every one had been hanged who committed slaughter +and murder, there would have been two or three executions every day +of the year. In 1517 “The Master of Glencairn, the son of the Earl of +Glencairn, and twenty-seven others, obtained a remission for the cruel +murder of Sir Matthew Montgomery, Archibald Caldwell, and James Smyth, +and for hurting John Montgomery, the son of the Earl of Eglinton.” +The Earl of Argyle, in 1532, and ninety-two of his followers, obtained +a remission for treasonable fire-raising in the Islands, with his +standard unfurled. “The King and his Council dispensed with the general +act, on the condition that the Earl satisfied the kin of Donald Ballo +M‘Ancrum, Donald Crum M‘Cowuane, Farquhar M‘Sevir, and others having +lawful claims.”¹ These few cases of pardon for crimes are merely a +selection from hundreds of a similar character; and though the criminal +records for the first half of the century are very incomplete, an +examination of what remains discloses a state of society absolutely +lawless. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., pages 250, + 282, 347, 372, 492; Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume I., + pages 102, 108, 234, 247. + +Although in 1528 Parliament attached a severe penalty to the crime of +rape, this crime was often passed over with a very light punishment. +Bigamy and adultery were common offences, and in 1551 Parliament +enacted a measure which proposed severe penalties against them. The +Act proceeds to deal with married persons “that are open, manifest, +and common, and incorrigible adulterers, and will not desist nor cease +therefrom, for any fear of the spiritual jurisdiction or the censure +of holy Church, to the great peril of their own souls,” and directs +that such persons shall be visited with the processes of the Church, +and then denounced as rebels and put to the horn. Divorce was also +extremely common among the upper class in Scotland, and was encouraged +by the fashion of granting papal dispensations.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., pages 298, + 377, 486; Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume I., pages + 28‒406; _Statutes of the Scottish Church_, Volume II.; A. + Robertson’s _Lectures on the Government, Constitution, and + Laws of Scotland_, pages 133‒134, 183; 1878. + +As indicating the absence of respect for the law, and the defectiveness +of the police organisation, the treatment which the executive officers +and messengers often met with may be instanced. Their summonses +and letters were often taken from them and torn to tatters; “and +the evildoers boasted, menaced, disobeyed, struck, and pursued the +officers, and sometimes killed them outright.” In 1546 the Lords of +Council passed an Act imposing severe penalties upon offenders of this +description; and it was resolved to grant no respites to any one guilty +of such crimes for three years to come. On the other hand, the officers +of the law were often guilty of oppression and corruption. They took +bribes from the rich and powerful and permitted them to remain at home, +so that when the pursuer’s case came on before the court, there was +not a sufficient number of jurymen, and the case broke down, while +the injured party lost all the value involved, and the trouble and the +expense of the action. They were accused of summoning poor and simple +persons as jurymen, who had no knowledge to enable them to decide +upon doubtful matters. In 1531 twelve messengers-at-arms were by one +sentence proclaimed fugitives from the law and rebels, and forbidden to +exercise their office on pain of being hanged and drawn. In 1539, again, +thirty-three messengers-at-arms were convicted at once, and deprived of +their offices, for common oppression of the people, “by the false and +unjust exercise of their office, and frustrating them in their just +actions through their ignorance.” After the Reformation attempts were +made to remedy the defects among the officers at arms.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 66‒660; + Volume II., pages 74, 176, 365‒367; Pitcairn’s _Criminal + Trials_, Volume I., pages 48, 74‒75, 154‒157, 217. + +The municipal organisation of the burghs was pretty complete, but owing +to various causes the state of society in them was by no means peaceful +or secure. In 1529 it was stated in the Town Council of Edinburgh +that in past times there had been slaughters and murders in the burgh, +because the officers and citizens had not been careful to resist and +punish evildoers, and that thus the character of the town had been +defamed. It was therefore enacted, “That every merchant and craftsman +should always have beside them in their shops ready for use an axe or +two or more, according to the number of their servants, that they might +be prepared to fortify and assist the magistrates in the administration +of justice.” Those failing to comply with the Act were to be fined +forty shillings for the first fault, and for the second, forty pounds. +This Act was repeated in 1539, and again in 1553, when it was stated +that there had been great slaughters and tussles in the town, which +were likely to recur. It was therefore enacted that “all persons who +occupied shops or chambers in the Highgate should have long weapons +therein, such as a hand axe, a Jedburgh staff, or a halbert, and that +after the ringing of the common bell, or when they saw or apprehended +any brawls on the streets, they should immediately turn out and assist +the officers in stanching and quelling the disturbance. Those who +absented themselves from a tussle on the streets, after being warned, +were to be deprived of their freedom for ever. Each bailie was ordered +to search his own quarter of the city to see that the statute was +obeyed.”¹ Similar regulations for meeting sudden brawls on the streets +were enforced in all the burghs of the kingdom. In 1522 the citizens +of Aberdeen unanimously ordained that all men dwelling in the town, +both burgesses of guild and other craftsmen, should always have in +their shops and office-houses a good fencible weapon, such as an axe, a +halbert, or a Jedburgh staff, for the defence of their persons, goods, +and the commonweal of the city. But in 1530, at a meeting of the whole +citizens called by the provost, it was resolved that――“Considering +the cruel slaughters, murders, and oppression done to them and their +neighbours by gentlemen of the country, ... every neighbour dwelling in +the town should wear daily his weapon on his person, until some remedy +be found how this good town may be freed from such cruel oppressors; +and that every craftsman have his weapon beside him in his workshop, +and when he passes into the street to truss it in his hand, that they +may be able at all times to defend themselves and their neighbours.”² + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., pages 7‒8, 93, 177. + + ² _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume I., page 103, 111, 131, + 448‒449. + +In 1529, during the months of October and November, there were nineteen +persons, male and female, banished from Edinburgh for various offences. +Margaret Clapane was banished for buying oysters to regrate contrary +to the statutes; William Cawdor was banished for buying wild fowls +contrary to the statutes; Janet Brown for her demerits was banished +for all the days of her life; David Christeson was banished because he +was a young stark fellow, who begged and would not work for his living. +An Irishman that sung with a lass, and begged through the streets of +the town, was banished because he was a stout young fellow, and would +not work; if he failed to depart out of the city, he was to be burned +on the cheek. Luke Jamison was expelled for regrating herring; and +Andrew Gibson for regrating the king’s money. In 1536 all the vagabonds +without masters were ordered forthwith to decamp from the town under +the penalty of imprisonment, and thereafter to be banished. The same +year, vagabonds who would not pay their debts, were to be banished from +the burgh; and vagabonds who had no occupation, nor anything to live +upon, nightwalkers, and players at dice and cards, were all commanded +to remove out of the city, under the penalty of imprisonment. No +beggars were to be allowed to live in the town, except those who had +been born in it, and of these such only as were feeble and unable to +work for their living, under the penalty of burning of their cheeks and +banishment. It appears, however, from other statutes that the beggars +in Edinburgh were many. In 1538 Agnes Wright was convicted for causing +a disturbance, and was sentenced to be put in irons at the market cross, +or else above the cross on the scaffold, that the people might see her, +when her offence was to be openly proclaimed, and thereafter she was to +be banished. In 1551 all the sergeants of the burgh were dismissed for +failing in the execution of their duties, and the bailies were +commanded to receive others in their places.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., pages 8‒16, 73, 80, + 88, 90, 156. + +Among the sums disbursed by the Treasurer of Edinburgh for the year +1554‒55, we find the following: “For taking of a great gibbet off +the nether Tolbooth, and bringing it to the top of the Dow Crag, to +have hanged hummil Jok on, and bringing it down again to St. Paul’s +Work, the sum of twelvepence; and for cords to bind and hang him with, +eightpence. In November, for cords to bind and hang a thief, who was +convicted before the sheriff, eightpence. The same month, a great long +chain of iron for the thieves’ hole, with four arms extended from it, +and four locks and bolts, weighing eleven stones and three quarters, +made by John Ahamnay, blacksmith, and the price of each stone was +eleven shillings and fourpence――the total sum six pounds fourteen +shillings and twopence: and for bringing it from the workshop, and +helping to fasten it――eightpence. For cords to bind and hang Tom +Gelirson, and to bind a woman when she was burned on the cheek――two +shillings. For cords to bind Nicoll Ramsay when he was hanged――sixpence. +For cords to hang the man that burnt Lord James’ corn――eightpence.” In +the month of February, 1557, the Town Council ordered their treasurer, +“To pay to John Wauchlott, officer and surgeon, the sum of three pounds +for curing and mending of James Henderson’s leg, which was broken in +the town’s service at the taking of Ramsay, a thief who was slain in +the taking.”¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., pages 294, 295, + _et seq._; Volume III., page 16; _Old Dundee prior to + the Reformation_, pages 350, 208, _et seq._, by Alexander + Maxwell, 1891. + +The surgeons of the period had considerable work in attending to the +broken heads and limbs which resulted from brawls and assaults, and it +appears that the injury inflicted by an assailant was usually assessed +upon their judgment. “When David Arthor hurt Wille Terbat, it was +ordered that the Leech, by the great oath, deponed how many days Wille +might not work through the hurt, and David to pay each day eightpence, +and also pay the leech-craft.” So also “when Rob Dawson struck Wille +Pangell, he was ordained to pay the Leech for his craft of Wille’s head +breaking, and give Wille twelve pence each day that the Leech deponed +that he might not freely labour through the hurt.” + +Persons appearing before the burgh court were required to show due +respect to it, and to give the bailies becoming honour. On the 13th +of March, 1551, in the burgh court of Dundee, Andro Kynneris was +sentenced to pay “to Our Lady light two pounds of wax for causing a +disturbance in the court.” Three years later David Spankey was fined +ten shillings, and ordered to ask the bailies’ forgiveness, for saying +in their presence “that there was no justice done in the Tollbooth.” +Subsequently the Head Court of the burgh enacted: “That if any person +be found disobeying or slighting any officer holding office, he shall +pay to Our Lady Kirk five pounds of money; and the person convicted of +such an offence shall come to the High alter and offer a pound of wax +in a candle, and, if he disobeys, to lose his freedom. But, if he has +not goods or gear, in that case, he shall lie forty-eight hours in the +stocks, and on the following Sunday shall pass about the Kirk, afore +the procession, in linen clothes, and a wax candle of two pounds in +his hand; and if he fails to perform this, to be banished from the town +for a year and a day.” Shortly after this Act was made, Robert Peblis +disturbed the court and uttered defaming words to the bailies, for +which he was fined five pounds. + +In 1556 harlots were ordered to wear a distinctive dress when they +appeared on the streets of Edinburgh. The Town Council of Dundee, on +the 10th of January, 1559, said that “It had been reported to the great +defame, slander, and shame of honest men’s wives, their daughters, and +women servants, that they have been seduced by panders and procurers +to use themselves unlawfully in fornication; for remedy of which the +Council ordered that if there be any such men or women panders in the +burgh, they despatch themselves off within twenty-four hours, under the +penalty of being openly taken to the Market Cross, and there banished +for ever.” Regarding the places where immoral practices were carried +on, it was enacted “that from this day forth no brothels should be +permitted within the burgh.” The custom of “hand-fasting” was then +not uncommon, which was an agreement between a man and a woman to live +together either for a limited or an indefinite yet a terminable time.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume II., pages 248; see also _Burgh Records of + Aberdeen_, and _Old Dundee_, page 285. + +In Catholic times a form of penance was sometimes imposed on offenders +as a part of their punishment. In the year 1523, John Pitt, a tailor +in Aberdeen, was convicted, on his own confession, for disobeying David +Anderson, one of the bailies. The tailor had refused to take his proper +place, with the sign of his craft, in the Candlemas procession, and +he abused the bailie and the merchants of the town by calling them +“coffers, and bidding them take the salt-pock and the fire-brush in +their hands.” For this offence he bound himself before the council to +appear the next Sunday bare-headed and bare-footed in the church, in +the time of high mass, with a wax-candle in his hand, and to offer it +to their patron saint, Nicholas; he also promised to have the usual +token of his craft on his breast――that is, a pair of patent shears; and +then to sit down humbly on his knees and beseech the provost to remit +his fault. Bessie Dempster was convicted in 1538, before the council +by a jury, for the aspersion of David Reid, both by word and deed; and +a part of her punishment was that, on the next Sunday, she should go +before the procession, with nothing on her but her shift, and enter +the High Church with a wax-candle in her hand, and offer it “to the +holy blood light;” and then sit down on her knees, and beseech the +magistrates and the good men of the town to request David to forgive +her. In 1544 the Town Council commanded Mage Durtty, who had been twice +convicted before, and at this time for disturbing Janet Lesly, that she +must go the next Sunday, with a wax-candle burning in her hand, into +the church, and sit down on her knees, and ask Janet to forgive her. +But if ever she again committed such offences, they ordained that “her +crag should be put in the jougs.” Thomas White was convicted by the +bailies, in 1549, for interfering with David Reid, an officer, in +the execution of his duty, and for assaulting Duncan Fraser. He was +ordered to appear on Sunday in the church, in the time of high mass, +bare-headed and bare-footed, with a wax-candle in his hand, and then +sit down on his knees, and ask the magistrates and council to forgive +him, and the officer, Duncan Fraser; and, finally, to offer the candle +to St. Nicholas light.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume I., pages 93, 154, 155, + 198, 206, 212, 271, 272, 429, 445. + +There is little variation in these cases of public penance, but they +enable us to understand some of the peculiar features of the Catholic +system; and it will be found that something of the old forms of +penance passed into the discipline of the Reformed Church. Although +the hierarchy in Scotland was tottering to its fall, and was upon the +very brink of destruction, yet within a few years of the Reformation +the surface of things was seemingly little disturbed. In 1555, John +Sandris, a couper, and his wife, were tried and convicted by the +bailies of Aberdeen, for striking and drawing blood of Thomas Gellane +and his wife; and their sentence was that they should pay Thomas twenty +shillings, to be given to the barbour for curing his wounds; and to +go next Sunday to St. Nicholas Church, in the time of high mass, each +of them with a candle of wax in their hands, and there ask forgiveness +of Thomas and his wife. The same year, other two persons in Aberdeen +underwent penance in a similar form for their offences. + +In Dundee between the years 1520‒3 the bailies in the burgh court, +among other cases, disposed of the following, which have the +characteristic of penance. Willy Marshall for disobedience to the +bailies, and not paying the King’s tax, was sentenced to go to the kirk +“on Sunday before the time of high mass in shirt and gown, barefooted +and bareheaded, with a candle of a pound of wax, and ask the bailies’ +forgiveness, and offer the candle where they command him: and, if he +fails, to come next Sunday with a candle of four pounds; and, if he +fails the third Sunday, to pay a stone of wax to Our Lady.” Reche Crag +had threatened the town’s officers with a dirk, and having confessed +the fault, he was “ordered to come on Sunday in the time of high mass, +and the knife drawn in his hand by the point, and on his knees ask the +provost’s forgiveness, and give him the knife to be placed where he +pleases.” If he failed to do this, he was to pay half a stone of wax +to Our Lady light.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, pages 282, 285, 288; also _Old + Dundee_, pages 17, 18. + +All classes of the people were in the habit of swearing. The literature +of the period contains ample evidence of the number of oaths which were +then common among the Scots. The writings of Sir David Lindsay alone +exhibit upwards of fifty forms.¹ Parliament, in 1551, passed an act +touching “the abominable swearing, execration, and blaspheming of the +name of God, swearing in vain by His precious blood, body, and wounds; +devil stick, cummer-gor, reist or rife them, and other vulgar oaths and +execrations against the command of God. Yet, both among the high and +low, it has come into such vain-glorious use that the people may be +heard daily and hourly blaspheming openly God’s name and majesty.” The +remedy proposed was a graduated scale of fines for those who could pay +them; and the poor people found guilty were to be put in the stocks +or imprisoned for four ♦hours; but women guilty of swearing were to be +treated according to their blood and station, and the parties with whom +they were coupled.² + + ¹ In a note on Lyndsay’s _Satire of the Three Estates_, + Chalmers says――“The one-half of conversation in that age, + both in England and in Scotland, was made up of swearing.” + And he then gives a list of the most fashionable oaths which + occur in Lyndsay’s play, and they amount to thirty-three. + Among them may be mentioned the following:――“By God’s wounds; + by God’s cross; by God’s bread (that is, the altar); by Him + that made the moon; by Him that herried hell; by our Lady; + by St. Mary; by sweet St. Gile;” and so on.――_Works of Sir + D. Lyndsay_, Volume I. pages 360‒363. + + ♦ “honrs” replaced with “hours” + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., page 435. + +Some of the habits of the people and their modes of living were +extremely defective. This appeared most in the deplorable sanitary +state of the towns. The necessary conditions of health were but little +understood, and usually disregarded, till pestilence reached a height +which compelled the authorities to take active measures, and endeavour +to mitigate the suffering. The streets of the towns, and the houses +of the poorer classes, were in a wretched state; and throughout this +century the country was never long free from the pest. Many acts of +parliament and council were passed for dealing with the pestilence, +and the records of all the burghs are full of regulations about it; +but they are chiefly remarkable for the single idea, that to prevent +contact with the persons affected with the disease was the only +remedy and protection against it. The efforts of the authorities were +mostly directed to this, and thorough cleanliness seems to have been +greatly undervalued and neglected. The authorities, however, often +showed commendable energy to prevent the spread of the pest by actual +contact; they exerted themselves to separate those affected with the +disease from the healthy portion of the people; and, in carrying out +their regulations on this point, they frequently acted with great +determination.¹ On the second of October, 1559, the Town Council of +Dundee ordered “that all persons, either rich or poor, having middens +in any place within the boundary of the burgh, should remove them +before Wednesday night, and lay no more in time coming.” Each bailie +was enjoined to visit the quarters where they were, and to cause the +Act to be put into execution. Subsequently the town’s officers were +ordered to pass through the burgh once every twenty-four hours, and +enforce the Act. But, although repeatedly prohibited, the offensive +heaps still continued. It is now well known, though as yet only +imperfectly acted upon, that the rational mode of preserving health +depends on the proper sanitary conditions of the country, and +especially of the great centres of population――thorough drainage and +sewerage arrangements, which tend to promote the general vigour of the +entire population of the Island. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volumes II., III.; + _Register of the Privy Council_, Volumes I., II., III., IV., + V., VI.; _Burgh Records of Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, + Peebles, Perth, and Dundee_. + +In Scotland the streets, even of the chief towns, were not lighted at +night. The Town Council of Edinburgh, in November, 1554, ordained that, +“for eschewing of the evil doings of the vagabonds and others who go +in the burgh in the night, stealing and robbing within the same, there +be nightly, from this day forth till the 24th of February, lanterns and +bowets set up and lighted at five o’clock in the evening, and to burn +till nine, by the following persons:――Each barber on the highgate, each +candlemaker on the highgate, each apothecary, each taverner, each baker, +and each common cook, to have a lantern or bowet burning in front of +their shops and houses during the said hours; and likewise each brewer +in the closes and outwith should furnish a bowet; and also that all +the persons dwelling in closes must furnish bowets night about, as +they shall be ordered by the bailies: and where it happens that two +candlemakers or barbers dwell near to each other, then the bailies +shall put one of their bowets to any other place as he pleases; and +these parties were required to comply with this statute under a fine +of two shillings.”¹ This was a primitive enough mode of lighting the +streets of the capital of a kingdom. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., pages 204‒205; + _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, 262. + +In 1557 Bessie Campbell having been brought before the magistrates of +Edinburgh, promised that she would desist from making _aqua vitæ_, or +selling it in the burgh, except on the market days. It appears from +various records that the use of spirits was quite common amongst all +classes of the people; and drink-money and drink-silver was a very +common phrase in the accounts paid to the different classes of workmen +by the Town Councils throughout the kingdom. + +Reference has already been made to the oppressive burdens which were +imposed upon the tenants, the occupiers, and the tillers of the land. +Contemporary literature abounds with evidence of the wretched state +of these classes of the people. Sir David Lyndsay enumerates by name +several of the burdens which the landlords enforced upon their tenants; +such as “the great fine on the renewal of leases,” and the fines which +had to be paid on the marriage of their daughters.¹ In the _Complaynt +of Scotland_, which was published in 1549, the oppression of the +tenants and labourers of the ground is touchingly related. Their corn +and cattle were often reft from them, and they were then turned out of +their holdings. The poor especially were excessively oppressed.² Prior +to the Reformation, however, some efforts were made to relieve them. +In 1535, Parliament enacted that the poor who cannot work should be +supported by the parishes in which they were born.³ In 1553, James +Henderson laid proposals before the Town Council of Edinburgh for the +improvement of the burgh; and it was then suggested that a new hospital +should be built, with forty beds, for helpless men and women, with a +priest, a surgeon, and a doctor attached to it. The scheme, does not +appear to have been carried out; but about the same time the necessity +of some mode of assisting the helpless poor was recognised. The Town +Council, in 1555, appointed a committee to devise means for supporting +the poor, and expelling sturdy beggars from the town. The next year the +Council appointed two men to receive the bread and the silver collected +for the poor, and to distribute them till the next term. In 1557, the +Council resolved to provide for the maintenance of the poor in the +meantime, and passed several Acts in 1559 for expelling beggars who did +not belong to the town. It was also proposed to make provision for the +poor, according to the Act of Parliament and the statutes of the burgh. +The most common mode of dealing with the poor in the burghs seems to +have been to grant to those who were born in the town liberty to beg, +and to expel all other beggars.⁴ Many of the hospitals for the sick +and infirm which had formerly existed in many places throughout the +country,⁵ had fallen into a state of decay; and as yet there was no +definitely organised scheme for giving assistance to the poor, although +the matter had frequently engaged the attention of public bodies. + + ¹ _Works_, Chalmers’s Edition, Volume II., pages 6‒7, 118; + Volume III., page 147. + + ² Dr. Murray’s Edition, page 123, _et seq._ + + ³ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II. + + ⁴ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., pages 169‒172, 232, + 261; Volume III., pages 50‒51; see also _Burgh Records of + Aberdeen_, Volume I., page 234. + + ⁵ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume + I., page 434. + +The religious feelings and opinions of the people themselves, as +manifested in their daily life during this revolutionary period, is +a highly interesting subject; and an attempt will be made to show +what they were immediately before the crisis of the Reformation. In +1514, the Town Council of Aberdeen resolved to impose a tax for buying +ornaments and books to the church of their “glorious patron Saint +Nicholas.” At the same time an act was passed by which no burgess was +admitted, nor any unfreeman licensed to sell, without the payment of a +certain sum of money for the repairing of St. Nicholas church and choir. +This act was often repeated, and others similar to it were enacted with +the consent of the whole community of the city.¹ The citizens also gave +voluntary contributions for furnishing ornaments to the altars of their +“glorious Saint Nicholas”; and in many other ways they exhibited their +feelings by bestowing a liberal share of the good things of the earth +and of the waters on the Church.² The Town Council of Edinburgh, in +1518, ordained that the servants of the guild and the beadle should +keep the College Church of St. Giles and its choir free from all evil +persons in the time of matins, high mass, and evensong; and that no +beggars should be permitted to enter the church at such times. In +1521, the Town Council resolved that the dean of guild and seven others +should form a committee, to meet every Friday, and sit one hour, and +deliberate and advise touching the good of the church and the making +of freemen and guild brethren. The Council, in 1546, ordered that all +the fines taken from those who had broken the price of wine, should be +applied to the reparation of the high altar; and the following year the +magistrates resolved that the tavern keepers should be poinded for the +dues which they owed to St. Anthony’s altar. In 1552 the magistrates +entered into a contract for making the stalls of the choir of St. Giles; +and in 1555 they appointed a man to sing in the choir at the masses +of Our Lady and the Holy Blood, for which service he was to receive +twenty merks a-year. The same year the council ordered the musicians +who played before St. Giles on that saint’s day to be paid out of +the town’s funds. In the beginning of the year 1556, the provost and +bailies granted to Alexander Scott a pension of ten pounds for one +year only, for his attendance and singing in the choir on all the +festival days, and for playing on the organ when he was requested by +the authorities of the town. On the 5th of November, 1557, the Town +Council granted the benefice of St. Andrews altar in St. Giles’ church +to Robert Craig, the son of a goldsmith, “who promised to be a priest +within two years, or else renounce his prebendary.” The great church +of St. Mary in Dundee had upwards of thirty altars, and a large staff +of priests and officials. There was a peal of five bells in the tower, +on which a chime of one hundred and twenty-nine strikes was rung three +times daily, to call the people to matins, mass, and evening song. +In such churches, and in the grand cathedrals of the kingdom, the +magnificence of the ritualistic service was exceedingly imposing. The +varied and beautiful decoration of the whole interior of the churches, +the altars adorned with cloth of gold, silver vessels, and fine service +books, the beautiful hues of the vestments of silk and tissues of gold, +the sacred crucifix, and the greatly venerated relics of the saints, +and withal, the vocal chanting of touching hymns to the resonant +harmony of the organ, were all carefully calculated to touch the devout +hearts and impress the souls of the humble worshippers.³ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume I., 88, 89, 96, 178, 176, + 218, 235, 248. + + ² _Ibid._, 119‒120, 149, 151, 180, 279, 299. + + ³ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume I., pages 177, 208; + Volume II., pages 125‒127, 142, 174, 218, 220, 236; Volume + III., page 12; _Old Dundee_, Maxwell, page 13, _et seq._ + +Touching the processions in which the craftsmen joined on notable saint +days, pretty full accounts are contained in the Records of Aberdeen, +where they were an important institution. It appears, however, that +these displays sometimes ended in bickerings, that is, in a general +uproar, especially among the young.¹ In 1531 the Town Council of +Aberdeen passed the following statute: “According to the lovable custom +and right of this burgh, and of the noble burgh of Edinburgh, of which +rite and custom the provost has received a copy: that is to say, that +in the name of God and the blessed Virgin Mary, the craftsmen of this +burgh, in their best array, keep and decorate the procession, as on +Corpus Christi day and Candlemas day, as honourably as they can, every +craft with their own banner, with the arms of their craft thereon, +and they shall pass each craft by themselves, two and two, in this +order:――First the fleshers, and next the barbers; next the skinners and +furriers together; next the shoemakers; next the tailors; after them +weavers, walkers, and listers together; next them the bakers; and last +of all, nearest to the Sacrament, passes all the hammermen――namely, +smiths, wrights, masons, ♦coupers, slaters, goldsmiths, and armourers. +And every one of the said crafts, in the Candlemas procession, shall +furnish their pageants, according to the old statute of the year +of God 1510.” The crafts were ordered to furnish their pageants as +follows:――“The fleshers, St. Bestian and his tormenters; the barbers, +St. Lawrence and his tormenters; the skinners, St. Stephen and his +tormenters; the shoemakers, St. Martin; the tailors, the coronation +of our Lady; the listers, St. Nicholas; the weavers, walkers, and +bonnetmakers, St. John; the bakers, St. George; the hammermen, the +Resurrection and the Cross.”² + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., pages 8, 73. + + ♦ “coupars” replaced with “coupers” for consistency + + ² _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume I., pages 449‒451. + +Turning to another class of illustrations of the religious sentiments +of the people, the shoemakers of Edinburgh were incorporated by a seal +of cause, 1510, which contained rules touching payments to the altar +of the craftsmen. “For augmentation of divine service at the altar of +St. Crispin, in the College Church of St. Giles, we desire that the +following statutes, articles, and rules, should be sanctioned by your +authority.” Every apprentice at his entry to the craft had to pay six +shillings and eightpence, for upholding of divine service at the altar +of St. Crispin; and when a shoemaker commenced business as a master, +he had to pay four marks to the altar of St. Crispin. Every master had +to pay one penny weekly for keeping the altar in repair, and each of +his servants a half-penny. All the fines for breaking the rules of the +craft, or disobeying the kirk-master, were also to be applied to the +service of the altar of St. Crispin. The candlemakers were incorporated +in 1517; and it was stated in their seal of cause, “that when they set +up shop, each master must pay to St. Giles’ work half a mark of silver, +and to the reparation and upholding of the light of any altar in St. +Giles’ Church, where the deacon and craftsmen think it most needful, +half a mark weekly; ay, and until they be furnished with an altar +of their own. And, likewise, each master of the craft, in honour of +Almighty God and his Blessed Mother St. Mary, and of our patron St. +Giles, and of all the saints of heaven, shall give the sum of ten +shillings yearly to the helping and furnishing, either of light or +any other needful thing to any altar in the church of St. Giles.” The +bakers were incorporated in 1523, and their patron was St. Cuthbert, +whose altar was in St. Giles; and they kept a chaplain of their own +to perform divine service at their altar. All the fines for disobeying +the rules of the craft were to be devoted to the altar, chiefly in the +form of wax candles to lighten the church and enliven the worship. The +tailors had St. Ann for their patron; and they also had an altar and a +chaplain of their own, “who said prayers.” The bonnetmakers were under +the protection of St. Mark. The skinners and furriers of Edinburgh +were incorporated in 1533. “In example of others, and for augmentation +of divine service at the altar of St. Christopher our patron, in the +college church of St. Giles. Seeing that all virtuous practices depend +on a good beginning, thence persevering and advancing to the end, +therefore all those who set up as skinners and furriers should pay +five pounds for the maintaining of divine service at their altar of St. +Christopher; unless, indeed, they be skinners’ sons within this burgh, +in which case, they shall only pay ten shillings. Every master who has +a shop, should pay one penny weekly to the reparation of the ornaments +of our altar and sustaining of the priests’ meat thereof, as it comes +about.” Indeed almost every craft had its special saint and altar. +Toward the end of the fifteenth century the weavers of Dundee resolved +to found an altar to St. Severus, their patron saint, and the erection +having been sanctified, they then framed rules, which were presented +to the town council. In 1512, the council granted a seal of cause, +incorporating the weavers, “for the supplying and upholding of divine +service and reapparelling of their altar of St. Severus, uphorlden by +them in Our Lady Kirk, and for the government of their work and labours. +It was provided that the fees and fines exacted for infringement of the +rules of the craft should go to the upholding of the altar, and that +each man and woman engaged in the craft, who gives not to the priest of +the altar his meat in the year, as the rest does, shall pay every week +to the altar a penny, to be collected by the deacon of the craft.” In +1516, the town council incorporated the glovers, and the craft became +bound, “in honour and loving of God Almighty, and of the glorious Lady +the Virgin Mary, and of St. Duthac, our patron, to the reparation of +our altar in the parish kirk, for the upholding of God’s service daily +at the said altar, and to the honest sustentation of a chaplain daily +to sing and say at the altar;” and to collect from every person engaged +in the craft forty shillings, for upholding the altar and the service +thereof, except freemen’s sons of the craft, who should pay only six +shillings and eightpence. St. Cuthbert was the baker’s patron saint, +and they founded and maintained his altar in St. Mary’s Church, and +appointed their chaplain annually. In 1515 the guild merchants of +Dundee, with the consent of the town council, resolved to erect an +altar in St. Mary’s Church, “to the loving of God Almighty, of Christ’s +precious blood, and to his blessed mother the Virgin Mary, and to +appoint a chaplain daily to sing and say divine service there, and for +singing mass solemnly every Thursday in honour of the Holy Blood of our +Lord Jesus Christ.” For the reparation of the altar and the upholding +of the service, the merchants were empowered to elect a dean, who was +authorised to exact duties on all goods exported, to tax all merchants +beginning business, and to exact fines from those who encroached on the +High Market Gait with their goods.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume I., pages 127‒129, + 170‒172, 214, 215; Volume II., pages 22‒24, 48‒50, 52‒55, + 61‒66, _et seq._; _Burgh Records of Dundee_. + +In the preceding pages some of the religious sentiments of the people +have been indicated, as manifested in their life and action; the next +point is to look for the signs of the new religious opinions amongst +them before the crisis of the Revolution. The magistrates of Aberdeen +in 1525 received a letter from the King, stating that the bishop of +the diocese had informed him that there were several persons in the +district who had the books of the heretic Luther, and who favoured +his opinions; and the act of parliament newly passed against heresy +was ordered to be proclaimed, and a searching inquisition made of all +suspected persons within the bounds of the diocese. The king’s letter +and the act of parliament were both inserted in the records of the city. +There was no more mention of heresy in Aberdeen till 1544, when some +of the citizens were committed, and convicted for injuring the black +friars; while the same year two of the townsmen were found guilty of +hanging the image of St. Francis. In the beginning of the year 1559 the +buildings of the black and the gray friars were attacked by some of the +citizens, who were assisted by certain strangers; and the bailies then +inquired whether these buildings should be preserved for the good of +the town, “and the setting forth of God’s glory, and the suppression +of idolatry;” notwithstanding the provost’s protest, which was adhered +to by fifteen of the inhabitants, in March the whole community of +“the good town” resolved to support the Lords of the Congregation. In +the month of June the chaplains of St. Nicholas church petitioned the +magistrates to devise some means for defending their church, and for +preserving the chalices, silver work, caps, and ornaments, till the +uproar and tumult of the people was quelled by the ancient and wise +council of the kingdom.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume I., pages 206, 211, + 315‒323. + +In 1551, parliament had passed an act prohibiting the printing or +publishing of any books or ballads, either in Latin or English, unless +licensed by the king and government; and in 1554, the Town Council +of Edinburgh passed an act against the makers of defamatory and +blasphemous ballads. The ballads had been placed before the people, +and had raised discord among them; but the parties who composed the +ballads were unknown, and the bailies ordered that no one should dare +to make such ballads, under the penalty contained in the common laws. +On the 22nd of September, 1556, the archbishop of St. Andrews sent +a document to the town council of Edinburgh, touching the images +which had been taken down in the churches; and the council agreed +to make inquiry concerning the matter, and to report to the justice +clerk. The following day the council received a message from the Queen +Regent, in the name of the primate, which she desired to be inserted +in the records of the burgh. It proceeded, “as we are informed that +there are certain odious ballads and rhymes lately set forth by +some evil-inclined persons of your town, who have also taken down +divers images, and contemptuously broken them――which is a thing very +slanderous to the people, and contrary to the ordinances and the +statutes of Holy Kirk――and we understand that the makers of this +misorder are all dwellers and inhabitants of your town. Wherefore +we charge you that immediately after the sight hereof, ye diligently +inquire, search, and seek for their names, and deliver them in writ to +our cousin the archbishop of St. Andrews, to be used according to the +statutes of the Kirk; assuring you, if ye do not your utmost endeavours +therein to bring the same to light, that ye shall be considered by us +favourers and maintainers of such persons, and shall underlay the same +punishment that they ought to sustain, in case we get knowledge thereof +by you.”¹ Thus we see that the popular ballads had an influence on the +revolutionary movement. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., pages 199, 200, 251. + +In June, 1559, Matthew Stevenson, a servant of a barber, was accused +before the Council of Edinburgh for throwing stones at the windows of +the buildings of the black and the gray friars, the last night that he +was upon the watch. He pleaded guilty, and his master became bail for +his appearance when required. On the 27th of June the Council appointed +a number of persons to whom the vestments, the ornaments, and the gear +of the church of St. Giles were committed for safety. The council met +in the Tolbooth on the 29th of June, and after long reasoning upon +the coming of the Lords of the Congregation to Edinburgh, they at +last resolved to send a deputation to meet them at Linlithgow; and to +arrange with them for the preservation of the religious buildings and +the churches of the burgh.¹ There is something very touching in the +anxiety and the care which the town council of Edinburgh exhibited for +the preservation of the furnishings and the ornaments of their churches, +which, as we have just seen, had been so long and so closely associated +with their altars, and with the religion of their fathers. + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume III., pages 40‒45. + + + SECTION II. + + AFTER THE REFORMATION. + +When the Protestants came into power the evidence of the great change +was soon seen in the proceedings of the citizens. In May, 1560, the +town council of Edinburgh ordered their treasurer to pay the sum of +forty pounds for furnishing the household of their minister, John Knox, +and because he had been living with David Forester since he came to +the town, to settle this account also; and they ordered the treasurer +to pay for a lock to Knox’s lodgings. In June the council ordered that +twenty pounds should be paid to John Willock, the Reformer; while the +council and the deacons of the crafts resolved that the bell, called +the Mary Bell, and the brazen pillars of the Church of St. Giles, +should be made into cannon for the use of the town; they also directed +that the silver work belonging to the town, which had been used in St. +Giles’ church in bypast times, both the gilt and the ungilt, should +be at once sold or coined into money; and the whole of the vestments, +caps, and other gear of the church were to be sold, and the proceeds +to be applied to the common works of the town, and especially to the +rebuilding of the interior of the church, according to the requirements +of the new order of worship. The dean of guild and the treasurer were +appointed to carry these arrangements into effect.¹ The interior of +the churches of Edinburgh were refitted on the 1st of August, 1560, +and the deacon of the tailor craft presented the following complaint to +the provost and council:――“Bearing in effect that the traves close room +or seat, built and made by command of James Barron, dean of guild, at +St. Anne’s altar, sometimes called the tailor’s altar, ought and should +be removed, and the deacons and brethren of the tailor craft permitted +to build their seats there, to be used by them and their craft at all +sermons and other times convenient and none others, conform to their +old possession; to this it was answered, and for plain ordinance by +the provost, bailies, council, and deacons, declared, that in respect +of the goodly order now taken in religion all title and claim to altars +and such other superstitious practices are and should be abolished, and +no further word nor claim thereof to be in time coming; but as it is +commanded by God’s most holy Word, brotherly amity should be amongst +us who are joined in his congregation, the nobility, provost, bailies, +council, elders, and deacons, being first placed, the honest merchants +and the honest craftsmen to place and set themselves together as loving +brethren and friends in that and all other places of the church vacant +at all times needful, providing always that nowhere the apprentices +or servants of the merchants or the craftsmen, or other common people +take up the places and seats of the said merchants and craftsmen; and +this act to take effect without alteration in all time coming.” In +the beginning of January, 1561, the town council of Aberdeen agreed to +sell all the silver and brass work, the images and the ornaments of the +church of St. Nicholas; and the whole of the inhabitants of the city +were warned to attend on the 6th of that month and see these articles +sold by auction. The caps brought one hundred and forty-two pounds, +the brass work sixteen shillings the stone, the silver work was sold at +twenty-one shillings per ounce, and the total sum of the sale amounted +to five hundred and forty pounds. Two men, David Menzie and Gilbert +Collison, dissented and protested against this sale for themselves +and their adherents, but the goods were delivered to the purchasers by +the voice of the majority.² On the 8th of May, 1562, the town council +resolved to apply the above sum of money to the building of a pier +and quay-head;³ so swiftly had the religious notions of the leading +citizens changed. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume III., pages 63‒65, 66, + 70‒71, 85. + + ² _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume I., pages 328‒329, 331. + + ³ _Ibid._, page 344. + +It will be seen that a new epoch had begun. When objects which had been +venerated for many centuries, and were still believed to be possessed +of uncommon virtues, were turned into cash and cannon, and applied to +build harbours, it was obvious that a revolution had been effected. +The citizens of Edinburgh entered warmly and earnestly into the +reformation movement. The town council and some of the deacons of +the crafts met in June, 1560, and having considered the great number +of idolaters, whoremasters, and harlots who daily resorted within +the burgh, provoking the indignation of God upon it, as had been +oftentimes foreshadowed by the preachers, so they issued a proclamation +in a comprehensive form――“That all such persons should come into the +presence of the ministers or the elders, and give testimony of their +conversion from such abuses before next Sunday, or failing that, the +said idolaters to be defamed by setting them upon the market cross, +there to remain for the space of six hours; and carrying of the said +whoremasters and harlots through the town in a cart for the first +fault: and burning of both classes of offenders on the cheek for the +second fault, and banishment from the town; and for the third fault +to be punished to the death.” On the 20th of September, 1560, the +town council ordered the Act of Parliament against idolaters to be +proclaimed.¹ On the 30th of October, the town council enacted that +henceforward the holy day commonly called Sunday should be kept by +all persons in the burgh, and that no one make market, nor open their +shops, nor exercise any worldly calling on this day, but that all +should attend the ordinary sermons both in the forenoon and in the +afternoon: “And that from the first toll of the bell announcing the +hour of the sermon to the final end thereof, there should be neither +meat nor drink sold in open taverns, but that during this time they +should be closed. That the flesh market, which used to be held on +Sunday, should be henceforth held upon the Saturday; and that the +cattle market at the House of the Muir, which had been held in past +times on Sunday, should in all time coming be held on the Thursday.” +At the same time they passed an act against swearing and taking +God’s name in vain, under the penalty of being placed in the iron +branks, “there to remain during the pleasure of the judge.” They also +enjoined concerning taverns: “Because in past times the iniquity of +women taverners in this burgh has been a great occasion of whoredom, +insomuch that there appears to be a brothel in every tavern; therefore +all vintners of wine who may engage women taverners before the +next Martinmas hereafter were to be certified, that if their women +committed any immoral fault they should have to pay forty pounds, +except they deliver the offender into the hands of the bailie, to be +banished, according to the laws, as soon as the offence comes to their +knowledge.”² In November the same year, John Sanderson, the deacon of +the fleshers, was convicted for adultery, and the bailies sentenced him +to be carted through the town and then banished. But when the deacons +of the various crafts heard of the sentence, and their aid was asked to +carry it into execution, they unanimously dissented, and declared that +they would not allow such extreme punishment to be inflicted upon any +honest craftsman. The bailies and council then applied to the Lords of +the Privy Council for their help and support in this case, and after +much wrangling it was at last settled.³ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume III., pages 65, 82‒83. + + ² _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume III., pages 85‒86. + + ³ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume III., pages 89‒95. + Compare the _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume I., pages + 345, 367‒370, and Maxwell’s _History of Old Dundee_, pages + 77‒81. 1884. + +These social immoralities not only engaged the attention of the burgh +magistrates and the courts of the Reformed Church, but Parliament also, +and the Privy Council passed acts for their suppression. There can be +no doubt that a clearer sense of the enormity of social vice originated +with the Reformation; the most strenuous efforts were made to purify +the feelings and the sentiments of the people, as well as to purge the +nation of idolatry. The first General Assembly of the Reformed Church +declared that fornication should be punished according to the law of +God, and that public repentance should be made by those who were guilty +of this sin. All through the acts and proceedings of the Assemblies +of the Church, the clergy, as may be seen, were incessantly and +earnestly trying to improve the morals of the people.¹ It is somewhat +disagreeable to touch much on these matters, but social vice affects +the very foundation of society, and should not be summarily dismissed; +a false delicacy which would ignore the roots of social evil will never +do much to help the onward and upward movement of mankind towards a +higher civilisation and a happier life. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 5, 19, 29, 39, 44, 54‒56, + 79, 91, 98, 114, 140, 170, 180, 267, 308, 366, 377, 379, 388, + 536, 953, _et seq._ + +As we have seen, the clergy were well supported by the authorities +of the towns, and especially by those of Edinburgh, in their efforts +to reform the morals of the people. In November, 1561, the bailies +of Edinburgh banished an adulterer; and in May, 1562, they prepared a +hole in the North Loch for dipping fornicators in, as the best means +of suppressing them. On the 6th of November, 1562, the town council +passed an act which directed the bailies to search all parts of the +town for offenders of this description, and to apprehend them, whether +man or woman, without exception of persons; “and then put them in the +iron-house, and there to be fed on bread and water only for the space +of a month, and afterwards to banish them from the town for ever. And +suchlike offenders who had been tried and convicted by order, both +the man and the woman should be scourged at the cart’s end through +the streets and banished from the town; aye, and until some evidence +be presented to the kirk and the magistrates of the amendment of +their lives; and this order was to be observed in Edinburgh till it +should please the Almighty to move the hearts of the higher powers to +establish better laws for the punishment of these crimes.” In December +the town council ordered a prison to be prepared for the reception of +adulterers and fornicators, which should be secure and lockfast.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume III., pages 129, 135, + 152, 154; _Register of the Kirk Session of St. Andrews_, + pages 36, 142, 172, 180, 377, 417, _et seq._ + +The wish expressed in the last paragraph was realised. In 1563, +parliament passed an act against notorious adulterers: and the Privy +Council in 1564 passed an act prohibiting brothels, either openly or +privately, under the penalty of eight days’ imprisonment with bread and +water, and then to be scourged through the town, for the first fault; +and for the second fault to be burned on the cheek and banished from +the town for ever. At the same time the Privy Council ordered that +those convicted of fornication, should be punished in the following +manner:――“For the first fault they shall pay the sum of forty pounds, +or else both he and she shall be imprisoned for the term of eight days, +and their food to be bread and small drink, and thereafter presented +in the market-place of the town bareheaded, and there to stand fastened +that they may not remove for the space of two hours, from ten o’clock +to twelve noon. For the second fault, when convicted, they shall pay +the sum of one hundred marks, or else sixteen days’ imprisonment on +bread and water only, and in the end to be fastened in the market-place, +and the heads of both the man and woman to be shaven; and on conviction +for the third fault they shall pay one hundred pounds, or else the +above term of imprisonment, their food to be bread and water only, and +in the end to be taken to the deepest and the foulest pool of water +in the town or parish, and there to be thrice ducked, and thereafter +to be banished from the town for ever; and thenceforward, that however +often they may be convicted for this vice, the third penalty shall +be executed upon them.” Parliament repeated this act in 1569; and it +was then enacted that incest should be punished by death. The vice +of adultery was also made punishable by death, according to the acts +of parliament. But in spite of the severity of the laws this vice +continued to be common; and as late as 1592 an act was passed which +declared that the crime of adultery was daily increasing.¹ The citizens +of Edinburgh had anticipated Parliament and the Privy Council, and it +was because a section of the people were prepared to enforce a better +social order that gave to these acts historic importance. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., page 539; + Volume III., pages 25‒26, 213, 543; _Register of the Privy + Council_, Volume I., pages 296‒298; Volume II., pages 306, + 499: Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume I., pages 13‒14, + 22‒40, 78‒80, 100, 169. + +In 1562, the General Assembly resolved to petition the Queen for +the punishment of all vice that the law of God commanded, which, +as yet, was not commanded by the public laws of the kingdom: Such +as blaspheming of God’s name, contempt of the Word and sacraments, +perjury, breaking of the Sunday by holding common markets on that +day, and profane talking. The clergy directed their efforts especially +to the abolition of markets on the Lord’s-day.¹ This is a point of +much interest, and well deserves to be further explained. We have seen +that the Town Council of Edinburgh passed an act, in October, 1560, +immediately after the establishment of the Reformation, ordering +that Sunday should be observed; and it may safely be assumed that the +ministers of Edinburgh had been consulted by the magistrates before +this act was passed. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 19, 30. + +The Privy Council passed an act in 1564, re-enacting the statute of +James IV., which prohibited the holding of markets on holydays, or +in churches or churchyards. But this act, like many others, had never +been observed, and the Council then enjoined that no markets should +be held on Sunday, nor in churchyards. And in July, 1569, the Regent +issued a proclamation prohibiting markets on Sunday, which directed +the authorities throughout the country to seize and confiscate the +goods of those who exposed anything for sale on Sunday. The provost +and bailies of Elgin were charged by the Lords of Council, in November, +1569, to put the acts prohibiting markets on Sunday into execution. It +was further ordered that in all the free burghs common harlots should +be banished; and the provost and bailies of Elgin were imprisoned for +not executing these acts. In 1574, the magistrates of Aberdeen were +enjoined by the Lords of Council to prohibit markets on Sunday, within +the bounds of the freedom of the burgh, under the penalty of forfeiting +all the goods offered for sale on that day.¹ Parliament, in 1579, +re-affirmed the act of James IV., and added, that as markets were yet +held in the towns and in the country on Sunday, and that the people +still continued to work at their usual occupations on the Lord’s-day, +or gamed and played, and passed the day in taverns, and remained away +from the church in the time of sermon and prayers: it was therefore +anew enacted that no markets should be held on Sunday, nor in churches, +nor churchyards, on any other days, under the penalty of forfeiting +the goods exposed for sale, and the proceeds thereof to be given to the +poor of the parish. All manual labour was strictly forbidden on Sunday, +and the frequenting of ale-houses, and the selling of meat and drink, +and also all gaming and playing, under the penalty of severe fines, +which were to be applied to the relief of the poor and helpless.² + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 296, 688; + Volume II., pages 64‒65, 390. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., page 138. + +In 1574, the Town Council of Glasgow ordered that every Sunday one of +the bailies, with an officer and some other honest men, should pass +through the town to visit the taverns and the flesh-market; and if +any flesh was found exposed for sale after nine o’clock, it was to be +confiscated, and given to the poor; and if the taverners offered any +contempt, they were to be punished according to the judgment of the +council. In 1576, two persons were convicted in Glasgow for selling +meal in their houses on Sunday; and the same year the council and +bailies agreed to a conditional restriction touching the taking of +salmon on Sunday. “No salmon-cobles were to be employed on the Sunday, +within the freedom of the city, by the inhabitants thereof, providing +that the whole of the cobles on the waters of the Clyde, burgh and +land, do likewise and keep the same, and otherwise not.” But in 1577, +the Town Council of Glasgow concluded that no market should be held on +Sunday, under the penalty of forfeiting all the goods exposed; yet some +persons were shortly after convicted for selling flesh on Sunday.¹ The +Town Council of Aberdeen, in 1580, ordained that the fish-market should +in future be held within the Iron-ring, and around the Fish-cross; and +that on Sunday, from the ringing of the first bell in the forenoon and +in the afternoon, until the sermon be done, there should be no market, +under the penalty of the confiscation of the fish to the poor. The +General Assemblies were always complaining that the acts of Parliament +and of the Privy Council touching the keeping of Sunday were not +enforced. In 1581, the Synod of Lothian complained before the General +Assembly that the act of parliament for prohibiting markets on Sunday +was not put into execution, that the people still continued to hold +their markets on that day, absented themselves from the church, and +remained in their ignorance, and that thus atheism was increased.² + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Glasgow_, pages 21, 48, 60, 63, 65, 74. + + ² _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume II., page 38; _Book of + the Universal Kirk_, pages 253, 284, 536. + +But it is extremely difficult to change the customs of a people; and +in spite of all the efforts of the clergy and the authorities, ♦the +observance of Sunday for several generations after the Reformation was +far from universal in Scotland. In 1588 the Town Council of Aberdeen +recorded that many of the citizens stayed away from the church on +Sunday, frequented taverns and alehouses, dealt in merchandise, +and continued at their manual labour during the time of the sermon, +contrary to the order of the Reformed Church. The council then proposed +the following scale of fines to be exacted from those who absented +themselves from the preaching: “Every burgess of guild and his wife +for their remaining from the sermon on Sunday, thirteen shillings and +fourpence; and for their remaining from the sermon on the weekly days, +two shillings. Every craftsman, householder, and other inhabitants, for +remaining from the sermon on Sunday, six shillings and eightpence; and +every week-day, twelvepence. And in case any merchant or burgess of +guild be found in his shop after the ringing of the third bell on the +week-day, he must pay six shillings and eightpence.”¹ The days on which +sermons were preached in Aberdeen, besides Sunday, were the Tuesdays +and Thursdays; and down to the present time there is a service in one +of the city churches every Thursday, though sad to tell, few of the +inhabitants are even aware of it. + + ♦ duplicate word “the” removed + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume II., page 62; Compare + _Burgh Records of Glasgow_, page 93. + +In 1590 the General Assembly found it necessary to pass an act for +restraining of markets on Sunday, the going of mills, the delivering +of loads, and the selling of flour and fruit in Edinburgh; and in 1592 +parliament passed another act touching the holding of markets on Sunday. +It enacted that the markets formerly held on Sunday should be held on +any other day of the week, except the day on which the neighbouring +burgh held their market. In 1598 the town council of Aberdeen ratified +the act passed before concerning the holding of markets on Sunday in +the time of the sermon. From this it seems to follow that markets were +still held on Sunday in Aberdeen about the end of the century, though +not during the hours of worship.¹ Even as late as 1602, more than forty +years after the Reformation, the General Assembly reported that the +churches in many places were not well attended, owing to the people +continuing to labour on Sunday, especially during the harvest and +seed-time, and also by the going of the mills, and by many of the +people fishing on Sunday for white fish and salmon. The Assembly +ordered that all such labour upon the Lord’s Day should cease, under +the penalty of incurring the censures of the Church; and at the same +time the Assembly requested the King to enact some special punishment +for those who persisted in working on Sunday.² The observance of Sunday +in Scotland was not attained till after a long and vigilant struggle. +On this point the reformed clergy and the magistrates both may have +sometime been rather severe; yet it is difficult to see how they +could have reached their end otherwise. The importance of the day of +rest, even on the comparatively low ground of the physical and social +advantages resulting from it to the people themselves, is very great, +apart from the higher aims of morality and religion. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 776, 777; _Acts of the + Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., page 548; _Burgh + Records of Aberdeen_, Volume II., page 167. + + ² _Book of the Universal Kirk_, page 996; _Register of the Kirk + Session of St. Andrews_, pages 309, 314, 343, 349; _et seq._ + +It is true that the discipline of the Reformed Church of Scotland +assumed an austere and rigid form, although on the whole it was far +more moral and vigorous than the system which it superseded; but in the +special region of feeling and emotion it was weaker than its Catholic +rival. The strongest characteristic of Roman Catholicism has always +consisted in the art of presenting to the human senses a variety +of easily comprehended objects. The immense multitude of her saints +and martyrs can be easily localised anywhere, and in the requisite +proportion to fit the capacity of her humblest votary. In the chief +church of the city or parish there may be ten, twenty, thirty, or +forty altars, each dedicated to a particular saint, as in St. Giles +at Edinburgh, where each of the different crafts of the town had their +own special saint and altar, at which they worshipped. It must be +admitted that there is something indescribably fascinating in the +feeling of having the assistance and the protection of a great saint; +and the element of selfishness in it merely raises the emotion to +a higher pitch, and enhances the value of the benefits which spring +out of the union between the saint and his devoted adherents. In this +connection everything has been very skilfully arranged for avoiding +any unnecessary strain on the imagination of the worshipper: the image +of his patron saint is pleasingly and gracefully placed before his +eyes, and he is thus relieved from all troublesome cogitation. As the +God of the universe has condescended to make the Roman Catholic Church +infallible, the true Catholic can have no religious doubts; he has +no occasion to ruffle the serenity of his mind, for his Church has +settled everything, and his simple duty is to believe what she teaches, +and he cannot be wrong. This is a primary article of faith with all +Roman Catholics. It has taken a firm hold on multitudes of the human +race, and penetrates deeply into the minds of many earnest and able +men. Hence Roman Catholicism has a stronger tendency to make men +docile and submissive than Protestantism. Those who believe that +the Church is infallible on earth and supreme in heaven, can have no +motive to venture beyond the comparatively narrow circle marked out for +them. Thus it is, that in those countries where Catholicism has most +completely maintained its sway, there has been little real progress +in the region of science, or philosophy, or the higher criticism, and +less freedom of thought, than amongst the Protestant nations. But in +the realm of the fine arts Catholicism has held her own, if she has not +always been able to maintain an unchallenged supremacy. Yet our deepest +thoughts touching God, the world, and man, cannot be successfully +handled by the figurative arts; as these thoughts are too abstract for +sensuous representation. + +The discipline of the Reformed Church was brought to bear upon the +people in many ways. The process of censure which she then wielded +was a great power. The form of excommunication used in the Church of +Scotland was drawn up by John Knox, and, as finally revised, it was +adopted by the General Assembly in 1569, and ordered to be printed. +It is a treatise containing an enumeration of the crimes which deserve +excommunication, the forms to be followed, the pains and penalties +incurred, the form of repentance, and of readmission to the society +of the Church.¹ The first part treats of summary excommunication. And +under this head the following crimes are noted as deserving of such +a sentence: Wilful murder, adultery, sorcery, witchcraft, conjuring, +charming, giving of drink to destroy children, and open blasphemy +against God and his holy Word, or railing against the Sacraments. All +who committed these offences were to be excluded from the society of +Christ’s Church, that their impiety might be held in greater horror, +and that they might be the more deeply moved when they saw themselves +abhorred by the godly. Against these open malefactors the process +of summary excommunication might be applied. When the offender had +been tried by a jury, the Church was not to excommunicate him, but to +proceed by way of admonition, and to show him how precious human life +is in the sight of God, and that no one ought to shed blood, except by +the sword of the magistrate; and upon sufficient evidence of repentance +he was to be restored to the fellowship of the Church. If the offender +was fugitive from the law and his crime well known, the sentence of +excommunication was to be pronounced without delay.² There were forms +also for the readmission of penitents. After confessing their sin +and admitting that Satan had for a time gotten the victory over them, +they had to present themselves on three Sundays before being finally +restored.³ + + ¹ The General Assembly in 1563 requested John Knox to put + in order the form and manner of excommunication. In 1567 + the Assembly appointed a committee to revise the order of + excommunication, composed by John Knox; and in 1568 the + Assembly nominated John Craig, John Willock, John Row, + Robert Pont, James Gray, William Christeson, and David + Lindsay, to revise the order of excommunication, which had + been penned by John Knox. _Book of the Universal Kirk_, + pages 37, 93, 131, 155. This treatise is printed in the + Collection of Confessions published at Edinburgh, 1722, + Volume II., pages 700‒752. It is also printed in the sixth + volume of Dr. Laing’s collected edition of Knox’s works, + pages 445‒470. + + ² As may easily be conceived, the process of summary + excommunication must have been open to grave and fatal abuse. + In 1590 the General Assembly had under consideration the + state of crime, such as murder, adultery, and incest; many + persons guilty of these evil deeds eluded the Church by + shifting from place to place, and thus continued to evade + the final sentence. The question was then asked whether + summary excommunication should be pronounced on persons + falling into such odious crimes, and it was answered in the + affirmative. But in 1595 the King proposed to the General + Assembly that summary excommunication should be utterly + abolished; the Assembly however did not comply with his + request, the subject was postponed. The point again came + before the Assembly in 1597, and without giving a final + decision, they agreed in the meantime to suspend all summary + processes of excommunication. _Book of the Universal Kirk_, + pages 779‒852, 853, 947. + + ³ The Church in handling those guilty of capital crimes, + proceeded with the aim of strengthening the hands of + the magistrate. See _Acts of General Assembly.――Book of + the Universal Kirk_, pages 144‒145. “Those who have been + excommunicated for their offences, should present themselves + in sackcloth, bareheaded and barefooted, on six preaching + days, and the last one after sermon, to be received in + their own clothes.”――_Ibid._ page 159. Touching those guilty + of heinous crimes but not excommunicated. “They should be + placed in the public place, where they may be known from + the rest of the people, bareheaded the time of the sermon; + and the minister must remember them in his prayer after the + sermon: after going through this, they had to appear before + the Assembly bareheaded and barefooted in linen clothes, and + humbly to request the Assembly to restore them to the bosom + of the Church.” _Ibid._, pages 176‒177, 283, 284, 309, 358, + 583, 748, _et seq._ + +One class of offences came under the punishment of what was called +public repentance, such as fornication, drunkenness, swearing, breaking +the Sabbath, and common contempt of the order of the Church. Lesser +offences, as vain words and uncomely gestures, were visited with +admonition. + +The form of excommunication and the rules of the process for the case +of the absolutely obstinate sinner who resisted all admonition were +minutely laid down. The final words of the sentence ran thus: “And at +the command of this congregation, cut off, seclude, and excommunicate +this man from the body and from our society, as a person slanderous, +proud, a contemner, and a member at present altogether corrupt and +pernicious to the body. And this his sin by virtue of our authority +we bind and pronounce it to be bound in heaven and in earth. We +further give him over into the hands and the power of the devil to the +destruction of his flesh.” Every one who associated with or sheltered +an excommunicated person rendered himself liable to a similar sentence. + +The last part of this remarkable treatise laid down the mode of +procedure for receiving the excommunicated person again into the +fold of the faithful. The civil penalties attached to the sentence +of excommunication was enough to make it a terrible punishment. No +other punishment at all approaches that which deprives a man of all +intercourse with his fellowmen; and probably if a human being were +certain that no other person in the world sympathised with him, and +that he was abandoned and abhorred by all men and driven from their +presence, he could not live. Even the most degraded individuals +need the sympathy of their fellows. Among the criminal class this is +the case; the most hardened criminal feels that he has at least the +sympathy of his companions and confederates. A criminal who has often +eluded the hand of justice and defied the laws of his country, is +regarded as a hero among his own class. Though he has been convicted +often and has suffered many years of imprisonment, he is still looked +upon by them as a distinguished character, and is conscious that he +has their sympathy. But the man who was excommunicated in the sixteenth +century was probably placed in a much more harrowing position than the +worst criminal of the present day. + +Fasting in the Reformed Church of Scotland was a mode of discipline +which was often resorted to; and there was a treatise on the subject +composed by Knox and Craig, in 1565, by the authority of the General +Assembly, which reduced this exercise to a regular form.¹ When the +General Assembly of 1565 proposed to hold a fast, the order and form to +be observed was drawn up and printed. This form was afterwards followed, +and a brief notice of the occasions on which, according to a statement +afterwards added to it, it was deemed necessary to hold a national fast, +will give a vivid impression of the ideas and sentiments of the clergy +and of the state of society. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages, 279, 578‒581, 590; 74. + The treatise on fasting is printed in the _Collection of + Confessions_, published in Edinburgh in 1722, Volume II., + pages 642‒700; and in the sixth volume of Laing’s edition + of Knox’s _Works_, pages 391‒429. + +In 1572 the Assembly resolved that there should be a public humiliation +among all who feared God and professed the true religion, with prayers +and fasting throughout the kingdom, to begin on the 23rd of November, +and to be continued to the last day of the month, “with the intent +that the notorious offenders and open slanderers of the Church may be +brought to amend their lives, or else to be excluded from the society +of the faithful.” It was deemed necessary that before the fast the +superintendents and the ministers should appoint certain days and +call before them all the known offenders in their respective districts +and parishes, such as murderers and their accomplices, adulterers, +robbers of the patrimony of the Church and of other men’s possessions; +commencing with the ministers themselves and the nobility, and then to +proceed through every other class of the people, that wickedness and +heinous crimes which offend the majesty of God may be purged out of +the nation. A rigorous scrutiny was to be made of the diligence and the +life of the clergy themselves, and also of the life of the nobility, +who ought to be the chief example of the whole country.¹ The General +Assembly which met in April, 1577, having considered the great iniquity +that overflowed the whole face of the community, as it appeared by the +light and revelation of the true religion, justly to provoke and stir +up the justice of God to take judgment and vengeance on this unworthy +and unthankful nation; “observing also the many perilous storms +and the rage of persecution daily invading the true Church of Jesus +Christ; the extreme suffering of her members in France and elsewhere, +that therefore earnest recourse should be had to God by prayers, the +Assembly appointed a fast in all the congregations of the realm, to +begin on Sunday the 9th of July and to be continued to the following +Sunday.”² + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 252‒253. + + ² _Book of the Universal Kirk_, page 390. + +The cry of the Church was that corruption pervaded all classes of the +nation, that it was therefore necessary to have recourse to fasting, +and to call upon God to avert His righteous judgment impended over +the people. Another specimen of the language commonly used to express +their ideas and sentiments as to the grounds of fasting, may suffice +to illustrate this phase of the reformed religion, as it was then +understood and practised. The General Assembly in 1581, “ordained a +general fast to be observed universally in all the kirks of the realm, +with doctrine and instruction of the people, to begin the first Sunday +of July and to be continued to the next Sunday thereafter inclusive, +using in the meantime, exercise of doctrine according to the accustomed +order; and the commissioners were instructed to call on the King and +to request him to assist therein by sending out proclamations to that +effect.” The causes of this fast are stated in the following order. +“1. Universal conspiracies of the papists and the enemies of God in all +countries against Christians, for execution of the bloodthirsty Council +of Trent. 2. The oppression and thraldom of the Kirk of God. 3. Wasting +the rents thereof without remedy. 4. Falling from the former zeal. +5. Flocking home of Jesuits and Papists. 6. Manifest bloodshed, incest, +adultery, and such horrible crimes defiling the land unpunished. 7. The +danger wherein the King’s majesty stands through evil company resorting +about him, by whom it is feared that he may be corrupted in manners +and in religion. 8. Universal oppression and contempt of the poor.”¹ +About this time, the Church of Scotland stood almost alone in her bold +and unflinching opposition to the pretensions of the Church of Rome. +Through all the vehement and rude language of the Protestant clergy, +they never forgot to plead for the oppressed and the struggling poor. + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 407, 409‒410, 569‒570, 730, 747. In 1596 + the General Assembly drew up a list of what was called + “The common corruptions of all the Estates within the + realm.” This report gave a fearful description of the + state of society. But there is always hope of amendment and + reform for a nation that has the heart and the honesty to + acknowledge its errors and misdeeds. The clergy were not + afraid to admit and proclaim their own shortcomings, and it + is only foolish mockery to cry peace, peace, when crime, and + injustice, and oppression, and vice, and suffering, abound + on every side. Those who wish to see this representation + of the state of society in Scotland at that period, should + consult the original document in the records of the Church, + and in other national and local documents.――_Book of the + Universal Kirk,_ pages 864‒867, 872‒875. + +When a national fast was proclaimed by the Church its observance was +strictly enforced. In the General Assembly of 1580, Mr. Thomas Buchanan, +the minister of Ceres, was questioned for not causing the fast to +be observed within his bounds; “so that when the rest of the country +was humbled in fasting, there was no fasting in Fife.” His answer was +that he had done all that he could to cause the fast to be observed, +but there were instances which no one could remedy, and these he +had particularised in his report to the Assembly.¹ As we have seen, +the saints’ days, festivals, and holydays, were all discarded at the +Reformation; and although sometimes here and there the people showed a +tendency to revert to observances of them,² the sermons on two days of +the week, the occasional fast days, and the entire devotion of Sunday +to religious exercises, were amply sufficient to satisfy the spiritual +needs of the people. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, page 451. + + ² _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume II., pages 25, 39, 66; + _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 332, 334, 389; _Register + of the Privy Council_, Volume II., page 390. + +But some of the old traditions and customs associated with the saints +still exhibited signs of life amid the changed forms of worship +and belief. This was strikingly manifested in connection with the +venerated wells of the early saints. The General Assembly, in 1573, +determined that the discipline of the Church should be used against +all who went on pilgrimage to wells; and it was deemed an offence +that the magistrates ought to punish. In 1580, the Church requested +the government to make a special punishment for all those who went +on pilgrimages to wells and churches, as a number of persons had +lately passed on pilgrimages to the Holy Rood of Peebles, and to other +places. The following year, the General Assembly craved that an act of +parliament should be passed against persons who go on pilgrimages, and +perform superstitious practices at wells, crosses, images, and altars, +or observe feasts on days dedicated to saints. Accordingly parliament +passed an act in 1581 forbidding pilgrimages to wells, chapels, and +crosses, the observance of any festival days, “and such other monuments +of idolatry――as making bonfires, singing of carols in and about the +churches at certain seasons of the year, and the observance of other +superstitious rites to the dishonour of God and the contempt of true +religion.” A severe fine was to be imposed upon all who broke the law +for the first time, and for the second offence the penalty of death +was to be inflicted.¹ But only two years later, a question came before +the Assembly as to how the ministers who permitted people to repair on +pilgrimages to wells close beside their own manses, without reproving, +but rather encouraging them by entertaining them with meat and drink, +should be punished? The Assembly concluded that a minister guilty +of such neglect of his obvious duty, deserved to be deprived of +his office.² In spite, however, of the acts of parliament and the +discipline of the Church, numbers of the people still continued to +visit the wells, to go on pilgrimages to certain churches, to make +bonfires, and to keep holydays.³ In fact, many of the wells were +resorted to down to the present century, and within my own recollection +there were wells supposed to possess special virtues, which were +frequently resorted to by the people. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 280, 462, 535‒536; _Acts + of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., page 212. + + ² _Book of the Universal Kirk_, page 638. + + ³ _Ibid._, pages 720‒721, 874, 1055, 1120. + +The relation of the sexes at the time of the Reformation was in an +extremely unsatisfactory state. In the preceding volume of this work, +it was shown that the institution of marriage had passed through +various modifications, and that though the Roman Catholic Church had +often attempted to make it a public and solemn act, she had only partly +succeeded in overcoming the loose habits of the people.¹ In this volume +it has already been indicated that the principle of celibacy imposed +upon the Roman priesthood and the religious orders had the effect of +lowering, instead of elevating, the feelings and sentiments naturally +associated with the institution of marriage. The obvious fact could +hardly fail to strike the mind that, if marriage is a good and lawful +connection instituted for the continuance and comfort of the race, the +consequent inconsistency of prohibiting any class or profession from +entering into it becomes palpable; for what is absolutely necessary +to the continuance of the race, and calculated to increase the sum +of human happiness, cannot be denied to any class of men without +introducing a most invidious, immoral, and warping distinction. The +principle of moral consistency is utterly shocked by the rules of a +celibate priesthood, as if this pretension of unhuman purity exalted +them above their fellow-men, and prepared and enabled them to become +qualified instructors of mankind; as if the natural sentiments which +cluster round the domestic hearth must be eradicated from their breasts; +and that when thus shorn and dwarfed, they are better able to feel +and understand what is needful for the well-being of humanity. First +extinguish the strongest and most essential sentiments of the human +heart, and then you have a priesthood admirably fitted to maintain +their position as the enemies of all progress, of all liberty, of all +freedom of thought; a priesthood that for ever struggles to uphold a +belief in traditions and legends, in signs and wonders, and enfolds +their adherents in a mesh of puerilities and absurdities well suited +to the spirit of the Dark Ages. + + ¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume + I., pages 153‒156, 244, 428. + +The first General Assembly of the Reformed Church agreed to adopt the +law of Moses, touching the degrees of blood relations in marriage. By +it first cousins were allowed to marry with each other, and all remoter +degrees, but in the direct line of descent marriage is forbidden +throughout; this became law by act of parliament in 1567. It was +found, however, to be difficult to bring the people under restraint +in the relation of the different sexes; as men and women had a custom +of cohabiting after promising to marry, without publicly solemnising +their marriage. The Church was forced to take severe measures against +defaulters of this character, and the reformed discipline was sternly +applied. It was enacted by the General Assembly that those who wished +to be married must give in banns to their parish minister and be +proclaimed on three successive Sundays. In 1579 it was stated in the +General Assembly that some of the ministers would solemnise marriage +only on Sunday, while others married people upon week-days, which +had raised much slander; and the Assembly was called upon to give a +decisive answer on the point. The answer of the Assembly was, that +when parties had been thrice proclaimed they might be married on any +day of the week if a sufficient number of witnesses were present.¹ But +some persons were still married without proclamation of banns, and the +General Assembly of 1597 resolved that none should be joined together +in marriage, unless thrice proclaimed in their own parish church, +according to the custom observed in Scotland; and that any minister who +contravened this rule should be deprived of his office, and the other +parties ordained to satisfy the Church by public repentance.² + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., page 26; + _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 5, 30, 32, 66, 72, 73, + 114, 440‒441. + + ² _Book of the Universal Kirk_, page 939. + +It was not necessary that marriage should be celebrated by a clergyman, +and though it was the law of the Church that banns should be proclaimed, +the consent of the parties might be declared simply before witnesses. +Even when no formal consent appeared, marriage was presumed from +cohabitation, if the parties were reputed to be husband and wife. +Before the civil courts of Scotland evidence of this description was +often held to prove marriage.¹ When marriage was solemnised according +to the order of the Church, it was called regular, when otherwise, +clandestine, which, however, was held to be valid, though penalties +were sometimes annexed to it. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II.; Erskine’s + _Principles of the Law of Scotland_, page 66; 1802. The + complete system of registration, established about forty + years ago, will ultimately supersede the necessity of having + recourse to such evidence touching marriages. + +In connection with marriage some curious points were occasionally +brought before the General Assembly. In 1575 this question was asked: +“Whether the contract of marriage which used to be made before the +proclamation of banns between the man and the woman should be made by +words of the present time. The man saying to the woman, I take thee +to be my wife, and the woman saying to the man, I take thee to be my +husband; or should there be no promise made till the very time of the +solemnisation of the marriage. Answer――Parties to be married should +come before the session and give in their names, that their banns +may be proclaimed, and no further ceremony used.” Again, it was asked +what should be done in the following case: “A man and a woman in the +presence of some of the parishioners were married in the parish church, +or hand-fast by the reader, and thereafter mutually cohabited together +at bed and board as married people, and were so reputed and holden. The +minister of the same church, at the woman’s desire, a good space after, +leads a form of divorce between them in this manner: he calls the woman +before him, and caused her to swear that her husband never had any +sexual intercourse with her, and thereupon, without further questions +at the man, decerns them separated and divorced from each other, the +man always dissenting and still claiming her as his wife. Whether is +this form of divorce allowable in a Reformed Church that has received +the Gospel, and if it be not, what correction does the minister deserve +who usurped and used this manner of process and judgment?” The Assembly +answered: “That this divorce was not lawful, and that the minister +should be suspended and make public repentance.” Once more: “A certain +man with his accomplices ravished and took away a woman, and thereafter +married her without proclamation of banns, but did not solemnise the +marriage in the face of the Church, but in a private house. Whether +is this marriage lawful, or are children begotten therein legitimate +or not? and what punishment should the minister receive who so abused +marriage?” The Assembly answered that the minister should be deposed.¹ +In 1579 it was asked in the General Assembly: “What order should be +taken with the persons who went to a popish priest to be married, and +their banns not being proclaimed, should they be esteemed as married +persons, and if not, what discipline should be used against them?” It +was answered: “This connection is no marriage, and therefore ordains +the persons to be called before the particular assemblies, and to make +satisfaction as fornicators; and upon a new proclamation to be married +according to the order of the Reformed Church, and the papist priest to +be punished.”² + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 143, 144, 345. + + ² _Ibid._, page 441. In the Register of the Kirk Session of + St. Andrews, which covers the period from 1559 to 1600, + there is great collection of interesting information on the + social state of the people; the Register was issued by the + Scottish History Society in 1889‒90. + +The question, at what age the young should be allowed to marry, came +before the General Assembly in 1600. It was then stated that great +inconveniences had arisen from the untimeous marriages of young persons +before they were of age meet for entering into this union. As yet there +was no statute of the Church defining the age at which persons might +marry; but it was then enacted that henceforth no minister should join +in matrimony any persons, except the male be fourteen years of age, +and the female at the least twelve years: the Assembly directed their +commissioners to request parliament to ratify this act.¹ When the +Church was making an act on this important social point, she might have +shown a little more wisdom, and not given her sanction to the marriage +of persons at this early age. In justice to the Church, however, +it must be mentioned that there was still an heirship of feudalism +involved in the marriage of a certain class of individuals. This was +a pecuniary casualty due to the superior from the heir of his former +vassal, after the age of fourteen if a male, and if a female twelve; +and thus there was an engrossing interest attached to the marriage of +a portion of the landed class while they were minors, and under the +control of their superiors. This marriage casualty arose from the right +which the superior had over the person, as well as over the estates of +the minor heir; and it was chiefly restricted to ward holdings, except +where a special clause in the charter imported it. It was the privilege +of the superior to dispose of the heir in marriage, and to take the +marriage portion to himself; but if the minor heir refused the offered +match, and named another, then he was not entitled to the possession of +his lands after the ward terminated, till the superior was refunded the +double of the value of the portion which would have accrued to him from +the offered marriage. Seeing, however, that no man nor woman could be +forced to marry, it was the interest of the superior to have the power +of arranging this important affair, while the heir or heiress was very +young; and so an extremely complicated mode of attaining this end was +gradually introduced into the law of the kingdom.² Cases arising out of +these peculiar rights of the superior, in connection with the marriage +of his vassals, frequently came before the courts;³ and under various +modifications these invidious privileges continued till 1748, when they +were finally abolished. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, page 953. Erskine says, “But + by our law, children may enter into marriage without the + knowledge, and even against the remonstrances, of a father.” + ――_Principles of the Law of Scotland_, page 66. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II.; Volume III. + + ³ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 311, 324, + 326; Volume II., pages 470‒472, 447, 693; Volume III., pages + 250, 312, 318, 547, 667, 687; Volume IV., pages 222, 418, + 422, 712; also Volumes V. and VI. + +Regarding divorce, the doctrine of the Reformed Church was clear and +emphatic. She insisted that marriage could only be dissolved either on +the ground of adultery, or wilful desertion; and for obvious reasons +she endeavoured to make divorce difficult. The Church firmly maintained +that divorced persons should not be permitted to marry their paramours; +and at her request, Parliament passed an Act in 1600 prohibiting such +unions.¹ There are two sides to this social question, and at that time +there was ample justification for the Act. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 19, 31, 146, 148, + 197, 262, 269, 306, 333, 377, 524, 539, 953; _Acts of the + Parliaments of Scotland_, Volumes III., IV.; _Register of + the Privy Council_, Volume II., page 7. + +Some account has already been given of the measures taken for the +relief of the poor in the period preceding the Reformation. From the +first, the Reformed Church endeavoured to make provision for the really +indigent poor, and also to relieve the labourers of the ground and +the oppressed tenants, from some of their burdens. The first General +Assembly resolved to petition the government to make better laws for +the protection of pupils and orphans. In 1565, the Assembly took into +consideration what should be done to those who oppressed children, +and it was resolved in 1568, that oppressors of children, should +be admonished by the Church to make public repentance in sackcloth, +bareheaded and barefooted, as often as the particular congregation +shall appoint.¹ The following year, the General Assembly petitioned the +government to make provision for the poor, suggesting that a portion of +the tithes should be applied to that purpose, and requesting that the +poor labourers of the ground should have intromission to take their own +tithes upon a reasonable composition. It is quite evident that after +the nobles obtained possession of the Church lands, they then oppressed +the tenants by exacting tithes, rents, and other dues, so that for a +considerable time the occupiers of these lands were much harder pressed +than before the Reformation. The reformed clergy in many ways exerted +themselves to improve the material well-being of the people, as well +as their moral and social state: and there is ample evidence of this +throughout the records of the period.² + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 6, 75, 125. + + ² _Ibid._, pages 146, 306, 353, 339, 417, 425, 603. In 1587, + the General Assembly petitioned the King: “That order should + be taken with the poor, who in such multitudes wandered up + and down the country without law or religion.” _Ibid._, page + 715. The next year, the Assembly made a proposal that every + minister should endeavour to deal with this moving mass of + poor within his own parish. _Ibid._, page 731. Concerning + the tenants and labourers of the ground, the Assemblies + made repeated appeals to the Government to take measures to + relieve them, pages 22, 40, 49, 60, 108, 507, 511. + +Collections were made in the churches every Sunday for the poor; other +sources of revenue that should have fallen to them, had been diverted +by the Revolution into other channels. The government in 1574 ordered +the provost and magistrates of Aberdeen to remove the organs out of +their churches, and dispose of them, and to give the proceeds to the +poor. They were ordered to sell the Gray Friars’ church and grounds +to the highest bidder, except what was required for lodging the poor, +and all the proceeds of the sale to be applied to sustain the poor. At +the same time the Town Council of Aberdeen came under an obligation to +build an hospital for the poor and impotent, and to put the croft and +the mire and the house belonging to the leper folk, which lies between +Old and New Aberdeen, into proper repair, for the support of the leper +men and women, as was originally intended. The community of the city +the same year resolved that alms should be collected weekly by one of +the elders of the Church, and delivered to the keeping of the minister, +to be distributed among the poor every month, according to the +discretion of the session. Beggars not born in the town were ordered +to be removed, and the poor citizens were directed to wear the town’s +token on their outer garments that they might be known.¹ The Lords +of Council passed an act in 1575 for the punishment of sturdy and +idle beggars, and for providing support for the poor and helpless. In +1578 there was a great dearth in Scotland, and the Lords of Council +discharged the customs on victuals imported, in order to mitigate the +suffering of the poor.² + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume II., pages 391‒393, + 402; _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume II., pages 20, 21. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume II., pages 435, 680. + +One difficulty of dealing with the poor arose from the defective police +organisation. There was no adequate means for handling the multitude of +strong beggars, “such as make themselves fools and bards,” gipsies, and +a host of other vagabonds, who moved about and continually multiplied. +It was difficult to separate these from the really deserving poor, and +this long hampered the laws relating to the latter class. The city of +Aberdeen had an official whose duty it was to keep the town free from +extraneous beggars “not born and bred within the burgh.” In 1577 the +council agreed to give him forty shillings to buy a garment to himself, +on which the town’s arms was to be put, and then remitted “him to the +session, to be helped and aided by them also, as his office concerns +for the most part the ecclesiastical jurisdiction.”¹ When mixed notions +of this kind prevailed regarding the jurisdiction of the civil and +ecclesiastical spheres of action, we can easily see how the beggars +would succeed. In 1574 Parliament passed an Act re-enacting the former +Acts against beggars and all idle persons between the age of fourteen +and seventy, and proposed to inflict severe penalties upon them. +This Act also provided for the support of the poor, the aged, and the +helpless, and it may be considered the first Poor-law Act of Scotland. +It was repeated in 1579, and again, with some additions, in 1592, and +once more in 1597. But the beggars and vagabonds still increased.² +The centuries of feudal anarchy had entailed a legacy of vagrancy +which the Government and the Church endeavoured to suppress. Years +and generations passed, yet all the influences of religion and the +restraints of the law appeared equally powerless to remove the idle +and the ruffian population who preyed upon the industrious inhabitants +of the kingdom. A long train of circumstances had concurred to feed +the natural inclination to idleness and wandering among the people. +A large portion of mankind have always manifested a similar tendency. +But notwithstanding all the anarchy and the wretchedness of the nation, +there was a core of vigour and health; and the moral discipline which +the Church was so earnestly inculcating soon began to take root in the +heart of the people. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume II., page 29. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 86‒89, 139, 579; Volume IV. + +The subject now to be noticed is one of melancholy interest, for the +sad aberration of the faculties of the human mind which it manifested. +A belief in magic, sorcery, witchcraft, and necromancy is a phenomenon +which has afflicted mankind from the earliest ages onward to the +present day. The forms they assumed are innumerable and endless; +but whether it originated from ignorance, and has been sustained and +continued by this; or whether something akin to it must naturally arise +from the constitution of man, and the circumstances in which he was +placed in the universe, as some eminent philosophers seem to hold; or +whether it springs up gradually from a confused consciousness, at first +tinged with an inclination, and afterwards with a deliberate intention +to impose upon and deceive the people for interested ends, is a problem +that cannot be decidedly answered.¹ The manifestation of the mind +and feeling of the human race has been so diversified and unequally +developed, that what is superstition and necromancy to one nation, +may appear to another to be the only true form of religion; while +that which another community believes and professes to be true and +holy, a different people may believe to be the very work of the enemy +himself. The beliefs of mankind, so far as they are known, have always +contained opposing and directly exclusive elements of this character, +which is mainly a result of the varied degrees of civilisation +that have prevailed throughout the world. Even the same nation, at +different periods of her life and development, may entertain the most +opposite beliefs, as we find in the history of our own country. The +difference between a believer in witchcraft and a believer in modern +spiritualism is only one of degree and development; and if witchcraft +and spiritualism are both founded upon the same class of notions, it +is the higher development of morality and intelligence which renders +the latter more harmless in the nineteenth century than the former was +in the sixteenth. Among all the forms of belief in evil spirits, that +which assumes the reality of a union between the evil spirit and a +human being for the purpose of doing injury to other people is the most +mischievous in its action on society. When men believed that the devil +was an enormously powerful being, and that he could give an almost +unlimited portion of this power to his confederates――the witches, for +working all manner of evil――we need not be surprised that the King and +the clergy were very anxious to purge the land of witches. + + ¹ On the rise and development of the notions of ghosts, + spirits, demons, divination, exorcism, and sorcery, there + is much valuable information in Tylor’s _Primitive Culture_, + and in the First Volume of Herbert Spencer’s _Principles of + Sociology_. + +It seems to be pretty well ascertained that the belief in ghosts, +spirits, and demons, has descended from the early cult of the +prehistoric ages. One cause of the continuance of the belief in such +imaginary beings into comparatively advanced stages of civilisation, +appears to be the extreme credulity of uncultured and uncritical man, +and another is the craving for the marvellous――a notable trait even in +recent times. In the early stages of culture there seems to have been +scarcely any distinction between the facts of inspiration and the facts +of divination. The diviner employed his power for practical ends. The +medicine-man of the savage stage operated in a somewhat similar way as +an exorcist does; he invoked the aid of supernatural agents, and then +endeavoured to make the body of the patient so disagreeable that the +demon became glad to depart. In the more developed forms of exorcism, +one demon was employed to expel another, or the officiating priest +might summon a friendly spirit to his assistance. This power of the +exorcist over evil spirits, when further developed, was used for many +other purposes, and assumed the forms of sorcery and magic. The belief +in the agency of evil spirits which the human race has manifested +is a perplexing problem in the history of religion. In the earlier +forms of religion the evil spirit or god was most feared, and hence +a kind of devil worship seems to have prevailed. In the neo-platonic +philosophy――that curious mixture of subjective thought, ecstasy, and +theosophy, which flourished from the beginning of the third century to +the sixth――there was a large element of theurgy and magic, and some of +the most eminent of these philosophers were addicted to sorcery, and +professed to have received divine communications to foresee ♦the future, +and to perform miracles. The trials and executions for witchcraft in +the sixteenth century present painful evidence of the continuance of +the belief of demoniac agency. The belief in the power of the devil +as something which manifested itself in the life of men and women +was universal; the Reformation failed to shake it. The seventy-third +canon of the Church of England, enacted in 1603, prohibited the clergy +from casting out devils; in the present century the belief in demoniac +possession of the body, which continued among the lower classes of the +people in Germany in spite of the progress of civilisation, was revived +among educated Protestants; and even yet it is not quite extinct in any +nation in Europe. + + ♦ duplicate word “the” removed + +In 1563, witchcraft was declared by Act of Parliament to be punishable +by death. Probably the sudden shaking and the suppression of the +traditions and notions of the people at the Reformation, had tended +to arouse and revive other ideas of the demoniac order. However, +witches soon became numerous after the revolution. The clergy and +the kirk-sessions were very active in searching for witches. When +these poor creatures were apprehended, they were placed in solitary +confinement, and often fearfully tortured, to extort a confession of +their guilt. They were systematically deprived of their natural rest; +they had to endure cold, hunger, and thirst; and then the branks were +applied to the unhappy victims, who were soon reduced to a fit state +for confessing what was required. Their trial followed on the emission +of one or more of the confessions thus obtained, which usually formed +the groundwork of the public accusation and prosecution for this +imaginary crime.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II.; Pitcairn’s + _Criminal Trials_, Volume I., pages 38, 49‒58. + +It was stated in the General Assembly of 1563, that four witches had +been delated for witchcraft by the superintendent of Fife and Galloway. +The Assembly requested the Lords of Council to take order with them, +and the complainers were commanded to give in their information. The +General Assembly, in 1573, passed an act touching those who consult +with witches, and ordered that persons suspected of conferring with +them should be called before the superintendents; and, if they were +found to have consulted witches, then they had to undergo public +repentance in sackcloth, on Sunday in the church, under the penalty +of excommunication. “If they be disobedient, to proceed after due +admonition, and excommunicate them.” The popular party in the Church +accused Bishop Adamson of consulting witches. Under the year 1583, +James Melville records that Adamson was lying sick in his castle, +“and oftentimes under the care of a woman suspected of witchcraft.... +This woman being examined by the presbytery, and found to be a witch, +in their judgment, was given to the bishop to be kept in his castle +for execution, but he suffered her to slip away; but within three or +four years thereafter, she was taken, and executed in Edinburgh for a +witch.”¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 44, 283; Melville’s + _Diary_, page 137. + +It is well known that James VI. was a firm believer in witchcraft, and +he greatly encouraged the prosecution of the wretched creatures accused +of this crime. During the last twenty years of the sixteenth century, a +considerable number of witches were tried and executed in every quarter +of the kingdom. They were accused, tried, burnt, and drowned, for doing +and attempting to do, many curious and wonderful things; but most of +the points in the accusations appear to us very ridiculous and absurd. +Making a clay picture of the individual whom the witch intended to +injure or to kill, was a very common point of the indictment. One +count of the indictment against Bessy Rory, who was tried in 1590 for +witchcraft, but acquitted, was this: “Thou art indicted for a common +awaytaker of women’s milk in the whole country, and detaining the +same at thy pleasure, as the whole country will testify.” Much of the +records of the trials for witchcraft are quite unfit for publication. +One of the most extraordinary stories in these indictments is the +account of the meeting of the witches with the devil in the church +of Berwick. The company who met his satanic majesty on this occasion +consisted of a hundred persons, of whom six were men, and the rest +women. The old enemy boldly ascended the pulpit, and delivered an +address to his servants. He inquired what they had done since their +last meeting; then, after giving them some more instructions, he +concluded by commanding them to do all the evil that they could. Before +the company separated, the witches showed their respect for their +master in an unmistakable and exceedingly becoming fashion. On this +night, the devil was respectably dressed――he wore a fine black gown +and a hat.¹ + + ¹ Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume I., pages 76, 101, + 161‒165, 186, 201‒204, 207‒213, 230‒241. + +Many of the witches were accused of conspiring and attempting by their +devilry to destroy the King; and this aroused the weak-minded monarch +to greater efforts against them. + +Francis Stewart, Earl Bothwell and High Admiral of Scotland, was a +son of John Stewart, prior of Coldingham, a natural son of James V.; +thus the Earl was a nephew of Queen Mary and the Regent Moray, and a +cousin of James VI. He became a powerful personage, and by his daring +exploits often threw the King into a state of extreme alarm and terror. +Politically he was wayward and reckless, and acquired a reputation for +dissipation. For a considerable time many of his offences were condoned; +but at last he was accused of trafficking with witches in a treasonable +manner, and for treasonable purposes, and on these charges he was +brought before the King and Council on the 15th of April, 1591, and +committed to prison in Edinburgh Castle to await his trial; while two +of his servants were summoned on similar charges to appear before the +King and Council on the 6th of May. Bothwell escaped from the Castle of +Edinburgh on the morning of the 21st of June; and on the 25th a royal +proclamation was issued denouncing him as a wicked traitor who had +entered into a conspiracy “against his Majesty’s own person, consulted +with necromancers and witches, both in and without this country, for +the purpose of taking his Highness’s life, which was confessed by some +of the same class already executed, and by some others yet alive, ready +to be executed for the same crime.... For which cause, and the former +treasonable offence whereof he was convicted, his Majesty now at last +has caused the doom of forfeiture to be pronounced against him, so that +he is now a declared rebel, a traitor, an enemy to God, his Majesty, +and this his native country.” Yet Bothwell was not extinguished, for, +on the night of the 27th of December, he suddenly entered Holyrood +Palace and battered at the doors of the King’s chamber, the Queen’s +chamber, and the apartments of Maitland, the Chancellor. It seems that +he intended to seize the King, to murder the Chancellor if necessary, +and thus effect such a revolution in the Government as he desired in +his own interest; but his attempt failed, though it appeared that he +was abetted by several persons in the King’s court. The hue and cry +against the bold rebel and consulter of witches was redoubled, and +proclamations against his accomplices were issued, still the daring +Bothwell, with his witchery, almost drove the King, the Chancellor, +and the Council, into utter distraction. Meantime the prosecution and +execution of the witches and the sorcerers had been proceeding. Euphame +MacCalyean, the wife of a notable Edinburgh advocate, was accused on +various charges of witchcraft. Her trial lasted from the 9th to the +13th of June, and one of the chief counts in her indictment was that +she had kept intercourse with the witches who had formed a conspiracy +for the destruction of the King. She was convicted and sentenced to +death, and the poor woman, “on her conscience, protested that she was +innocent of the crimes laid to her charge.” On the 25th of June, 1591, +the very day on which Bothwell was proclaimed a rebel, Euphame was +executed on the castle hill of Edinburgh. Barbara Napier of Edinburgh +was another reputed witch, and was also accused of treasonable +witchcraft against the King’s own person. On the 11th of May, 1591, +she was convicted, and sentenced to be strangled and burned; but, after +the stake was set in the Castlehill, and everything prepared for her +execution, some of her friends alleged that she was pregnant, whereupon +the execution was delayed. As it was considered hard to execute her +after this, her life was spared, whereat the King was much displeased. +James was enraged at the jury for acquitting her of the charge of +treasonable witchcraft against his own person, and he purposely went +to the Tolbooth of Edinburgh and delivered an oration on the subject +to enlighten the minds of jurymen and the people touching “The use of +witchcraft, and the enormity of the crime; its punishment according to +Scripture, the ignorance of thinking such matters were fantasies, the +cause of his own interference, the ignorance of the jury in the late +trial, the cause of their finding, and his own opinion of what witches +really are.” His Majesty explicated the above points at great length; +and it appears that his oratory had been effective, for on the 26th of +October the Privy Council appointed a Special Commission, consisting +of six members, viz., Cockburne, the Justice-Clerk; MacGill, the King’s +advocate; two burgesses of Edinburgh, and two Presbyterian ministers. +This Commission was empowered to deal with all persons suspected, +delated, or accused of witchcraft, sorcery, and all such devilish +devices, and to examine, imprison, and torture them, and then report +in writing the depositions to the King and his Council in order +that the witches and sorcerers might be tried by a jury and justice +executed upon them. Moreover, the King granted, and also sold, many +commissions to earls, barons, sheriffs, stewards, and to the local +authorities of burghs and towns, which empowered them to search for all +persons suspected of witchcraft within the districts included in the +commissions, to examine and torture them, put them to trial and execute +them. For many years this cruel mania against witches raged throughout +the kingdom, and was mainly instigated by the conceit and timidity of +the King. + +Richard Graham, the great sorcerer of the time, who had been connected +with the alleged evil practices of Euphame MacCalyean, Barbara Napier, +Earl Bothwell, and others, was himself at last brought to trial and +condemned. He appears to have been a thorough rascal; but he adhered to +the declarations which he had emitted, that Bothwell had held magical +consultations touching the King’s death, and he also asserted that +Ex-Chancellor Arran had dealt in witchcraft. He confessed to several +raisings of the devil, especially once in the house of John Boswell +of Auchinleck, “and once in the yard of the house in the Canongate +belonging to Sir Lewis Ballenden, the late Justice-Clerk.” On the 29th +of February, 1592, Graham was strangled and burned at the Cross of +Edinburgh. + +Bothwell still continued his exploits. On the night of the 28th of +June, 1592, he re-appeared with an armed company of his followers and +besieged the King and Queen in Falkland Castle, intending to carry +them off, and putting them in terror of their lives; but the people +of Fifeshire mustered and went to the rescue of the King, and on their +approach Bothwell retired, having been frustrated in his main object. +Great efforts were made to drive him out of the kingdom, yet, though +repeatedly chased, condemned and forfeited, and proclaimed a traitor +and an outlaw, under every possible form, still he was at liberty, and +supported by an unknown number of followers; and thus he was a cause of +constant anxiety to the Government and of terror to the King. Early on +the morning of the 24th of July, 1593, Bothwell was again in the Palace +of Holyrood by the connivance of the Duke of Lennox, Lord Ochiltree, +and other courtiers. The King was then forced to capitulate to his +detested archenemy; in fact, Bothwell for five or six weeks was master +of the political situation; so on the 26th of July the King granted an +act of remission and condonation of all the crimes of Bothwell and his +accomplices. This was obtained, however, under menacing circumstances, +when Bothwell and a band of his armed followers stood around the King, +who was in terror of his life. Bothwell then had such a number of +associates in Edinburgh that he offered to stand his trial to clear +himself of the charges of witchcraft against the King’s life, which +had been the chief cause of all the trouble with him. Accordingly a +jury was summoned, and on the 10th of August he was tried before it, +and unanimously acquitted of all the charges of witchcraft against the +King’s person. For a time Bothwell and his party had the King in their +hands, and his Majesty was sorely vexed at the restraint of his liberty, +and extremely perplexed as to how he could extricate himself from his +embarrassed position. On the 7th of September, a Convention of Estates +was assembled at Stirling, in which Bothwell’s party seems to have sunk +into a feeble minority. On the initiative of the King, the Convention +intimated to him that he was not in any way bound by the conditions +extorted from him at Holyrood Palace, and an Act was immediately +passed declaring “that his Majesty, with the advice of the Estates, had +recalled the grant made to Bothwell in August last.” This was intimated +to Bothwell, and shortly after he assumed a threatening attitude. On +the 11th of October he was summoned, along with two of his adherents, +to appear before the King and the Council on the 25th, under the +penalty of rebellion, and having failed to appear he was denounced; +still, he was not extinguished. On the 3rd of April, 1594, he appeared +at Leith with a body of armed followers, attacked the royal army under +the King’s own command, and forced them to retire, and nearly obtained +possession of the capital. The following year, early in April, however, +he was obliged to leave Scotland. It was reported that he had gone to +France, thence into Spain, and finally to Naples, where he died in poor +circumstances, about the year 1606. + +It appears that no other man of public mark had been so much connected +with the alleged practices of witchcraft as Bothwell, or so incessant +in consultations with the noted witches and warlocks of the period, and +especially with the arch warlock Richard Graham. In the charge of high +treason on which he was arrested and imprisoned in April 1591, which +had driven him into his subsequent career of rebellion, the main count +had been that he conspired with such infernal agencies for the death of +the King, and thus to attain his own ambitious aims in the State. This +was the view that the King entertained of Bothwell’s proceedings and +exploits. + +It is quite evident that the belief in witchcraft was entertained by +all classes, the parliament, the Lords of Council, and the Judges of +the Court of Session; none of them indicated any doubt of the reality +of infernal agency, nor any inkling of the absurdity of the devil +appearing in a human form, and assisting persons to accomplish all +manner of mischief.¹ + + ¹ Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume I., pages 242‒257, + Volume II., pages 361, 397‒400. Witchcraft was a crime for + which no remission or respite was given. _Register of the + Privy Council_, Volume II., pages 198, 318; Volume IV., + pages 392, 609, 624, 643, 666, 680, 705; _et seq._, Volume + V., pages 4‒5, 14, 72, 91‒98, 100, 137‒139, _et seq._ + +The Church also continued to search and hunt for witches. The General +Assembly, in 1587, had before them the case of a witch who was lying +in prison at St. Andrews; but it seems the evidence in her case was +insufficient, and James-Melville was ordered by the Assembly to travel +on the coast side and collect matter for an indictment against her. +In 1597, it was reported to the Assembly that several persons had +been convicted of witchcraft, yet the magistrates not only refused +to punish them according to the law of the country, but in contempt +set them at liberty. The Assembly then ordered that the presbyteries +should proceed in all severity with the censures of the Church against +such magistrates as liberated convicted witches. About the end of the +century a great number of witches were burnt in Aberdeen; yet it seems +the city was not free of them, as in the beginning of the year 1600 +the council resolved――“That the commission purchased to the provost of +the burgh and the sheriff of the county, for holding of justice courts +on witches and sorcerers, should be prosecuted upon all persons in +this burgh and the freedom thereof, who were delated for this crime, +so that the city should be purged of such contagious enemies of the +commonweal.”¹ Indeed the local authorities and the clergy were intently +bent on reforming the nation, and with the Catholics, the Jesuits, the +troops of beggars, the poor, and the mass of crime and vice, it must +be admitted that their hands were full enough. They never wavered, +however, but steadfastly fought against everything which they deemed +an evil; and, although we must candidly confess that their ideas of +what constituted an evil or a crime were often confused and mistaken, +and that their judgments were frequently wanting in discrimination, +nevertheless, the evidence proves that they struggled manfully to +improve the social state of the people. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 725, 938‒939; _Burgh + Records of Aberdeen_, Volume II., pages 144, 155‒6, 204‒5. + There are many books on witchcraft; but those who wish to + make a study of Scottish witchcraft will find a mass of + original information on the subject in Pitcairn’s _Criminal + Trials_, 3 volumes, in the _Old Spalding Club Miscellany_, + and in the _Records of the Proceedings of the Church Courts_; + and also in the volumes of the _Register of the Privy + Council_. + +The number of trials and executions for witchcraft in Scotland was +not comparatively greater than in other European countries. Barrington +estimated that in England, during a period of two centuries, 30,000 +witches were executed. Matthew Hopkins, the witch finder, by his +allegations caused the execution of one hundred persons in 1645‒47, +in the counties of Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk. In 1515, five hundred +witches were burned at Geneva in the space of three months. In 1520, +a great number were burned in France, and one sorcerer confessed to +having twelve associates; while in Lorraine, between the years 1580 and +1595, nine hundred witches and warlocks were burned; and in Bretagne +twenty poor women were executed as witches in 1654. In Germany upwards +of 100,000 were executed for witchcraft; while in Wurtemburg alone, +between the years 1627 and 1629, one hundred and fifty-seven persons +were burned. + +The discipline of the Reformed Church not only aimed at the suppression +of crime and vice, but also, according to its light, endeavoured to +strike at the roots of evil. The General Assembly in 1563 passed an act +prohibiting the publication of any book either printed or written, if +it touched upon religion, till it was presented to the superintendent +of the district and approved by him and the most learned of his +brethren within his bounds; but if they could not agree on the points +raised in the book, then it should be placed before the General +Assembly for a final decision on its merits and orthodoxy. In 1568 the +Assembly found that Thomas Bassandyne had printed a book in Edinburgh, +entitled _The Fall of the Roman Church_, “naming our King supreme head +of the primitive Church,” and that he had printed a psalm book at the +end of which was a profane song called “Welcome Fortune”; and that +these books had been issued without the license of the magistrates or +the Church. The Assembly unanimously agreed to order the printer to +call in all the copies of the book which had been sold, to alter the +title and expunge the profane song, and in the future to refrain from +printing anything without the license of the supreme magistrate, and +the revision of such matters as related to religion by the committee +appointed for that purpose.¹ Though the Church was thus careful +in guarding against the spread of immoral writings, and what she +held to be erroneous doctrine, she was not an enemy to the press. +Robert Lekpreuik, the Edinburgh printer, had fallen into straitened +circumstances; and in 1569 the General Assembly, after considering his +position, and the money which he had expended on his establishment, +resolved to give him fifty pounds yearly out of the funds of the +Church. The Assembly in several other instances encouraged printers, +and petitioned the government to treat them liberally.² + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 35, 125‒126. + + ² _Ibid._, pages 164, 306, 462. + +The Privy Council in 1574 passed an act prohibiting the printing of any +book without a license from the government. The act directed that the +authorities throughout the kingdom should proclaim to the people, that +none of them may presume to print or sell any books, ballads, rhymes or +tragedies, either in Latin or English until they were seen and examined, +and allowed by the Chancellor and other persons appointed by the King, +and at the least three of these must concur before the King’s license +could be granted for the publication. The penalty attached to the +contravention of this act was death and confiscation of goods.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume II., page 387; + Volume III., pages 587, 549, 583; Volume IV., page 459; + Volume V., page 313; Volume VI., pages 18, 185; _Acts of + the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV., page 187. + +In the secular affairs of life, the citizens still exhibited the same +restriction and monopoly, which was described in the tenth chapter of +the first volume. This greatly hampered the internal industry and the +trade of the country. While the wars with England and the disturbed +state of the nation before the Reformation, and the troubles which +ensued after it, were all inimical to trade and commerce. Owing to +these circumstances, industry and trade made comparatively little +progress in the sixteenth century; this period was more remarkable +for moral and religious change and transformation than for material +prosperity. + +During the reigns of James V. and Queen Mary, many acts of parliament +were passed relating to the coinage of the kingdom. A great variety +of gold, silver, and copper coins were struck. In 1525 it was ordered +that a gold coin should be struck, called a crown, of the fineness of +twenty-one carats and a-half and two grains; nine of these were to be +coined out of the ounce of gold, and each to pass current for twenty +shillings. For every ounce of gold brought to the mint, the seller was +to get seven pounds, and out of every ounce of coined gold the King was +to get twenty-five shillings. In 1527 the Crown entered into a contract +with two men for coining of silver money. According to this agreement, +one hundred and seventy-six coins were to be made out of the pound of +silver, and each was to be of the value of eighteen pence Scots. The +coins of Queen Mary are numerous and present a variety of types. In +1547 the Regent and Lords of Council passed an act stating that the +pennies and half-pennies were mostly all gone out of the country; and +thus the people, but especially the poor, suffered for want of them. +The Council ordered twelve stones of silver to be coined into pennies +and half-pennies, of the fineness and weight of the old pennies; +and commanded that they should have currency throughout the kingdom. +In 1554 the Bishop of Ross was going to France in the character of +ambassador, and the Regent and Council ordered James Atcheson, the +master coiner, to receive a silver vessel and coin it into babies +to defray the ambassador’s expenses. In the end of the year 1565 +directions were issued for coining the silver piece called the Mary +Rall; it was to pass for thirty shillings, and the two-thirds and +the one-third of the same to pass for twenty, and ten shillings +respectively. During the reign of Queen Mary, the intrinsic value of +the currency underwent several remarkable changes. As in 1544 the value +of a pound of silver was £9 10 shillings, in 1556, £13, and in 1565 +it was raised to £18. At this time, in England the pound of silver was +worth from £2 8 shillings to £3, which pretty plainly shows that money +was scarce in Scotland.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II.; _Register + of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 71, 151‒152, 154, + 413; Lindsay’s _View of the Coinage of Scotland_, pages + 39‒52, 141‒145; 1865. + +In 1565, the Lords of Council ordered the false coins called hardheads, +brought from Flanders, to be melted, and to have no currency in the +kingdom. The same year an act was passed against the importation of +false coin; and in 1566, several persons were convicted in Aberdeen +for this offence. The following year, in May, a proclamation was issued +against importing false coins――hardheads, placks, babies, or any other +light money; and in 1568, Forbes of Monymusk and Forbes of Pitsligo, +two brothers, were cited for coining false babies.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 325, 335, + 468, 510, 642‒643. “Owing to the constant exporting of good + coin and the importing of bad, the circulating medium of the + country was in a wretched state. There seems to have been a + regular system of coining base placks and lions (otherwise + called hardheads) in the Low Countries, to be introduced by + merchants into Scotland.”――Chambers’s _Domestic Annals_, + Volume I., page 102. + +Many acts touching the coinage were passed in the reign of James VI. +In 1567, the regent and council passed an act ordering the coinage +of a silver piece, to be called the James Rall, of the weight of an +ounce troy, and to pass for thirty shillings in Scotland, two-parts of +the same for twenty shillings, and the third-part for ten shillings. +This year, in December, the parliament passed an act dealing with +the coinage, and with false and clipped coins. It was stated that the +King with the consent of the Regent, may coin gold and silver pieces +of the same fineness as that of other countries, and that no gold or +silver coin should be melted. The Lords of Council, in 1572, stated +that parliament had authorised a new silver coin to be sent out, “for +payment and support of the charges of this present civil and intestine +war, raised against his highness’ authority by certain declared +traitors, rebels, and conspirators, who, after the murder of the King’s +dearest father, and of his uncle the Regent of this realm, have never +ceased to resist his highness’ authority and to seek his own life, and, +as far as in them lies, to pull his royal crown off his head.” This +money was coined in whole and in half-pieces――the first to be called +the half mark, and to pass for six shillings and eightpence; the second +to be called the forty-penny piece, and to pass for three shillings +and fourpence. The council ordered that the new coinage should be made +known to the people by proclamation: “And to command and charge them +to receive the said money in thankful and ready payment, and no one +may presume to refuse the same upon any pretence whatever, under the +penalty of treason; certifying to those that fail, that they shall be +condemned to death with all rigour as an example to others.”¹ This act +gives some indication of the difficulties connected with the currency, +which mainly arose from the scarcity of specie, and the confused ideas +of what constituted wealth; as yet there was no paper currency to +make up the deficiency. Only three months after the issue of these two +pieces of money, the Council had to proclaim that it was counterfeited +by some persons to the great injury of the people.² It may be inferred +that the motive for counterfeiting these coins so quickly arose from +their being further debased than the money before in circulation. In +the copper coinage, as well as in the gold and silver, there seems to +have been much counterfeiting practised.³ During the later half of the +century numerous acts were passed prohibiting the exportation of gold +and silver; and injunctions were issued for bringing all the gold and +silver to the master coiner, who was to pay the ordinary price for it.⁴ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., page 556; Volume + II., pages 135‒136. + + ² _Ibid._, Volume II., page 160. + + ³ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III. + + ⁴ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 212‒213, + 330; Volume II., pages 410, 554, 615‒616; _Acts of the + Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., page 216. + +In 1579 parliament enacted that there should be a piece of gold coined +of twenty-one carats, containing ten in the ounce, to be called the +Scottish crown, and to pass for forty shillings. At the same time it +was proclaimed that the ounce of the finest gold was to be bought for +twenty-one pounds of the money of the realm, and the price of all other +gold to be according to its fineness. A silver piece was to be coined +of the fineness of eleven deniers, in whole and in half pieces――the +first to pass for twenty-six shillings and eightpence, and to be called +the two-mark coin; and the half piece to pass for thirteen shillings +and fourpence, and to be called the half-mark. The price to be given +for the finest silver was thirty-six shillings the ounce, and for +other silver in proportion to its quality. But in 1580, parliament +ordered that all the money in the kingdom, except the stamped placks +and pennies, should be reformed and reduced to the fineness of eleven +deniers, and a new gold coin was also ordered to be struck. The next +year, the King and parliament thought that the last silver coinage had +been fixed at too high a value, and this had caused great injury to +the people, and had also been the occasion of a dearth and many other +inconveniences. The new act, therefore, directed that the last coinage, +which extended to two hundred and eleven stones and ten pounds of +silver, should be brought in again to be recoined into ten shilling +pieces, containing four in the ounce. In 1584, parliament passed +another act, reciting that the gold of the kingdom had been continually +exported, and that of other countries introduced to the loss and injury +of the people; and it was then ordered that two pieces of gold, of +the fineness of twenty-one carats and a-half, should be coined――the +one of six coins to the ounce, each to pass for three pounds fifteen +shillings; and the other nine to the ounce, and to pass for fifty +shillings. In 1597, it was stated in an act of parliament that the +current money of the kingdom was scarce, and that gold and silver +had risen to exorbitant prices owing to the liberty which all persons +took of raising the price of money at their pleasure, far above the +value prescribed by the laws and acts of parliament. Through this, +and constant exporting of the money, great confusion had been caused; +and it was then enacted that parties transgressing the laws would be +severely punished. The scarcity of money is very apparent from the +high value which the laws set upon it. The ounce of foreign gold of +twenty-two carats was twenty-eight pounds sixteen shillings, Scots +money, in 1598; and in 1601, the price given at the mint for gold was +thirty-three pounds the ounce; at the same time the ounce of silver +was about forty-eight shillings, Scotch money.¹ In 1587, parliament +passed an act limiting the rate of interest on money and on grain to +ten per cent. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 150, 191, 310, 311; Volume IV., 134‒135. Lindsay’s _View of + the Coinage of Scotland_, pages 53‒59, 145‒151. + +At the time of the union of the crowns the relative value of English +and Scotch money was as twelve to one; the gold pieces which passed in +England for twenty-one shillings each, in Scotland passed for twelve +pounds. + +Some early attempts at mining were noticed in the preceding volume. In +the reign of James IV., the gold mines of Crawfurd Moor were discovered; +and in the years 1511, 1512, and 1513, many payments were made by the +crown to Sir James Pettigrew for working these gold mines. Payments +were also made to Sebald Northberge, the master finer, Andrew Ireland, +finer, and Gerard Essemer, the melter; and in 1513 the Abbot of +Tungland received payment from the King to visit the mines of Crawfurd +Moor. These mines engaged the attention of the government in 1515. In +1524 a court was ordered to be held at Edinburgh to deal with those who +had broken the order of the mine, and conveyed gold out of the kingdom; +and the gold of the mine was then ordered to be coined in the coining +house. The Albany medal of 1524 was made from gold found in Crawfurd +Moor; and it seems that some of the gold coinage of James V. was minted +of native metal. In 1526 a lease was granted to a party of Germans +and Dutchmen of all the mines of gold, silver, and other metals for +a term of forty-three years; and in the following year a contract was +made with them to coin certain gold and silver money for ten years, +but it appears that the enterprise was not successful as the foreigners +departed homeward in 1531. In 1535 a Commission was appointed to +inquire into the working of the mines, and in 1539 miners from Lorraine +were brought to Scotland to work the mines. They were placed under the +management of John Mossman, a goldsmith, and a considerable quantity +of gold seems to have been found by them; and shortly after forty-one +ounces of native gold were used in making a crown for James V., and +thirty-five ounces for a crown to his Queen, while seventeen ounces +were added to the King’s great chain, and nineteen and a half ounces +for making a belt to the Queen; a quantity was also used for the +coinage of gold bonnet pieces and other purposes. During the minority +of Queen Mary little was done in gold mining. In 1565 the Privy Council +granted a licence to John Stewart of Tarlair, and his son William, to +search for all kinds of minerals, and to work the mines of gold and +silver and other metal between the Tay and Orkney, on the condition +that they should pay to the government one stone of metal out of every +ten which they found. They were also authorised to work all the gold +and silver mines throughout the country, on the condition that they +brought all the gold and silver to the coining-house; for every ounce +of gold they were to receive ten pounds, and for each ounce of silver +twenty-four shillings. If in the course of their explorations they +discovered coal haughs, not within ten miles of any royal residence, +then they should be free to work them, and only pay the tenth penny of +the proceeds to the Crown. Their licence was to endure for nine years. +In March, 1568, the Regent Moray granted a licence to Cornelius Vois, a +Dutchman, to work the gold and silver mines for nineteen years in every +quarter of the kingdom, and he undertook to pay to the Crown for every +hundred ounces of gold and silver which was found, purified by washing, +eight ounces, and if purified by fire, four ounces; while there were +other alternative arrangements. Cornelius was allowed to employ as many +of the Scots as he pleased, but not more than twenty foreigners. He +had, as one of his partners, Nicolas Hilliard, the noted medallist, and +also the Earl of Morton, who had ten shares, and some of the Scottish +merchants. + +In 1576 Abraham Paterson and his partners obtained a licence to work +all the gold, silver, lead, and copper mines in Scotland, excepting +the lead mines of Glengonar and Orkney, which were then worked by +George Douglas of Parkhead, and Adam Fullerton, a burgess of Edinburgh. +Lengthy and very minute stipulations occur in this licence; he was to +pay six ounces out of every hundred of gold or silver to the Crown, +and the licence was to continue for twelve years. In 1583 a general +grant of all the mines and minerals in the country for twenty-one +years was given to Eustachius Roche, mediciner. He was authorised to +search anywhere for minerals, and to use timber, coals, and peats from +the royal territories on the condition of paying seven ounces out of +every hundred of gold found, and of all the other metals ten ounces +out of every hundred, and all the rest of the gold and silver was +to be brought to the coining-house at the price of twenty-two pounds +Scots per ounce of fine gold, and forty shillings per ounce for fine +silver. All other persons were prohibited from working minerals unless +authorised by Roche. Further privileges were granted to him by contract, +which was ratified by Parliament in August, 1584; but certain mines +which belonged to the Earl of Arran were exempted from the scope of +Roche’s lease; afterwards Roche obtained a separate lease of Arran’s +mines, but when Roche attempted to transport the lead, in 1585, +which had been got in the mines of Glengonar and Wanlock (on Arran’s +territory) it was arrested in Leith by the Treasurer, although, on +appeal to the Privy Council, the claim was abandoned and the lead +permitted to be transported on payment of the royal duty according to +the contract. + +George Douglas of Parkhead, mentioned above, had obtained a grant of +the mines in the Leadhills district in 1576, but he was forfeited in +1581, and fled to England. On the turn of the political wheel, however, +he was restored in 1585, and in 1592 he was permitted to work the mines +of Waterhead, “otherwise called Over-Glengonar,” on the condition of +paying fifty ounces of fine silver out of every thousand stone of lead +ore. He was allowed to sell one thousand stone weight of the ore for +the advancement of the work. The following year the master of the +metals complained to the Privy Council that Douglas had worked much +more ore than his licence permitted, and so he was summoned to pay the +whole duty due from the commencement of his lease. This resulted in an +agreement between Douglas and Thomas Foullis, a goldsmith and burgess +of Edinburgh, by which all the rights of Douglas in connection with the +mines were transferred to Foullis for an annual rent of five hundred +merks. Foullis then obtained an Act of the Privy Council, confirmed by +Parliament, granting to him all the minerals and metals in the lands +of the Friar’s Moor, in the sheriffdom of Lanark, for twenty-one years, +at a yearly rent of one thousand merks; but he ceased to search for the +precious metals on any extensive scale, and directed his attention to +develop the lead mines.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 232, 330, + 612‒614; Volume II., pages 506‒514; also Volumes III. and + IV.; _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II.; + _Early Records Relating to Mining in Scotland_, by R. W. + Cochran-Patrick, 1878. + +A long Act of Parliament touching the mines was passed in 1592. This +Act explicitly stated that all mines belonged to the Crown, and that in +the past these mines had not been made so profitable as they might have +been, owing mainly to there not having been a specially qualified man +appointed to look after the whole work connected with them. Therefore, +it was enacted that henceforth there should be an officer appointed by +the Government to oversee the whole matter of the metals and minerals, +who should be called the Master of the Metals, with full powers +touching the management and working of the mines. The Act appointed +Mr. John Lindsay, a brother of Sir David Lindsay of Edzell, Master of +the Metals for life. One clause of the Act stated that the King, if +he thought fit, with the advice of the Treasurer and the Master of the +Metals, for a reasonable composition, might let in feu to every earl, +baron, or other freeholder in the kingdom, all mines of gold, silver, +copper, lead, or other metals and minerals “which is or may be found +in their own lands, giving to them power to seek and to work such +mines on the condition of paying the Crown one-tenth part of the whole +metals found.” It appears that Roche had not been very successful in +his mining operations, and it was resolved to reduce his contract. +Accordingly he was charged with having neither worked the mines in +operation before the date of his contract, nor those which he had +discovered himself, that he had also neglected to pay the duty owing +to the Crown, and he was ordered to appear before the Privy Council to +answer these charges, and at the same time to produce all his papers +and titles. Roche appeared and answered the charges against him, but +the contract with him was reduced, and his connection with the mines +then ceased.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., page 556; + Balcarres’ _Papers_; _Lives of the Lindsays_, Volume II. + +There is little mention of iron mining till a comparatively late period, +but coal was a common article of commerce in ♦1425. In 1542 the annual +value of the coal haughs of Wallyfurd and Preston, which belonged to +the Crown, was 1100 merks. Coal was worked at Culross in 1572, and in +1584, Lord Sinclair had a coal pit at Dysart. In 1592 Parliament passed +an Act relating to the working of coal, which enacted that any person +who wilfully set fire to coal haughs, from motives of revenge and spite, +should incur the penalty of treason, if found guilty of this crime. +In 1600 it was enacted, that as the King’s coal haughs could not be +worked within the bounds of his annexed territories unless at great +expense; in consequence of this his Majesty neither received coal for +the royalty, nor any profit, it was therefore resolved to separate them +from the Crown lands and let them in feu.¹ + + ♦ date uncertain; probably “1525” + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., pages 10, + 424; Volume IV., page 229. + +In the sixteenth century there was not much commerce between England +and Scotland. The Low Countries, France, and the Baltic kingdoms, were +the places where the Scots mostly traded. During the war between the +two countries in the reign of Henry VIII., within a very short time, +the English took twenty-eight trading ships from the Scots. In 1545 +the treaty between the Emperor and Scotland touching the commerce of +the Scots with Flanders was renewed; thus the Flemings were exempted +from attacks of the Scottish ships commissioned for warfare. But +difficulties arose between this country and Flanders, and several +Scottish ships were detained there. It was stated in 1550 that “when +our ships came to Flanders as to our friends for traffic of merchandise, +after they had been well received, and were ready to depart, the whole +fleet of fourteen ships, richly laden with Flemish wares, were taken, +held, and disposed of, and the merchants imprisoned by the Emperor’s +subjects.” The same year the Lords of Council had to interfere to +protect the Scots from the ships of Holland and the Lowlands of +Flanders, the subjects of the Emperor; they were daily committing +enormities upon the Scots within the Firths and other places. As many +of the Scottish war ships as could be put into a seaworthy state, +were commissioned and instructed to proceed against them; they were +commanded to take, and chase these pirates off the coasts and out +of the waters of Scotland. But they were specially restricted from +interfering with the ships of England, France, Denmark, Sweden, and +Hamburg. It seems however that trade was not long interrupted between +Scotland and Flanders. In 1552 the Lords of Council passed an act +complaining that the flesh of the country was barrelled, packed, sold, +and sent out of the kingdom to other countries, and especially to +Flanders, which had caused a great dearth of meat at home whereby the +people had been much hurt; and its exportation was therefore prohibited +under the penalty of confiscation and death.¹ New regulations +were passed by the Council in 1565 for the guidance of the Scotch +Conservator in Flanders; these were very minute and bear upon the +merchants as well as the Conservator, touching the hours of business +and such matters as the following: “That no merchant when he has bought +his goods should bring them home himself, but should employ others to +carry his gear to his lodgings or his cellar like a merchant, under +a fine of five shillings. That no merchant who buys his meat in the +market should truss it home upon his sleeve or on the point of his +knife, under the same fine. That no one should deal in merchandise +unless he be honestly able like a merchant; and if he be not well +dressed the Conservator should warn him to clothe himself better, and +if he fail to do that, then the Conservator should take as much of his +goods as will clothe him properly withal.”² + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 18, 40, 41, + 92, 104, 127; Macpherson’s _Annals of Commerce_, Volume II., + page 93. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 332‒334. + +Even in the latter part of the sixteenth century the foreign trade of +Scotland was comparatively small. The exports were comprised within +very narrow limits, but the imports were more varied. There were some +very curious regulations imposed in connection with the exports, which +strikingly brings before us the state of society and the character +of the times. It was noticed that there were acts prohibiting the +exportation of gold and silver; and there were other things which +were allowed to be exported under limitations one year, while the +next they were absolutely prohibited. A considerable quantity of salt +was produced at the various salt works throughout the country, but +the export of salt was only permitted under certain contingencies. The +Council in 1573 passed an act stating that it was unlawful to export +any salt until the whole people and the carriers to all the markets in +the kingdom were supplied with a sufficient quantity of it, which had +to be sold at the salt-pans for eight shillings the boll. Then whatever +quantity of it remained after satisfying the people, was allowed to +be exported to other countries. But the owners and carriers of it were +obliged to buy six ounces of silver for every chalder of salt exported, +and this silver had to be delivered to the master coiner within eight +days after their return to Scotland, and for every ounce of which +the owner of the salt was to receive from the master coiner thirty +shillings. It was further provided, that in the event of the exporters +of salt buying up the stipulated proportion of silver, and not buying +it from abroad, the silver so bought should be forfeited to the crown, +and the exporters of the salt condemned to pay a sum equivalent to +the silver they should have brought from foreign parts. To ensure +the fulfilment of this condition the custom officers were ordered +not to give the exporters of salt a cocket, till they came to the +coining-house and gave security to bring home the required quantity +of silver.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume II., pages 264‒265, + 290, 293; _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volumes II., + III. + +This rather peculiar arrangement, which was contrary to acts of +parliament, did not prove to be satisfactory. In 1574, the Lords of +Council discharged the granting of licenses to export salt, on account +of the exorbitant dearth of small salt at home. “As experience now +teaches,” they said, “the granting of such licenses has been very +prejudicial to the commonweal of the nation, as the conditions for +furnishing and serving the people at the prices mentioned in the +Acts of Parliament has in nowise been observed; but our sovereign +lord’s subjects have been constrained to buy salt at exorbitant and +unreasonable prices, and likely from day to day to rise to greater +extortion, if timely remedy be not provided. Therefore all the licenses +for exporting salt out of the kingdom were henceforward discharged.”¹ +Three weeks after their lordships had passed this act, however, they +granted a license to Robert Paterson, the master of the ship called +“The Grace of God,” to export to Norway six chalders of salt for curing +fish; and another to William Ker, the master of the “Swallow,” to +export four chalders; and two burgesses of Edinburgh became sureties +that the salt should not be converted to any other use. At this time +the authorised price of salt was eight shillings per boll, but there +were many complaints of parties selling it at a higher rate.² Only +white salt was allowed to be exported in 1584; and the export of salt +was prohibited in 1587; there was a duty on salt exported. + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume II., pages 406‒407. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume II., page 285; + Volumes III., IV. On the 30th of August, 1573, the owners + of thirty-eight salt-pans, of Preston and Musselburgh, gave + security to supply Scotsmen with salt at eight shillings the + boll.――_Ibid._, page 296. + +Several other articles were dealt with in the same way. Licenses were +now and again granted by the Lords of Council for exporting things +which were prohibited by parliament. The exportation of coal was +prohibited by Act of Parliament; but the Council, in 1573, resolved +to grant licenses for exporting smithy-coal. In the same year, on the +other hand, Walter Scott, in Dysart, became bound that the coals loaded +in a ship of that port should not be exported;¹ the export of coal was +forbidden in 1586, and in 1597. The trade of the country was carried +on under the same changing and disturbing influences as its politics; +and, so few of the resources of the country were as yet developed, and +such restrictive and conflicting agencies were in operation that the +merchants were greatly hampered. The regulations touching the export +of lead were of the same varying character. Lead might be exported, +but there was a royalty placed upon it; the exporter had to pay fifteen +ounces of silver for every thousand stones of lead shipped.² + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., page 340; Volume II., page 290, Volumes + IV. V.; _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., + page 543. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume II., pages 102, 507, + 626. + +Licenses were sometimes granted for exporting grain, but owing to bad +harvests, and the frequent neglect of agriculture from war, it was +often deemed necessary to prohibit the export of corn and wheat. There +were frequently seasons of dearth, and many attempts to fix the price +of grain were made. In September, 1567, the Regent and Council stated +that the merchants and others had exported great quantities of grain, +under the pretence of licenses granted “by the Queen’s grace, our +Sovereign Lord’s dearest mother, to the great increase and dearth +of the same; the corn of this year’s crop being at God’s pleasure +plagued and spoiled with rain, and so in all appearance scarce enough +to sustain the inhabitants of this country.” Therefore the Council +resolved to revoke all such licenses, and ordered that no grain +should be exported hereafter, under the penalty of the confiscation +of the ship and her cargo. In 1574, the Regent and Council ordered the +comptroller to ascertain the quantity of grain exported that year, by +whom, and at what ports, and other points concerning it. The Council, +in the winter of 1577, agreed to allow the free export of grain for the +following reason: “In times of dearth this country has received large +help and support of victuals out of France, Flanders, and England, +whereby the people have been greatly relieved; and the like favour and +good neighbourhood, charity, and amity ought to be extended towards the +people of these countries in this present year, when it has pleased God +to visit them with the like dearth and scarcity, and this realm with +such increase and plenty of grain, as some part thereof may, without +prejudice of the State, be spared to the relief of our neighbours’ +necessities.”¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 402, 571, + 572; Volume II., pages 252, 589. + +Horses and cattle were occasionally exported, but Acts of Parliament +and Council frequently prohibited this; and on the whole the regular +export trade of Scotland was as yet very small. It consisted mostly of +raw materials, such as hides, wool, and the like; but the imports were +more varied, and comprised a variety of articles, and especially large +quantities of wines. There were Acts of Parliament and Council which +prohibited the importers of wines from selling any to the people till +the king, bishops, earls, lords, and barons, were first well stocked.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., pages 282, 298, 191, 285, 402, 571‒572; + Volume II., pages 128‒129, 505, 515, 662, 675, 693; _Acts of + the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III. + +The trade between the Highlands and Lowlands chiefly consisted of +cattle and wood. The Highlanders had long been accustomed to bring +their cattle to the Lowland markets; but sometimes parties in the +Lowlands seized their flocks under the pretence that they were +authorised by the Government, which was not the case. They brought +the timber down the rivers in floats to the towns and sold it to the +citizens.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 401, + 470‒471; Volume II., pages 500‒501; _Burgh Records of + Aberdeen_, Volume II., page 33. + +The internal trade of the country was still carried on, under the +strict principle of monopoly. The price of manufactured articles +and goods, as well as of food and provisions, was fixed by law and +regulated by the local authorities. The guild or merchants openly +insisted on their exclusive right of commerce, not only in foreign +trade, but also within the burgh, and often over the county in which +it was situated.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volumes II., III., + IV.; _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volumes I., II., III. + +Among the many regulations fixing the supply and the price of +provisions, perhaps those relating to the sale of ale and spirits +are the most instructive. Ale had long been a beverage in common and +daily use, and large quantities of it were consumed by all classes +of the people. The Acts of Parliament and Council fixing the price of +malt and ale were numerous; and the statutes and regulations of the +burghs touching the supply and the price of these two necessaries were +endless. In 1535 Parliament passed an Act stating that the inhabitants +of Edinburgh and the people who frequented it were greatly oppressed +by the maltmakers of Leith, and others in that neighbourhood, exacting +four, five, and even six shillings more for the malt than they paid for +the barley. It was therefore enacted that maltmakers should produce and +sell their malt at a competent profit, and charge only two shillings +more for the boll of malt than the current price of the boll of barley. +“Those who disobey these acts, it was ordained, shall be called and +punished as oppressors of the King’s subjects, and particular courts +shall be set for them, and the King shall give commission to such as he +pleases to call the offending maltmakers before them in the Tolbooth of +Edinburgh, to execute justice upon them as they may think fit, and to +cause this statute to be observed in all points.”¹ In 1551 the Regent +and the Lords of Council, taking into consideration the high prices of +all kinds of victuals “whereby the poor were at the point of perishing,” +issued a commission under the great seal to the provost of Edinburgh, +authorising him to deal with all the maltmakers, maltsellers, bakers, +and regraters, within a circle of four miles of Edinburgh; and to +bring them to punishment according to the Acts of Parliament and the +laws of the kingdom. When Queen Mary visited Jedburgh in October, +1566, it seems that the good citizens of that town raised the price +of provisions. Whereupon her majesty called together her council and +the authorities of the burgh, who passed an act fixing the price of +everything during the stay of the court in that quarter. The pint +of good ale was to be fourpence, and sixteen ounces of fine bread +fourpence. The price of a man’s dinner, “being served with beef, mutton, +and roast at the least, was sixteenpence. For the use of a furnished +bed the charge was to be twelvepence each night; and for stabling to +a horse for the space of twenty-four hours, twopence.”² In 1573 the +price of ale was four shillings the gallon; in 1589 the pint of ale was +eightpence; and from this time to the end of the century it ran from +one shilling to one and fourpence the pint.³ In 1571 the magistrates +of Edinburgh enacted that Dutch drinking beer should not be sold higher +than sixpence the pint. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume II., page 351; + _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., pages 265‒266. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., pages 115, + 488‒489. + + ³ _Ibid._, Volume II., page 269; _Burgh Records of Glasgow_, + pages 25, 137, 162, 172, 198, 214; _Burgh Records of + Edinburgh_, Volume III., page 284. + +The price of wine varied during the first half of the sixteenth century, +from sixpence the pint to one shilling and fourpence; but towards the +end of the century, the price of it had nearly tripled. There is much +evidence that large quantities of wine were consumed in Scotland. The +members of the guild claimed the exclusive right to sell wine in all +the burghs of the kingdom.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volumes II., pages + 373, 376, 483; Volumes III., IV.; _Register of the Privy + Council_, Volume I., pages 128‒129, 212‒213, 425‒428, 451; + Volume II., pages 505, 662, 693; Volumes III., IV., V., VI.; + _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., pages 114, 115, + 120, 123, 125, 127, 132, 134, 144, _et seq._; Volume III., + pages 29, 84, 132, 156, 191, 198, 224; _Burgh Records of + Glasgow_, pages 66, 82, 107, 184, 201; _Burgh Records of + Aberdeen_, Volume II., page 149. + +Whisky was known, but as yet it was not much used among the people. +In 1557, as noticed in a preceding page, Bessy Campbell was brought +before the magistrates of Edinburgh, and ordered to cease from making +whisky in the burgh, and from selling it, except on the market-day, +according to the privilege granted to the barbers, under their seal of +cause, unless she was permitted by them. The use of whisky, however, +was gradually becoming more common. In 1579, Parliament passed an +act restricting the making and selling of it. This Act opened with +a statement that grain would be scarce that year, and yet great +quantities of malt was consumed in the making of aquavitæ, which was +the cause of the dearth of the malt. It was enacted therefore that +no person, either in town or country, should brew or sell any whisky, +from the 1st of December, 1579, to the 1st of October, 1580, under the +penalty of the breaking of their brewing utensils, and the confiscation +of their stock of spirits. But the nobles and men of rank were +permitted to brew and distil whisky from their own malt, on their +own premises, for the use of their own house, families, and friends.¹ +This act is very characteristic of much of the subsequent legislation +relating to the sale of whisky and spirits; but it is clear that whisky +had not then the hold on the people which it afterwards obtained. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., page 262; _Acts + of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., page 174; + _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume II., page 269. + +There were many complaints that leather and shoes were so dear that the +people were unable to buy them. In 1541, a number of the shoemakers of +Aberdeen were convicted by a jury for making insufficient shoes, and +for selling them above the legal price. The magistrates of Edinburgh, +in 1563, fixed the price of boots and shoes as follows: “The pair of +double-soled shoes of the largest size, well made and of good material, +three shillings and eightpence; a pair of single-soled shoes of similar +size, two shillings and eightpence; a pair of the finest double-soled +boots, twenty-four shillings; a pair of single-soled boots, twenty +shillings;” and so on in proportion for smaller sizes. The authorities +of Aberdeen, in 1580, ordained that the price for shoeing the largest +horses should be six shillings and eightpence, and the charge for the +smaller horses and nags, four shillings.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume I., pages 453‒454; + Volume II., pages 38‒39; _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, + Volume III., page 155; _Register of the Privy Council_, + Volume I. + +Complaints were often made against the craftsmen that their workmanship +was insufficient, and their charges too high. Complaints of this +description frequently came before Parliament and the Privy Council, +and acts were from time to time passed fixing the price of manufactured +goods and articles. But the craftsmen struggled hard, and by their +organisations they became a considerable power in the burghs. Sometimes +they were rather troublesome to the guilds. Amongst the craftsmen the +spirit of monopoly was excessive. The trade disputes between Edinburgh +and Leith, and between the Canongate and Edinburgh, were numerous +and bitter. The different bodies of craftsmen sometimes manifested +an extreme jealousy of each other, and of their exclusive privileges, +which was unfavourable to the development of trade and to the +acquisition of skill.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., page 142; Volume, + II., pages 33‒34, 220‒221, 260, 577‒579; _Burgh Records of + Edinburgh_; _Burgh Records of Glasgow_, pages 165‒166. + +In 1562, the bonnetmakers of Edinburgh complained that various +craftsmen, fleshers, wrights, shoemakers, and others, in the burgh, had +enticed away their apprentices and servants, who were unfree persons, +and had caused them to labour at kinds of work which belonged to their +craft. The provost and council agreed that the bonnetmakers should be +protected in their privileges and liberties; but they added, “That in +case it pleased the goodness of God to give the gift to strangers and +others resorting to this town to labour, and invent upon points a more +perfect and finer fashion of hose, sleeves, gloves, and such like, +than they themselves, their servants, or apprentices, could do, or +has done, at any time before this, and that in such cases the said +persons should not be stopped, nor the gifts of God smothered, provided +always that nowhere they nor any others should be served by servants +and apprentices who have had their beginning under the deacon and +masters.”¹ This opinion of the Town Council was on the line which leads +to improvement. In 1587, Parliament passed an act in favour of Flemish +craftsmen――makers of serges, bedcovers, and other woollen fabrics +belonging to their craft. They were to teach the Scots to make this +class of goods, and the conditions of the bargain extended to twelve +heads.² + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume III., page 148. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 607‒609. + +It was already observed that the reformed clergy had exerted themselves +to extinguish some of the amusements of the people; and Parliament +followed in the same track, and passed sumptuary enactments. In 1567, +the Estates of the realm enacted that no women should adorn themselves +with dress above what was appropriate to their rank, unless they were +prostitutes. And Parliament, in 1581, passed an act touching dress, +and another against superfluous banqueting, and the inordinate use of +confectionery and drugs. The act on dress opened with a statement that +there was great abuse among the common people, even of the meanest rank, +inasmuch as they presumed to counterfeit the king and his nobility by +their habit of wearing costly clothing of silk, and of all varieties: +“Laine, cameraige, fringes, pasments of gold, of silver, of silk, +and woollen cloth, brought from other countries; thus the price of +these goods had been raised to such a dearth that this state of matters +cannot be longer endured without great scath to the nation. Though +God has granted to the kingdom sufficient commodities for clothing +the people thereof within itself, if they were properly employed +manufacturing them at home; and whereby great numbers of the people now +wandering in beggary might be relieved, and the honesty and the wealth +of the country greatly increased.” The Act prohibited all persons +below the ranks of duke, earl, lord of parliament, knight, and landed +gentlemen, and their wives and families, from wearing costly dresses. +Minute provisions were made for carrying out the Act, and penalties +were to be inflicted for its infringement. This Act also contained +a clause prohibiting the exportation of wool, under the penalty of +confiscation, the object of which was to give more employment to the +people at home, and to confer a benefit on the nation. The act against +the wearing of costly clothing was ratified in 1584, and ordered to be +carried out with all rigour.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages 40, + 220‒221, 354. + +Parliament was equally anxious to put the people right in the matter +of eating and drinking at marriages and baptisms. It was enacted that +only bishops, earls, barons, and gentlemen who have two thousand marks +of free yearly rent, or fifty chalders of grain after deducting all +charges, should presume to have at their marriages and banquets, or +on their tables for their daily fare, any drugs or confectionaries, +brought from foreign countries. After the Reformation Acts of +Parliament and Council were often passed forbidding the eating of flesh +during Lent. On the 12th of February, 1562, the Lords of Council passed +an Act prohibiting the eating of flesh from that date to the 29th of +March, under the penalty of ten pounds for the first offence, twenty +pounds for the second, and confiscation of all movable goods for the +third. The Act proceeded on the ground that:――“In the spring of the +year, called Lenten, all kinds of flesh decays and grows out of season, +that it is not meet for eating; and also that by the tempestuous storms +of the last and preceding winters, the whole stocks of cattle were so +plagued, smothered and dead, that the price of flesh had risen to such +extreme dearth that the like had not been within this realm; and if +such dearth continued it will be to the great hurt of the commonweal.”¹ +In 1567, Parliament, to save the nation from the harm entailed by the +daily eating of flesh, enacted that the people should eat flesh only +on four days of the week, under a penalty: and in 1568 the Lords of +Council passed an act forbidding all classes to eat any flesh during +Lent. It was ordered also that no fleshers, cooks, hostlers, nor tavern +keepers, should slay or prepare any kind of flesh for sale during +that time, under the penalty of the confiscation of their goods and +the imprisonment of their persons, unless they had obtained a written +license from the King upon reasonable consideration. During the time +of the civil war, after the flight of Mary, the Lords of Council +issued proclamations against the eating of flesh in Lent, but they were +little heeded.² In 1584 it was again enacted, “because of the disorder +amongst all ranks of the people by the licentious eating of flesh +every day of the week, which besides producing other evils, was also +the cause of the dearth of all meat.” It was then commanded that no +one should presume hereafter to eat any kind of flesh on Wednesday, +Friday, or Saturday, nor in the time of Lent, under the penalty of +the confiscation of all their goods to the Crown. This act was again +repeated in 1587 with some additions.³ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, page 221; _Register + of the Privy Council_, Volume I., page 200. The same year it + was stated: “Forasmuch as the tempest and storms of weather + fallen this last winter, the most part of the sheep of + Scotland are perished and dead, which causes the dearth + thereof so to increase that the poor cannot well abide the + same; and if the lambs be likewise wasted and consumed, + the dearth shall not only increase, but also the sheep of + the country shall so decay that few or none shall be left + therein, for the sustaining of the people of this kingdom. + For remedy thereof, it is statuted by the Queen’s Majesty, + with the advice of the Lords of Council, that no manner of + lambs be slain or eaten by any of the people of this realm + for the space of three years to come, under the penalty of + the confiscation of all the movable goods of the persons who + contravene this statute.”――_Register of the Privy Council_, + Volume I., pages 200‒201. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages 40; + _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., page 611; Volume + II., pages 337, 431, 500, 593. + + ³ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 353, 453. + +After the Reformation several of the old amusements of the people were +proscribed. This however need occasion no great regret, for with the +spread of refinement and the progress of civilisation they would have +died out of themselves. The citizens of Edinburgh had a pastime called +“bickering,” and this word itself partly explains the character of the +amusement. The bickering seems to have consisted of a company of people, +mostly the young, who made a mock attack upon certain places, which +however often ended in serious mischief. On the 11th of April, 1567, +the Town Council of Edinburgh:――“ordered the bellman to pass through +the town and discharge the bickerers, under the penalty of hanging +those come to age, and the scourging of such as are not of age.”¹ The +people were still in the habit of amusing themselves pretty freely. +There were rude stage plays; the field games of golf, of football, +and many others, which the humblest of the people enjoyed. Towards the +end of the century parliament passed an act that enjoined Monday to be +observed as a holiday for pastime and amusement, that every one in the +nation might have one day in the week for their own enjoyment. The King +himself had a fancy for rope-dancers, in the year 1600 James Melville +records in his diary “that in Falkland, I saw a Frenchman play strange +and incredible pranks upon stretched ropetakle in the Palace close, +before the King, the Queen, and the whole Court.” In the accounts of +the Lord High Treasurer, in August, 1600, the sum of £333 7 shillings 8 +pence is entered as the payment of this rope-dancer, so it seems he was +handsomely rewarded for his performance. In 1598 an English juggler, +“played such supple tricks upon a rope, which was fastened between the +top of St. Giles’s Kirk steeple and a stair beneath the cross, the like +was never seen in this country, as he rode down the rope and played so +many pavies on it.” For the performance of this trick the King ordered +him to get twenty pounds.² + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume III., pages 229‒230. + + ² _Burgh Records of Glasgow_, page 193; _Burgh Records + of Aberdeen_, Volume II., pages 179, 180; _Acts of the + Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV.; Melville’s _Diary_, + pages 17, 29, 30, 487. + +The general influence of the Reformation on the social state of the +people was in the main salutary and beneficial. It is true that some +of the commons and tenants were in better circumstances under the +Roman Catholic churchman than after the Reformation, and the fact is +undeniable that many of the tenants of land were excessively oppressed +by the nobles after that event.¹ The evidence adduced in this volume +is sufficient to prove that the exertions of the reformed clergy to +lighten the burdens of the people were not in vain; while the benefits +of the revolution were far reaching and immense. + + ¹ Pinkerton’s _Ancient Scottish Poems_, Volume II., page 321; + 1786. + + + + + CHAPTER XX. + + _The Literature of the Nation in the + First Half of the Sixteenth Century._ + + +IN the eleventh chapter of the first volume an account of the national +literature to the end of the fifteenth century was presented; and in +this chapter it is intended to present a continuation, till the current +of thought and feeling became affected by the revolutionary movement; +and then in the succeeding chapter to treat of the literature of the +Reformation, and the latter part of the century; and thus exhibit +a connected narrative of its development. Education, culture, and +literature, in one point of view are mutually related words, and in +many ways reciprocal in their effects; although they are far from being +co-extensive in meaning. Education of some kind precedes literature and +culture; but at a comparatively early stage of civilisation, literature +assumes a more general, if a less definite influence than education. +In nations with pretty well developed civilisations, the customary +education and the national literature sometimes run on opposite lines. +This is especially observable in revolutionary periods, when the +established education and the national literature may each be seen +pursuing diverse ends. At such times, the existing school ♦education +is often more than ever conservative and opposed to any change. +Illustrations of this will occur to every one; and yet all the elements +and influences of a nation are closely related, and act and re-act +upon each other in manifold ways; still, in historic exposition it is +necessary to signalise the opposites, in what appears to be the most +nearly allied and interdependent agencies in the organisation of a +nation. + + ♦ “eduction” replaced with “education” + +In the first section of this volume, reference to the invention and the +introduction of printing was made; but it is a singular fact that until +near the end of the last century, it was unknown when the typographic +art was first introduced into Scotland. Mr. George Chalmers, the author +of _Caledonia_, first announced the real date of its introduction. He +said that “it was the intelligent and industrious William Robertson, +of the General Register House, who, to gratify my desire, discovered +a patent by James IV., which plainly demonstrates that a printing +press was established at Edinburgh during the year 1507.” Prior to this +there was no printing press in Scotland. Since Chalmers’ time, the late +Dr. David Laing and others, and the efforts of printing clubs, have +rendered the earlier productions of the Scottish press familiar. + +The history of the matter may be briefly told. In 1507, James IV. +granted a patent to Walter Chepman, a burgess of Edinburgh, and Andrew +Myllar, to erect a printing press, for printing within the kingdom +the Books of Law, Acts of Parliament, Chronicles, Mass Books, Legends +of Scottish Saints then collected, and all other books, that should +be necessary, and to sell them for competent prices, “by our advice +and discretion their labour and expense being considered.... It is +also devised and thought expedient by us and our council, that in time +coming, Mass Books, after our own Scottish use, and with Legends of +Scottish Saints, as now collected by a Reverend Father in God, and our +trusty counsellor, William, Bishop of Aberdeen, and others, should be +used generally within the realm as soon as the same may be printed and +provided, and that no manner of such books of Salisbury use be brought +to be sold within our realm in time coming; and if any one does in the +contrary, that they shall lose the same. Wherefore we charge strictly +and command you all, our officers and subjects, that none of you take +upon hand to do anything contrary to this our ordinance, under the +penalty of escheating the books and punishment of their persons.” As +Bishop Elphinstone’s _Breviary_ was to be printed as soon as possible, +while other service books were to be excluded, it may be inferred that +he had used his influence with the King in the granting of the patent +to Chepman and Myllar for erecting a printing press. + +Both Chepman and Myllar were burgesses of Edinburgh. Chepman was +a merchant, and traded in wood, wool, cloths, and other articles +of merchandise, a man of some capital and property, and appears to +have had a connection with the King’s household; while Myllar was +a bookseller in the city, and had supplied books to the King for +some time, importing them from England and the Continent; and he also +appeared as a publisher in 1505 and 1506, and as a practical printer +in 1508. Chepman possessed several houses in Edinburgh, in one of +which, at the foot of the Blackfriars Wynd, in the Cowgate, he and +Myllar erected their printing press. After obtaining the patent, they +immediately proceeded to work; and in April, 1508, they issued a number +of short pieces. These consisted of: 1. “The Porteous of Noblenes,” in +commendation of the twelve virtues “in ane nobil man;” 2. “The Knightly +Tale of Golagros and Gawane,” a somewhat singular romance, which +has been assigned to the fourteenth century; 3. “Syr Eglamoure of +Artoys,” a short romance; 4. “Book of Good Council to the King,” a +piece which also forms the last chapter of the eleventh book of the +“Liber Pluscardensis;” 5. “The Maying of Chaucer,” found in all the +collections of his works; 6. “The Tale of Orpheus and Eurydice,” one of +Robert Henryson’s poems; 7. “The Gest of Robyn Hode,” and the following +four pieces of Dunbar’s: “The Golden Targe,” “The Flyting between +Dunbar and Kennedy,” “A Ballad of Lord Barnard Stewart,” and the “Two +Married Women and the Widow.” Only one imperfect copy of the volume +containing the above pieces is known to be extant. As in it have been +preserved the very earliest specimens of the first Scottish press, it +was deemed of inestimable value. Early in the present century the late +Dr. Laing undertook the reproduction of this volume in facsimile, and +also to supply the deficiencies of the original. After the volume had +been completed, excepting the preliminary notices, a disastrous fire +happened, which consumed the premises of Abram Thomson, bookbinder +in Edinburgh, where the sheets were lying, and the greater part of +the volume was destroyed or rendered useless. At last the volume was +published in 1827, seventy-two copies on paper, and four on vellum +were issued. One of the vellum copies was sold at Dr. Laing’s sale in +December 1879, and was purchased by Mr. Quaritch for £71. Dr. Laing +in his valuable introduction to the volume, presented a body of +interesting information touching the earliest Scottish printers, to +which subsequent inquirers have been much indebted.¹ + + ¹ _Annals of Scottish Printing_, from 1507 to 1599, by A. + Dickson and J. P. Edmond, Chapters I. to IX. + +As the _Aberdeen Breviary_ was intended to supersede the _Sarum +Breviary_, and to become the chief church service book for the +priesthood of Scotland, it might be presumed that its publication +had excited some interest. It was the most important work issued from +the primitive Scottish press, and consisted of two volumes――the first +was completed on the 13th of February 1510, and the second on the +4th of June the same year. The text was printed in double columns of +thirty-seven lines each, and done in black and red ink; and the whole +work extended to 1527 pages of comparatively small type. The printing +is unequally executed, some pages being very clear and distinct, while +others are blurred. Four copies of the original edition are known to be +extant, all of which are incomplete. One in the University of Edinburgh, +which has the title to the first volume but not to the second; one in +the Advocates’ Library which wants twenty-seven leaves of the first +volume and fourteen of the second; an imperfect copy of the first +volume in the University Library of Aberdeen; and one belonging to the +Earl of Strathmore in the Library at Glamis Castle, which wants only +a few leaves. Under the editorship of the Rev. James Blew, a reprint +of this _Breviary_ was published in 1854 by James Toovey, London, in +two volumes. A number of special copies were executed for the members +of the Bannatyne Club, to which Dr. Laing contributed an excellent +preface.¹ + + ¹ _Annals of Scottish Printing._ + +Myllar’s name does not appear in the pages of the _Breviary_, and it +has been supposed that he had retired from the partnership or died. +It seems probable that with the completion of the _Breviary_ Chepman’s +connection with printing ceased; and the printing materials were +perhaps sold, or laid aside. Chepman died in the winter of 1529; and +during the last fifteen years of his life, all the works of learned +Scotsmen were printed on the Continent. But it cannot be supposed that +the pieces and fragments which have been preserved, represent all the +works printed by Chepman and Myllar. It appears that they printed some +small school books; and probably an edition of blind Henry’s _Wallace_. + +Excepting a fragment of eight leaves, containing “the Office of our +Lady of Pity,” and the legend of the relics of St. Andrew, which was +printed at Edinburgh in 1520, by John Story, the printing art seems to +have ceased in Scotland for nearly twenty years. Although during this +interval there is evidence that books were imported into Scotland from +England and the Continent. + +Thomas Davidson, said to have been a north countryman, born on the +banks of the river Dee, was a practical printer. The exact date when +he began to print in Edinburgh has not been ascertained; some writers +have supposed that he commenced about 1530, but only one of his works +is dated 1542. In December, 1541, he was commissioned by the Lord Clerk +Register to print the Acts of three Parliaments of James V., which he +executed in the following February. This placed him in the position of +King’s printer, and he assumed that title in his works. As only three +complete specimens of his works have been preserved, the number of +different books which he printed cannot be ascertained; but the finest +specimen of his press is Bellenden’s translation of Boece’s _History of +Scotland_. + +John Scot was a contemporary of Davidson. It appears that Scot printed +books both in Edinburgh and St. Andrews, and possibly also in Dundee, +where it seems he was living in 1547. In 1552 he printed Archbishop +Hamilton’s Catechism at St. Andrews. After the Reformation he printed +the new Confession of Faith. In August, 1562, he was engaged in +printing “The Last Blast of the Trumpet,” by Ninian Winzet, when the +magistrates of Edinburgh and their officers entered the printing office, +seized the copies of the work, and imprisoned the printer. Scot again +appeared in 1568, when he printed an edition of Sir David Lindsay’s +works; and in 1571 he printed the same work, but after this his name +disappeared. From this time to the end of the century, the chief +printers in Scotland were――Robert Lekpreuik, Thomas Bassandyne, John +Ross, Henry Charteris, Vantrollier, Robert Waldegrave, and Robert Smyth. + +The most eminent Scottish writer of this period was William Dunbar, +the court poet of James IV. He was born in East Lothian about the year +1460, and on rather slender ground it has been conjectured that he was +descended from the fourth son of the tenth Earl of Dunbar. It seems +probable that Dunbar received his early education at the well-known +school of Haddington; and he entered the University of St. Andrews in +1474, attained the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1477, and graduated as +Master of Arts in 1479. He became a novice in the order of Franciscans; +and in the character of a friar, he for some time travelled and +preached in France and England, as well as in Scotland. At a later +stage of his life, it seems he visited France in 1491, in connection +with an embassy from Scotland to negotiate a marriage for James IV.; +yet little is clearly known touching the life and wanderings of Dunbar +from 1479 to the end of the century. But in one of his poems he claims +to have served the King, not only in France, England, Ireland, and +Germany, but also in Italy and Spain. His name first occurs in the +public records in 1500, when he obtained from the King an annual +pension of ten pounds, which should “be paid to him of our Sovereign +Lord’s coffers, by the Treasurer, for all the days of his life, or +until he be promoted by the King to a benefice of the value of forty +pounds or more yearly.” In 1507, the King increased Dunbar’s pension to +twenty pounds, and again in 1510 it was increased to eighty pounds――“to +be paid to him half-yearly by the Treasurer, until he be promoted to +a benefice of one hundred pounds or above.” Dunbar also occasionally +received presents from his royal master, and, while James IV. lived, +at least, the poet was pretty liberally rewarded; although he never +obtained the great object of his ambition――to wit, a benefice. From the +end of the fifteenth century to the death of James IV., Dunbar attended +the Scottish court regularly; and he addressed many of his short poems +to the King, and also to the Queen, while the burden of most of these +effusions was that the poet wanted to be presented to a benefice. +Though Dunbar had abandoned the order of St. Francis, still he had +become a priest; and on the 17th of March, 1504, he performed his first +mass in presence of the King, who gave an offering of four pounds and +eighteen shillings in honour of the occasion. Yet he was only one of +the many servants who catered to the royal pleasure and the court.¹ +Most of Dunbar’s writings, between 1500 and 1513, were poems composed +to amuse the court, or to suit his own humour, by satirising its +policies and vices; and they show the favour in which he was held, +especially by the Queen, and his constant petitions for salary and for +a benefice. The picture which they presented of the Scottish court was +a real, but not a flattering or a pleasing one――to modern taste and +sentiment. The poet’s benefactor fell on the fatal field of Flodden, +and whether he continued to receive his pension subsequent to that +event, has not been ascertained, as the Treasurer’s accounts from +August, 1513, to June, 1515, have not been preserved, and in those of +a subsequent date Dunbar’s name does not occur. Most of his religious +poems or hymns were supposed to have been written between the date of +Flodden and the time of his death. The exact date of Dunbar’s death has +not been discovered; but it has been supposed that he died about the +year 1520, when he had reached sixty years of age.² + + ¹ See Volume I., pages 417, 459, 468. + + ² Dunbar’s Poems, _Memoir_, pages 7‒17; Volume I., pages 28, + 149; Volume II., pages 231‒234, Laing’s Edition; _Scottish + Text Society, Edinburgh_, Part III., Introduction. + +Although during Dunbar’s lifetime, and for a few years after his death, +his writings received attention and were admired, and a few of his +poems were printed as mentioned in a preceding paragraph, yet from +about the year 1530 to 1724 his name was rarely mentioned in Scottish +literature; and therefore the historian cannot assume that Dunbar’s +writings have had much influence upon the nation, seeing that for +two hundred years few, if any of them, were read by the people. The +chief historic value of his poems consists in the many pictures of +the Scottish court and its coarse manners and speech, which they so +vividly portray; and the illustrations of the habits and manners of +other classes of society in his time, which they presented. If we look +for great conceptions, any inspiring ideals, or striking thought and +ennobling passion or sentiment calculated to stimulate and improve the +civilisation of the people, in Dunbar’s writings, we will be somewhat +disappointed. + +Since 1724, when Allan Ramsay called attention to the long forgotten +poems of Dunbar, and published sixteen of them in his _Evergreen_, +there have been several notable efforts made to restore the lost fame +of this poet. In 1770 Lord Hailes, in his “Ancient Poems from the +Bannatyne Manuscript,” published thirty-one of Dunbar’s poems; in +1786, Pinkerton, in his “Ancient Scottish Poems from the Maitland +Manuscript,” published twenty-one of Dunbar’s; and in 1802, Sibbald’s +“Chronicle of Scottish Poetry from the Thirteenth Century,” was +published, which included thirty-two poems by Dunbar. About the +beginning of this century George Chalmers, the well-known author +of “Caledonia,” made collections for a complete edition of Dunbar’s +poems; but he died before accomplishing the work. Chalmers’ intention +was carried into effect by the late Dr. Laing, who had acquired his +transcripts for the purpose. Dr. Laing’s edition appeared in 1834, +in two volumes, to which he issued a supplement in 1865: this edition +has been long much esteemed, as it is enriched with various readings, +interesting and valuable notes, and a concise but excellent glossary. +The works of Dunbar, including his life, by James Paterson, author +of “The History of Ayrshire and Ayrshire Families,” was published +at Edinburgh in 1863. The very valuable researches of Dr. Laing, and +the excellent work of Professor Schipper of Vienna, which appeared in +1884, and made Dunbar known on the Continent, seems to have given a +remarkable stimulus to the study of this ancient Scottish poet. It has +been reported that Schipper’s is the best work which has been written +on Dunbar, and that his German translations of the Scotch poet are +executed with surprising skill and fidelity, and astonishing lucidity. +Kaufmann has also written a Dissertation on Dunbar, which was published +in 1873. But apparently the most elaborate edition of Dunbar’s poems +will be the one undertaken by the Scottish Text Society, which when +completed will consist of five parts. Part I. was published in 1884, +and Part II. in 1885; these contain the text of the poems, which was +ably and carefully edited by Mr. John Small, M.A., F.S.A., Scotland; +Part III. appeared in 1887, consisting of an exceedingly elaborate +Introduction by Sheriff Mackay, and extending to 283 pages. It +presents――1, an interesting and comprehensive biography of Dunbar, +judiciously introducing such portions of the contemporary history of +Scotland as seemed necessary to estimate the character and genius of +his author; 2, a classification of Dunbar’s poems――dividing them into +ten classes, and commenting on each class in detail; 3, a valuable +Appendix to the Introduction, which gives――_a_, Table of Dunbar’s +poems according to the probable order of their dates; _b_, Notes +on the versification and metres of Dunbar; _c_, Bibliography of +Dunbar――including both manuscripts and printed editions of his +writings; _d_, Historical notice of persons alluded to in Dunbar’s +poems, in which many interesting particulars are given. Part IV. was +published in 1890, and consists of Notes to the Poems by Walter Gregor, +LL.D., and covers the poems from number one to thirty-eight. Dr. Gregor +is an enthusiastic admirer of Dunbar as a poet, and he is himself a +thorough master of the Scottish language. He is also fully conversant +with the literature of the subject. Thus his notes on each of the +poems of Dunbar are numerous, varied, accurate, and instructive, +showing wide and intelligent research throughout, and consequently +they are exceedingly valuable. Part V. will contain the remainder of +Dr. Gregor’s Notes, and a Glossary by him; and also an Appendix on +the “Intercourse between Scotland and Denmark,” by Sheriff Mackay. +When this edition is completed, it will be a veritable offering to +the genius of Dunbar, and a striking monument of the special historic +research and enthusiasm of its editors. + +There were various causes which accounted for Dunbar and his writings +being neglected and almost forgotten for about two centuries. The chief +cause was the approach of the Reformation, and the new turn which it +gave to the sentiments and opinions of the people. When Dunbar had +attempted to be a friar,――he ultimately became a priest,――and during +the time that he was Court poet, he was ever clamouring for a benefice. +In spite of his ironical treatment of the lives of the friars, he +showed not the slightest trace of accepting any of the doctrines of +the Reformation; and as he advanced in years he became a more pious +observer of Roman Catholic usage; while his last poems were of the +nature of religious hymns in strict conformity with Romanism. Thus +Dunbar was in no sense a precursor of the Reformation. + +The range of Dunbar’s subjects was pretty wide. In the new edition +mentioned above, there are one hundred and one poems, of which +eighty-nine have been considered as undoubtedly Dunbar’s, and the other +twelve have, on various grounds, with more or less probability, been +attributed to him. Most of his poems are comparatively short, the +longest one is “The Two Married Women and the Widow,” extending to 530 +lines. His poems may be described as consisting of allegorical poems, +comic and humourous, satirical, moral, religious and amatory. The best +marked specimens of his allegorical poems, are “The Goldyn Targe,” +“The Thistle and Rose,” and “Beauty and the Prisoner.” “The Goldyn +Targe” extends to 275 lines, and its aim was to show that love, unless +restrained by reason, always blinds and leads astray. The language +and versification of the poem is flowing and easy, and some fine +descriptive touches occur in it, such as this:―― + + “For mirth of May, with skippis and with hoppis, + The birdis sang upon the tender croppis, + With curiouse note, as Venus chapell clerkis: + The rosis yong, new spreding of their knoppis, + War powderit brycht with hevinly beriall droppis, + Throu bernes rede, birnyng as ruby sperkis; + The skyes rang schouting of the larkis, + The purpur hevyn our scailit in silvir sloppis + Ourgilt the treis, branchis, lefis, and barkis.”¹ + +He introduces Homer and a number of classic gods in this poem, and the +student will find it amply illustrated in Dr. Gregor’s notes. + + ¹ _Scottish Text Society_, Part I., page 2. + +The short ballad sung at the marriage of James IV., was composed by +Dunbar to welcome the Princess Margaret, and began thus:―― + + “Now fayre, fayrest off every fayre, + Princes most pleasant and preclare, + The lustyest one alyve that byne, + Welcum of Scotland to be Quene! + + * * * * * + + Sweet lusty lusum lady clere, + Most myghty Kinges dochter dere, + Borne of a princes most serene, + Welcum to Scotland to be Quene!”¹ + + ¹ _Scottish Text Society_, page 279. + +He also produced “The Thistle and the Rose” to celebrate this +interesting event. This poem extends to 185 lines, and it assumed the +characteristics of allegory and the mingling of classic names with the +objects of nature. The rhyme is flowing, and it presents many pleasing +descriptive touches; but it lacks strength and the characteristic glow +of real poetry. The following stanzas occur near the end of the poem:―― + + “Thane all the birdis sang with voce on hicht, + Quhois mirthfull soun wes mervelus to heir; + The mavyss song, ‘Haill, Roiss most riche and richt, + That dois up flureiss under Phebus speir; + Haill, plant of youth, haill, princes dochtir deir, + Haill, blosome breking out of the blud royall, + Quhois pretius vertew is imperiall.’ + “The merle scho sang, ‘Haill, Roiss of most delyt, + Haill, of all flowris quene and souerane;’ + The lark scho sang, ‘Haill, Roiss, both reid and quhyt, + Most plesand flour, of michty cullouris twane;’ + The nichtingaill sang, ‘Haill, naturis suffragene, + In bewty, nurtour and every nobilness, + In rich array, renown and gentilness.’”¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, page 188. + +Many of Dunbar’s short pieces have much merit, “The Dance of the Seven +Deadly Sins” is animated and full of biting satire. Take the stanzas on +“Gluttony”:―― + + “Then the foull monster Gluttony, + Off wame insatiable and gredy, + To dance he did him dress: + Him followed mony foull drunkerd, + With can and collep, cup and quart, + In surffet and excess; + Full mony a waistless wallydrag, + With wames unweildable, did furth wag, + In creische¹ that did incress; + Drink! ay they cryed, with mony a gaip, + The fiends gave them hot leid to laip, + Thair lovery was na less.”² + +This piece exhibits a strong satirical vein, while the whole picture is +boldly drawn and full of energy. + + ¹ Grease, fat. + + ² Volume I., pages 52‒53, Laing. + +The curious satirical poem, entitled “The Joust between the Tailor +and the Shoemaker,” is brimful of comic humour, but the phraseology is +extremely coarse and vulgar. His “Devil’s Inquest” is also strong in +satire and humour. The poem addressed to the “Merchants of Edinburgh” +afforded Dunbar an opportunity of giving a vivid and characteristic +description of the capital, which in his day presented to the beholder +anything rather than the picture of a fair city. Much of the manners of +the court and also of the habits of the people, are reproduced in the +writings of Dunbar: and it is this chiefly that renders them valuable +to us: the mere literary and poetical value of his works have sometimes +been over-estimated by modern authorities. + +The long and curious production, entitled “The Flyting of Dunbar and +Kennedy,” which extends to 552 lines, was written, as the title implies, +partly by both. Kennedy was a contemporary poet, and the two by turns +abuse each other in no stinted terms: the “Flyting,” was exceedingly +rich in words and phrases of biting scorn and vehement vituperation. It +has been supposed that the two poets had no personal animosity towards +each other, which may or may not have been the case. Dunbar began the +flyting, and Kennedy had the last words, thus: “Out! out! I schout, +upon that snout that snevels, tale teller, rebel, indweller with the +devil, spink, sink with stink ad Tertara Termagorum.”¹ Walter Kennedy +was the third son of Gilbert, first Lord Kennedy, and was educated at +the College of Glasgow. Besides his part of the “Flyting,” a few of his +poems have been preserved. + + ¹ _Poems_, Volume II., page 68. “This jolly, quick-witted friar + and courtier is sometimes called the Scottish Chaucer. The + two have, indeed, a good many points of resemblance. Both + were men of the world and favourites at court; companionable + men, witty and good humoured, both showed sufficient address + and business dexterity to be employed on embassies of state. + But if we wish to give the title of ‘Scottish Chaucer’ its + full significance, we must place considerable emphasis on + the adjective. Dunbar and Chaucer belonged to the same class + of easy self-contained men, whose balance is seldom deranged + by restless straining and soaring; but within that happy + pleasure-loving circle, they occupied distinct habitations; + and one way of bringing out their difference of spirit is + to lay stress upon their nationality. Dunbar is unmistakably + Scotch. He is altogether stronger and harder――perhaps of + harsher――nerve than Chaucer; more forcible and less diffuse + of speech; his laugh is rougher, he is boldly sarcastic + and derisive of persons; his ludicrous conceptions rise to + more daring heights of extravagance; and, finally, he has a + more decided turn for preaching――for offering good advice.” + ――Minto’s _Characteristics of English Poets_, page 130. + +A number of Dunbar’s poems have been supposed to be lost, and, as +mentioned in a preceding page, other poems and pieces of verses have +sometimes been attributed to him, most of which were printed in Dr. +Laing’s edition of the poet. Of this class is “The Friars of Berwick,” +a rhymed tale extending to 592 lines. It is a satire on the life of +the religious orders, and it is worked out with considerable skill and +effect.¹ + + ¹ Dunbar’s _Poems_, Volume II., pages 3‒23. Professor Veitch + says, “‘The Friars of Berwick’ is a tale very much in the + manner of Chaucer, and it is not unworthy of his style. It + satirises the vices of the regular clergy in a way that must + have come home to the sense of domestic purity of the people. + It is evidently a production of the pre-reformation period, + and, like the writings of Sir David Lyndsay, must have + contributed in some measure to the ecclesiastical revolution + of 1560.”――_The History and Poetry of the Scottish Borders_, + page 326. 1878. + + “The Three Tales of the Three Priests of Peebles” is another + rhymed production of this period, the authorship of which + has not been definitely ascertained. See _The Complaynt of + Scotland_, page 143. Murray’s edition, 1872. These tales + were first printed in 1603, and reprinted by Pinkerton in + 1792, and by Dr. Laing in his _Early Metrical Tales_, 1826. + The groundwork of the story is simple and natural. The three + priests met together on the 1st of February――St. Bride’s + Day――in Peebles, and each in turn tells a story. The first + tale proceeds on the supposition that the King proposes to + each of the three estates in parliament certain questions. + The second tale refers to the thoughtlessness of the King + in so often changing his servants. The third one is more + allegorical, and refers to Death as the messenger of + God. The tales are moral and didactic in tone and highly + patriotic.――Veitch, _Ibid._, pages 319‒326. In regard to + Dunbar’s contemporaries in Scotland, there is little now + remaining of their writings. See Dr. Laing’s edition of + Dunbar, Volume II., pages 352‒362, and the Supplement, which + contains much additional information. + +Gavin Douglas, the bishop of Dunkeld, was the third son of Archibald, +the fifth Earl of Angus, “Bell the Cat,” and was born about the year +1474. He completed his education at the University of St. Andrews, and +graduated Master of Arts in 1494. Shortly after this he entered into +priest’s orders and in the year 1496 he received a grant of the tithes +of Monymusk, in Aberdeenshire. Chiefly owing to his family connections, +other preferments soon came to him, and about the year 1501 he was +appointed provost of the collegiate church of St. Giles, at Edinburgh. +It was while he held this office that most of his works were composed. +His poem, “The Palace of Honour,” was finished in 1501; and in 1512 he +began the translation of Virgil, and completed it in July, 1513.¹ After +the battle of Flodden he became deeply involved in the knotty politics +of the times; and made a bold but unsuccessful effort to attain to the +primacy of the Scottish Church. In 1515 he was nominated to the see of +Dunkeld, and after much opposition and delay obtained possession of the +bishop’s palace. He again became entangled in the political troubles +of the day, and, having passed to England, died near London in the year +1522.² + + ¹ The Works of Gavin Douglas, edited by John Small, M.A., + F.S.A. Scotland, 4 volumes, 1874. Volume I., pages 2‒9, + Introduction. + + ² The Works of Gavin Douglas, Volume I., page 11, _et seq._ The + Biographical Introduction to Mr. Small’s complete edition of + Douglas’s Works is very full and exhaustive. + +The “Palace of Honour,” his longest poem, is an allegorical production +of remarkable power. Douglas had one requisite of the poet in a +high degree, a command of copious, varied, and striking imagery. His +poetry has a glow about it which will be sought in vain in Dunbar. +His language is difficult to understand, as he used many words and +phrases derived from the Latin and the French, which often render his +expression obscure and his lines rather stilted. But his diction is +entirely free from the coarse and vulgar phrases which disfigure the +writings of Dunbar. As a poem, the “Palace of Honour” is loose and +rambling; though it gives ample evidence of the classical reading of +the author. He introduces various moral reflections throughout the +production, and concludes it with a ballad on virtue. The last stanza +is rhetorical and ornate:―― + + “Haill rose most choce till clois thy fois great micht, + Haill stone which shone upon the throne of licht, + Virtue, whose trew sweit dew overthrow al vice, + Was ay ilk day gar say the way of licht; + Amend, offend, and send our end ay richt. + Thow stant, ordant as sanct, of grant most wise, + Till be supply, and the high gre of price, + Delite the tite me quite of site to dicht, + For I apply schortlie to thy devise.”¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., page 80. + +His poem of “King Hart” is an allegory of the progress of human life. +The heart of man is represented in it as a mystical king in the full +bloom of youth, surrounded by attendants who personify the propensities +of early manhood. Though the King is a feudal monarch, he is far from +enjoying freedom; for those around him hold him in leading-strings +without much hope of his being able to shake them off. After a few more +details about the King, the palace of Dame Pleasance is described. This +lady with a legion of attendants passes by the Castle of King Hart; +and two of his attendants go to ascertain who the party are. They are +surprised and easily made prisoners. The King then sends out other +messengers, who are also captured; at last, becoming enraged, he arrays +his host for battle with Dame Pleasance and her army. But the King’s +party are defeated, many of his subjects are taken prisoners and +confined in dungeons; and King Hart is imprisoned in a grated chamber, +where he listened to the mirth proceeding from the halls of the Queen. +Through the help of Dame Pity, who at this juncture deserts Dame +Pleasance, King Hart and his adherents are set free; and then, taking +possession of the palace, they capture the Queen herself. After an +interview with King Hart, she finds that he is deeply affected by her +charms, and the first canto ends with their espousals and the marriage +feast.¹ + + ¹ _Works_, Volume I., Introduction, pages 139‒141. + +The second canto begins with a description of age in this form:―― + + “At morning tide, when at the sone so schene + Out rushed had his beamis frome the sky + Ane auld gude man befoir the gate was sene, + Apone ane steed that raid full easalie. + He rappit at the gate, but courtaslie, + Yet at the straik the grit dungeon can din; + Syne at the last he schouted fellonlie; + And bad them rys, and said he would cum in. + Sone Wantonness came to the wall abone, + And cryit out, what folk ar ye thair out? + My name is Age, said he again full sone; + May thou nocht heir? Langar how I culd schout? + What war your Will? I will cum in without dout. + Now God forbid! In faith ye cum nocht heir, + Rin on thy way, or thou sall beir ane route: + And say, the portar he is wonder sweir.”¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, page 101. + +The sentiment is very natural, few people wish for old age to overtake +them. The King is grieved that fresh delight has deserted him, sadness +intrudes and whispers something into his ear. The Queen now loses +patience, and when the King is asleep, she leaves him; wisdom and +reason then counsel him to return to his own castle. There, however, +he finds little comfort; enjoyment and strength both creep away, and +decrepitude with his host takes the castle and mortally wounds the King, +who prepares for death, and makes his last testament, the details of +which conclude the poem.¹ + + ¹ _Works_, pages 141‒142; Introduction, Volume I., pages + 102‒120, 145‒146. + +The most notable of Douglas’s works is his translation of the Æneid +of Virgil. He has the honour of being the author of the first metrical +translation of a Latin classic in Britain, although soon followed +by others. Virgil was the most popular of the classical writers, and +before the end of the fifteenth century his works had passed through +ninety editions. In the days of Douglas they were read by young +and old. Taking everything into account, competent authorities have +affirmed that Douglas has discharged the duty of a translator tolerably +well, “he was a master of the Latin tongue,” and his translation of +the greatest Roman poet is a work of which his countrymen may justly be +proud.¹ To each of the thirteen books of his translation of the Æneid, +Douglas wrote a prologue. Some of these prologues are of considerable +length, and three at least out of the thirteen contain passages of +remarkable descriptive power. As a whole, they display considerable +knowledge of human nature, and contain many pointed observations on the +manners of mankind. The following passage is from the seventh of the +series, and is a part of his much admired description of winter, from +a modernised version. + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., pages 144‒147. Introduction. + + “Now reign’d the power of keen congealing frost, + When all the beauty of the year is lost; + The brumal season, bitter, cold, and pale, + When short dull days and sounding storms prevail, + The wild north winds tremendous from afar, + O’erwhelm’d imperial Neptune in his car, + Their scatter’d honours from the forests tore, + And dash’d the mad waves headlong on the shore. + Fierce, foaming rivers, swell’d with torrents brown, + Hurl’d all their banks precipitately down; + Loud roar’d the thunder of the raging floods, + Loud as gaunt lions bellowing shake the woods. + Th’ unwieldy monsters which the deeps contain, + Sought safety at the bottom of the main. + + * * * * * + + Incessant rains had drench’d the floating ground, + And clouds o’ercast the firmament around; + White shone the hills involv’d in silver snow, + But brown and barren were the vales below: + On firm foundations of eternal stone, + High rugged rocks in frosty splendour shone; + The hoary fields no vivid verdure wore, + Frost wrapt the world, and beauty was no more, + Wide-wasting winds that chill’d the dreary day, + And seemed to threaten nature with decay, + Reminded man, at every baleful breath, + Of wintry age, and all-subduing death.”¹ + +These lines have something of the genuine classic roll and swell, and +are fairly natural. To compensate for the dreary prospect outside, the +poet warmed himself at the fire, and resolved to resume his task of +translation. + + ¹ _Works_, Volume I., pages 151‒152. Introduction, also Volume + III., pages 74‒75. + +Douglas’s prologue to the twelfth book contains a picture of May, which +has been much and justly admired. The following lines are taken from a +modernised copy:―― + + “All gentle hearts confess the quickening spring, + For May invigorates every living thing. + Hark! how the merry minstrels of the grove + Devote the day to melody and love; + The ousel shrill, that haunts the thorny dale, + The mellow thrush, the love-lorn nightingale, + Their little breasts with emulation swell + And sweetly strive in singing to excel. + In the thick forest feeds the cooing dove; + The starling whistles various notes of love; + The sparrow chirps the clefted walls among: + To the sweet wildness of the linnets’ song, + To the harsh cuckoo, and the twittering quail + Resounds the wood, the river, and the vale; + And tender twigs, all trembling on the trees, + Dance to the murmuring music of the bees.”¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., page 155. Introduction, Volume IV., page + 84. + +Douglas concluded his translation of Virgil by intimating his belief +in the continuance of his fame――“On Virgil’s post I fix for ever more;” +and he then bids farewell to his poetical studies.¹ Several editions +of his works were published in the sixteenth century at London and +Edinburgh, and they were comparatively popular.² + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume IV., page 223. + + ² _Ibid._, Volume I., pages 67‒172. Mr. Small’s edition of + Douglas’s writings is very complete; he has done all that + careful research and scholarship could to present a correct + text, and to illustrate his author. The value of Douglas’s + writings for philological comparison and illustration has + long been fully recognised. See Volume I. Introduction, + pages 162‒166; and also Dr. J. A. Murray’s _Dialects of the + Southern Counties of Scotland_; 1873. + +Dunbar and Douglas both belonged to the old form of religion and +society; and there are a few other writers of the same class who have +to be noticed ere we enter the heat of the Reformation era. The method +followed is intended to indicate the lines on which the historical +tendencies were running. While it will appear that the adherents of +Roman Catholicism were not all equally blind to the evils around them; +it will also appear that it has always been an object of the policy +of Romanism to hold the people in leading-strings, though this should +entail the utmost oppression and cruelty. + +John Mair, already mentioned in connection with the Universities +of Glasgow and St. Andrews, was born in 1470, at Gleghornie, in the +parish of North-Berwick. It seems that he received the rudiments of +his education at the Grammar School of Haddington, a school which +had attained some note, even in the fourteenth century. In 1493, he +studied one session at the University of Cambridge, and the same year +he crossed the channel, and entered on his studies at the University of +Paris. Mair was an eager and diligent student, and he graduated Master +of Arts in 1496. He continued at the University of Paris, and taught +classes in Logic and Philosophy. In 1505 he graduated as Doctor +of Theology, and became one of the most famous scholastics of his +day, in the character of a Professor and a writer. Mair taught Logic +and Theology in the University of Paris from 1496 till 1518, and +in the latter year he returned to Scotland. On the 25th of June he +was installed as Principal Regent of the College of Glasgow, and he +taught in this College for five years. On the 9th of June 1523, he was +appointed a Regent or Professor in the University of St. Andrews, where +he taught Logic and Philosophy for some time. In 1525 Mair returned to +the University of Paris, where he remained till 1531, and then returned +to St. Andrews and lectured on Theology. In 1533 he was appointed +Provost of St. Salvator’s College, holding this office till his death, +which occurred in 1550. He is the author of a History of Britain in +Latin, a work of considerable value. He wrote also commentaries on +the Book of the Master of Sentences (Peter Lombard); an exposition of +the four Gospels; an Introduction to Aristotle’s Dialectics, and many +other writings. He wrote in Latin, and his style is harsh and uncouth. +But he held some comparatively liberal opinions touching the Church +and civil government. He denied the supremacy of the Pope, and showed +a disposition to limit the power of the censures of the Church; he held +that tithes were merely a human appointment; censured the avarice, the +ambition, and the secular pomp of the Episcopal order; and advised the +reduction of monasteries and holydays.¹ His views of government were +to the effect that kings and princes originally derived their authority +from the people; and that therefore the people were superior to the +King, if considered in their corporate character: that when kings +are tyrannical, or employed their power for the destruction of their +subjects, they may lawfully be controlled by them, and if incorrigible, +might be deposed and even punished by the community. The connection of +these principles with the political opinions afterwards avowed by Knox, +and clearly expounded by Buchanan, is too striking to need further +illustration. Yet, though these liberal and rational sentiments are +embodied in the writings of John Mair, it requires some attention to +disentangle them from the mass of trifling questions and discussions +which fill the pages of his works. The Scottish History Society have +just issued a translation of Mair’s History of Britain. The translation +was executed by Mr. Archibald Constable, who has added many interesting +notes to the work; while a Life of the Author, written by Sheriff +Mackay, is prefixed to it; and also a careful Bibliography of John Mair +and his Disciples, compiled by Mr. T. G. Law, the learned Librarian of +the Signet Library. + + ¹ Most of Mair’s writings were originally published at Paris; + Watt’s _Bibliotheca_, and Law’s _Bibliography of John Mair_, + appended to the newly issued edition of his _History of + Britain_. + +The writings of Boece, the Principal of King’s College, Aberdeen, +are better known than Mair’s. Boece was a good Latinist, and has +an eloquent and charming style. His chief works are the Lives of +♦the Bishops of Mortlach and Aberdeen, and the History of Scotland. +Notwithstanding his learning he was extremely credulous; and in his +history he allowed his fancy a pretty long rein; but the character +of this work is so well known that it is unnecessary to dwell on its +peculiarities. It was published at Paris in 1526, and was afterwards +translated into the Scottish dialect by Bellenden.¹ + + ♦ duplicate word “the” removed + + ¹ Herbert’s _Typographical Antiquities_, Volume III., pages 14, + 71. + +John Bellenden was a Catholic churchman, and attained to the rank of +Archdeacon of Moray. Before he was promoted to that position, he had +translated Boece’s History of Scotland into the vernacular, for the +use of James V. He was engaged on this task in 1530 and the three +following years; and at intervals he received from the Treasurer small +sums of money as the reward of his labours. His translation of Boece +is reported to have been printed in 1536, but it is more likely that it +was printed about 1540 by Thomas Davidson, the King’s printer; there is +no date on the book itself. Bellenden’s translation of the first five +books of Livy’s history, which was also produced for the instruction +of the King, was not printed till 1822. About 1537 he was promoted to +the archdeaconry of Moray, and shortly after obtained a prebend in the +cathedral of Ross.¹ + + ¹ _Treasurers’ Accounts_; the Works of J. Bellenden, Volume I., + pages 39‒41; Introduction, 1822. There is a fine copy of + Bellenden’s translation of Boece’s history in the library of + the University of Edinburgh, printed upon vellum. But “this + valuable volume seems to have been heedlessly committed to + the hands of a tasteless bookbinder, and has, in consequence, + suffered much from those operations known by the name of + cobbling.” Another copy was preserved in the library of the + Duke of Hamilton: “and a more splendid specimen of early + typography, and of antique binding, cannot well be imagined. + The vellum upon which it is printed is stainless――and the + breadth of the margin would satisfy the most fastidious and + princely collector. The boards bear the following inscription, + JACOBUS QUINTUS REX SCOTORUM――and on the title page, the + Initials J. Rx., appear in manuscript. They are in all + probability, in the handwriting of that monarch, to whom the + volume seems to have belonged.” At the sale of the Duke of + Hamilton’s Library in 1884, this fine copy was purchased by + Mr. Bernard Quaritch for £800. Works of Bellenden, Volume I., + pages 7‒8; Introduction. + +Bellenden’s translations are the longest prose compositions in the +Scottish dialect prior to the Reformation that have come down to +our times. His powers of expression were conspicuous, his style is +remarkably fluent and easy, and it often surprises the reader by +touches of vivacity and force. In his version of Boece’s history, +however, he does not adhere closely to his author, and frequently takes +the liberty of curtailing as well as amplifying; but, on the whole +he has improved the original, and rendered it more interesting. To +his translation of Boece’s history he has subjoined an epistle to the +King, which is written with manly freedom, and a few sentences of it +may be quoted as a specimen of the language of the period. “In every +history that men redis, apperis, evidently, the same maneris with the +pepil, which are usit by the King. And sen na thing is, that the pepil +followis with mair imitation, nor kepis in mair recent memory, than +werkis of nobil men; of reason, their besines suld be mair respondent +to virtew, than of any other estatis.... For these reasons, I that hes +bene your humil servitour sen your first infance, hes translatit the +History of Scotland, sen the first beginning thereof, in your vulgar +langage; that your Hienes may know the vailyeant and nobil dedis done +be your progenitouris; and have cognasance how this realm hes bene +governit these one thousand and eight hundred years bygane: which +was nevir subdewit to uncouth empire, but only to the native princis +thereof; howbeit the same hes sustenit gret truble, be weris of Romanis, +Inglismen, and Danis, with sindry chancis of fortoun. Here, may your +hienes understand how your realm suld be governit in justice, and what +persons are maist abil to beir authority or office thairintil.... The +truth is, that kingis and tyrannis hes mony handis, mony ene, and mony +more membris. A tyranne settis him to be dred; a king, to be loved. A +tyrane rejoices to make his pepil poor; a king, to make them rich. A +tyrane draws his pepil to sindry factions, discord, and hatred: a king +makis peace, tranquilite, and concord; knowing nathing sa dammagious as +division amang his subdittis. A tyrane confoundis all divine and humane +lawis; a king observes them, and rejoices in equite and justice.... +What is he that will not rejoice to heir the knichtly affaris of thay +forcy compionis, King Robert Bruce, and William Wallace?”¹ + + ¹ _Works_ of J. Bellenden, Volume II., pages 513‒516. + +In common with John Mair and a few others of his contemporaries, +Bellenden held liberal political sentiments; although he was not +prepared for any radical change in the national religion, he was well +aware of the vicious lives of many of the clergy. In his proem or +preface to the translation of Boece, he states that the large incomes +of the churches had made the priests more slothful than fervent in +their proper work; and that the wealth of the bishops afforded them +occasion to lead vicious lives. The honest archdean was opposed to +the Reformation movement, but did not live to see it established in +Scotland. He went to Rome, where he died in 1550.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., page 110, and Introduction, page 42. + +The _Complaynt of Scotland_, a very remarkable production, now falls +to be examined. Its authorship has not been exactly ascertained, but +it has been brought within the limit of two or three individuals who +lived in the first half of the sixteenth century. It is, however, +pretty clear that the author of this remarkable book was a Scotchman, a +churchman, and firmly attached to the Roman Catholic faith, and a warm +adherent of the French side in the struggle then raging in Scotland.¹ +The work was called forth by the exigencies of the kingdom at the +time of its composition, and this greatly enhances its value. To +the historian it is a book of exceeding importance for the numerous +illustrations of the state of society which it affords, and for the +opinions of the author himself on a variety of matters. He introduces +an extremely multitudinous mass of subjects besides the treatment of +the main theme, and these digressions are very interesting. + + ¹ Introduction to the _Complaynt_, pages 106‒108, 116. Dr. + Leyden, in his learned and very valuable edition of the + _Complaynt_, has attributed its authorship to Sir David + Lyndsay. But this opinion upon reasonable grounds has been + set aside as untenable. Dr. Laing, in his preface to _The + Gude and Godlie Ballads_, came to the conclusion that + Robert Wedderburn, Vicar of Dundee, was the author of the + _Complaynt_. The question of its authorship, and also the + place of its publication, has since been discussed at great + length by Dr. Murray in his introduction to the edition of + the _Complaynt_ published for the Early English Text Society, + 1872. It had been usually stated that the _Complaynt_ was + printed at St. Andrews in 1549; but Dr. Murray, from various + considerations, such as the spelling of certain words and + the absence of the letter W., and the style of type, being + Roman instead of the black letter, in which the old Scottish + books were commonly printed; from these circumstances, + and the fact that the typography of the _Complaynt_ bore + a striking likeness to that of many of the French books of + the sixteenth century, he was led to the conclusion that + the first edition of this book was printed in France. He + also states that the experts in typography at the British + Museum had independently arrived at the conclusion that the + _Complaynt_ was printed in France. + + Dr. Murray’s opinion on the authorship is thus stated:――“Sir + David Lyndsay is peremptorily excluded from consideration; + no less so, I think, is Wedderburn, Vicar of Dundee. In + lack of further evidence, the claims of Sir James Inglis + of Cambuskenneth, and some unknown priest of the name of + Wedderburn, are equally balanced, though, if the part of + _Mackenzie’s Life_ which calls Inglis a man of Fyfe belongs + to this Inglis, the evidence of dialect would be against + him.” Touching the question of authorship as thus indicated, + compare Professor Veitch’s view, in the _History and Poetry + of the Scottish Borders_, pages 339‒342. + +The _Complaynt of Scotland_ consists of two chief parts, the author’s +discourse concerning the wretched state of his country, and his dream +of Dame Scotia and her complaint against her three sons. But in the +sixth chapter he makes a digression and introduces what he knew of +cosmogony, botany, naval architecture, native songs, dances, and +popular tales. As this part of the book is interesting in connection +with the history of the national ballads and music, after describing +the chief part of the treatise, I will return and touch upon the points +embraced in it, and then conclude the account of the pre-reformation +literature, so far as it was unaffected by the new influences of the +revolutionary movement. + +The writer begins his work with an epistle to the Queen mother, Mary of +Lorraine, and, rising to the height of the occasion, extols her virtue +and wisdom. He thinks that her counsel will do something to stave off +the subjection of the nation to their old enemies, the English. He then +proceeds to indicate the causes of their affliction, but soon returns +to the praise of the Queen and her noble ancestors, and continues +in this strain through six pages. To this illustrious person he had +resolved, he says, to dedicate the first work of his pen, and had +experienced some difficulty in deciding what to write about; but after +searching the library of his understanding, he deemed it most meet to +rehearse the miseries of Scotland and their causes. The epistle to the +Queen is followed by a prologue to the reader. He quotes with approval +the ancient laws against idleness; and sets himself to show that the +labour of the pen is no pastime, whatever it may seem. Having a talent +for study and writing, he desires to assist the public-weal by his +pen; as the pen had done more for the Romans than the sword, though +each craft was necessary in a well organised state, and every honest +occupation was equally honourable. He thinks it necessary to make an +apology for writing in the vulgar Scottish dialect; and he states that +several writers before him had mixed their language with uncouth terms, +derived from Latin, and measured their eloquence by the length of their +words;¹ but he, repudiating all such conceits, means to use his natural +Scottish tongue alone. In spite, however, of this declaration, his +work is encumbered with more foreign words than that of any Scottish +writer.² He requests the reader to look favourably upon his intentions, +and thus encourage him to make greater efforts in his next work. + + ¹ He gives instances of these long words――“gaudet + honorificabilitudinitatibus.” He holds “that all such terms + proceeds from fantastic and glorious conceits.”――_Complaynt + of Scotland_, pages 1‒17. + + ² The language of the _Complaynt_ has been admirably explained + by Dr. Murray in his Introduction. See pages 96‒106. + +The _Complaynt_ extends to twenty chapters, some of which are very +short. The first five chapters are filled with the author’s opinions +upon the fortunes of nations, and the causes of the distress and +suffering which then afflicted Scotland. He avers that rulers are set +up and overturned by Divine Providence; and he supports this view by +instances from Scripture and from profane history, citing the fate +of Troy, Thebes, Sparta, Athens, Rome, and other powers, which had at +one time held empire in the world. He translates several passages from +the Vulgate, which he thinks applicable to the state of Scotland; and +concludes this part of his subject with a hit at the sceptical readers, +who might malignantly say that the threatenings of Moses referred not +to Scotland but to Israel. + +He digresses to discuss various opinions concerning the world, its +duration and nature. Many believe, he says, that nothing is lasting +but the world, and are thus led to value temporal good more than +eternal well-being. People speak of the world, and know not what it +is. The ancient philosophers had spent much time in speculating on this +question; and he proceeds to state their opinions about the world. Too +many, he goes on to say, still believed that it would last 37,000 years, +as Socrates had taught, but will that make human life one day longer? +He quotes John Carion’s account of the prophecy of Elijah, to show +that the world will endure only 6000 years; and then states that as +1548 of the last two thousand were already past, there remain but 452 +years till the final consummation of all things. Even this period was +to be shortened for the sake of the elect people, though the exact +date is not fixed, and thus the end of the world may be close at +hand. Therefore, as it is so near its end, “it should be held in +detestation,” he argues, “and our thoughts concentrated on the future +eternal happiness that God has promised to all those that hold it in +abomination.”¹ + + ¹ Pages 31‒36. + +“The Vision of Dame Scotia” opens in the seventh chapter, and occupies +the rest of the book. In somewhat figurative language he describes the +nobles, the clergy, and the people, all of whom were in a most wretched +state. He begins the eighth chapter by making more direct charges of +degeneracy, selfishness, and want of patriotism amongst all classes +of the Scots. Next, he draws a very natural picture of the condition +of the kingdom, reproaches the men who had sacrificed their country +for their own private interest, and refers to the feuds of the Scots +among themselves, and affirming that some of them had yielded to the +English and become vile slaves.¹ Having expressed his indignation, he +proceeds in the ninth chapter to urge the Scots to pray to God and help +themselves, to repent and prosper, and recited for their encouragement +the examples of several countries whose struggle for independence had +been successful. Next he briefly notices some of the wars of the Jews +as recorded in the Bible; recounts Darius’ invasion of Greece, and +his discomfiture by Miltiades; and how the great host of Xerxes, the +King of Persia, was bravely encountered by the Greeks, and ultimately +compelled to beat a retreat. He recalls to the mind of his countrymen +and bids them consider how the English were driven out of France. But +now it is manifest, he says, that the English have violently usurped +all Scotland, in the east, in the west, and in the north, where they +are dwelling peaceably under their own laws. In the days of Edward I. +they had done the same thing; though, with the aid of God, Robert +Bruce had driven them out of the kingdom. “Therefore I hope in God +that within a short time the Protector of England and his cruel +council shall be put in the chronicles in as abominable a style as was +Philaris, Dionysius, Nero, Callugala, or Domician, the which came to a +mischievous end, for the violent invasion of other princes’ countries +without any just cause.” + + ¹ After the battle of Pinkie, in September, 1547, the Duke + of Somerset received the homage of many of the chiefs and + gentry of the Eastern Borders; and the English warden of + the West Marches brought most of the clans of the west under + assurance. Their submission, however, lasted only till the + arrival of the French auxiliaries in 1549. But when the + _Complaynt_ was written the whole inhabitants of the border + counties were living under the English. Dr. Murray’s + Introduction, page 37. + +The tenth chapter begins with an attack upon a book, set forth by the +English orators and their Protector, in which, though the grounds of +the claim were frivolous, the English wished to show to foreign princes +that they had a just title to make war upon Scotland; but our author +remarks that realms are not conquered by books, but with blood.¹ +Englishmen, he said, gave more credence to the prophecies of Merlin +than to the Gospel, “because that their old prophet prophesied that +England and Scotland should be both under one prince.” The author +himself believed that this would come to pass, but not in his day, nor +in the way that the English expected; since they were to be conquered +by the Scots: “And from that time forth, England and Scotland shall be +but one monarchy, and shall live under one prince; and so Englishmen +shall get their prophecy fulfilled to their own mischief.” + + ¹ The particular book meant by the author has not been + ascertained, but four English pamphlets have come down to + us, which answer to his description, and were evidently in + the author’s mind here and in other parts of the Complaynt: + these pamphlets are printed as an appendix to Dr. Murray’s + edition, see pages 191‒256. + +At the beginning of the eleventh chapter he introduces a rather +sweeping mode of treating the English claim; and yet it had a strain of +historic truth. He proposes to examine their title to England and what +they were themselves, and comes to the conclusion that they were the +descendants of Sergest and Hengest, the two Saxons who came to assist +the King of Britain in his wars, and after a short time, treacherously +dispossessed him. Ever since, this false race have possessed the +country by violence and tyranny; and most of the English kings have +murdered their predecessors. Henry I. was banished from the throne; +Henry III. was driven from it by his second son, Richard; King John was +a murderer; Edward II. and Richard II., perished miserably; Henry VI. +was murdered; Richard III. slew the children of Edward IV., and Henry +VII. obtained the crown of England by the support of the King of France; +so that not one of them had a just title to the throne of England, much +less to Scotland. “All this if well considered, should inflame your +hearts with courage to resist their cruel assaults, and to maintain by +valour the just defence of your native country. Ye know how they and +their forefathers have been your old mortal enemies for twelve hundred +years, making cruel war against your ancestors by fire and sword, +daily destroying your fields, villages, and burghs, with a firm purpose +to strip Scotland from your generation ... constantly lying in wait +against you, and taking advantage of your dissensions.” He exhorts his +countrymen to remove the causes of discord among themselves; and asks +what castle could be kept against besiegers, if mortal strife raged +within it among the defenders? He calls on them to remember the valour +of their forefathers, and to take an example from the noble deeds of +those, who in bygone ages had often been harder pressed than they were. +He tells the Scots that their enemies would not have troubled them, +if their own discord had not opened the way; and implores them to +make a final effort before their wives and daughters were ravished, +their property seized; their ruin complete, and the nation for ever +enslaved. After reminding them of the treatment to which the English +had subjected Ireland and Wales, he warns them to expect nothing better +at the hands of their old enemies. The King of England was of Welsh +descent, yet the Welsh were subjected to all kinds of oppression. So +likewise the English have oppressed Ireland, for the chief men of that +country have been beheaded, and the people enslaved, excepting the few +who had fled and found a refuge in the wilds. But a still harder yoke, +he argues, will be put on the necks of the Scots who help England to +subdue their native land――“As King Edward in the black parliament at +the barns of Ayr hanged sixteen score of his Scottish adherents; so +in 1547 the Protector Somerset intended to repeat this feat ... for +the invader had brought to Scotland two barrels full of halters, each +with a loop ready-made to receive its victim.... Though the English +King patronises the renegade Scots, he would be well pleased if every +Scotsman had another in his stomach; as he merely uses them for his own +ends, he loved the treason that suited his purpose, but not the traitor +that committed it.” + +In the thirteenth chapter the author discusses the familiarity between +the English and the Scots, and its evil effects. This familiarity arose +from the intercourse of the people on the borders, and was contrary to +the laws both of England and Scotland. No two nations, he asserts, were +more unlike each other than the English and the Scots, though they were +neighbours and spoke the same language. “For Englishmen are subtle, +and Scotsmen are facile. Englishmen are ambitious in prosperity, and +Scotsmen are humane in prosperity. Englishmen are humble when they are +subjected by force and violence, and Scotsmen are furious when they +are violently subjected. Englishmen are cruel when they get victory, +and Scotsmen are merciful when they get victory.... Their natures and +conditions are as different as is the natures of sheep and wolves.” +He came to the conclusion that there should be no familiarity between +them; as familiarity between enemies is sure to beget treason, and the +King of England had tampered with several Scottish gentlemen. There +were also some traitors who revealed the secret plans of the Scottish +Council to the King of England; so when the Lords of Council resolved +on any matter, within twenty-four hours a full account of it was in +Berwick, and three days after the Berwick post presented it in London: +thus the English were ready to thwart the purpose of the Scots, even +before it was entered upon. He regretted that there were Scotsmen who +would reveal every secret of their country rather than burn a finger +of their gloves. But, lest persuasion and invective should both fail +to arrest the Scottish traitors, he quoted various classical and +Scriptural instances to show that traitors and conspirators were always +punished even by those who have profited most by their treason.¹ He +devoted the whole of the fourteenth chapter to the illustration of the +subject. + + ¹ The authorities cited by the author of the _Complaynt_ + are the following:――Aristotle, Politics; St. Augustine, + Boccaccio, Bœthius, Carion’s Chronicle; Cato, Cicero, + De Officiis, Parody, De Finibus, Epistolæ; Diodorus, + Josephus, Justin, Juvenal, Lactantius, Livy, Mimus Publianus, + Persius, Philiremo Fregoso, Plutarch, Priest of Peebles, + Sallust, Seneca the Tragedian, Thucydides, Valerius Maximus, + Vincentius, besides many references to the Civil and Canon + Law, to the Annals of Rome, and to the Old and New Testament, + the Vulgate version. The author of the _Complaynt_ was + familiar with Lydgate’s translation of Boccaccio, and + frequently used it. Dr. Murray observes, “That in no case + does the original of any Greek author appear to be quoted in + the _Complaynt_: Greek was only struggling for recognition + at Oxford and Cambridge; and it was not till after the + Reformation that it became an ordinary acquirement of the + scholar.” _Introduction_, pages 30‒31, 67‒68. + +In the fifteenth chapter he enters on another side of the state of +Scotland――the commons and the people state their grievances against the +nobles and the clergy. I referred to this chapter before, and will now +give a summary of its contents, as it is one of the most valuable parts +of the book. The industrious husbandmen and the labourers pour forth +their lamentations against the oppressive exactions of the landlords +and the clergy. The people are, like dull asses, kicked and goaded, and +made the butt of every dart. They are compelled to labour night and day +to feed lazy and useless men, who, in return, oppress them and fleece +them even to beggary. The nobles and the clergy are described as more +cruel to them than the English invaders. Their corn and cattle are +daily reft from them, and they themselves turned out of their holdings. +“They were forced to lend to the tyrants above them, and when they +asked for the debt, they were cuffed or killed. There was a cry for +war against England, but the brunt of it really fell upon the poor +labourers; and there was no help for them in Scotland, except to pray +to God that He would take vengeance upon their oppressors. For it is to +be presumed that the lamentable voice and cries of the afflicted people +complaining to heaven, will move to pity the clemency of the most +merciful and puissant divine Creator, who, through His eternal justice, +will crush in confusion all violent usurpers that perpetrate such cruel +iniquities upon the desolate and poor people. Therefore, oh! my country, +since I am in danger of death, and despairing of my life, necessity +drives and constrains me to call on God, and to desire vengeance +on them that persecute me, in hope that He will relieve me, or else +take me out of this miserable life, for the ingratitude of the nobles +and the clergy.” He goes on to say that they had misgoverned the +kingdom, and brought the people into this dire extremity, yet they were +displeased because the people murmured, though they did not desist from +wrongdoing. These proud men, it is said, would fain have it believed +that they were the progeny of angels and archangels, instead of the +common sons of Adam. How baseless is the boast of blood! “Let it be +tested. The stock of the first genealogy of all the nobles that has +been since the world began has been poor labourers and mechanical +craftsmen; and God grant that these arrogant ones may have grace to +know themselves. For in the past all conspiracies have been originated +and fomented by the great, as treason is impossible among the poor.” + +No one can read this chapter without perceiving that the author has +felt keenly for the hard lot of the common people; albeit, in the next +chapter he looks at the other side of the shield, and he is equally +severe on the faults of the people themselves. The commonalty are +described as deserving punishment as much as their betters, and are not +fit for liberty; if they had the opportunity, they would be worse than +the others. Their meetings were usually scenes of uproar; “where they +scolded and barked without rhyme or reason all the day long.” They +follow the most blatant prater like sheep, were fickle in their minds, +and the counsel of ten prudent men was better than all the wisdom of +the commons. Their judgment is worthless, as they jump to conclusions +at first sight, and are worse than the brute beasts. They are +intemperate, lustful, and steady only when forced. When any of them +rise in the world, they were much worse than the higher classes, and +their children are ignorant, vain, prodigal and arrogant. The chapter +closes with an old piece of advice to the commons, that they should +correct themselves before they accuse the nobles and the clergy. + +In the seventeenth chapter he turns again to the vices of the nobles, +and begins by saying that the faults of the people should not make +the nobles glory. He shortly shows that they have no ground for +glorification, and he declares that they have scarcely a spark of +nobleness or gentleness in them. To make this quite clear, he discusses +the origin of gentlemen, speaks of the golden age, when habits were +simple and men’s tastes natural; when the people drank no wine nor +beer, nor yet disordered their appetites with spices, herbs, drugs, +gums, or sugar, brought from distant lands. There was no difference +of conditions, and all being equal, they all lay together in a corner +without any shame or offence. But, since the iron age, which now +reigns, was ushered in, everything has been perverted, and though +many expedients have been tried to mitigate suffering, there has been +comparatively little success. + +True nobility is not hereditary, and when the descendants of nobles +cease to perform worthy deeds, they deserve to be degraded from their +privileged position. It is far better to be virtuous one’s self than +to attempt to draw one’s lineage from the virtuous; even the son of +a prince if he lacks virtue is not a gentleman. Some gentlemen are +ashamed that their ancestors were plebeians. But how vain is the boast +of high ancestry, as the longest line must begin in mud and clay. Men +therefore should have as their armorial bearings dust, ashes, and earth. +“As they must all return to their common and general mother the earth, +and she makes no acceptation of persons nor differences of qualities +between gentlemen and mechanics, but receives them all indifferently in +her domicile and receptacle. Then when the corrupted flesh is consumed +from the bones, no man can distinguish a prince from a beggar.” + +He becomes very serious on the character of the nobles, but from other +sources of information it seems that his description of them is not +much overdrawn. “It appears that when your noble predecessors died, +they took their virtue and gentility with them to their sepultures, and +they left nothing with you but the title of their gentle rank.... For I +see nothing among gentlemen but vice. For honesty is spotted, ignorance +is praised, prudence is scorned, and chastity is banished; the nights +are too short to gentlemen to commit their lecheries, and the days +are too short to them to commit extortions upon the poor people. Their +blasphemy of the name of God corrupts the ear. The prodigal pride that +reigns among them is detestable, not only in costly dress above their +state, but also in the prodigal expenses that they incur on horses and +dogs, above their rents or riches. A man is not reputed for a gentleman +in Scotland unless he expends more on his horses and his dogs than he +does on his wife and children.... There are too many horses in Scotland, +like Diomede’s horse, that eats the poor people; and there are too many +dogs in Scotland that worries their master, as Actæon was worried.” + +The nineteenth chapter treats of the shortcomings of the clergy, but +the treatment of them is not so severe as that of the nobles and the +people. The author makes general charges against the spiritual estate, +and speaks of abuses prevailing among them; but his reproof of the +priesthood is not so distinctly put or thrust home as his complaints +against the other classes. From this it has been inferred that the +author was himself an ecclesiastic.¹ Probably he was a member of the +spiritual class; at least, be was firmly attached to the Roman Catholic +faith, and a hater of schism; though his sagacity enabled him to see +the folly of burning heretics. + + ¹ Dr. Murray’s Introduction, pages 60‒63. + +The abuses of the clergy had caused dissension between them and the +temporal estate. “For the clergy and the nobles lived like cats and +dogs barking at each other, therefore there is not one of you better +than another.... Doubtless thy abuse, and the sinister ministration +of thy office, is the special cause of the schism and of the diverse +sects that troubles all Christendom. Howbeit, though the root of these +schisms and sects are in Germany, Denmark, and England, nevertheless +the branches of them are spread athwart all Christian realms in such +a way that they have more adherents nor adversaries, for diverse men +desire a part of the temporal patrimony of the kirk, because of the +abuse and evil example of the churchmen. And this plague of schism +can never be reformed by any statutes, laws, punishments, banishings, +burning, forfeiting, nor torment that can be devised till the time +that the clergy reform themselves. Therefore, if the clergy were as +solicitous to reform and correct their own malversation as they are +solicitous to punish those that detract and murmur at their obstinate +abuses, certainly the example of their good conversation would +extinguish and supplant more hastily all perverted opinions and schism, +than all the punishment that Christendom can execute. While the clergy +remain in their present state, the punishment which they execute upon +schismatics may be fitly compared to a man that casts oil on a burning +fire in hope to extinguish it and to drown it out, the which oil +makes the fire more bold than it was before. The evidence of this is +manifest; for as soon as there is a person slain, burnt, or banished +for holding perverted opinions, immediately there rises up three in his +place; therefore such punishment may be compared to a serpent called +hydra, which had seven heads.” He tells the clergy to unite together +and reform their scandalous lives and the abuses that reign amongst +themselves. + +The author of the _Complaynt_ shows sound judgment in his remarks on +the burning of heretics. He informs his brethren that they have more to +fear from England than from the laity; and proceeds to show that Henry +VIII. hated the English clergy, and that those of Scotland need expect +no more mercy at his hands. He therefore counsels the clergy, at least +all who were able-bodied, to cast aside their cowls and long robes +and buckle themselves with steel jackets and coats of mail, and go +boldly into the battle against the English army of vile heretics and +excommunicated infidels.¹ + + ¹ The author said that all classes were bound by every law, + human and divine, to fight for their country――“Then why + should priests or friars allege exemptions, saying that + their profession obliges them to sing and say, to preach + and pray, and not to fight in battle,” pages 161‒164. + +He begins the twentieth and last chapter by stating that the intestine +strife which was raging in Scotland had done her more injury than all +the armies of England; and he concludes his work with a general address +to the various ranks of the Scots, in which he illustrates his views by +historical examples at great length; and ends by telling them that God +will help them, if they help themselves. + +The author of the _Complaynt_ displays much knowledge of the world, +and considerable learning for his age and country. His style of remark +is shrewd and striking, and his illustrations are often apposite, +and sometimes exceedingly happy. He exhibits a very keen relish for +invective, and occasionally he makes telling hits. His phraseology is +not nearly so coarse as that of many of his contemporaries. + +It has been inferred that the sixth chapter, as it now stands, is +mainly an addition made by the author when his work was passing +through the press, and inserted as a piece of attractive reading. +This chapter opens with the description of a walk which he took among +the green fields. He passed to the foot of a hill where there was a +stream teeming with fishes, and overhung by a wooded bank, amid which +the melodious songs of birds charmed his ear. He then entered a forest, +and listened to the cries of the animals and the fowls of the air. From +this scene he passed to the seashore, and there he saw a naval conflict +between a galley and another ship. His description of the scene is very +minute and animated. He repeats the sea cries then in use, and gives +a list of the artillery and firearms known in Scotland in the early +part of the sixteenth century. Leaving the two vessels enveloped in +the smoke of powder, he returns to the fresh fields. He then proceeds +to relate the current opinions of the age about the universe, the +motions of the sun, the moon, the fixed stars, and the planets; and +astrology as well as astronomy engaged his attention. After discoursing +learnedly on these exalted subjects, he concludes this part of his +work in the following words:――“All these things before rehearsed, of +the circles of the sphere, and of the heavens and planets, is said +to cause you to consider that mankind is subject to the planets and +their influences; therefore we should prepare and provide to resist +these evil constellations. For, howbeit, that they are the instruments +of God, yet, nevertheless, He of his goodness resists their evil +influences from the time that we become obedient to his command.” + +The latter half of this chapter is very valuable, as he introduces +into it a list of the popular tales, songs, ballads, and dances, +then popular among the Scots. The names, or titles, of forty-eight +tales were recorded, the names of thirty-seven songs, or ballads, and +the names of about thirty dance-tunes. Altogether the list contains +one hundred and sixteen titles of distinct things of the character +indicated.¹ These lists are important in connection with the history of +our popular literature, as they afford the earliest date for many tales, +ballads, and tunes; although a tale or a ballad is only mentioned in +the briefest terms, still it is evidence that they existed, at least, +in the first half of the sixteenth century. + + ¹ The lists were analysed by Dr. Leyden in his introduction to + the _Complaynt_, and by Mr. Furnivall in his introduction to + _Captain Cox, his Ballads and Books_, edited by him for the + Ballad Society, 1871; and Dr. Murray has given a very useful + summary of the list, chiefly drawn from the above sources. + See Introduction to the _Complaynt_, pages 73‒96. Sir David + Lyndsay mentions several of the tales enumerated in the + _Complaynt_. Those who wish to become familiar with this + interesting department of early British literature will + now have little difficulty of finding ample materials, + which have been rendered accessible in a printed form by + the various book clubs and societies both of England and + Scotland. + + + + + CHAPTER XXI. + + _The Literature of the Reformation, + and the latter part of the Sixteenth Century._ + + +IN the preceding pages an account was given of the pre-reformation +literature of Scotland; in this chapter the class of writings more +immediately associated with the revolution will be treated. In this +connection, the writings of Sir David Lyndsay had more influence among +the people in hastening on the Reformation than those of any other man +of the age in Scotland. It is a singular and notable fact that Lyndsay +was not interfered with, nor accused of heresy in the Church, though he +made many bold attacks upon the priesthood and the corrupted doctrine +of the Roman Church: probably it was his rank and position that saved +him from the heresy hunters of the times. Whether he ever actually +renounced his general adherence to the Roman Catholic faith is +uncertain. His name, however, is always reckoned among those of the +early adherents of the Scottish Reformation. His death took place +before the reformed party in Scotland had assumed a distinct attitude +toward the government of the kingdom, or had even formed themselves +into an open congregation; but, if he cannot be exactly counted as one +of the Protestant Reformers, we must at least regard him as a great +power in preparing the national mind for the reception of the radical +revolution, which triumphed in Scotland within a few years after his +death.¹ In fact, Lyndsay was a real and worthy Reformer. He openly +and bravely stood up and exposed the abuses of the government of his +country, and held up to scorn the corruptions of the Church; he was +not afraid to denounce the host of traditions, of puerile fancies, and +inherited prejudices, which had been venerated for centuries; he felt +keenly for the hard lot of the toiling mass of his countrymen, and the +whole force of his nature and power over the language was thrown into +his writings, with the aim of mitigating the suffering of the people. +Having honestly faced the storm, he has had his reward in the grateful +remembrance of succeeding generations. + + ¹ _Poetical Works_ of Sir D. Lyndsay, edited by Dr. Laing, + 2 Volumes, 1871, _Memoir_, Volume I., pages 45‒50. “Had + Lyndsay survived for a few years beyond the actual term + of his life, we need scarcely doubt he would have joined + himself to the Lords of the Congregation in the abjuration + of Popery; but it cannot be said that, at any period of + his life, he had actually renounced his general adherence + to the Romish Faith.” Compare Dr. M‘Crie’s _Life of Knox_, + pages 17, 25, 324; 1855. “His poems were very famous among + his countrymen; but they were admired not so much for their + poetical charms as for their powerful help to the good + cause of the Reformation.”――Minto’s _Characteristics of the + English Poets_, pages 143‒144. + +Little is known about the early days of Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount; +but it appears that he was employed at the court of Scotland during the +greater part of his life. For a period of nearly fifty years, excepting +the short time that the Earl of Angus held James V. in captivity, +Lyndsay seems to have been constantly engaged in various offices in the +royal household. About the year 1529, he was appointed chief Herald, +or Lyon King of Arms, as it is called, and he held this office till his +death. In the latter part of the reign of James V. he was occasionally +sent on foreign embassies in the service of the government. He died +about the year 1555.¹ + + ¹ Dr. Laing’s _Memoir_, pages 12‒22, 29, Chalmers’s Edition of + the Poetical Works of Sir D. Lyndsay, Volume I., pages 11‒14, + 17, 36; 1806. + +Lyndsay was not a great poet nor a man of very remarkable genius; +all his works had practical aims, and were intended to produce moral +results. He was well informed, familiar with the history of his own and +other countries, and his writings are interspersed with many historical +allusions. He had a fund of genuine humour, and his satire is often +pungent and stinging; but his taste was rather coarse, which, however, +was partly the fault of his age, and sprang out of the state of society. +If his style had been pitched on a higher key, it is certain that his +writings would not have been so popular, and that his influence as +a reformer must have been greatly circumscribed. Some of Lyndsay’s +productions were printed in his own lifetime, but it is uncertain if +any of the existing early impressions had the advantage of his own +revision when passing through the press.¹ The earliest collection of +his writings extant is the edition which was published in France in +1558. From this date to the year 1614 there was no fewer than fourteen +editions of his works published, including the two French and the three +English ones. His writings were not only very popular among all ranks +of the Scots; they were also well received in England and France, and +were printed in Holland and in Ireland. It is reported that his poems +were read by the children in the schools,² but there is little evidence +of this; though for three or four generations his writings were to be +found in almost every household throughout the kingdom. + + ¹ “Some of his works were undoubtedly circulated during + his own life in a printed form, but of the existing early + impressions, it cannot positively be asserted that any one + of them had the advantage of his own superintendence.” Dr. + Laing’s edition, Preface. Volume I., page 1. + + ² Chalmers said that Lyndsay’s poetical works were read in + the schools. _Works_ of Sir David Lyndsay, Volume I., pages + 83‒91. + +In the days of Lyndsay the orthography of the vernacular language was +not definitely fixed, and the spelling of the same word is often varied +in his writings. He sometimes makes violent changes in words to suit +the necessity of his rhyme, and occasionally carries this so far as to +obscure the sense. But he had a copious command of words, and used a +great variety of all sorts of terms. His chief object was to instruct +and to make himself intelligible to the common people; in his own +words―― + + “Howbeit that divers devote cunning clerks + In Latine tongue has written sundrie books, + Our unlearned knows little of their works, + More than they do the ravying of the rooks. + Wherefore to colliers, carters, and to cooks, + To Jok and Thome my rhyme sall be directed, + With cunning men howbeit it will be lacked.”¹ + + ¹ _Poetical Works_, Volume I., page 248, Dr. Laing’s edition; + see also pages 65‒66, 231. In those days it was common to + make apologetic prefaces for composing works in the vulgar + tongue; the great Chaucer deemed it needful to do this, also + Lydgate, Gavin Douglas, and the author of the _Complaynt + of Scotland_, as already mentioned; even in the reign of + Charles I., Abacue Bysett, in the preface to the _Rolment + of Courtes_, apologised for “using my awin natural Scottish + language.” + +He went on to state that when the Romans held universal sway, “the +ornate Latin was their proper lingo;” but if St. Jerome, who translated +the Scriptures into Latin, had been born in Argyle, he assuredly +would have written his books in Gaelic. He argues that all the books +necessary for the commonweal and our salvation should be translated +into the language of the people. His works are full of moral sentences +and proverbial phrases, but many of his words are obsolete, and others +which he freely used are regarded as profane slang; in fact, some of +his expressions can only be characterised as swearing at large; on the +whole, his language gives a sad impression of the state of society in +pre-reformation times. + +Lyndsay’s first poem, “The Dreme,” in which he began his attack +upon the clergy and the Church, was written in 1528. It contains a +deplorable picture of the religious orders. Pride had usurped the +place of humility amongst them, sensual pleasure had banished chastity; +the lords of religion were more absorbed in counting their money than +in observing their rule and attending to their duty, as ambition had +so utterly blinded them. In his _Complaynt_, written in 1529, and +addressed to the King, Lindsay warns his royal master to keep his +eyes upon the clergy, to cause them to perform their functions, to +preach and to administer the sacraments according to the injunctions +of Christ, to put aside their vain traditions by which the silly people +were deluded, as in praying to graven images, and making superstitious +pilgrimages, expressly against the Lord’s command. He recalls the +examples of the kings of Israel, who were punished for assenting to +idolatry, and then instances David and Solomon, who suffered no images +to stand in the Temple, and their reward was heavenly bliss, which +should also be granted to the King of Scotland if he followed in their +footsteps.¹ + + ¹ _Poetical Works_, Volume I., pages 39, 59‒60. All the + references are to Dr. Laing’s edition, unless otherwise + noted. + +Lyndsay’s next production, “The Testament and Complaynt of the King’s +Papyngo,” that is, the king’s parrot, was written in 1530. He brings +out this bird to laugh at clerical persons and the attendants of the +court, and uses his satirical faculty with much effect, ridiculing in +turn the courtiers, flatterers, and clergy. One of the latter is made +to reply in these words:―― + + “No marvell is, though we religious men + Degenerated be, and in our life confused: + But sing, and drink, none other craft we ken, + Our spiritual Fathers has us so abused: + Against our will, these swindlers been intrusted. + + * * * * * + + Great pleasure were to hear a bishop preach, + A Deane, or Doctor in Divinity, + An Abbot who could well his convent teach, + A Parson flowing in philosophy: + I tine my time, to wish what will not be; + Were not the preaching of the Begging Friars + Tint were the faith among the Seculars. + As for their preaching, said the parrot, + I them excuse, for why, they been so thrall + To Property, and her worthy daughters two, + Dame Riches, and fair lady Sensuall, + That may not use no pastime spirituall; + And in their habits, they take such delite, + They have renounced russat and raploch¹ white.”² + + ¹ A coarse woollen cloth. + + ² _Poetical Works_, Volume I., pages 99, 101. “The first + edition of this poem, and indeed of any of Lyndsay’s poems, + is that printed at London by John Byddell in the year 1538.” + Dr. Laing. + +The “Supplication to the King, in Contemplation of Side Tails,” is an +extremely curious commentary on the dress of the period. Lyndsay here +directs his satire against the long trains and veiled faces of the +ladies; but rarely lets slip an opportunity of having a fling at the +clergy and the monastic orders, as the following lines bear witness:―― + + “But, I think most abuse, + To see men of religion, + Gar beir their tails throw the street, + That folks may behold their feet, + I trow Sanct Bernard nor Sanct Blais, + Gart never man beir up thair clais; + Peter, nor Paul, nor Sanct Andrew, + Gart nevir beir up thair tails, I trow, + But, I laugh best to see a Nun, + Gar beir her tails abone her bun, + For nothing else as I suppose, + But for to show her lily white hose: + In all thair rules they will not find, + Who should beir up their tails behind.” + +To show the power of fashion, he asserts that even moorland Meg, who +milked the ewes, will immediately counterfeit the queen’s dress, and +have her kirtle with its tail wherever she goes. In summer when the +streets are dry, the long tails of the ladies’ dresses raise such a +dust, he says, that no one can walk near them without covering their +mouth and nose and eyes, and many other rather comical effects of +wearing long tails are noticed.¹ + + ¹ _Poetical Works_, Volume I., pages 130‒135. + +In the short poem “Kitteis Confession,” Lindsay directed his satire +against auricular confession, and exposes this source of priestly +influence with much pungency and some happy touches of humour. He +pursued a similar end in “the Tragedie of the Cardinal,” but with less +spirit and energy. To a rather general account of Cardinal Beaton’s +life, and his end in the castle of St. Andrews, he adds an admonition +and a warning to the bishops, and another to princes; the latter +concludes with the following:―― + + “Wherefore I counsel every Christian king, + Within his realm to make reformation, + And suffer no more rogues to reign + Abuse Christ’s true congregation: + Failing thereof, I make narration, + That ye princes, and prelates, all at once, + Shall burnt be in hell, soul, blood, and bones.”¹ + + ¹ _Poetical Works_, pages 136‒140, 157. The tragedy of “The + Cardinal” was printed at London in 1547. In the prologue + to this composition, Lyndsay referred to a work on + Boccaccio――“The Fall of Princes,” which was translated into + English by Lydgate, and published at London in 1494, and + again in 1527. + +The most remarkable of all Lyndsay’s works is his play, “The Satire of +the Three Estates.” It is a curious production, and in the history of +dramatic literature comes under the class of what is called moralities +or moral plays.¹ In its construction a number of real and allegorical +characters are brought upon the scene, such as king humanitas, +diligence, wantonness, good counsel, the bishop, the abbot, and the +parson; the shoemaker and his wife, the tailor and his wife, the cottar +and his wife, the old man, common theft, oppression, and many other +mixed characters. Much ingenuity in the marshalling of these various +characters is displayed in order to suit the action of the play; +though it is hardly possible for such a multitudinous rally to exhibit +a natural succession of incidents throughout so long a performance. +The action of the play, however, is sustained with wonderful spirit, +and occasionally with comic effect. The characters sometimes express +themselves in very coarse and obscene language, and there is much of +what would be called swearing, and would not be tolerated on the stage +of the present day or anywhere else; yet, there is not the slightest +reason to doubt that the “Satire of the Three Estates” is a pretty +faithful representation of the state of society in Scotland in +pre-reformation times. + + ¹ The full title is――“Ane Pleasant Satire of the Three Estates, + in Commendation of Virtue and Vituperation of Vice.” + +The play, as its title imported, is a satire on the chief ranks of the +kingdom. But, as usual with Lyndsay, the burden of his rhyme and the +force of his lash falls upon the religious orders. He proceeds from +point to point, and charges them with a catalogue of immoralities which +is appalling. The bishops, with their lordly riches and immoral modes +of life, are represented in the most glaring colours, as are also the +abuses of their courts and the oppressions of the poor people. The +pardoner and his ways of extorting money are handled with boldness and +effect. It is forcibly shown that the priesthood had entirely neglected +to instruct the people in the religion of Christ; and that most of the +clergy were utterly ignorant of the Scriptures. It must be added that +the language itself which imparts this information affords evidence of +the fearful corruption of the nation: the profane swearing, the obscene +words and phrases, the extreme licentiousness, and the lack of delicacy, +which pervades the performance, all shows that there was great need for +a reformation. + +In the course of the play the abbot is called upon to tell how he has +performed the duties of his office, and he replies in these words: + + “Touching my office, I say to you plainly, + My monks and I, we live richt easily; + There is no monks, from Carrick to Crail, + That fairs better, and drinks more helsum ale. + My prior is a man of great devotion: + Therefore, daily, he gets a double portion.” + +Next, the abbot is asked how he has kept his three vows, and returns +this answer:―― + + “Indeed, richt well, till I got home my bulls, + In my abbey, when I was sure professor; + Then did I live, as did my predecessor. + My parmours are both as fat and fair, + As any wench intill the town of Ayr. + I send my sons to Paris to the schools, + I trust in God that they shall be no fools. + And all my daughters I have well provided. + Now judge ye if my office be well guided.”¹ + + ¹ _Works_, Volume II., pages 263, 264. For evidence that the + monks lived luxuriously and drank large quantities of ale + and wine, see Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in + Scotland_, Volume I., pages 431, 433. New Ed., 1892. + +On being asked whether he can preach, the Parson replies:―― + + “Though I preach not, I play at the caiche:¹ + I wait there is not one among you all, + More fairly can play at the football; + And for the carts, the tables, and the dice, + Above all parsons, I may bear the prize. + Our round bonnets, we make them now four-nuicked, + Of richt fine stuff, if you list, come and luke it. + Of my office I have declared to thee; + Speir what ye please, ye get no more of me.”² + + ¹ A game of hand-ball. + + ² Lyndsay’s _Works_, Volume II., pages 264, 265. + +There was no theatre at the time in Scotland, and the satire of the +“Three Estates” was acted in the open air, upon the green. It was first +played at Linlithgow, on the 6th of January, 1540, in the presence of +the King and Queen, the ladies of the court, the bishops, and a great +assemblage of the people. It was again acted at Cupar Fife, on the +playfield, about the year 1552; and at Edinburgh in 1554, before the +Queen Regent, the nobles, and a large gathering of the people. On +the latter occasion the performance of the play began at nine in the +morning and continued till six at night; but it appears from the play +itself that there were short intervals, when the chief auditory retired +for refreshments.¹ + + ¹ _Works_, Volume I., pages 33‒35, Preface. Volume II., pages + 346‒348, and Chalmers’s edition, Volume I., pages 356‒358. + Dr. Laing holds that there is no evidence that Lyndsay’s + play was acted at Cupar in 1535, as had been supposed by + Chalmers and others. + +Some information respecting dramatic exhibitions of the period may be +obtained from the records of Edinburgh. According to these, in June, +1554, the provost and council ordered the treasurer to pay the workmen, +the merchants, the carters, and others, who furnished the gear to the +convoy of the moirs to the abbey, and for the play which was acted +the same day, the sum of thirty-seven pounds, sixteen shillings, and +fourpence, “provided always that the master of work deliver to the dean +of guild the hand-scene and canvass, to be kept to the behoof of the +town.” On the 27th of the same month the treasurer was ordered to pay +the sum of twenty-four pounds for the making of the playing place. +On the 20th of July the town council ordered the payment of forty-two +pounds, thirteen shillings, and fourpence, to complete the playfield +“now building in the Greenside.” On the 18th of August the council +directed that the twelve minstrels who passed before the convoy and the +players on Sunday last should be paid forty shillings. The play-gear +it seems belonged to the town, as the council ordered the treasurer +to pay Walter Binning the sum of five pounds for making the play-gear, +painting the hand-scene and the players’ faces, “provided always that +the said Walter make the play-gear underwritten, forthcoming to the +town, when required, and which he has now received――eight play-hats, a +king’s crown, a mitre, a fool’s hood, a sceptre, a pair of angel-wings, +two angel-hair, and a chaplet of triumph.”¹ On the occasion of Queen +Mary’s marriage with the Dauphin of France in 1558, the magistrates +of Edinburgh voted various sums of money for plays and triumphs;² and +there are many indications that the people delighted in rude plays and +pageants. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., pages 193, 195, + 196, 197, 198, 199. + + ² _Ibid._, Volume III., pages 26, 28. So different was the + progress of the drama in England and Scotland, that before + the year 1633 nineteen playhouses had been opened in London, + while on our side of the Border there was hardly one worth + the name of a theatre.――Percy’s _Essay on the Origin of the + English Stage_, page 151. + +Sir David Lyndsay’s other works are “Squire Meldrum,” and “The +Monarchy” or “A Dialogue between Experience and a Courtier of the +miserable Estate of the World.” The first is a kind of rhymed tale of +chivalry, though the hero of the story lived at the time, and Lyndsay +reported that he received some of his information from the lips of the +champion himself; and thus by a mixture of fact and romance, he has +woven a long and pretty animated poem. The many exploits of the heroic +squire are narrated with much energy throughout a performance extending +to nearly two thousand lines.¹ In 1553 Lyndsay finished his longest +work, the Monarchy, which extends to 6333 lines. In this work, his +chief object seems to have been, to make use of the great events +recorded in history for the purpose of illustrating general positions. +After a review of the most notable events narrated by Moses, and of the +four great ancient monarchies――Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, +of whose history he evinces some knowledge, he proceeds to handle the +spiritual monarchy of the Pope. In this he was more in his element, +and soon shows that none of the rulers of the ancient monarchies ever +had such powerful armies to uphold their authority throughout their +dominions, as the Pope of Rome actually commanded. He illustrated his +view by referring to the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops, and the +vast legions of priests, vicars, monks, friars, and nuns――all holding +under the Pope, and mentioned the enormous privileges and powers which +this army had obtained in every Christian kingdom. He then goes on to +show that the Popes had abused their power, by corrupting religion, +by enslaving and oppressing the people without mercy; and he lashes +the occupant of the chair of St. Peter and all his hosts down to the +begging friars on the street, and the pardoners that hawked the country +selling salvation. Waxing bolder, he predicts the downfall of the +temporal power of the Pope, and fixes the day of God’s judgment of the +world to be――“in four hundred and forty-seven years” from the date when +he wrote. This remarkable work concluded with these words:―― + + “And speed me home, with heart sighing full sore, + And entered in my Oritore. + I took paper, and there began to write + This misery, as ye have heard afore. + All gentle readers heartily I implore + For to excuse my rural rude indite, + Though Phareseis will have at me despite, + Who would not that their craftiness were kend: + Let God be Judge! And so I make an end.”² + + ¹ Much information about Squire Meldrum will be found in + Chalmers’s Notes to Lyndsay’s _Poems_, and in Dr. Laing’s + Notes, also in Pinkerton’s _Ancient Scottish Poems_, 1786, + and in his _Scottish Poems_, reprinted from scarce editions, + 1792. The rhymed story itself was probably composed about + the year 1543. + + ² _Works_, Volume II., pages 104‒105. The three-volume Library + edition containing a complete text of Lyndsay’s works, + published about eighteen years ago, was enriched with the + curious information and the careful research of the late + Dr. Laing. Another work of a different character, may be + noticed――“The Register of Arms of the Scottish Nobility + and Gentry,” executed in the year 1542, under Lyndsay’s + direction, as Lyon Herald. The arms are carefully drawn, and + properly blazoned; indeed they are among the most creditable + products of Scottish art which now remain of that period. It + contains the arms of the Royal Family of Scotland; and the + arms in full blazonry of many of the ancient nobles, and the + shields and quarterings of 194 of the principal families in + the country. The original volume has been preserved in the + Advocates’ Library since 1698, having been acquired with + Balfour’s Manuscript Collections. A limited impression of + an exact facsimile of the original Register was published + at Edinburgh in 1821, by W. and D. Laing. In 1879, another + impression limited to 250 copies, was published by Mr. + Paterson, at Edinburgh, which was also edited by the late Dr. + Laing. There is a pretty full account of Sir David Lindsay, + in the first volume of the _Lives of the Lindsays_, by Lord + Lindsay; in Tytler’s _Lives of Scottish Worthies_, and other + sources easily accessible. In short, students that wish + to understand the state of Society in Scotland immediately + before the Reformation, must make themselves familiar with + the writings of Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount. + +There were other writers of rhymes in Scotland, who attacked the abuses +of Catholicism, though their names are not so well known as Sir David +Lyndsay’s. Killor, a friar, who was burnt for heresy, is reported to +have composed a tragedy on the crucifixion of Christ, in which the +Catholic clergy was attacked. About the same time James Stewart, son of +Lord Methven, wrote short poems and ballads satirising the priesthood. +James Wedderburn, a poet of some note, the son of a merchant, was +born in Dundee about the beginning of the sixteenth century. According +to the Bannatyne manuscript, he was the author of three short poems, +commencing respectively with the following lines:――“My love was ♦fals +and full of flatterie,” “I think thir men are very fals and vain,” “O +man, transformit and unnaturall.” It is also reported that he composed +two dramatic pieces, which were acted at Dundee about the year 1540; +in both of which the Catholic clergy were attacked, but these are +now lost.¹ James Wedderburn and his brother Robert are the reputed +authors of another and a very important production of the Reformation +period. This is the curious collection known by the title of “The +Gude and Godlie Ballads.”² It is true that this singular book may +appear to modern taste as “only a tissue of blasphemy and absurdity;” +but it is equally true that these rhymed parodies and ballads had +a real influence upon the mind of the people in connection with the +Reformation movement; and the historian is not at liberty to ignore +anything which was conducive to that revolution, on the ground of its +being unpleasant to existing notions of taste. The mixture of sacred +and profane subjects was quite common in Catholic places of worship, +both in Scotland and in other countries long before the Reformation. + + ♦ “falss” replaced with “fals” + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume I.; Dalzell’s _Cursory Remarks_, page 31; + Sibbald’s _Chronicle of Scottish Poetry_. + + ² The references are to the edition of 1868 edited by Dr. + Laing, unless otherwise noted. The original title of the + collection is――“A compendious Book of Psalms and Spiritual + Songs.” The earliest printed edition of it, yet discovered, + is that of 1578, but it appears from the title page that + there were earlier printed editions: it passed through + several editions in the later years of the sixteenth century + and the beginning of the seventeenth, but very few copies + of these early impressions are now known to exist. See Dr. + Laing’s Preface, pages 6‒7; Notes, pages 211‒215. + +The collection naturally falls into three divisions: the first +doctrinal, embracing a short Catechism, the Creed, and the Lord’s +Prayer, which are repeated both in prose and in metre. The second part +contains versions of twenty-two psalms, and a number of hymns mostly +translations from the German. The third comprises secular songs, but +they are parodied, or mixed up with religious opinions. During the +Reformation era the practice of adopting rude popular songs along +with their airs to sacred subjects was common in several countries. In +Scotland, the initial line or the chorus of the ballads then popular +among the people were transferred to hymns of devotion; this as may +be seen in the collection of “Godly Ballads,” often resulted in an odd +kind of parody.¹ Though the association of the coarsely profane and the +sacred appears to be ridiculously out of character, it is, nevertheless, +certain that compositions of this description had a powerful effect in +contributing to the change of the religious opinions. From allusions +which occur in them to the Queen Regent, the Pope, and the Priesthood, +it is evident that some of them were written during the heat of the +Reformation; and that ballads touching the Roman Catholic religion, +were circulated among the people, appears from the national records.² +Though these ballads were popular among the common people, who could +easily appreciate words sung to popular airs, it is not probable, +however, that many of the pieces in the collection had been printed in +Scotland before the Reformation. It is hardly necessary to say, that +the book was never authorised by the General Assembly, nor known to +have been used in the public service of the Church.³ + + ¹ The source of the song and the tune is seen in the well-known + lines――“Hay now, the day dawns,” which stands as the opening + words of one of the godly ballads. To give it a religious + turn it is put into the following connection:―― + + “Hay now, the day dawns, + Now Christ on us calls, + Now gladness on our waves, + Appears anone. + Now the word of God reigns, + Who is King of all Kings, + Now Christ’s flock sings + The night is near gone.” + + The refrain “The night is near gone,” closes each stanza to + the end of the ballad. “Dunbar and Gavin Douglas, in the + reign of James IV., mention the tune, ‘now the day dawns,’ + and ‘the jolly day now dawns,’ as one that was well known to + the common minstrels.” There are several versions of early + ballads which begin with the words, ‘the day dawns,’ and + close each stanza with――‘the night is near gone.’ Alexander + Montgomery, who wrote in the reign of James VI., composed + a short lyric poem which opened with, ‘haw the day dawns,’ + and adopted the refrain――‘the night is near gone.’ The fine + plaintive air called ‘Hey tuttie tuitie,’ was from a very + early period sung with the foregoing words; but it is best + known from Burns’s address, ‘Scots wha hae wi’ Wallace + bled.’ Dr. Laing, Notes, page 256, page 168. Poems of A. + Montgomery, pages 219‒221, 314; 1821. + + ² See under pages 77, _et seq._; Dr. M‘Crie’s _Life of Knox_, + pages 323, 325; 1855. + + ³ _Godly Ballads_, Preface, pages 8‒9, 43, 47. + +Touching the authorship of the “Godly Ballads” in the form that we now +have them, little can be said with certainty. As indicated above, it +has sometimes been attributed to James Wedderburn, while other early +authorities attribute the collection to two brothers of his, John and +Robert Wedderburn; all the three flourished in the second quarter of +the century. The earliest reference to the book is by James Melville, +in the year 1570 when speaking of his own education; he says that, at +that time he first saw Wedderburn’s songs, and learned several of them +by heart, with a great diversity of tunes. Melville does not mention +Wedderburn’s Christian name; and although the Wedderburns may have +translated some of the psalms, recast or composed some of the songs +in this collection, there is no available information for distinctly +assigning the contents of the book to the respective translators +and authors. A number of the psalms were versified, printed, and +circulated in England and in Scotland before the Reformation. In the +former country Coverdale compiled a book of psalms and spiritual songs +which was printed about the year 1539; and four of the psalms in this +collection are almost verbatim with four of those in the book of “Godly +Ballads;” and the presumption seems reasonable that they had been taken +from Coverdale’s collection. The chief source of modern hymnology, +however, is Germany. The Hussites in the fifteenth century had their +devotional songs; Luther’s collection of hymns was published in 1524, +and it was enlarged from time to time by himself and others. As these +hymns were written in the vernacular tongue and many of them set to +popular airs, they were admirably suited for private instruction as +well as for public worship.¹ These hymns accompanied with the music +which the people understood and loved, formed one of the strong points +of the German Reformation. The poetic inspiration that glowed in the +heart and stirred the soul of the German Reformer, joined with his +sublime confidence, rang out in many of his popular hymns.² + + ¹ Dr. Laing’s Preface, pages 8‒25, 33‒39. Regarding the + variety and extent of German hymns, Dr. Laing in his preface + and notes to the “Godly Ballads,” gives a good deal of + information. He notices the collections of Dr. Wackerangel + and the Chevalier Bunsen; Miss C. Winkworth’s “Lyra + Germanica,” first and second series, 1859. As to more recent + works on German hymnology, he mentions “Hymns translated or + imitated from the German, by the Rev. George Walker,” 1860. + A Lecture by Professor Mitchell of St. Andrews, entitled, + “The Wedderburns, and their work on the Sacred Poetry of + the Scottish Reformation, in its historical relation to that + of Germany,” 1867. “The Scottish Reformation; a historical + sketch by Professor Lorimer,” see pages 27‒29, 60. + + ² In 1521 Charles the Fifth issued the first of a series of + enactments for extinguishing heresy in the Netherlands; and + in 1522 two monks were burned at the stake in Brussels. This + execution moved Luther to write a stirring hymn, of which + the following is one of the stanzas:―― + + “Quiet their ashes will not lie: + But scattered far and near, + Stream, dungeon, bolt, and grave defy, + Their foeman’s shame and fear. + Those whom alive the tyrant’s wrongs + To silence could subdue, + He must, when dead, let sing the songs + Which in all languages and tongues, + Resound the wide world through.” + + Quoted by G. P. Fisher in his work, _The Reformation_, page + 287; 1873. + +A number of the spiritual songs in the collection of “Godly Ballads” +are derived or founded upon German hymns of the Reformation period: +others are merely modifications of the original songs current among +the Scots at the time; while others are entirely of a satirical turn, +directed against Roman Catholicism, and naturally sprang out of the +struggle of the Reformation in Scotland. It is the two latter that are +of most importance in connection with the subject in hand. In one of +the spiritual songs the burden of a very old ballad is retained――“The +wind blaws cauld.” It is found in the following connection:―― + + “The wind blaws cauld, furious and bauld, + This lang and mony a day―― + But Christ’s mercy we man all die, + Or keep the cauld wind away. + + * * * * * + + Then be not wo, see that ye pray + To Peter, James, nor John, + Nor yet to Paul, to save your soul, + For power have they none. + + Save Christ only, that died on tree, + He may both loose and bind: + In others more, if ye trust so, + On you blaws cauld the wind.”¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 165, 166‒168, 158‒161, 184. + +Another satirical ballad refers to events when the Protestants, under +the name of “the Congregation,” had taken matters into their own hands, +in the year 1559, and it retains the following refrain:――“Hay trix, +tryme go trix, under the green-wood tree.” The drift of the effusion is +directed against the Pope and all the religious orders, the cardinals, +bishops, priests, abbots, and monks and nuns are each in turn severely +handled, and charged with obscene immoralities.¹ The doctrines of +Catholicism are also boldly, fearlessly, and effectively attacked in +these rude ballads. Not a tenet of Romanism is spared. All are treated +with scorn and contempt. Of the fire of purgatory, it is said, there +is not left a spunk; and the reek, that was sold so dear, is said to +have fallen into utter disrepute. The monks having long neglected to +pray for the souls of the founders of the monasteries――“their souls +were left to burn and biss” as they might. Touching the worship of +saints, it is said:――“I wat St. Peter, nor St. Paul, nor yet any saint, +can save your soul, though many lies make many brawl.” Relics, the +adoration of images, indulgence, the mass, and other doctrines of +Catholicism, are treated with sharp and bitter derision.² It is easy +to understand the effect of this upon the mind of the people; and in +connection with other influences the tone and spirit of these ballads +and rhymes tended to intensify the Protestantism of the Scots. + + ¹ _Gude and Godly Ballads_, pages 166‒168. “‘The wind blaws + cauld.’ This is the burden of an English song in praise + of Christmas, entitled ‘A pleasant country ditty,’ merrily + showing how to drive the cold winter away.”――Dr. Laing, + Notes, page 255. + + ² _Ibid._, pages 163‒165, 167, 169‒173, 175‒177, 183‒186. + +John Knox was more remarkable as a reformer and a preacher than as a +writer and a thinker. He was aware of this himself, for he said that, +“considering myself rather called of my God to instruct the ignorant, +comfort the sorrowful, confirm the weak, and rebuke the proud, by +tongue and living voice, in these most corrupt days, than to compose +books for the age to come.” That he did his duty to his country and to +society, as thus conceived by himself, is matter of history. Looking +to his life and the important work which he so actively contributed to +effect, the writings that he produced are surprising. His compositions +it must be remembered were hastily prepared, under the pressure of +many disquieting influences, or amid constant and exciting occupation.¹ +Neither great elaboration nor the finer graces of style can be expected +from him; yet, for all the unpropitious circumstances under which he +laboured, his writings in the language of the people will compare +favourably with those of any of his contemporaries in Britain. He had +a good command of his mother tongue: his style is equally remarkable +for strength, clearness, and vehemence. He never leaves any doubt about +his meaning; as he held his opinions firmly, so he expressed them with +all the force of his nature; his thoughts and judgments are thrown out, +with a rapidity and animation which is striking and effective. He had +a keen vein of humour in his constitution, and frequently adopted a +strain of remark and expression of a grotesque and humorous character; +and sometimes touches of sarcasm and bitter scorn occur in his +compositions. His humour is often coarse and even vulgar; but this was +partly the fault of his age, and partly a result of the kind of work +that fell to him. + + ¹ _The Works of John Knox_, collected and edited by Dr. Laing, + Volume VI., page 229. Preface, pages 85, 89. This edition of + our national reformer’s writings in six volumes is a great + literary monument to his memory. It has placed his life + and work in a clearer and juster light. The learned editor + bestowed much and unusual care on the execution of his task; + and he deserves our warmest gratitude for his research, his + unwearying industry, and his devotion to the accomplishment + of a worthy object. Dr. Laing did his work in a manner that + cannot fail to command the respect of his countrymen, while + the principle of Protestantism retains a hold upon their + minds. + +Knox’s works may be described as mostly admonitory and historical. +In the department of theology itself he produced nothing, except a +treatise on predestination. As a writer, he is best known by his +History of the Reformation in Scotland. He began it in 1559, and +finished the fourth book, bringing the narrative down to 1564, in 1566. +He left a few marginal notes and materials for a continuation of the +history, which were used by others after his death in compiling the +fifth book, and also the volume of memorials published under the name +of Richard Bannatyne. Many references have been made to his history in +the preceding chapters of this work, and quotations given, which render +any lengthy account of its contents and character unnecessary. Its +historical value and general accuracy have now been fully recognised. +When narrating events which happened under his own eyes, it could +hardly be expected that he should always be able to refrain from bitter +reflections on his opponents; but his humour for abusing them he has +often carried to an extreme length. The only excuse for the coarse +expressions and hard epithets which he hurls at their heads must be +sought in the corrupt and immoral state of society, and the inflamed +and enraged feelings of the people around him. + +Knox’s admonitory writings consist of his public letters, such as +the “Admonition to the Faithful in England,” “to the Godly,” “to +the Professors of the Faith,” his “Letter to the Queen Regent,” “The +First Blast of the Trumpet against the monstrous Regime of Women,” and +others of a similar description. In this department he was particularly +strong; he had a special faculty for scolding, and employed it with +much effect. Many examples of this might be quoted from his writings. +In his “Faithful Admonition to the Professors of God’s Truth in +England,” which was printed and circulated in 1554, there are some +passages touching Queen Mary and those at the head of the government +of England, which are extremely vehement. “And, now, does she not +manifestly show herself to be an open traitress to the imperial Crown +of England, contrary to the just laws of the realm, to bring in a +stranger, and make a proud Spaniard king? to the shame, dishonour, and +the destruction of the nobility; to the spoil from them and theirs of +their honours, lands, possessions, chief offices, and promotions; to +the utter decay of the treasure, commodities, navy, and fortifications +of the realm; to the abasing of the yeomanry, to the slavery of the +commons, to the overthrow of Christianity, and God’s true religion, and, +finally, to the utter subversion of the whole estate and commonwealth +of England.”¹ + + ¹ _Works_, Volume III., page 294, _et seq._ + +After the death of Queen Mary, Knox wrote, in 1559, “A brief +Exhortation to England for the speedy embracing of the Gospel.” In +this tract, which was printed at Geneva, he at once strikes the keynote +and states what should be done: “Touching reformation of religion, you +must at once so purge and expel all dregs of papistry, superstition, +and idolatry, that thou, O England, must judge and hold execrable +whatsoever God hath not sanctified unto thee by his word, or by the +action of our master Christ Jesus. The glistening beauty of vain +ceremonies, the keeping of things pertaining nothing to edification, by +whomsoever they were invented, justified, or maintained, ought at once +to be removed, and so trodden under the obedience of God’s word, that +continually this sentence of thy God be present in thy heart and ready +in thy mouth:――‘Not that which appears good in thy eyes, shalt thou +do to the Lord thy God, but what the Lord thy God hath commanded thee, +that shalt thou do: add nothing to it, diminish nothing from it.’”¹ +He then proceeds at length to admonish and counsel them to embrace the +gospel, and to cast aside the devices of men, and to rest only on the +word of God. + + ¹ _Works_, Volume V., page 515, _et seq._ + +In the Reformer’s letter to the Queen Regent of Scotland in 1558, +which was printed the same year, there are also some characteristic +and important passages. The following is one:――“As Satan by craft +hath corrupted the most holy ordinance of God’s precepts, I mean +of the first table, in the place of the spiritual honouring of +God, introducing men’s dreams, inventions, fantasies; so hath he, +abusing the weakness of man, corrupted this precept of the second +table, touching the honour which is due to parents, under whom are +comprehended princes and teachers; for the devil hath so blinded the +senses of many, that they cannot, or at the least, will not, learn what +appertains to God, and what to Cæsar. But, because the Spirit of God +hath said, ‘Honour the king,’ therefore whatsoever they command, be it +right or wrong, must be obeyed. But heavy shall the judgment be which +apprehends such blasphemers of God’s majesty, who dare be so hold as +to affirm that God hath commanded any creature to be obeyed against +himself. Against God it is, that for the commandment of any prince, be +he never so potent, men shall commit idolatry, embrace a religion which +God hath not approved by his word, or confirm by their silence wicked +and blasphemous laws made against the honour of His Majesty. Men, I say, +that do so, give no true obedience; but as they are apostates from God, +so are they traitors to their princes, whom by flattery they confirm +in rebelling against God.” After citing several examples from the Old +Testament, he continues: “But, Madame, more profitable it is that the +pestilent tumours be expelled with pain, than that they be nourished +to the destruction of the body. The papistical religion is a moral +pestilence, which shall assuredly bring to death eternal the bodies +and souls from the which it is not purged in this life. And therefore +take heed betimes, God calls upon you, beware that ye shut not yourself +up.... I come to you in the name of the eternal God, and of Christ +Jesus his Son, to whom the Father hath committed all power, whom he +hath established Sovereign Judge over all flesh, before whose throne +ye must make account with what reverence ye hear such as he sends. +It shall not excuse you to say or to think, that ye doubt whether I +be sent of God or not. I cry unto you, that the religion which the +princes and the blinded papists maintain with fire and sword, is not +the religion of Christ; that your proud prelates are none of Christ’s +bishops. I admonish you that Christ’s flock is oppressed by them; and +therefore I require, and that yet again, in the name of the Lord Jesus, +that with impartiality I may be heard to preach, to reason, and to +dispute, in that cause, which ye deny; ye declare yourself to bear no +reverence to Christ, nor love to his true religion.”¹ + + ¹ _Works_, Volume IV., pages 440‒443. + +The Roman Catholic clergy did not show much energy in their writings, +nor in their arguments in defence of their religion in England and +Scotland; no very memorable effort of eloquence or argument was put +forth within the Island during the progress of the Reformation. Those +who desired to maintain the ancient worship unimpaired, staked the +issue more upon the fire and sword principle than on reasoning and +discussion; and they were wise in their generation, for when it came to +this, the palmy days of a conservative priesthood were well-nigh past. +There were a few, however, from the humbler ranks of the Roman Catholic +clergy, that came forward and wrote in defence of their faith. Quintin +Kennedy, the abbot of Crossraguel, ♦Ninian Winzet, a schoolmaster, and +James Tyrie, a Scottish Jesuit, were the only controversialists on the +Catholic side in Scotland, whose writings have been preserved. + + ♦ “Ninan” replaced with “Ninian” + +Ninian Winzet was born in 1518, in the burgh of Renfrew. He received a +liberal education, and was appointed schoolmaster of the Grammar School +of Linlithgow about the year 1551. Winzet himself said, in 1562, that +his happiest days were “spent in teaching of the Grammar School of +Linlithgow about the space of ten years;” but, at the command of Dene +Patrik Kinloquhy, preacher in Linlithgow, and of his superintendent, +“when I, for denying only to subscribe their phantasy and factioun +of faith, was expelled and shut out of that, my kindly town, and from +my tender friends there, whose perpetual kindness I hoped that I had +conquest.” The superintendent mentioned was John Spotiswoode, whose +jurisdiction extended from Dunbar to Stirling; and it appears that +Winzet then made a severe attack upon the creed of the Reformers. +He was a priest as well as a schoolmaster, and he was one of the +ablest and boldest defenders of Catholicism in Scotland. He held +out vigorously, and addressed questions to Knox and other reformed +preachers; as he had asked and received the permission of Queen Mary +to address the Protestant leaders touching certain doctrines, order, +and forms, approved by them. In the end of February, 1562, Winzet, as +a first instalment, specially addressed three questions to John Knox +and the reformed preachers of Scotland touching their vocation, which +were stated thus:――“1. Is John Knox a lawful minister? Since we read, +that none should take the honour of ministration of God’s Word and +sacraments on him, except he be lawfully called thereto, either by God +immediately, or by a man having power to promote thereto. 2. If John +Knox be not a lawful bishop, how can they be lawfully ordained by him? +If he cannot show himself a lawful bishop, how can ye superintendents +or other inferior preachers, elected and ordained by him, not having +power thereto, judge yourselves to be lawful ministers in the Church of +God? 3. If John Knox and ye affirm yourselves lawful by reason of your +science, and that ye are permitted always, if ye be not admitted by +these Churches, whom ye serve, why have ye preached manifestly a great +error and schism in your congregation, contending with tooth and nail, +some lords and gentlemen to have greatly failed, administering your +communion in bypast times to their own households and tenants, since +the lords and gentlemen were men of science; by their own judgment, +in that case, was permitted by their said servants to that office, +who affirm themselves to be a Church of God?” Knox referred to these +questions in his sermons, but he never sent a written rejoinder +to Winzet. Three tractates of Winzet’s were published at Edinburgh +on the 21st of May, 1562, in which the position of Knox was boldly +assailed. He said:――“I exhort ye cause your prophet, John Knox, and +your superintendent, John Spotiswoode, to impeach saints Hierome and +Augustine as leading witnesses in the premises; and cause them deliver +their answer in write, for these holy Fathers books are patent to us +and them. And some of our faithful brethren have written several times +to them both, and got no answer in write, but waste wind again. But +peradventure, albeit, these two, your champions, dare not for shame +answer in this matter, ye will appeal to the rest of your learned +theologians of a great number in Scotland and Geneva. But to them we +oppose all the Christian Catholics in Africa, Asia, and Europe.” + +It seems that Winzet had some influence in the court of Queen Mary, and +he continued his attacks on the leaders of the Protestants. His “Last +Blast of the Trumpet of God’s Word,” printed at Edinburgh, 31st July, +1562, was directed “against the usurped authority of John Knox and his +Calvinistic brethren, intruded preachers, etc.” Only a fragment of five +leaves of the original edition is known to be extant. As mentioned in +a preceding chapter, the printer of the book was seized and imprisoned, +and Winzet narrowly escaped. He gained a ship bound for Flanders, and +reached Antwerp on the 13th of September, and immediately proceeded to +Louvain. His _Book of Four Score and Three Questions_ was published at +Antwerp in 1563, to which he added a postscript personally addressed to +John Knox. For some time he was connected with the University of Paris; +and in 1577 Winzet was appointed Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery +of St. James, at Ratisbon, by a bull of Pope Gregory XIII. At Ratisbon +Winzet continued to labour industriously till his death, which occurred +on the 21st of September, 1592, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. +His writings consists of certain tracts, already mentioned, and _The +Book of Four Score and Three Questions_, proposed to the Calvinistic +preachers in Scotland, and written in the vernacular: these were +reprinted in a volume issued by the Maitland Club in 1835. He also +translated into Scots the once well-known work on dogmatics, entitled, +_Commonitorium pro Catholicæ fidei antiquate et univeritate, adversus +profanas omnium Hæreseon nouationes_, written in the fifth century +by Vincentius, Abbot of the monastery of Lerinum; and Winzet, in +the title page to his translation, called it “a right goldin buke, +written in Latin about eleven hundred years past,” and he prefaced +it with an address to Mary Queen of Scots. He was further credited +with making translations of Optatus, Tertullian, and other fathers, +which are not now known to exist. But two of his Latin treatises +have been preserved――one entitled _Flagellum Sectariorum_, and the +other _Velitatio adversus Georgium Buchananum_. The first treated the +question whether obedience should be shown to kings or ministers; he +handled this subject because the teaching of the Calvinists tended to +unsettle all legitimate authority, and in his treatment of the subject +he showed considerable research; it also dealt with the subject of +the Vocation of the Calvinistic ministers. The second was a political +pamphlet of one hundred and thirty-three pages――an answer to Buchanan’s +_Dialogue De Jure Regni apud Scotos_――and it was published in 1582. +Winzet’s argument against Buchanan was that kings must be paramount, +and that the people had no right to rebel against them, until the +Church declared a king unfit to rule. + +The Scottish Text Society issued an excellent edition of Winzet’s +works in 1888‒90, which contains his writings and translations in the +Scottish language, and also a useful glossary, valuable introductions, +and notes. + +Kennedy was the fourth son of Gilbert, the second Earl of ♦Cassillis, +and was appointed abbot in 1548. He attended the Provincial Council of +the clergy held in Edinburgh in 1549, and had the reputation of being +a learned man. His treatise entitled, “A Compendious Tractive, conform +to the Scriptures of Almighty God, Reason and Authority,” etc., was +published in 1558. It was praised by his friends, and in latter times +by Bishop Keith, and others. It is hardly necessary to say, that the +Abbot’s chief and final argument was whatever the Church of Rome said +must be true and right. Kennedy’s “Tractive” was answered by John +Davidson, principal of the University of Glasgow, in a book printed +at Edinburgh in 1563.¹ The Abbot’s next work was an “Oration,” printed +in the year 1561, mainly intended to demolish a position held “by a +famous preacher called John Knox.” After some correspondence had passed +between Kennedy and Knox, a public discussion took place between them, +on the subject of the Mass, at Maybole, in September, 1562, when the +discussion lasted three days, and ended as disputes of the kind usually +end, without either of the parties convincing the other. In 1563, Knox +published a curious and rather interesting narrative of this three +days’ talk. The following are the concluding sentences:――“And therefore, +must I say, the Mass standeth groundless, and the greatest patron +thereof, for all his sicker riding, hath once lost his stirrups, yea, +is altogether, set beside his saddle. And yet the common brute goes, +that you, my Lord, your flatterers and collaterals, brag greatly of +your victory obtained in disputation against John Knox; but I will not +believe you to be so vain, unless I shall know the certainty by your +hand writ. Let all men now judge upon what ground the sacrifice of the +Mass stands. The heavenly Father hath not planted within his Scriptures +such a doctrine; it follows, therefore, that it ought to be routed out +of all godly men’s hearts.”² + + ♦ “Cassilis” replaced with “Cassillis” + + ¹ _Knox’s Works_, Volume VI., pages 153‒155. The Writings of + Kennedy were printed in the first volume of the Wodrow + Miscellany, together with some correspondence that passed + between him and John Willock. Davidson’s answer to Kennedy’s + book is also printed in this Miscellany. + + “Among the persons who accompanied Queen Mary from France + was her preacher and confessor, Réni Benoist. He was + a divine of some note, and produced two or three small + treatises, in a vain endeavour to conciliate differences + of opinion in matters of religious faith and practice. + One of these was a Latin epistle, addressed to the most + learned John Knox and other Protestant ministers, dated + from Holyrood House, the 10th of November, 1561. It was + translated by a certain friar, and was ‘greatly boasted of’ + or commended. At the urgent request of some of his brethren, + David Ferguson, minister of Dunfermline, wrote an answer, + passage by passage, to what he calls ‘this pithless Epistle.’ + This answer, including the Epistle itself, was printed + soon after, but it is of such rarity that only one single + copy has been discovered; but having recently been reprinted; + it is now beyond the chance of destruction.” _Knox’s Works_, + Volume VI., pages 151‒152. It was reprinted by the Bannatyne + Club, 1860. + + ² _Works_, Volume VI., pages 219‒221. + +The latest of Knox’s writings was a tract published in vindication +of the reformed religion, in answer to a letter of Tyrie, a Jesuit.¹ +It was composed in 1568, and printed at St. Andrews ♦in 1572. Knox +gives a portion of Tyrie’s letter in separate paragraphs, then his own +comments follow, and thus each in turn succeed the other to the end of +the discussion. The Jesuit began by asking――“What words, if any, would +apply to those new formed Kirks, and especially of your invisible Kirk +of Scotland, not yet eight years old, he is convicted.... Wherefore if +ye cannot show what place of the world afore three hundred years your +Kirk was into, it follows of necessity, that it is not a kirk.” The +argument is the very old one, namely, that there is but one Church――the +Roman Church. Knox answers this point at great length, and closes with +these words:――“We say yet again, that whensoever the Church of Rome +shall be reduced to the state in which the Apostles left her, we are +assured that she shall vote in our favour, against all such as shall +deny us to be a Church, if God continue us in the simplicity which +this day is mocked of the world.”² The other points which the Jesuit +advances touching the Reformed Church, are forms of the arguments +always used by the Roman Catholic writers. Such as, that the Protestant +Church had no succession from Christ; that there is a continual +succession of doctrine which has never varied in the Catholic Church, +but has prevailed in all ages. With more truth and reason, he refers +to the differences of the Protestants among themselves, and specially +notes the contrast between some of the congregations of Germany and +those of Scotland. Immediately after Knox’s answer, Tyrie prepared a +refutation, which was published at Paris in 1573, but ere this Knox was +dead. In March, 1574, the General Assembly had under consideration an +answer to James Tyrie’s book, composed by John Duncanson, minister of +the King’s household.³ + + ¹ James Tyrie was born near Perth in 1543, and it is supposed + that he spent some time at the University of St. Andrews. + Early in the year 1563 he left Scotland with Father Edmund + Hay, the Jesuit, to follow his theological studies at the + University of Louvain. In August of that year he visited + Rome, and there joined the society of Jesus. He was + afterwards appointed professor of philosophy and theology + in the Jesuit College of Clermont, at Paris. His elder + brother, David Tyrie of Drumkilbo, embraced the reformed + faith, and the Jesuit was naturally anxious to reclaim him + to the mother Church, and addressed to him several letters, + including the one submitted to Knox. Tyrie in 1590 became + Provincial of the Jesuits in France; he was in Rome in + 1591; and two years later he was appointed assistant to + the General of the Jesuits for the provinces of France and + Germany. He died at Rome in March, 1597, leaving behind him + for publication several manuscripts to the library of the + professed house “Il Geni.” Knox’s _Works_, Volume VI., pages + 475‒478. + + ♦ duplicate word “in” removed + + ² Knox’s _Works_, Volume VI., pages 486‒497. + + ³ _Ibid._, pages 497‒511, 475‒476; _Book of the Universal + Kirk_, pages 289, 361. + +The longest of Knox’s polemical works is his treatise on predestination, +published at Geneva in 1560. It was directed against an anonymous +adversary, and its full title was, “An Answer to a great number of +blasphemous cavillations written by an Anabaptist and an adversary +to God’s eternal predestination; and confuted by John Knox, minister +of God’s word in Scotland; wherein the author so discovers the craft +and falsehood of that sect, that the godly, knowing that error, may +be confirmed in the truth by the evident word of God.”¹ At that time +the doctrine of predestination itself, as well as other tenets of the +Anabaptists, had evoked much controversy. But, before saying anything +about Knox’s contribution to the mass of this class of theological +literature, it is necessary to refer briefly to the writings of Calvin +himself, and to those of some of his predecessors and contemporaries. + + ¹ Knox’s _Works_, Volume V. “And, that it was prepared for the + press before his final return to Scotland is sufficiently + clear, when we consider how fully his time was afterwards + occupied, and this renders it probable that it may have been + chiefly written at Dieppe in 1559, during the interval of + his application for permission, which was denied him, to + pass through England on his way to his native country. That + the author had no opportunity of correcting the sheets while + at press seems also evident.... This task of revising the + work at press seems to have been done by William Whittingham, + an Englishman.” Dr. Laing, pages 15‒17. Knox’s treatise on + predestination was reprinted in 1591. + +At an early stage in the history of Christian doctrine the idea of +an eternal decree of God began to arise. The notion of predestination +was held with varying degrees of definiteness, and it early became +associated with the freedom of the will. But the crude psychology of +the Fathers was entirely subordinated to the assumed necessities of the +conditions of salvation.¹ About the end of the fourth and the beginning +of the fifth centuries conflicting doctrines touching sin, grace, +and liberty, were advanced and maintained. Original sin was supposed +to have entailed utter ruin upon the human race; but Celestius and +Pelagius both denied the natural depravity of man; and it was out of +these controversies that the doctrine of predestination, or the eternal +decree sprang. When St. Augustine carried the notion of original sin to +its logical consequences, he arrived at the following statement of his +doctrine:――“As all men have sinned in Adam, they are justly exposed to +the vengeance of God, because of this hereditary sin and guilt of sin.” +He could see nothing in the natural power of man to choose between +good and evil, but only a liberty to do evil, since the regenerated man +alone can will aright. In short, Augustine held that all mankind were +in a state of depravity; that those alone will be saved to whom the +grace of God is imparted: in this way he led up to the eternal decree.² + + ¹ Several theories of the mind, or the soul, and the relation + between the soul and the body, were held during the early + centuries of Christianity. Some considered the soul as + forming the medium between the purely spiritual in man, + the ideal principle of reason, and the merely animal or + the grosser and sensual elements of his nature. They also + fancied that this threefold notion of the organ of the + human mind was supported by Scripture. Several of the + early Fathers, especially those of the Alexandrian school, + adopted the triple division of the mind; while others, like + Tertullian, adhered to the old opinion that man consists of + soul and body only. A few of the Gnostic sects carried the + triple notion so far as to divide men themselves into three + classes, according as the one or the other of the three + constituents prevailed to the apparent exclusion of the + others. “Accordingly, it is not every man who is composed + of three parts, but he only who has received the gift of the + Holy Spirit, as the third part.”――Hagenbach’s _History of + Doctrines_, Volume I., pages 141‒143, 180, 183, 184; 1846; + also Baur. + + This is not the place to enter into a full exposition of the + curious theories of the mind which prevailed in the early + centuries of the Christian era. It may be stated, however, + that the anthropology of the Fathers was very different from + that of the present time; although the problems demanding + explanation were much the same, the modern conceptions + of mind and matter have little or no resemblance to the + ideas of Origen, Tertullian, Augustine, and the rest of + the Fathers. Touching the origin of the soul itself, there + were three principal theories:――1, The pre-existence of all + souls; 2, The continual creation of souls by divine agency; + 3, The traduction of souls by natural procreation. Of these + in their order: The first theory taught that all the souls + and finite spirits in the universe were formed simultaneously + at the beginning, and prior to the creation of matter: the + intellectual universe thus preceded the sensible universe. + The souls of men, therefore, existed before the creation + of Adam. This theory is allied to the Pythagorean and + Platonic speculations. The second theory maintained that God + immediately created a new soul in every instance that a new + human being was born. The body, however, was not created in + this manner, it was naturally propagated. The third theory + held that both the soul and the body of the human individual + are propagated. But the last view fell into disrepute; + and in the Middle Ages, the notion of the special and the + continual creation of new souls generally prevailed. + + ² Hagenbach’s _History of Doctrines_, Volume I., pages 297, + 300‒302, 304. “According to Augustine, not only was physical + death a punishment inflicted upon Adam and all his posterity, + but he looked upon original sin itself as being in some + sense a punishment of the first transgression, though it + was also a real sin, and can therefore be imputed to every + individual. But it is on this point, viz., the imputation + of original sin, that his views differed from all former + opinions, however strict they were. He endeavoured to clear + himself from the charge of Manichæism (in opposition to + Julian) by designating sin not a substance, but a vitium, + a languor; he even charged his opponent with Manichæism.” + ――_Ibid._, page 302. See also Wiggers. + +Pelagius and Celestius, on the other hand, held, along with other +heresies, that every human being is a moral agent, and must be +accountable for himself; hence it naturally followed that sin was +a voluntary act of the individual. According to this ethical view, +every infant is in the same state as Adam was before the fall; so that +neither sin nor virtue is innate, but the one as well as the other +develops itself when man comes to exercise his liberty, for which he +alone is responsible. Touching liberty and grace, however, Pelagius +admitted that man in his moral efforts had need of the Divine aid; +the grace of God assisted man in various ways, although he thought +that it is something external, merely added to a man’s own efforts. In +short, Pelagius’s theory assumed that man had it in his power to choose +between good and evil. These opinions were condemned at Carthage in +412; again, in a synod of the North-African bishops at the same place, +in 418. The controversy was hot, and the Emperor Honorius put a check +to his external manifestation.¹ + + ¹ Hagenbach’s _History of Doctrines_, Volume ♦I., pages 200, + 300, 302. The chief tenets of Pelagius, the heresiarch of + the fifth century, have been summarised as follows:――“1. + Adam was created mortal, so that he would have died whether + he had sinned or not. 2. Adam’s sin has only affected + himself, and not the human race. 3. New-born infants are in + the same condition in which Adam was before the fall. 4. The + whole human race dies neither in consequence of Adam’s death, + nor of his transgression; nor does it rise from the dead + in consequence of Christ’s resurrection. 5. Infants obtain + eternal life, though they should not be baptized. 6. The + Law is as good a means of grace as the gospel. 7. There were + some men, even before the appearance of Christ, who did not + commit sin.”――Wiggers, Volume I., page 60. Gieseler, section + 87. Some of Pelagius’s writings are preserved, among others, + a treatise on “Free Will.” Many works were written against + the Pelagians. + + ♦ volume number added by transcriber. + +Still the peculiar views of Augustine were not recognised in the east; +even in the west his notion of predestination never became universally +popular in the Roman Catholic Church. As we approach the Reformation +period it is evident that the doctrines of Augustine did not prevail. +Instead of free grace through the mercy of God and the merits of Christ, +the supererogatory works of the saints formed a ladder by which the +greatest sinner might easily mount to heaven, provided he paid enough +for the privilege, or left his lands to the Church. It was therefore +natural that the Reformers should look back to the belief of the +primitive Church, and receive with gladness some of the tenets of St. +Augustine. + +Calvin’s _Institutes of the Christian Religion_ was first published +in 1536. Although in subsequent editions it was greatly enlarged, the +principles which he then enunciated were pretty consistently maintained +to the end of his days.¹ Knox followed Calvin, with little deviation, +in dogma and doctrine. In 1559 he was very anxious “to read Calvin +upon Isaie, and his _Institutes_ revised,” but the common troubles at +that time were forcing him to forego such important things.² Calvin +in his _Institutes_ gives four chapters of the third book, 21‒24, +to the treatment of election and predestination. He was aware of +the difficulties of the subject, and discussed it with a sobriety of +judgment, a sense of responsibility, and a power of intellect, rarely +matched in theological literature. But the line of argument that he +followed, the definite issue that he arrived at, and the evidence from +Scripture which he adduced to confirm the doctrine of predestination, +are not satisfactory.³ After he had expounded, illustrated, and +repelled objections to the doctrine of predestination, exhibiting +much power, logical skill, and ingenuity, the eternal decree is still +hard to reconcile with the moral attributes of a just and beneficent +God of the universe.⁴ On a pure moral principle the doctrine of the +eternal decree as stated by Calvin cannot be consistently maintained. +He asserts that the will of God is the supreme rule of right, and +that the mere fact of his willing anything makes it to be right. +Indeed, Calvin seems to have been controlled in the treatment of +predestination by practical religious considerations. His point of view +is unphilosophical, and moral truth and consistency were subordinated +in his mind to the assumed necessities of the conditions of salvation. +That God should voluntarily and knowingly condemn myriads of his +creatures to endless torture, merely because He so willed it, is +certainly not an elevated conception. On the other side, the doctrine +of predestination afforded to all who adopted it, ample scope for +insisting on the duty of submission to the will of God; and for +inveighing against the pride and self-conceit of those who might +pretend that their own merits entitled them to claim a right to heaven, +instead of being absolutely indebted for it to God’s pleasure, grace, +and benignity. + + ¹ The first edition of his _Institutes_, printed at Basle, is + now extremely rare, not more than half a dozen copies are + known to exist. It is a small octavo volume of 514 pages, + with five pages more of index placed at the end. The whole + work is described as one book, divided into six chapters. A + second edition appeared at Strasburg in 1539. It contained + seventeen chapters, the original matter being about doubled. + This edition is also very scarce. The other editions are + those of 1543, 1545, 1550, 1553, 1554, and an entirely + new edition in 1559, containing his last revisal, and from + it all the subsequent editions were printed. An English + translation was published at London in 1561. + + Dyer, in his _Life of Calvin_, says that passages + favourable to a mild and tolerant treatment of heretics + which appeared in the earlier editions were expunged or + made more intolerant in the latter ones.――pages 357, 358. + Calvin’s final conclusions on the punishment of heretics + and allied matters are given in the fourth book of the + _Institutes_, chapter 12, section 1‒13. + + ² Knox’s _Works_, Volume VI., page 101. + + ³ When answering the objection, that predestination was a + stumbling-block, Calvin said, “I admit that profane men lay + hold on the subject of predestination to carp, or snare, + or cavil, or scoff. But if their petulance frightens us, + it will be necessary to conceal all the principal articles + of faith, because they and their fellows scarcely leave one + of them unassailed with blasphemy. A rebellious spirit will + display itself no less insolently when it hears that there + are three persons in the Divine essence, than when it hears + that God, when he created man, foresaw everything that was + to happen to him. Nor will they abstain from their jeers + when told that little more than five thousand years have + elapsed since the creation of the world; for they will ask, + Why did the power of God slumber so long in idleness? In + short, nothing can be stated that they will not assail with + derision. To quell their blasphemies, must we say nothing + concerning the divinity of the Son and the Spirit? Must the + creation of the world be passed over in silence! No. The + truth of God is too powerful, both here and everywhere, to + dread the slanders of the ungodly.”――Chapter 21, section 4. + + ⁴ “By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by + which He determined with Himself whatever He wished to + happen with regard to every man. All are not created on + equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, + others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has + been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he + has been predestinated to life, or to death.” “The will of + God is the supreme rule of righteousness, so that everything + which He wills must be held to be righteous, by the mere + fact of His willing it. Therefore, when it is asked why the + Lord did so, we must answer, Because He pleased. But if you + proceed further to ask why He pleased, you ask for something + greater than the will of God, and nothing such can be found. + Let human temerity then be quiet, and cease to inquire after + what exists not, lest, perhaps, it fails to find what does + exist.”――Chapter 21, section 5.――Chapter 23, section 2. + +The doctrines of Calvin were opposed in his own lifetime by Jerome +Bolsec, Sebastia Castellio, and others. Bolsec openly impugned the +doctrine of the eternal decree of predestination, and fought over +the points involved with Calvin himself. He had little difficulty in +showing that the human mind was unable to cope with the eternal and +unalterable counsel of God, or to lay down dogmatically what its issue +must be in relation to mankind. Castellio vehemently attacked the +Calvinistic doctrines, and especially assailed the tenet of election +by grace, with the weapons of acute thought and satire. Both maintained +that the eternal decree tended to fatalism, and made God the author +of sin, as everything happened according to an inexorable purpose. +Calvin answered both opponents, and prepared a public declaration of +the doctrine of predestination, which was approved by the consistory of +Geneva. The controversy, however, went on; but Calvin boldly faced all +his enemies, and fought with an energy and a resoluteness which at last +commanded a large measure of success.¹ + + ¹ Dyer’s _Life of Calvin_, pages 168‒172, 265‒283, 388; Henry’s + _Life of Calvin_, Volume I., page 289. + +In Geneva Calvin had many difficulties to contend against. There +were anabaptists in the city who sometimes caused disturbance, and +anti-Unitarian doctrines had also sprung up. After the burning of +Servetus, his disciples published several libels and attacks upon +Calvin. These parties were bitterly opposed to various points of his +system of theology, and one of their onslaughts was written in the +following strain:――“Moreover, though you affirm yours to be the true +doctrine, they say that they cannot believe you. For since your God +very often says one thing, and thinks and wills another, it is to be +feared that you may imitate him, and deceive men in like manner. I +myself was once taken with your doctrine; and though I did not quite +understand it, I defended it, because I so much esteemed your authority, +that it seemed to me forbidden even to think differently from you. But +now, when I hear the objections of your adversaries, I know not what to +reply.” He concludes with the request to Calvin, “If you have any good +arguments let me know them.”¹ The anabaptists were annoying, and though +often persecuted, not only in Switzerland, but also in Germany, England, +and other countries, they continued to spread and multiply. + + ¹ Dyer’s _Life of Calvin_, pages 66, 366‒367, 446, _et seq._; + Knox’s _Works_, Volume V., pages 12‒15; Dorner’s _History + of Protestant Theology_, Volume I.; Hagenbach’s _History of + Doctrines_, Volume II., pages 200‒206. + +As already mentioned, it was against one of the anabaptist class that +Knox composed his book on predestination. Many of this unknown writer’s +objections to the Calvinistic tenets he states with much force; and, +although he insists throughout that his opponent’s inferences are +not deducible from their doctrines, this is not always the case.¹ In +the sixth section of his book “the adversary” advanced the following +statements on the Calvinistic conception of God:――“Of all sorts and +sects of men, I have judged them to be the most abhorred who are called +Atheists, that is to say, such as deny that there is a God. But now, +methinks these careless men are much more to be abhorred; my reason +is because they be more injurious to God than the Atheists; for it +is less injurious to a man to believe that he is not, than to call +him a cruel man, a tyrant, and an unjust person; so are they less +injurious to God who believe that he is not, than they that say he is +unmerciful, cruel, and an oppressor. Now what greater cruelty, tyranny, +and oppression, can be, than to create the most part of the human race +to everlasting damnation? so that by no manner of way they can escape +and avoid the cruel decree and sentence against them. Seeing that the +philosopher Plato judged them unworthy to live and to be suffered in +any commonwealth who spoke evil of God, what ought the judgment to be +of such men who have so wicked an opinion of God? Whatever our judgment +be of them, and whatsoever their deserving be, let us labour rather to +win them than to lose them. But, forasmuch as he that touches pitch is +in danger of being defiled therewith, therefore ought we to walk warily +with such men that we be not defiled and infected of them; seeing that +now-a-days this horrible doctrine does fester even as the disease of a +canker, which infects from one member to another until it has occupied +the whole body, unless it be cut away; even so this error hath already +infected from one member to another a great number. The Lord grant them +the true meaning and understanding of His word, whereby they may be +healed and the sickness cut off, the member being saved.” + + ¹ Dr. Laing thought that the author of this book, which + Knox set himself to refute, was Robert Cooke, one of the + gentlemen of Queen Elizabeth’s Chapel. Knox’s _Works_, + Volume V., page 16. + +Knox answers this reasoning in a carping way. He does not attempt to +grapple with the real difficulty; the inconsistency of the decree of +predestination and special election of only a small number of the human +race to everlasting happiness; while the great majority is inevitably +doomed to endless suffering. He merely says――“Because that in all this +your long discourse, ye more show your malice, which unjustly against +us ye have conceived, than that either you expunge our belief, either +yet promote your false opinion. I will not spend time to recompense +your dispute. Only this I will offer in the name of all my brethren: +that if you will be able, in the presence of a lawful judge and +magistrate, evidently to convict us that either we speak evil of God, +either yet that by our writings, preaching, or reasoning, it justly +can be proved that our opinion is evil of His eternal majesty, power, +and wisdom, and goodness, that then we refuse not to suffer the same +punishment which by the authority of Plato ye judge us worthy of.... +What is your study to win us, and whether our doctrine be a horrible +error or not, I do not now dispute. Thus you reason:―― + +“‘God created man a very good thing; and dare you say that God ordained +a very good thing to destruction? thus God delights in the destruction +of that which is good. Man at his creation was a just and innocent +creature, for before the transgression there was no evil neither in +Adam nor in us; and think you that God ordained his just and innocent +creatures to condemnation? What greater tyranny and unrighteousness +can the most wicked man in the world, yea, the devil himself, do, than +to condemn the innocent and just person? Hereby may we see that these +careless men are more abominable than the Atheists who believe that +there is no God. But these affirm God to be as bad as the devil, yea, +and worse; forasmuch as the devil can only tempt a man to death, but he +can compel none to fall into condemnation; but God may not only tempt, +but also compel by his eternal decree the most part of the race to +destruction, and has so done, as they say, so that of necessity, and +only because it was his pleasure and will――then must God be worse than +the devil; for the devil only tempted man to fall, but God compelled +them to fall by his immutable decree. Oh, horrible blasphemy!’”¹ + + ¹ Knox’s _Works_, Volume V., pages 88‒90. + +To these questions Knox has given no satisfactory answer, nor has +anyone else. They have engaged the minds of many writers, but so far as +theological exposition is concerned, they remain in much the same state +at the present day; though few cultivated preachers would now attribute +the wrathful and avenging character to God, which it was common to do +in the sixteenth century. The statement of the theory of the eternal +decree in any form is extremely difficult, if not impossible, in +connection with the doctrine of the conditional and limited salvation +of the human race, especially when it is deemed right to employ all +the examples of what is called the pouring out of God’s wrath upon the +enemies of the Jews, and upon the Jews themselves, when their turn came. +From one standpoint this is the weak side of Calvinism; yet to many +it has been, and is now, exceedingly fascinating to imagine that they +know the eternal counsel of God, and are able to formulate His will and +intention. + +One other quotation and then I will leave this subject. “If God +reprobated man before the foundation of the world, then God reprobated +man before he had offended; and if God reprobated and damned man before +he offended, then is death the reward of God’s ordinance before the +world, and not the reward of sin. But the apostle teaches us, that by +sin death entered into the world, and also that death is the reward of +sin. I pray you, does either God’s law, or man’s law, condemn any man +before he has offended? I am certain ye are not able to prove it to be +so; then ought you to be ashamed to burden God with such unrighteous +judgment. Does not God rather forgive the offence already committed? +Let him be your God who condemns the innocent before he offended; +but he shall be my God who pardons and forgives the offence already +committed, who in his very wrath thinks upon mercy. And so with Job +will I conclude,――‘The great God casts away no man.’” Knox’s answer +to this is as follows:――“How ignorantly and how impudently ye confound +the eternal purpose of God’s reprobation with the just execution of +his judgments I have before declared, and therefore here it only rests +to admonish the reader that most unjustly ye accuse us in that ye say, +that we hold and teach that God damned man before he offended. This +ye be never able to show in any of our writings; for constantly, in +word and writing, we affirm that man willingly fell from God, and made +himself a slave to Satan before that death was inflicted upon him; and +so neither make we death to be the reward of God’s ordinance, neither +do we burden Him with unrighteous judgments.”¹ This reasoning is not to +the point; the adversary’s objections are deductions from the theory of +the eternal decree of predestination, election, and reprobation, which +were all fixed before the foundation of the world. It is no refutation +to say that his opponent cannot find the words which he used in +their writings. How could man “have willingly fallen from God,” when, +according to their theory, God had it all inexorably settled before +the creation? These are questions which the human mind cannot settle +dogmatically; they are immeasurably beyond its powers. But when men +assume that they can form definite ideas and pronounce true judgments +upon these mysterious and in a sense inscrutable matters, and enforce +people to profess their belief in them, suffering and persecution +often ensued, and men are tortured and put to death for not believing +what they are unable to understand; not only so, but for not believing +things which no human being has ever yet been able fully to comprehend. +The arrogance of those that presume to fix what the eternal counsel +of the Godhead is and must be, can hardly be expected to manifest much +respect for the people who do not think and believe as they do. We need +not be surprised, therefore, that intolerance was a characteristic of +men that professed to know the eternal counsel and will of the Supreme +Being. Seeing that they were thoroughly convinced and firm in their +faith, they deemed it their highest duty to compel others to adopt +their creed, that they too might have a chance of entering into the +glories of heaven, and of escaping the torments of hell. It is easy +for us now, with more varied, wider, and more minute knowledge of +nature and mankind, to point out the weak side of the great men of the +sixteenth century; but we are bound, at the same time, to recognise +the noble and unfaltering spirit which the leaders of the Reformation +displayed, however much we may deplore the use of coercive means which +they were far too eager to wield. + + ¹ Knox’s _Works_, Volume V., pages 110, 111. + +Perhaps the most interesting class of Knox’s writings is his letters, +of which upwards of a hundred are included in Dr. Laing’s edition of +his works. They chiefly relate to the Reformation and the historical +events of the time; and many of them are valuable. His letters also +show him in a more amiable light than that in which he is usually +represented. He had a warm and tender heart, and for all his reputed +harshness of demeanour and his inflexible firmness of purpose, he was +by no means a man of blood; indeed there is no evidence that he was +ever accessory to the death of any one for his religious opinions. In +his history of the Reformation there are passages full of comic humour. +The description of the scene that happened in Edinburgh, at the close +of the procession on St. Giles’ day, is a fair example of his wit――“The +people began to cry down with the idol, down with it; and so without +delay it was pulled down.... Then might have been seen so sudden a fray +as seldom has been seen among that sort of men within this realm; for +down goes the crosses, off goes the surplices, round caps corner with +the crowns. The Gray Friars gaped, the Black Friars blew, the priests +panted and fled, and happy was he that first got to the house; for such +a sudden fray never came among the generation of Antichrist within this +realm before.”¹ + + ¹ Knox’s _Works_, Volume I., page 260. + +The Literature of the Reformation in Scotland may be said to close +with George Buchanan, whose life was prolonged to a comparatively old +age. Buchanan was born on the lands of Moss, in Stirlingshire, in the +beginning of February, 1506. The spot of his birth was a few yards +from the river Blane, and about two miles to the south-east of the +village of Killearn. On his father’s side he was of Celtic descent, +and probably Gaelic was his mother tongue; and, at least, it is clear +that he was quite familiar with that language; as he had the feeling +and intuition of a Celt, which was manifested throughout his writings. +He probably received the elements of his education at the schools +of Killearn and Dumbarton. At the age of fourteen he was sent to the +University of Paris, in which he spent two years, mainly devoted to +Latin, and writing verse in that language. He returned to Scotland in +weak health in 1522, and it was nearly a year ere he recovered. In 1525, +Buchanan proceeded to St. Andrew’s University to complete his first +stage in the curriculum of Arts, and, as mentioned in a preceding page, +he was under the teaching of John Mair. In October, 1525, he graduated +as a Bachelor of Arts, so it appears that his studies in Paris must +have been recognised by the Faculty of St. Andrews. Buchanan returned +to Paris in the summer of 1526, and entered the Scots College; and in +March, 1528, he graduated Master of Arts. Shortly after, he commenced +his teaching career as a regent in the University of Paris. He returned +to Scotland in 1535, and immediately became closely connected with the +Court of James V. At this time he wrote the poem entitled “Somnium,” +which gave great offence to the order of the Franciscans, who +thenceforth in Scotland, England, France, Portugal, and Italy, pursued +him with every weapon at their command. Buchanan was engaged by James +V. as tutor to one of his natural sons――Lord James Stuart, then a +child, not the James who was afterwards known as the Regent Moray, but +another natural son of the King, of the same name, who died in 1558. +Thus Buchanan was brought into very close connection with the Court, +and then the King prompting him to write more satires against the +Franciscans, he produced two severe writings against them. But the +resentment of the friars and the clergy was roused, and Buchanan soon +realised that even the countenance of the King would not protect him +from their wrath; and, as mentioned in a preceding chapter, he escaped +and fled to England, and shortly after proceeded to France. From +this time (1539), for upwards of twenty years, Buchanan was mainly +engaged as a professor in the Universities of France and Portugal, and +occasionally acted as a private tutor to the sons of personages of high +rank. At this period thought, creeds, doctrines, and opinions, were +in a state of great agitation and transition throughout Europe, which +rendered the calling of a public teacher one of extreme difficulty +and danger. Buchanan did not escape the anxieties, the troubles and +dangers then associated with his mode of life; for he had often to +face privation, and to encounter extreme difficulties and perplexities +in his career abroad. In March, 1547, under an engagement to act as a +professor in the Faculty of Arts in the University of Coimbra, Buchanan +proceeded to Portugal, and left France. For a short time, under the +management of Gouvéa, the principal of the institution, everything +succeeded delightfully, but he suddenly died in the end of the year +1547. + +The following year Buchanan and other humanists connected with the +college were assailed by the Jesuits, and public charges of heresy were +made against them. Buchanan and other two were seized and imprisoned +in a dungeon. After long confinement they were brought to trial, and +for several days subjected to the most cruel reproaches, although no +accusers were even named, and they were sent back to prison. Towards +Buchanan the Jesuits were especially bitter; they accused him of +writing a poem against the Franciscans, and of having eaten flesh +during Lent, and that in conversation with some young Portuguese, when +the subject of the Eucharist was mentioned, he had said that Augustine +was far more with the heretics than the Church in his teaching on +that subject. After the inquisitors for a year and a half had worn out +Buchanan’s patience and their own, they shut him up for some months in +a monastery, in order that he might be more accurately instructed by +the monks, who proved neither unkindly nor ill disposed, though they +were utterly ignorant of religious truth. It was mainly at this time +that Buchanan translated a number of the Psalms into various measures. +At length, being restored to liberty, he embarked at Lisbon in a Cretan +ship, and sailed for England, where he arrived towards the end of 1552; +but shortly after proceeded to France, where he was again engaged in +public and private teaching, sometimes in Italy and sometimes in France. +After having experienced many vicissitudes in foreign lands, in 1561 +Buchanan returned to his native country, after an absence of twenty-two +years. + +On his return to Scotland, Buchanan became allied with the Protestant +party. He was not, however, a reformer in the same sense as Knox or +Calvin; he had more of the characteristics of a humanist and a scholar, +a man of genius and of letters. Buchanan became connected with the +court, and in 1562 he was acting as classical tutor to Queen Mary; +and in February, 1563, he was appointed to interpret documents written +in foreign languages, “that the Queen and council might thereafter +understand the same.” He addressed several of his short poems to Mary +herself, and he wrote and addressed a remarkable poem to her on the +birth of James VI. in 1566. The Earl of Moray, as Commendator of the +Priory of St. Andrews, appointed Buchanan principal of St. Leonard’s +College in 1566, an office which he held till 1570. Afterwards Buchanan +became attached to the party opposed to the Queen, and was closely +associated with the Regents Moray, Lennox, Mar, and Morton. In 1570 he +was appointed tutor to the young King, and directed to devote attention +to his education; and, along with Peter Young, Buchanan was in 1572 and +1578 confirmed by acts of the Privy Council in his office as “Master” +to the King. When Lennox became Regent, Buchanan was made Director of +Chancery, and then Keeper of the Privy Seal, an office which he held +till 1578; and in virtue of this office, he had a seat in parliament. +He died on the 28th of September, 1582, in the seventy-seventh year of +his age.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume I., page 234; Volume + II., pages 181, 689, 702, 708. Very full information of the + life and of the writings of Buchanan will be found in Dr. + Irving’s _Memoirs_, published in 1807, the second edition in + 1817. Buchanan kept up a literary correspondence with some + of the most learned and famous scholars of the age. A very + able, discriminative, and exceedingly interesting biography + of Buchanan, by Mr. P. H. Brown, was published in 1890; + it is the best account of the life and works of this great + Scotsman which has yet appeared. + +Although Buchanan wrote very little in the language of the people, his +Latin works have had much influence, not only in Scotland but also on +the Continent. He was universally recognised as an elegant Latin poet, +and a very successful writer of classic prose. + +A review of his Latin poems does not come within the scope of this work, +but his prose writings demand some notice. His largest and most popular +work is the History of Scotland in twenty books. Though the early +portion of it is unmistakably fabulous, it is written throughout with +great animation and force. For the part of it which relates to the +history of the sixteenth century, he is an original and contemporary +authority, and from his official position it may reasonably be assumed +that he had access to the most trustworthy sources of information for +the later portion of his history. Though an ardent party man, he had +a strong sense of justice, a good judgment, and a love of truth. His +narrative is enriched with wise and just political reflections, and his +sentiments are almost always liberal, and for the time even radical. +This feature of his History drew down upon it the vengeance of all +who were attached to Romanism, all the enemies of freedom and all +the lovers of despotism; even at this day, there are some who utterly +detest the political principles of George Buchanan. The personal +responsibility of kings for their conduct which he emphatically +asserted in his history, was the most unpalatable of all opinions, +and it met with virulent and bitter opposition. + +But the work in which Buchanan most fully and logically developed the +principles of political freedom is the _De Jure Regni apud Scotos_, +published in 1579. This work was written in the form of a dialogue, +and is a masterly compend of political thought. It at once excited a +large degree of attention.¹ The principles which he enunciated were +clear and decisive; they were derived from reason and experience, and +unflinchingly directed against every form of tyranny. The argument +was put in the following form:――Men were naturally formed for society, +but in order to arrest the internal broils that sprang up among them, +they created kings, and in order to restrain the power of their kings, +they enacted laws. As the community is the source of legal power it is +greater than the king, and may therefore judge him; and since the laws +are intended to restrain the king in case of collision, it is for the +people, not for the ruler, to interpret them, as otherwise they could +have no assurance that their interests would be safe. It is the duty of +the king to associate himself with the law, and to govern exclusively +according to its decisions. A king is one that rules by law, and in +accordance with the interests of the people; but a tyrant is one that +rules by his own will, and contrary to the interests of the people. An +opinion has been promulgated that a king who is hampered by recognised +constitutional ties, may be resisted if he violates them, but that a +tyrant who reigns where no constitution exists must be always obeyed; +this view, however, is wholly false. The people may justly make war +against such a ruler, and may pursue him till he be slain. Buchanan +illustrated and sent home these political opinions by examples drawn +from history. He had also the merit of completely disentangling +politics from the puerile conceits and endless subtleties of the +Catholic theologians. + + ¹ There were several editions of the dialogue published in a + separate form, in 1580, 1581, one at Glasgow 1750; one at + London 1765; and it has been repeatedly translated into + English: besides it was printed with all the editions of + Buchanan’s works, except the first. As we have seen, it was + condemned by the Scottish parliament in 1584, but probably + this had little effect in retarding its circulation. At the + end of last century there was a manuscript version of the + dialogue in English, in the Lambeth Library. In 1680, a + translation was published, but the place of printing was + concealed: English translations of it appeared at Edinburgh, + 1691; at London, 1689, 1721, 1799. + + There have been many editions of Buchanan’s other works, + of the history there have been at least twenty editions. + His translation of the Psalms into Latin metre was long + and universally admired, and has passed through numerous + editions both in England and Scotland, and in other + countries. In the beginning of the present century Dr. + Irving wrote――“Buchanan’s paraphrase continues to be read + in the principal schools of Scotland, and perhaps in those + of some other countries. Lauder’s attempt to supersede it + by that of Johnston proved unsuccessful. During the lifetime + of Buchanan, it had begun to be introduced into the schools + of Germany; and its various measures had been accommodated + to appropriate melodies, for the purpose of being chanted by + academics. Pope Urban VII., himself a poet of no mean talent, + is said to have averred that it was a pity it was written by + so great a heretic, for otherwise it should have been sung + in all churches under his authority.”――_Memoirs of the Life + and Writings of Buchanan_, pages 130‒131. + +Buchanan’s writings in the Scottish dialect are two political pamphlets, +which were written in support of the King’s party, one entitled “An +Admonitioun direct to the trew Lordis maintenaris of Justice and +Obedience to the King’s Grace,” and the other called the “♦Chamaeleon.” +They both originated from the critical state of the Kingdom immediately +after the murder of the Regent Moray, and show the keen and practical +interest which Buchanan took in the politics of his day; and also +his insight into the real position of the nation at the time. In the +_Admonitioun_ his chief contention is that the only hope for religion +and liberty in Scotland depended on the safety of the young King; and +the aim of the pamphlet was to show the King’s supporters the national +ruin that would issue from the defeat of their cause. He insisted +that the Hamiltons were the chief enemies of the King’s cause. The +_Chamaeleon_ was directed against Maitland of Lethington, who had +joined the Queen’s followers, and used his talents and energy to +subvert the King’s party; and he more than any one else was the moving +spirit of Mary’s party. Lethington was then in the Castle of Edinburgh, +and tidings having reached him that such a pamphlet was forthcoming, on +the night of the 14th of April, 1571, Captain Melvin was sent from the +Castle to Lekpreuik’s house to seize him, and if possible to obtain the +manuscript of the offensive pamphlet. The printer, however, having had +warning, made his escape; but the publication of the _Chamaeleon_ was +stopped, and it was not printed till 1710. Lekpreuik went to Stirling, +and there he printed in the summer of 1571 Buchanan’s _Admonitioun_ +direct to the trew Lordis. These two pamphlets of Buchanan are very +good specimens of Scottish prose literature; although the form of his +sentences is in the Latin style, the expression is clear and effective. +The Scottish Text Society have recently published Buchanan’s two +Scottish pamphlets, edited by Mr. P. Hume Brown. + + ♦ “Chamaelon” replaced with “Chamaeleon” + +The teaching of the reformed preachers has prepared the Scots for the +reception of the political opinions proclaimed by Buchanan: they were +in harmony with the spirit of the time, and had a great influence. They +offer a striking contrast to the slavish opinions then entertained by +the majority of the English clergy. The English Church for more than +a hundred and fifty years was the servile handmaid of monarchy, and +the steady enemy of political liberty and freedom,¹ while the body +of the English Puritans and the Scotch clergy struggled hard against +the despotism of the Crown, and the clergy of the Church of England. +They constantly taught the doctrine of the divine right of kings; and +insisted that passive obedience and absolute submission to the will of +the king was the first and highest duty of the people. The clergy of +Scotland taught and preached a very different doctrine; they, at least, +were not afraid of rebellion when it was necessary, and to maintain +that it was unlawful for the people to rise against their King, if he +proved an unworthy ruler or had encroached upon their freedom, would +have been the last thing that they would have thought of. + + ¹ Hallam’s _Constitutional History of England_, Volume I., + page 415. Jeremy Taylor said: “Eternal damnation is prepared + for all impenitent rebels in hell with Satan the first + founder of rebellion. Heaven is the place of good, obedient + subjects, and hell the prison and dungeon of rebels against + God and their prince.”――Homily on Wilful rebellion. Quoted + in Lecky’s _History of Rationalism_, Volume II., page 149. + +The Scottish poets of the later half of the sixteenth century were +not of high rank, and therefore need not detain us long. None of their +writings appear to have been very popular, and they did not exercise +much influence on the people. The name of Sir Richard Maitland, of +Lethington, a lawyer, a Lord of Session, and a Privy Councillor, in +the reign of Queen Mary, is associated with the history of Scottish +poetry more from the fact of his having been a collector of the verses +and poems of others, than for the importance of his own compositions. +He was born in 1494, and after a long, an active, and honourable life, +during the last twenty years of which he was deprived of his eyesight, +died in March 1586, at the great age of ninety. His poems were all +written after his sixtieth year, and they bear the impress of the +sober reflection of mature age. None of his verses are soaring or +glowing, but they contain some very pointed references to the state +of society and the events of the period. The subjects of most of his +poems are lamentations for the disturbed state of his country, such +as the feuds amongst the nobles, the discontent of the common people, +complaints against the courts for long delay in deciding cases, and +the depredations of the border thieves. Touching a remedy for the +delay of law suits, Maitland advised the King to increase the number of +judges, and to augment their salaries out of the funds of the abbacies, +parsonages, and provestries, which were then at the disposal of the +Crown. His poems were first printed in a separate and complete form in +1830 by the Maitland Club; some of them, however, had appeared before +in Pinkerton’s _Ancient Scottish Poems_, and in other collections of +early poetry.¹ + + ¹ Pinkerton’s _Ancient Scottish Poems_, Volume II., page + 275‒345, 349‒353. Sibbald’s _Chronicle of Scottish Poetry_, + Volume III., pages 76, 319. + +Maitland’s collections of early Scottish poetry consists of two volumes, +containing two hundred and seventy-two pieces, and specimens of these +have long been before the public. He was the author of a book entitled +_The History and Chronicle of the House and Surname of Seytoun_, which +was printed for the Maitland Club in 1829. + +George Bannatyne was a writer of verses, but was more remarkable as a +collector of early poetry, with the history of which department of our +vernacular literature his name is inseparably associated. He formed +his collection in the year 1568, when a young man, while the plague was +raging in Scotland. His manuscript is neatly transcribed, and extends +to eight hundred pages folio. He was engaged on it for three months. +In the beginning of the manuscript he states that he was forced to have +recourse to old and mutilated copies. There are only a few of his own +compositions in the collection, two of which deal with amatory subjects. +He concludes the manuscript with an address to the reader in the +following words:―― + + “Here ends this book, written in time of pest, + When I fra labour was compelled to rest, + Into the three last months of this year, + From our Redeemer’s birth, to know it here, + Ane thousand is, five hundred, threescore eight. + Of this purpose no more needs be taught. + So, till conclude, God send us all good end, + And after death eternal life us send.”¹ + + ¹ Many particulars about the poems contained in this manuscript + may be seen in _Ancient Scottish Poems_, published by Lord + Hailes in 1770; in Pinkerton’s _Ancient Scottish Poems_; in + a volume printed by the Bannatyne Club, containing a memoir + of the worthy collector, Bannatyne; by Sir Walter Scott, and + in several of the writings of the late Dr. Laing, relating + to the early poetry of Scotland. + +Only a few of Bannatyne’s own poems are preserved, and they have not +much poetical merit, though they are interesting as the effusions of +one that was so instrumental in transmitting to posterity the early +poetry of bygone generations. + +Alexander Scott wrote poetry during this period, and his poems were +edited by the late Dr. Laing, but nothing has been definitely +ascertained concerning his parentage or profession. From his writings +it appears that he was married; but his wife deserted him, and fled +with some wanton man; however, after expressing his sorrow for this +mishap, he avowed his determination to choose another wife, and to +forget the faithless one. His poems are mostly founded on subjects of +an amatory character, and he often shows a considerable degree of fancy +and harmony. The longest of his productions is entitled “A New-Year’s +Gift to Queen Mary when she came first hame,” but it has little poetic +merit. His “Justing between Adamson and Sym” appears to be an imitation +of “Christ’s Kirk of the Green.”¹ + + ¹ Alexander Scott’s _Poems_, 1821. Dr. Irving’s _History of + Scottish Poetry_, pages 417‒424. Eighteen of his pieces are + included in Sibbald’s _Chronicle of Scottish Poetry_, Volume + III., pages 115‒175. + +Alexander Arbuthnot was born in 1538 at Pitearles, in Mearns, and +educated at the University of St. Andrews. In 1561 he passed to France, +and for five years prosecuted the study of the law under Cujacius, +in the University of Bruges. He returned to Scotland in 1566, with +the intention of following the profession of law, but was induced to +enter the ministry, and became an able adherent of the Reformation. He +was highly respected for his learning and knowledge, and in 1568 was +appointed Principal of the University of Aberdeen. He took an active +part in the proceedings of the Church Courts, and was twice elected +Moderator of the General Assembly. To the study of theology he joined +the study of letters, and was the author of an elegant Latin work +entitled “Orations on the Origin and Dignity of the Law,” which was +printed at Edinburgh in 1572. In his poems, which are in the Scottish +language, he mostly confines himself to subjects of a serious cast, and +some of his pieces are pervaded with a pleasing air of melancholy and +a warm benignity. He died in 1583, regretted by his contemporaries, who +united in recording his virtues.¹ + + ¹ Spottiswood; _Delitiæ Poetarum Scotorum II._, page 120. Dr. + M‘Crie’s _Life of Melville_, Volume I., pages 114‒117, 283. + +Only four or five of Arbuthnot’s poems are preserved. The most lively +of them is the one entitled “The Praise of Women,” which extends to 224 +lines, and contains a very warm encomium of the fair sex. His effusion +entitled “The Miseries of a Poor Scholar,” is rather an interesting +composition, and shows that he had a vein of keen and glowing, though +somewhat carping, sentiment.¹ + + ¹ These two poems are included in Pinkerton’s _Ancient Scottish + Poems_, Volume I., pages 138‒155; and quotations are given + in Dr. Irving’s _History of Scottish Poetry_, pages 432‒436. + +Among the writers of rhyme of this period may be mentioned John +Davidson, who was born about the year 1549 at Dunfermline. He studied +at the University of St. Andrews from 1567 to 1570; and afterwards +became a Regent of St. Leonards College. He was a strong adherent +of the Reformation; and took a warm interest in promoting education +amongst the people. He wrote a metrical panegyric on John Knox, +entitled “A Brief Commendation of Uprightness,” which was printed at +St. Andrews in 1573. The aim of this rhymed production is to record in +popular language the memorable service that the Reformer rendered to +the nation. Every stanza of the poem closes with the word _uprightness_. +About the same time he composed a poem called “A Dialogue between a +Clerk and a Courtier,” which was printed in the beginning of the year +1574. It contains an exposure of a practice adopted by the Regent +Morton for the purpose of retaining at his own disposal a large part of +the thirds of benefices, by uniting two, three, or four churches under +the care of one minister, thus restoring the abuse of pluralities. +Morton was much offended at the outspoken style of the poem; and +its author was cited and convicted before a court at Haddington, +and banished from the country. Lekpreuik, the printer of the rhyme, +was also prosecuted, and imprisoned for some time in the Castle of +Edinburgh.¹ They were indicted on an Act of Parliament, of 1551, +“against blasphemous rhymes.” There is little in Davidson’s book that +could have given reasonable ground of alarm to any well regulated +government, as it merely describes a subject of public interest in a +comparatively sober manner. Davidson returned to Scotland after the +fall of Morton, and, as we have seen in preceding pages, took an active +part in the proceedings of the Church. + + ¹ _Poetical Remains of John Davidson_, 1829; Melville’s + _Diary_, pages 27, 28; _Life of Knox_, pages 447‒460; 1855. + _Annals of Scottish Printing_, by Dickson and Edmond, pages + 205, 270‒71. + +The literary merits of the piece, which offended the Regent, are +not great. The versification, however, is easy, and the conversation +is carried on in a natural and spirited style. Shortly after its +publication, Davidson composed a poem to the memory of Robert Campbell +of Kinyeancleugh, a man that had shown his attachment to the reformed +religion by his steadfast support of Knox. Campbell died while +endeavouring to shelter Davidson from the effects of persecution, and +the latter gratefully commemorated the virtues of his protector. The +poem was published in 1595. Having returned from exile, Davidson was +appointed minister of the parish of Liberton in 1579. Afterwards he +incurred the displeasure of the King, and had to leave his charge, and +retired to England. After his return he preached at various places in +and around Edinburgh; and in 1596 he became minister of Prestonpans. +But owing to his opposition to the King’s scheme of Church polity, he +was imprisoned for a time, and afterwards his action was restricted +to his own parish. After a life of activity and earnest work, he died +in 1604, leaving behind him a collection of papers relating to the +ecclesiastical history of Scotland.¹ + + ¹ _Poetical Remains of J. Davidson_; Dr. M‘Crie’s _Life of + Melville_, Volume I., pages 131‒132, 449‒453. Davidson’s + other writings consisted of a letter in answer to Dr. + Bancroft’s attack on the Church of Scotland: an account of + Scottish Martyrs, written in Latin, but this work is now + lost; though Calderwood had the use of it when he compiled + his history: a Catechism entitled, “Some helps for young + scholars in Christianity,” Edinburgh, 1602, which was + reprinted in 1708. “A little before his death he penned a + treatise, De Hostibus Ecclesiæ Christi, wherein he affirms + the erecting of bishops in this Kirk is the most subtle + thing to destroy religion that ever could be devised.” + ――Row’s _History._ + + There were several other minor versifiers in the latter + part of this century, but their productions are hardly of + sufficient importance to warrant any lengthy notice. Robert + Semple was a versifier of some repute in his day; he wrote + a poem on the siege of the Castle of Edinburgh, which was + printed in 1573. Another of his rhymes is entitled, “The + Legend of the Bishop of St. Andrews;” this was an attack + upon the character of Archbishop Adamson; but Semple’s + compositions are rather coarse. _Scottish Poems of the + Sixteenth Century_, Volume I.; Pinkerton’s _List of the + Scottish Poets_; Birrel’s _Diary_, page 14; Ramsay’s + _Evergreen_, Volume I., pages 67, 71. + + There were also a number of anonymous poems and rhymes + relating to public events, published about this time.――“The + Testament and Tragedy of the late King Henry Stuart of + good memory;” another, “A declaration of the Lord’s just + Quarrel,” both were printed in 1569; and are very bitter + against Queen Mary. “A Tragedy in the form of a Dialogue, in + commemoration of the merits and fate of the regent Moray,” + was published in 1570. This performance has little or + no poetic value; many of the author’s expressions are in + extremely bad taste. Some parts however of the Regent’s + public service was clearly stated, and his subjection of + the borderers was narrated quite distinctly. This rhyme is + printed in _Scottish Poems of the Sixteenth Century_. “The + Lamintation of Lady Scotland,” which was published in 1572, + is a production of a similar description; but it contained + some important information regarding the state of the + people; and the oppressive character of the nobles was very + plainly stated. Lady Scotland concluded with a fling at the + practices of the dignitaries of the Roman Church. _Scottish + Poems of the Sixteenth Century._ There were several + rhymers who frequented the court of James VI., some of them + Englishmen, but their writings are of little interest.――Dr. + Irving’s _History of Scotish Poetry_, pages 461‒470. + +Alexander Montgomery was one of the most eminent and popular of the +Scottish poets of the later half of the sixteenth century. Of his +life and character very few facts are known. He seems to have been for +sometime employed in the service of James VI.; while it also appears +that he experienced some of the vicissitudes of favour which so often +fall to the lot of the courtier. It is supposed that he died about 1609. +Several of his short poems occur in Bannatyne’s manuscript, and must +have been composed forty years before his death.¹ Montgomery’s poems +are numerous, embracing sonnets and short pieces of very varied degrees +of merit. It has been supposed that his taste was partly formed by +the study of the Italian poets, as some of his quaint turns of fancy +betray their Italian origin. He has written on many subjects, and tried +his ingenuity in a variety of measures, but his happiest efforts were +those of a lyric cast. To him amorous subjects afforded the most common +themes for the exercise and the display of his powers. He had a good +command of language, and, like some of his predecessors, especially of +words of abuse and scorn.² + + ¹ _Poems_ of Alexander Montgomery, by Dr. D. Laing; + _Biographical Notices_, pages 5‒16; 1821. + + ² The production entitled “The flyting between Montgomery + and Polwart” (Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth) teems with + the coarsest and most abusive strings of terms to be found + in any language. It is equally as coarse and vulgar as + the performance between Dunbar and Kennedy, in the same + department. Montgomery began the sport with the following + lines:―― + + “Polwart, yee peip like a mouse amongst thornes; + Na cunning yee keipe. Polwart, yee peip; + Ye look like a sheipe, and yee had twa hornes. + Polwart, yee peip like a mouse amongst thornes. + Beware what thou speiks, little foule earth tade; + With thy Cannigate breiks, beware what thou speiks, + Or there sal be wat cheiks for the last that thou made. + Beware what thou speiks, little foule earth tade.” + ――Page 103. + + The quantity of low slang that occurs in this composition + is very great, and many of the words are still current among + the lowest class in Scotland. + +His greatest effort is “The Cherrie and the Slae,” a poem of +considerable ingenuity, extending to one hundred and fourteen stanzas, +comprising one thousand five hundred and ninety-five lines. The poem +begins in an amatory mood, and ends with a moral. Though the allegory +is rather obscure, and the thought too dim, many of the stanzas +are rich in imagery and smooth in diction. It was very popular, and +continued to be printed till a recent period.¹ + + ¹ As far as known, the first edition of _The Cherrie and + the Slae_ was published at Edinburgh in 1597; in that year + two editions were printed by Robert Waldegrave. Several + stanzas were afterwards added by the author to an impression + which appeared in 1615, from the press of Andrew Hart. The + subsequent editions were――one at Edinburgh, 1536; another + there, 1675; another, 1706; and one inserted in Ramsay’s + _Evergreen_, 1724; one at Aberdeen, 1645: and editions + printed at Glasgow in 1668, 1746, 1751, 1754, 1757, and 1768; + and a modernised edition printed at Edinburgh, 1779: The + Scottish Text Society issued a complete edition in 1886‒87, + edited by Dr. James Cranstoun, with numerous notes and a + very useful Glossary. + +Montgomery’s sonnets were mostly all addressed to some of his +contemporaries or friends, to the King, the Lords of Session, and +to others, male and female. They have not much poetical merit, nor +much interest now; some of his miscellaneous poems, however, are more +valuable and interesting. The following lines are from his short piece +headed “The Opposition of the Court to Conscience”:―― + + “The court some qualities requires + Which conscience cannot but accuse; + And specially such as aspiris + Mon honest adulation use. + I dar not say, and doubly deill, + But court and conscience wallis not weill. + + * * * * * + + Sin every minioun thou must make + To gar them think that thou art theirs, + Howbeit thou be, behind their back, + No furtherer of their affairs, + But mett them moonshin ay for meill; + So court and conscience wallis not weill.”¹ + + ¹ _Poems_, pages 136, 137; Dr. Laing’s Edition. + +Montgomery also versified several of the Psalms, and wrote many +devotional verses.¹ + + ¹ _Poems_, pages 247‒287. + +We have already seen that James VI. was fond of displaying his learning +and his theological knowledge. He was equally anxious to show his +subjects and the world that he was a poet. In 1584, when only eighteen +years of age, he published his first work, entitled “Essays of a +Prentice in the Divine Art of Poesie.” This publication consists of +a mixture of poetry and prose: the poems are mostly a kind of sonnet. +None of them are of high merit, but, emanating from such an exalted +personage, they were greatly praised, and James was soon recognised +as a poet and a scholar. He appeared as a contributor to the Cambridge +collection of verses on the death of Sir Philip Sidney, published in +1587. In this book the king’s verses were placed first.¹ His subsequent +writings were numerous, but a review of them would not repay the +trouble and the space which it would occupy. It may at once be stated +that his books have contributed nothing to the advancement of an +enlightened and liberal policy of government, nor to the progress of +civilisation.² + + ¹ There is much information about the writings of James the VI. + in Dr. Harris’s account of his life, 1753. + + ² In the list of King James’s works the following may be + mentioned:――1. _Ane Fruitful Meditation_, containing a + plain and facile exposition of the seventh, eighth, ninth + and tenth verses of the twentieth chapter of Revelations, + in form of a sermon; set down by the most Christian king, + and sincere professor and chief defender of the truth, James + the Sixth, King of Scots. Edinburgh, 1588. 2. _Demonology_, + in form of a dialogue, divided into three books, Edinburgh, + 1597; again, 1600; and at London, 1603. 3. _His Majesty’s + Poetical Exercises in vacant hours_, Edinburgh, 1591. 4. + _Instructions to his Son, Prince Henry. Basilicon Doron_, + 1603. 5. _The True Law of Free Monarchies_, 1598. 6. + _Counterblast to Tobacco._ 7. _Mysteries of State._ 8. His + other writings chiefly consist of speeches, declarations, + and the like. There is an enumeration of them in Dr. Watt’s + _Bibliotheca Britannica_, Volume II., page 541. + +Towards the end of the century, there is some indication of an +improvement in the moral sentiment and tone of the popular literature. +Alexander Hume, minister of Logie, who died in 1609, produced in the +later years of his life a number of hymns or sacred songs. A volume +which he printed at Edinburgh in 1599, contains eight hymns, a short +poem on the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and a prose Epistle in which +he records the experiences of his youth. In the Epistle he expresses +himself pretty freely respecting the corruption of the judges, and +animadverts boldly on the Scottish Court.¹ His hymns are very unequal, +but the versification is occasionally fluent and easy; and some of his +descriptions are natural and vigorous. The following lines are taken +from the hymn entitled “the Day Festival:”―― + + “O perfect light! which shed away + The darkness from the light, + And left one ruler o’er the day, + Another o’er the night. + Thy glory, when the day forth flies, + More vively does appear, + Nor at midnight unto our eyes, + The shining sun is clear; + The shadow of the earth anone, + Removes and drawis by; + Syne in the east when it is gone, + Appears a clearer sky: + Which soon perceives the little larks + The lapwing, and the snipe; + And tunes their songs, like nature’s clerks, + O’er meadow, moor, and stripe. + + * * * * * + + What pleasure ’twere to walk and see + Endlong a river clear, + The perfect form of every tree + Within the deep appear; + The salmon out of crooves and creels + Up hauled into skouts, + The bells and circles on the weills + Through louping of the trouts. + O then it were a seemly thing, + While all is still and calme, + The praise of God to play and sing + With cornet and with shalme.” + +This is certainly a great advance from the rude and coarse rhymes of +the “Gude and Godlie Ballads.” There is an ease and artless vividness +of description in this beautiful hymn which renders it exceedingly +pleasing to read; and it must have been more touching when sung. + + ¹ “Hymns or sacred songs, wherein the right use of poetry + may be espied. By Alexander Hume. Whereunto are added, + the experience of the author’s youth and certain precepts, + serving to the practice of sanctification.” Edinburgh, 1599. + +James Melville, the nephew of Andrew Melville, whose valuable and +interesting _Diary_ has been often referred to in the preceding pages +of this work, also indulged in writing Scottish poetry. In early life +he acted as a professor at Glasgow and at St. Andrews, and afterwards +as a parish minister. He was one of the ministers that were deprived of +their livings and liberty after the accession of the King to the throne +of England. He died at Newcastle in 1614. He was a mild and estimable +man, more remarkable for his piety than for any original poetic power. +In 1599 his work entitled a “Catechism” was published at Edinburgh. The +first part of it is in prose, and consists of prayers and meditations +for different occasions, directions for self-examination, a form of +examination for those seeking to be admitted to the communion, in the +order of question and answer. The second part is in verse, and has the +following title――“A Morning Vision, or Poem for the Practice of Piety, +in devotion, faith, and repentance: wherein the Lord’s Prayer, Belief, +and Commands, and so the whole Catechism, and right use thereof, +is largely expounded.” He composed many other religious pieces in +verse, but his poetry is very homely and tame; and it appears that +his Catechism was not popular. His writings are interesting, however, +as specimens of the native language, and for the curious and plain +statement of customs and notions which prevailed in Scotland in his +day.¹ + + ¹ James Melville’s _Diary_, edition by Robert Pitcairn, + _Prefatory Notice_, pages 8‒31, 45. The editor gives a list + of his various works, pages 44‒48. But the _Diary_ itself is + by far the most valuable of his writings to the student of + history. + +The fashion of the age led the learned to make attempts to write Latin +poetry and rhymes. The quantity of effort spent in learning to read +and compose in the Latin language was enormous; and although this had +a tendency to improve the standard of culture, it may be doubted if it +was not carried too far. We are also told that “in all the schools and +colleges, and from the age of six to sixteen, the youth spoke and heard +nothing but Latin;” also that in their correspondence and ordinary +conversation with each other, the learned used the Latin tongue.¹ +Supposing this to be literally true, it can hardly be said to have +been the most effective way to develop the faculties of the mind, or +to advance the civilisation of the nation. This mode of culture tends +to separate men of letters from the general community, and prevents +them from exercising an influence over the mind of the people; and +thus deprives literature of the advantages to be derived from its +diffusion among all ranks of society. It may be said, indeed, that +the Scottish Latinists of this period exercised an indirect influence +upon the national mind, which in one sense may be granted; but after +the Reformation the spell of Latin Christianity was broken, and in +Protestant nations the Latin language as a formative power inevitably +became greatly circumscribed. This was a consequence of the Reformation, +whether learned men saw it or not, that did not effect its operation. + + ¹ Dr. M‘Crie’s _Life of Melville_, Volume II., pages 328, + 330‒332. “But perhaps, the most extraordinary circumstance + in the history of our literature at this period was the + enthusiasm with which Latin poetry was cultivated by our + countrymen; divines, lawyers, physicians, country-gentlemen, + courtiers, and statesmen, devoted themselves to this + difficult species of composition, and contended with each + other in the various strains which the ancient masters + of Roman song had employed. The principal poems in the + collection entitled ‘Delitiæ Poetarum Scotorum’ were + originally published, or at least written, at this time. + They are of course possessed of very different degrees of + merit, but of the collection in general we may say that it + is equal to any of the collections of the same kind which + appeared in other countries, except that which contains + the Latin poems composed by natives of Italy. If this was + not the classic age of Scotland, it was at least the age of + classical literature in it, and at no subsequent period of + our history have the languages of Greece and Rome been so + successfully cultivated, or the beauties of their poetry so + deeply felt and so justly imitated. Besides Andrew Melville, + the individuals who attained the greatest excellence in this + branch of literature were Sir Thomas Craig, Sir Robert Ayton, + Hume of Godscroft, John Johnston, and Hercules Rollock.” + To these may be justly added――Archbishop Adamson, who wrote + sacred poetry, translations of various books of the Bible in + verse, a Catechism, and other treatises in Latin. He died in + extreme poverty in 1591. He also wrote several works which + have never been published. + +Remembering the comparatively unsettled state of the nation, the +religious and theological literature produced in the later part of +the century was considerable. Before this period no commentary on +Scripture, nor any collection of sermons, had appeared in Scotland; for +the writings on the Four Gospels of the Scottish Scholastic, John Mair, +were published in Paris. But Robert Rollock, the first Principal of +the University of Edinburgh, was an earnest educationalist and a warm +promoter of literature, whose name is closely and honourably associated +with the history of education and religious literature in Scotland. In +connection with his profession, he composed commentaries on many parts +of the Bible, some of which were published at Edinburgh toward the +end of the century, and were shortly after reprinted at Geneva, and +commended by several foreign divines. He wrote in Latin, and though +his mode of exposition was not free from the fetters of the pedantic +logic of Scholasticism, and themes that involved the most momentous +moral issues were handled as mere abstractions. Having formed certain +premises, the intermediate conclusions to which the rules of their +method led, they treated these deductions as logical symbols, and +reasoned them out, utterly ignoring the difficulty and the doubt +which so often attends the steps of moral reasoning. Everything rested +on the truth of the definitions and the premises; and to change or +doubt any of these was fatal to the whole structure. Protestantism has +only gradually and with difficulty extricated itself from this purely +dogmatic method; and even yet we are not altogether clear of its meshes. +Rollock’s good sense and feeling of the practical often appears in his +commentaries on the Scripture in spite of the art of the dialectician, +though in some of his Latin writings he revels in dialectics. His +sermons in the Scottish dialect, published at Edinburgh in 1599, from +notes taken by some of his students, are pretty concise and practical +discourses, and exhibit him in a favourable light. His work entitled +“God’s Effectual Calling,” originally published in Latin at Edinburgh, +1597, is rather an elaborate performance. It formed a portion of the +system of theology which he taught. In this treatise Rollock touches +upon a variety of topics relating to the Scriptures; and like other +Protestant divines of the period, exhibits an unhesitating and firm +belief in revelation. He mentions various early translations of the +Old and New Testament, and briefly discusses the authorship and claims +of the Vulgate. Passing to the consideration of translations into the +modern tongues, he inquires whether it is lawful to translate the Bible +into every modern language, whether the common prayers should be in the +mother tongue, and whether the people should read the Scriptures. The +arguments of the Roman Catholics against the free communication of the +Bible to the people he minutely examines and effectively exposes.¹ + + ¹ _Select Works of R. Rollock_: Wodrow Society, 1849, Volume + I., pages 127‒160. A list of his works is given at pages + eighty-nine and ninety-five of the introduction to this + volume. Some of his writings were popular for several + generations after his death. + +Robert Bruce, whom we have seen in preceding pages, as a bold and +popular preacher, was a man of strong and vigorous mind, intensely +earnest, honest, and steadfast in principle. His sermons in the +Scottish dialect were published at Edinburgh in 1590 and 1591; and are +exceedingly interesting specimens of vernacular composition, shortly +before the period when it was generally superseded by modern English. +They are full of doctrinal points and arguments, remarkably regular in +style and clear in expression. He had a good sense of method, and the +faculty of making an intricate subject intelligible to the ordinary +understanding.¹ + + ¹ His sermons were translated into English, and published at + London in 1617; they were reprinted for the Wodrow Society. + ――_Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ_, Volume I., page 18. + +Robert Pont was born about 1528. Educated in St. Leonard’s College +at St. Andrews, he early embraced the reformed opinions, and his name +appeared among the members of the first General Assembly. From this +time till his death in 1606, he took an active part in the affairs +of the Church. In 1572, with the consent of the General Assembly, he +accepted an appointment to act as a senator of the college of justice, +and he held a seat on the bench till 1584. He was chosen minister of St. +Cuthbert’s Church, Edinburgh, in 1574; the same year, he was appointed +to revise all the books that were printed and published. + +Pont was one of the most learned of the early ministers of the Church +of Scotland. In 1566 he published _A Translation and Interpretation of +the Helvetian Confession_. At the request of the General Assembly, he +composed three sermons against sacrilege in 1594, which were published +in 1599. This is an interesting subject, and has been often touched +on, in preceding chapters; yet a short quotation from a well informed +contemporary cannot be out of character:――“From the year of our Lord +1560 to this present time, the greatest study of all men of power +of this land has been, by all kinds of inventions, to spoil the Kirk +of Christ of her patrimony, by chopping and changing, diminishing of +rentals, converting of victual in small sums of money, setting of feus +under the value, long tackes upon tackes, with two or three life-rents, +with many twenty years of a tack, annexations, erections of Kirk-rents +into temporal livings and heritage, pensions, simple donations, +erecting of new patronages, union of teinds, making new abbots, +commendators, priors, and other papistical titles, which ought to +have no place in a reformed Kirk and country, with many other corrupt +and fraudful ways, to the detriment and hurt of the Kirk, the schools, +and the poor, without any stay or gainsaying.”¹ His other writings +chiefly related to chronology. “A new treatise on the right reckoning +of the years and ages of the world and men’s lives, and of the state +of the last decaying age thereof, this year of Christ, containing +sundry singularities worthy of observation, concerning courses of +times and revolutions of the heavens, reformation of kalendars, and +prognostications,” etc., published at Edinburgh, 1599. His work, +entitled _Chronologiam de Sabbatis_, was published at London in 1626. +He also wrote a tract on the union of the kingdoms, in the form of +a dialogue, which was published in 1604. In this dialogue he gives a +deplorable description of the tyranny of the aristocracy, the weakness +of the law, and the terrors of the judges, who trembled before the +power of the nobles.² + + ¹ Pont’s _Sermons against Sacrilege_. + + ² _History of the Church and Parish of St. Cuthbert’s_, 1829; + Tytler’s _Life of Sir Thomas Craig_, page 218; Wodrow’s + _Biographical Collections_, Volume I. + +The Reformation movement was admirably adapted to call forth any latent +talent that existed in the nation; as it tended to arouse the latent +powers of the mind, and to widen the range of ideas and the objects of +study. After the Revolution, the department of jurisprudence began to +receive more attention; and indeed, it may be said that in Scotland the +teaching of the civil law only commenced at this period. Previously, +the canons were the great object of study; those who delivered lectures +occasionally on the civil law were in priests’ orders. It was not +till the later part of the sixteenth century that the institutes and +pandects began to be substituted for the sacred canons and decretals. +Dr. Edward Henryson edited and wrote a preface to a collection of the +acts of parliament, from 1424 to 1564, which was published at Edinburgh +in 1566: this volume, however, is rather carelessly arranged.¹ Sir +John Skene, the clerk registrar, edited a collection of the Acts +of Parliament, from 1424 onwards to the later part of the sixteenth +century, which was published at Edinburgh in 1597. He also, for the +first time, published in 1609, in Latin and in English, a collection of +the laws and constitutions of Scotland, from the days of Malcolm II. to +the reign of James I.; to this he added a treatise on the explanation +of difficult words and terms.² Although modern investigators have found +many reasons for the rejection and modification of not a few of Skene’s +opinions and conclusions touching the early laws of Scotland, it must +be acknowledged that his labours were valuable and meritorious, and at +the time of their publication threw much light on the ancient customs +and laws of Scotland. + + ¹ Dr. Henryson is the author of a work, entitled _Commentatio + Title X. Libri Secundi Institutionum de Testamentis + Ordinandis_, published in 1555. It is a kind of running + commentary, and it was inserted in the great work of + Gerard Meerman, _Novus Thesaurus Juris Civilis et Canonici_. + Henryson is reported to have written some other books, which + are not now extant. + + ² Skene’s first edition of the _Regiam Majestatem_, was + published in 1613; and the origin and authorship of this + book has caused much disquisition. + +Sir Thomas Craig was an eminent and successful lawyer in the reign of +James VI. His best known work is the learned treatise on the feudal +law, “Jus Feudale, Tribus Libris Comprehensum,” which he finished in +1603, but it was not published till 1655, forty-seven years after the +author’s death. It is written in a vigorous Latin style. It obtained a +wide and authoritative reputation; many translations and editions of it +were published. He was a vigorous thinker, and made the first regular +attempt to treat the feudalism of Scotland in a philosophic spirit. +It is not surprising, however, that he failed to explain the peculiar +form that feudalism had assumed in Scotland; when he wrote, feudalism +was full of life in the kingdom; and it may be questioned, if a +professional lawyer is the best qualified person to give a true +exposition of the system in operation around him. Every one that has +tried to grasp and comprehend the special form of feudalism which so +long prevailed in this country, is well aware of the difficulties of +the subject. As we have seen, Scotch feudalism was not a natural growth +of the clan organisation. In the days of Craig, the distinctive feature +of feudalism was connected with the holding of land――the customary +rights and claims of the superior, and the obligation of his vassals +to satisfy all his demands; but one by one, here and there, the feudal +burdens were gradually lightened and outgrown, till at last the tenants +of the land only paid a money rent. + +William Welwood was for sometime Professor of Law in the University +of St. Andrews, and published several useful treatises on juridical +subjects. He wrote both in Latin and English. In one of his works, he +drew a parallel of the points of resemblance between the Jewish and +the Roman codes. His tract on ecclesiastical processes was intended to +distinguish the forms of procedure in the civil courts, from the forms +that should be used in the Church courts, touching citation, the mode +of trial, and appeals. His abridgment of sea laws――one of the most +useful of his productions――was the first systematic book on maritime +jurisprudence which appeared in Britain. But Welwood ventured into +other fields: he wrote a treatise on practical theology, which was +published at Middleburgh in 1594. He had an inquiring mind, and in all +his writings there is a worthy desire to turn his knowledge to the good +of mankind.¹ + + ¹ This work has the following title: “Abridgment of all Sea + Laws; gathered forth of all Writings and Monuments, which + are to be found among any People or Nation upon the Coasts + of Great Britain and the Mediterranean Sea,” London, 1613. + Watts’ _Bibliotheca Britannica_, Volume II., page 957. The + learned Selden afterwards wrote on this subject, in the + seventeenth century, and even later various points of the + law relating to the sea were fiercely disputed. + +This very industrious man was also connected with the progress of +physics and the arts. In 1577, while teaching at St. Andrews, he +obtained from the Government a patent for a new mode of raising +water with greater facility from coal pits, sinks, and low places. He +afterwards published an account of his plan, and of the principles upon +which he calculated that it would produce the intended effect: this +publication appeared in 1582. It is an interesting indication of the +state of hydraulic science at the time, and of the experiments which +gradually led to the discovery and to the application of its true +principles.¹ In 1594, Parliament granted to two men the exclusive right +of making certain pumps for raising and forcing water out of mines.² + + ¹ His plan of raising water has been thus summarised:――“If + Welwood had persevered in his experiments, he might have + accidentally made the discovery which afterwards occurred + to Galileo. He proposed to produce the effect by means of a + leaden pipe bent into a syphon, and extended on the exterior + so as to discharge the water at a point below the surface of + the well. Having shut up the two extremities of the pipe, he + introduces water into both legs by an aperture at the upper + point or elbow of the syphon, till they are completely full; + and then closing this aperture with great exactness, and + opening both ends of the syphon, he maintains that the water + will flow out of the exterior or lower leg, as long as there + is any in the well. It cannot, he argues, flow out of the + shorter leg, for it has no head or difference of level to + give it the power of issuing in that direction. It cannot + flow out of both legs at the same time; for then it behoved + to separate somewhere in the middle, which, according to him, + is impossible, as nature abhors a vacuum. Therefore, it must + flow out of the well by the longer leg. The well is supposed + to be 45 cubits deep (for our author was not possessed of + the important fact that water will not rise to a height + above 33 feet). In other respects the principles of his + demonstration are not more unscientifical than those which + Galileo would have employed sixty years after the time of + Welwood.” Dr. M‘Crie, _Life of Melville_, Volume II., pages + 320‒321. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV., page 176. + +But the most celebrated name in connection with the history of science +in Scotland was John Napier of Merchiston. This remarkable man, who +contributed so much to extend the bounds of knowledge, was born in +the year 1550. He was educated at the University of St. Andrews, and +afterwards in France at the University of Paris. He had returned to +Scotland before 1571, and for many years took an active interest in +the affairs of the Church. He was twice married, and had a family of +sons and daughters. Although he was of a studious and inquiring turn of +mind, he was by no means a mere recluse, as he attended to his domestic +duties and the business of his father, who was connected with the mint +and mining operations of Scotland. In short, he interested himself in +many projects, and seems to have passed a comparatively happy life. He +died in the month of April, 1617.¹ + + ¹ M. Napier’s _Memoirs of John Napier of Merchiston_, 1834, + pages 56, 91, 104‒107, 129‒131, 147‒173, 227‒234, 282, 415, + 430; _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III., + page 559. + +The dominant feelings and the belief of the age had taken a firm hold +upon Napier’s mind, as his earliest publication manifested. This was +an ingenious and extremely curious book, containing an exposition of +the whole Revelations of St. John. He prefaced this work with a short +poetical address to Antichrist; and to his interpretation, he annexed +certain oracles of Sibylla, which he conceived to agree with the +Revelations and other parts of Scripture.¹ The full title of this +work will perhaps give a better idea of its contents than any lengthy +description: “A Plain Discovery of the Revelations of St. John, +set down in two Treatises; the one searching and proving the true +interpretation thereof; the other applying the same paraphrastically +and historically to the text: by John Napier; with a resolution of +certain doubts, moved by some well affected brethren; whereunto are +annexed certain oracles of Sibylla, agreeing with the Revelations and +other places of Scripture; and also an epistle omitted in the last +edition, 1645. This was printed for Andrew Wilson, and sold at his shop +at the foot of the Ladie’s Steps.” + + ¹ _A Plain Discovery of the Revelations of St. John_, page 61; + edition 1645. + +The conclusions which he draws from the introductory and expositive +treatise on the Revelations of St. John were thus stated in his own +words:――“Then for conclusion, by these interpretative propositions +followeth four things, marvellous and notable. First, that the +interpretation of every part of the Revelations is accessory or +consectory to another――that is to say, it is so chained and linked +together, that every mystery opens the other, to the discovery of +the whole. Secondly, that the first half of the book is orderly――that +is to say, it containeth in order of time the most notable accidents +that concerneth God’s Church, from the time of Christ’s baptism +successively to the latter day. Thirdly, that every history prophesied +is limited or dated with its own number of years. Fourthly, and last +of all, that whatsoever history is more orderly and summarily than +plainly set down in the first orderly part of the book, the same is +repeated, interpreted, or amplified in the last part of the book, +which therefore we call the amplicative part of the book, dividing the +whole Revelations according to the following table, before we proceed +to the principal matter.”¹ The table which Napier drew is ingenious +and elaborate, and his interpretation and exposition of the Book of +Revelations is fully as sensible as many others that have appeared +since his day. This treatise must have been comparatively popular, as +the first edition was published at Edinburgh in 1593, and the fifth, +corrected and amended, appeared in 1645. + +In 1596, Napier published a letter, entitled “Secret Inventions, +profitable and necessary in those days for the defence of this Island, +and withstanding of strangers, enemies of God’s truth and religion.” +The inventions which he proposed do not appear to be very hopeful, and +at first sight they seem to hover between the possible and impossible; +yet some of his schemes were not incredible or beyond the limits of +realisation. The following are the words in which he announced the new +inventions:―― + +“First, the invention, proof, and perfect demonstration, geometrical +and algebraical, of a burning mirror, which receiving the dispersing +beams of the sun, doth reflect the same beams altogether united and +concurring precisely in one mathematical point, in the which point +most necessarily it engenders fire, with an evident demonstration of +their error who affirm this to be made a parabolic section. The use +of the invention serveth for burning the enemies’ ships at whatsoever +appointed distance. + +“Secondly, the invention and sure demonstration of another mirror +which, receiving the dispersed beams of any material fire or flame, +yields also the former effect, and serveth for the like use. + +“Thirdly, the invention and visible demonstration of a piece of +artillery, which shot passeth not linally through the enemy destroying +only those that stand on the random thereof, and from them flying idly +as others do; but passeth superficially, ranging abroad within the +whole appointed place, and not departing forth of the place till it +hath exhausted its whole strength, by destroying those that be within +the bounds of the said place. The use hereof not only serveth greatly +against the army of the enemy on land; but also by sea it serveth to +destroy and cut down, and one shot the whole masts and tackling of so +many ships as be within the appointed bounds, so long as any strength +at all remains. + +“Fourthly, the invention of a round chariot made of metal of the +proof of double musket, which motion shall be by those that be within +the same, more easy, more light, and more speedy by much, than so +many armed men would be otherwise. The use hereof, as well in moving, +serveth to break the array of the enemy’s battle, and to make passage, +as also in staying and abiding within the enemy’s battle, it serveth to +destroy the environed enemy by continual charge and shot of harquebush +through small holes; the enemy in the meantime being abashed, and +altogether uncertain what defence to use against a moving mouth of +metal. + +“These inventions, besides devices of slaying under the water, with +divers other devices and stratagems for harming of the enemies, by the +grace of God and work of expert craftsmen I hope to perform.”¹ + + ¹ M. Napier’s _Memoirs of John Napier_, pages 247, 248. + +They afford evidence of his speculative powers, and the scientific bent +of his mind struggling with the narrow resources within his reach to +produce practical results. Although the existing conditions――say the +requisite mechanical skill――may not admit of the immediate application +of a discovery or an invention, that is no evidence of the possible +value and ultimate practicability of such things. In the Introduction +of this history it was observed, that the lack of combined action and +organised means have always greatly retarded the realisation of many +things, even after the discovery, the invention, or the knowledge of +a principle, had been reached.¹ Most of the sciences began at a point +too remote from the real struggle of human life to be obviously useful, +and would have made no progress at all if they had waited to justify +their existence by their usefulness: their progress is mainly due to +their own internal, intellectual, and moral interest. If science had +always been absorbed in the search after obvious utilities, the highest +discoveries would never have been made, and the greatest utilities +would in all likelihood have been missed.² + + ¹ Volume I., pages 37, 65‒71, 157‒175. + + ² Joseph J. Murphy. _Habit and Intelligence_, Volume II., + pages 225, 226. “All inorganic science, at least, depends on + measurement; and all other measurements ultimately depend on + the measurements of space. Now space is altogether external + to the mind; we think in time, and not in space; yet the + measurement of time depends on that of space, and not + the converse; and geometry, which is the science of the + properties of space, was the earliest of the sciences.” + ――_Ibid._ + +In 1614, Napier published his _Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis +Descriptio_. This work presented a mode of calculation which greatly +abridged the labour and facilitated the solution of all the vast +problems involving numbers. “The general idea which Napier formed was +that of two flowing points, generating magnitudes by infinitely small +degrees, so regulated in their respective motions, that in the one +case, the successive increments would be equal to each other; and in +the other case, would differ proportionately from each other in an +infinitely small degree.” He had a fine faculty of exposition, and he +developed his conception with unrivalled clearness. The invention was +soon known throughout Europe amongst men of science. The work was +speedily translated into English by Edward Wright and Henry Briggs: +the former set himself to translate it, and the latter became a warm +and able co-operator of Napier’s in computing improved tables. Wright +finished his translation and sent it to the author for revisal in +1615. He shortly after died, and the task then devolved upon his son, +Samuel Wright assisted by Briggs, and the translation was published in +London, in 1616. Edward Wright had specially directed his attention to +navigation, which stood greatly in need of the aid of exact science. +He published a treatise at London in 1559, entitled “Certain errors in +Navigation detected and corrected;” he also computed tables of latitude, +and is distinguished for his sea rings, his great quadrant, his sea +quadrant, and other ingenious astronomical contrivances.¹ + + ¹ M. Napier’s _Memoirs of John Napier_, pages 328, 438‒444. + For comprehensive views of the theory of logarithms, see the + _Works of Bailly, Astronomie Moderne_, Tome II.; _Delambre + Histoire de l’Astronomie Moderne_; _Montucla Histoire des + Mathematiques_, Tome II., page 2, _et seq._; Dr. Minto’s + _Account of Napier’s Inventions and Writings_; Colin + Maclaurin’s _Treatise on Fluxions_, and several articles + in the eighth edition of the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_. + +The only other work that Napier published in his lifetime was his short +treatise on the method of computing by figured rods, known by the name +of Napier’s bones, 1617: it contained the most important of his minor +inventions touching various numerical properties. The following is a +part of his own description of it, from the dedication to the Earl of +Dunfermline:――“Of which logarithms, indeed, I have found out another +species much superior to the former; and intend, if God shall grant +me longer life and the possession of health, to make known the method +of construction, as well as the manner of using them. But the actual +computation of this new canon I have left, on account of the infirmity +of my bodily health, to those conversant in such studies; and +especially to that truly and most learned man, Henry Briggs, public +professor of geometry in London, my most beloved friend. In the +meantime, however, for the sake of those who prefer to work with +the natural numbers as they stand, I have excogitated three other +compendious modes of calculation, of which the first is by means of +numerating rods, and these I have called ‘Rabdologia.’ Another, by +far the most expeditious of all for multiplication, and which on that +account I have not inaptly called the promptuary of multiplication, +is by means of little plates of metal disposed in a box. And lastly, a +third method, namely, local arithmetic performed upon a chess-board.”¹ + + ¹ M. Napier’s _Memoirs of John Napier_, pages 413‒415. The + original edition of this little work is now extremely scarce. + +In 1619 Napier’s son published the work which his father had left +incomplete――“Logarithmorum Canonis Constructio,” that is, the method +of their construction. The purpose of the work is to show the way +that he conquered the second difficulty in his path to the logarithms; +namely, how to calculate the numbers to be intercalculated between the +terms of his progressions, in order to reap the fruits of his original +conception. Though the author did not live to give it the final touches, +the book is teeming with profound thought, and exhibits a grasp of +the subject and a clearness of exposition which is rare even among +the efforts of the highest genius. Professor Playfair has well said, +“Napier’s view of the subject is as simple and profound as any which +after two hundred years has yet presented itself to mathematicians. +The mode of deducing the results has been simplified; but it can +hardly be said that the principle has been more clearly developed.” +Sir John ♦Lesly has said, “his sublime invention of Logarithms about +this epoch eclipsed every minor improvement, and as far transcended +the denary notation, as this had surpassed the numerical system of the +Greeks.” Robert Napier in the preface to his father’s posthumous work +said――“Some years ago, my father, of ever venerable memory, published +the use of the wonderful Canon of Logarithms; but the construction +and method of generating it, he, for certain reasons, was unwilling +to commit to types, as he mentions upon the seventh and the last pages +of the Logarithms; until he knew how it was judged of and criticised +by those who were versed in this department of letters. But since +his death, I have been assured from undoubted authority, that this +new invention is much thought of by the most able mathematicians; and +that nothing would delight them more than if the construction of his +wonderful Canon, or so much at least as might suffice to illustrate it, +were published for the benefit of the world.... I doubt, not, however, +that this posthumous work would have seen the light in a far more +perfect and finished state, if the author himself, who according to +the opinion of the best judges, possessed among other illustrious gifts +this one in particular, that he could explicate the most difficult +matter by some sure and easy method, and in the fewest words――if +God had granted a longer use of life. You have the doctrine of the +construction of Logarithms――which here, he calls artificial numbers, +for he had this treatise composed for several years before he invented +the word Logarithms, most copiously unfolded, their nature, accidences, +and various adaptations to their natural numbers, perspicuously +demonstrated. I have thought good to subjoin to the construction a +certain appendix, concerning the method of forming another and more +excellent species of Logarithms, to which the inventor himself alludes +in his epistle prefixed to the Rabdologia, and in which the Logarithm +of unity is 0.... I have also published some lucubrations upon the +new species of Logarithms, by that most excellent mathematician, Henry +Briggs, public professor in London, who undertook most willingly the +very severe labour of calculating this Canon, in consequence of the +singular affection that existed between him and my father, the method +of construction and explanation of its use being left to the inventor +himself.”¹ + + ♦ “Leslie” replaced with “Lesly” for consistency + + ¹ M. Napier’s _Memoirs of John Napier_, pages 417‒418, 445, + _et seq._ This book contains a vast amount of information, + but its author is rather too laudatory of the inventor of + Logarithms. + + Henry Briggs was the greatest mathematician of his day in + England; he was a man of remarkable powers of mind, and + of great industry. He is the author of several valuable + treatises on Logarithms, his greatest work appeared in 1624, + entitled “Arithmetica Logarithmica.” He died in 1630. + +It was observed in the preceding volume, that there was little or no +medical science among the Scots at the end of the fifteenth century.¹ +According to the statement of the elder Scaliger, who visited Scotland +about the middle of the sixteenth century, the kingdom did not contain +more than one regular practitioner. It is known, however, that this +learned man was rather fastidious in his taste and in his mode of +life.² It is possible that he might have exaggerated a little, or that +his information may have been incomplete. At least, this science had +made some progress in the country before the end of the century; though +as yet there was no medical school in the kingdom, as now understood; +and Scotsmen intending to follow this profession were trained abroad. + + ¹ MackMackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, + Volume I., pages 414‒415. + + ² “At ♦Agen the elder Scaliger was now exercising the + profession of a physician. That city, when he there + fixed his residence, could not furnish him with a single + individual capable of supporting literary conversation, + and he was therefore led to cultivate an intimacy with some + of the more enlightened inhabitants of Bordeaux. Buchanan, + Tevius, and other accomplished scholars, who then belonged + to the College of Guienne, were accustomed to pay him an + annual visit during the vacation. They were hospitably + entertained at his house; and he declared that he forgot + the torture of his gout whenever he had an opportunity + of discussing topics of learning with his guests. For + the society of this singular man, who possessed some bad + and many good qualities, Buchanan has expressed a natural + relish” (in Latin verses).――Dr. Irving’s _Memoirs of + Buchanan_, pages 45‒46. + + ♦ “Ageu” replaced with “Agen” + +The people suffered greatly from the frequent recurrence of pestilence; +and in 1568 Gilbert Skene, doctor in medicine, published at Edinburgh, +“A Brief Description of the Pest,” which was the first medical treatise +printed in Scotland. This treatise consists of forty-six small pages, +and may be supposed to give the views of the learned of those days +touching the pest. He described it as “a feverable infection, most +cruel, and in sundry ways striking down many in haste. It proceeded +from a corruption of the air, which has strength and wickedness above +all natural putrefaction, and springs from the wrath of the just God +at the sins of mankind.” He recognised, however, other causes, “as +stagnant waters, corrupting animal matters and filth, the eating of +unwholesome meat and decaying fruits, and the drinking of corrupt water. +Great humidity of the atmosphere, dearth of victual, whereby men are +forced to eat bad meat.” He adverts to the suspicious intermeddling of +the comets and the shooting stars. He observed that the poor were more +subject to this fearful disorder than the rich; indeed, his description +of the state of the former was deplorable――“Every one is become so +detestable to another, which is to be lamented, and especially the +poor in the sight of the rich, as if they were not equal with them +touching their creation, but rather without soul or spirit, as beasts +degenerated from mankind.” This worthy doctor’s regimen for the pest, +regarding both its prevention and its cure, consisted of a vast variety +of curious recipes and rules of treatment, written partly in Latin and +partly in English. + +Dr. Peter Lowe had practised in various parts of the Continent, and +returned to his native country toward the end of this century. He +published a system of surgery in 1597, giving a popular view of the +healing art, along with some description of cases which had occurred in +his own practice. The title of Dr. Lowe’s work will give the best idea +of its character:――“The Whole Course of Surgery; wherein is briefly set +down the Causes, Signs, Prognostications, and Curations of all sorts +of Tumours, Wounds, Ulcers, Fractures, Dislocations, and all other +Diseases, usually practised by Surgeons, according to the opinion of +all our ancient Doctors in Surgery: Compiled by Peter Lowe, Scotsman, +Arellian Doctor in the Faculty of Surgery in Paris, and Surgeon +Ordinary to the King of France and Navarre. Whereunto is annexed the +Book of Presages of Hippocrates, divided into three parts; also the +Protestation which Hippocrates caused his Scholars to make. The whole +collected and translated. London, 1596.” Reprinted in 1597, 1612, 1634, +1654. It was regarded as a work of merit in its day, and was translated +into several languages. Dr. Lowe also wrote a book entitled, “An Easy, +Certain, and Perfect Method to Cure and to Prevent the Spanish Sickness. +Published at London in 1596.” + +About this time he was appointed by the Government to examine the +persons that proposed to practise the art of surgery in the West of +Scotland. He resided in Glasgow, and was the founder of the faculty +of physicians and surgeons of that city. + +Dr. Duncan Liddel was born in Aberdeen, 1561, and attained an eminent +position as a professor of mathematics and as a physician. In the later +part of the sixteenth, and the early part of the seventeenth centuries, +he was a professor of mathematics and of medicine in the University of +Helmstadt; he also acted as first physician to the court of Brunswick, +and had a large practice among the families in the neighbourhood. He +was elected to fill several posts of honour in connection with the +University of Helmstadt, and achieved much celebrity. About 1608 he +returned to Scotland, and directed his attention to the diffusion of +science among his countrymen. He died in December, 1613. Dr. Liddel was +the author of several works composed in Latin, which were well received +on the Continent. His work entitled, “Disputationes Medicinales,” in +four volumes, was published in 1605; and it was reprinted as late as +1720; it contained the theses maintained by himself and his pupils at +Helmstadt from 1592 to 1605. In 1607 his well known work, “Ars Medica, +succincte et perspicue explicata,” was published at Hamburg; a second +edition was published at Lyons, 1624, and a third at Hamburg in 1628. +This work was pretty highly esteemed during the seventeenth century. +Like other works of the period in this department it treated largely +on metaphysics as well as on medicine.¹ + + ¹ A sketch of the life of Dr. Duncan Liddel, Aberdeen, 1730. + There is also an interesting article relating to Dr. Liddel + in the eleventh volume of the proceedings of the Society of + Antiquaries of Scotland, by the late Mr. A. Gibb, F.S.A., + Scotland, pages 450, _et seq._ + +Having concluded the examination of the literature of the nation +in the sixteenth century; we may pause a little, and reflect on the +characteristics of the works, the opinions, the sentiments, and the +feelings, manifested in them. Looking backwards we find that there +had been some advance in physical knowledge amongst the Scots during +the century, but by no means a marked progress in this department. +Although Napier announced an important invention in the department +of mathematical science early in the seventeenth century, no one can +fail to see that the intellectual and scientific advancement of the +Scots was comparatively meagre as contrasted with the radical changes +of their religious belief, their sentiments and feelings. The great +intellectual revival in Europe, however, was beginning to be felt +in the sixteenth century. The Copernican system of the universe was +first printed in 1543, but it met with much opposition, even among +the learned its acceptance was extremely slow, probably not ten men in +Europe had adopted it in the sixteenth century; and there is not the +slightest reason to believe that any of the chief Reformers recognised +or comprehended it. Even Buchanan, though not ignorant of the +Copernican system, yet in his own philosophical poem, “The Sphere,” he +rejected it, and followed the Ptolemaic system. Long after their day, +the far famed Lord Bacon rejected the Copernican system to the last; he +also treated the valuable discoveries of Gilbert about the magnet with +the most arrogant contempt. When this great philosopher assumed such an +attitude to the greatest conception of his age, we can hardly suppose +that the mind of the Scots had as yet been in the least affected by +these scientific ideas; though it is possible that some individual +Scotsmen toward the end of the century might have been aware of them; +but the religious revolution was accomplished before this; and the +conclusion pointed to is that the Reformation depended more upon moral +causes than intellectual and scientific ones. Throughout the literature +of the period it will be found that there is more evidence of change +in the feelings and sentiments of the people, than of any display of +increasing intellectual power. + +The writers in the Scottish dialect of the latter part of the century +are inferior to those of the first quarter of the century in point +of intellectual power. After the Reformation there is no Scottish +poet equal to Dunbar or even to Gavin Douglas, the versifiers of the +close of the century stand lower than those of its opening years; the +balance in conception, range of imagery, of ideas, and in appropriate +construction, is on the side of the earlier poets. If, however, we +look to the feelings and the sentiments which were expressed in the +compositions of both, the later writers appear in a more favourable +light; as the extremely coarse expressions which Dunbar and Sir David +Lyndsay frequently used, were gradually cast aside, and a better +moral tone observed. The improvement of the moral sentiments and +the broadening of the national sympathy were indicated in various +directions, as in the emphatic complaints touching the oppression of +the poor and the earnest efforts to relieve them. + +Thus, the revolutionary waves of the sixteenth century were mainly +religious and moral, and considering the state of society, not merely +in Scotland, but throughout Europe, it was not surprising that the +Reformers were only partly successful. The reactionary spirit of Roman +Catholicism was great, and it long presented an undaunted opposition to +every form of liberal policy and moral freedom; and Rome still claims +a supremacy in all matters of morality and religion. The Pope is the +supreme and only visible head of this planet, appointed by God to +rule over the human mind, and if necessary, to spurn the accumulated +wisdom and knowledge of the race. Centuries roll on, revolutions +in governments, in knowledge, and in education, may be brought to +pass among the nations; but the Pope remains unchanged, the same +circumscribed views characterise the Popes of the sixteenth and the +nineteenth centuries. + + + + + CHAPTER XXII. + + _Education and Art in the Sixteenth Century._ + + +EDUCATION has long been a subject of interest; and there is nothing +more important in a civilised nation than its system of educational +establishments. An educational system, like all other human +institutions, must in some degree conform to the laws of social +organisation and progress, if it would maintain the complement of +its influence upon the mind of the nation. It is not enough that +an educational system should maintain its efficacy according to +a stereotyped standard, it should also take account of changing +circumstances, and accommodate itself to the requirements and the +wants of a highly artificial and progressive society. It was in +this that many of the knotty questions connected with national +education arose. The chief difficulty to a just and wise reform +sprang out of the conservative interests, class prejudice, hereditary +pride, and narrowness of sympathy; or on the part of some, a fear, +not unreasonable, that the ancient landmarks might be altogether +obliterated. In every nation where a comparative degree of civilisation +and freedom has been attained, there will always be persons and parties +who cling with extreme tenacity to whatever is old and established, +as if the least change or modification of an institution was certain +to derange the order of the universe; while other parties may be more +inclined to move onward and to improve the existing institutions, +to bring them more into harmony with circumstances and the realised +results of the age. The great revolution which we have been attempting +to explain in the preceding chapters, is a grand exemplification +of these conflicting tendencies of parties; and when the demand for +reasonable and necessary reform is obstinately resisted and withheld, +it requires no prophet to announce that the consequences must be +ruinously disastrous. + +In the first volume some notices of the early schools of the country +were given;¹ and in this chapter it is proposed to present a brief +history of the origin of the parish schools, and other educational +institutions of the kingdom. Before the Reformation in Scotland, +there were at least two classes of schools, besides the universities: +one of these was called the “lecture-school,” in which the children +were taught to read the vernacular language; the other was the grammar +schools, in which the Latin language was taught, and these were +attached to the monasteries and to the burghs. Prior to the Reformation, +however, the first class of schools were not numerous. At the beginning +of the sixteenth century there were schools in Edinburgh for the +instruction of children, and in which there were female teachers; but +there were some early indications of a disposition to give the grammar +schools a monopoly of teaching. In 1520 the town council of Edinburgh, +on grounds which they deemed sufficient, enacted that no inhabitant +of the town should put their children to any particular school in +the burgh, but to the principal grammar school, “to be taught in any +science, except only grace-book, primar, and plain duty,” under a fine +of ten shillings.² + + ¹ Macintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume I., + pages 148, 245, 465‒468. + + ² _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume I., pages 76, 193; + _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume I., pages 97, 98, 107. + +We have seen, that after the Reformation strenuous and worthy efforts +were made to extend the means of education to the people. Where regular +schools were not erected, the readers in the churches often supplied +the deficiency, by teaching the youth to read the catechism and the +Bible. The reformed clergy took a warm interest in the education of +the people, by exerting themselves to establish parish schools; and +the Church courts were untiring in their exertions to forward the cause +of popular education.¹ At the annual visitation of the parishes by +the presbyteries, the state of the schools always formed a subject of +inquiry; the qualifications of the teachers were examined; and where no +schools existed, means were employed to establish them. The parochial +schools of Scotland were not originated by the act of Council in 1616, +which was ratified by parliament in 1633. Long before that time the +Church courts had a “common order” touching the rate to be raised for +the salary of the teacher, the fees to be paid by the scholars, and +many other regulations for the organisation of the primary schools. In +this way many schools were erected before the close of the sixteenth +century. There was often reference to the trial and inspection of +schoolmasters in the register of the Church courts, and regulations +for providing means to educate the children of the poor. Although it +is undoubted that many schools were founded and in operation during the +later part of the century, it would be a mistake to suppose that every +parish had a school,² as there were many and great difficulties to be +overcome ere a popular system of education could be organised to such +a point of completeness. + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_, pages 17, 33, 60, 108, 279, + 311, 415, 432, 693, 737, 965. + + ² _Records of the Presbytery of Haddington._ + +After the Reformation, in all the schools the children were learned to +read the catechism, the prayers, and parts of the Bible; and even to +rehearse the catechism and portions of Scripture from memory. It was +common to instruct the boys in manly exercises and sports, to develop +their bodies and limbs, by the practice of archery, fencing, running, +leaping, wrestling, swimming, and other games.¹ + + ¹ “And by our master we were teached to handle the bow for + archery, the club for golf, the batons for fencing; also to + run, to leap, to swim, and to wrestle.” Melville’s _Diary_, + pages 16, 17, 21. + +All the chief towns in the kingdom had grammar schools before the +Reformation; it is unnecessary, however, to give an account of each, +and only a general description of their character, and the aim of the +instruction afforded in them, and the changes which the Reformation +introduced, will be presented. With comparatively few exceptions, +the whole of the educational institutions of Scotland were under the +control of the Church, both before and after the Reformation; and it is +only recently that the control of the Church in education was limited +to special branches, and altogether excluded from others. + +In the first half of the sixteenth century there were sometimes two +or more grammar schools in Edinburgh, as the Canongate had one from an +early period. The magistrates exercised authority over these schools, +although the abbot of Holyrood had the right of nominating the head +masters. The town council paid the master of the grammar school various +sums of money and fees annually; and they also attended to the building +and repairing of the schools. In 1555 there was a school for teaching +French in Edinburgh, and that year the town’s treasurer paid ten marks +to the master of the French school; and French seems to have been +occasionally taught as a branch of education in the grammar schools.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., pages 179, 271, + 281, 292, 210, 241, 318; Melville’s _Diary_, page 17. + +In 1521, John Marschall, master of the grammar school of Aberdeen, +asked the provost to tell him of whom he held the school, and the +answer was, that he held it under the appointment of the magistrates +of the burgh. This, however, was not exactly correct; for in 1537 the +Chancellor of the diocese of Aberdeen claimed the right of appointing +the master of the grammar school, and nominated Robert Skene to that +office, and requested the town council to accept him. The master of the +grammar school claimed a monopoly of teaching in the city, both before +and after the Reformation. In 1529, Mr. John Bisset, the master of the +grammar school, received from the town council the sum of ten pounds +Scots yearly to help to pay his board, till they promoted him to a +benefice. The council, in 1542, unanimously ordered that the master +of the grammar school should have forty shillings for his wages from +the humblest persons, who received him and the bishop on St. Nicholas +day, and every honest man to give him at their pleasure. Four years +later, Hugh Munro, the master of the grammar school, by the order +of the council, was to get ten pounds yearly; and, at the same time, +the citizens were requested to give him the accustomed wages on St. +Nicholas day. Hugh Munro had a wife and a family, and thus it seems, he +was not in priest’s orders. In 1550 he resigned, and the council then +nominated Mr. James Chalmer to the office of master of the school, and +presented him to the Chancellor to be admitted according to the usage +of bygone times. It is evident that the grammar schools of the burghs +were partly under the magistrates. But it seems to have been the policy +of the Church to allow the local authorities and the citizens to have +as much of the management of the schools as would cause them to take an +interest in these establishments.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume I., pages 97‒98, 107, + 120, 122, 151, 186, 231, 272, 277; Volume II., pages 90, 154. + +The grammar schools of Glasgow, Dunfermline, Perth, Stirling, +Linlithgow, Dundee, and others, had attained to some importance. Andrew +Simson was master of the grammar school of Perth from 1550 to 1560, +and it was reported that he had sometimes three hundred boys under his +charge. He was the author of a Latin grammar, which kept its ground +in the schools of Scotland till the eighteenth century, when it was +superseded by Ruddiman’s grammar. On the eve of the Reformation, Ninian +Winzet, the opponent of Knox, held the post of master of the grammar +school of Linlithgow; and in one of his works he complained bitterly +that “so little respect has ever been paid to the grammar schools.” + +The chief subject taught in these schools was the Latin language. The +amount of information imparted to the scholars was very limited. It +consisted of the matters connected with the Roman Catholic religion, +and of portions of Latin authors, which were read and explained. After +the Reformation these institutions were taken under the charge of the +Protestants; but the teaching of grammar and the Latin language still +continued to be their distinguishing characteristic. + +At the time of the Reformation, the grammar school of Edinburgh was +taught by William Robertson, who continued to adhere to the Roman +Catholic faith; and the magistrates had much difficulty in removing him +from office, as his appointment was vested in the abbot of Holyrood. In +the month of April, 1562, the town council requested Lord James Stuart +to deal with his brother, Lord Robert, abbot of Holyrood, for ejecting +Mr. Robertson from the school; and the council proposed to grant the +post of master to the most learned man that could be found. The council +also expressed a desire to have a college built within the burgh for +regents, and suggested that the Queen might be persuaded to grant +to the town the yards and rents of the friars and the altarages of +the kirk. The master of the grammar school, however, was not to be so +easily removed as had been supposed. He was then ordered to produce +his right, and a long process of disputes between him and the council +ensued. He insisted that his fee should be paid; and in 1565, owing to +the Queen interposing in his favour, the council was obliged to pay him +for the year 1566. Though at last, Robertson was superseded by another +master, yet as late as 1580 he interfered with the grammar school of +the Canongate, and interrupted the teaching for three months.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume III., pages 131‒132, + 139, 141‒145, 149, 193, 196‒197, 215. + +The council and the deacons of the crafts united in their endeavours +to find a qualified master for their grammar school. In July, 1568, +the council ordered their treasurer to ride to St. Andrews for Thomas +Buchanan. At a meeting of the council in August, after long reasoning +with this learned man, concerning the instruction of the youth of the +town, knowing him to be an able and qualified teacher, they resolved +to appoint him on the following terms:――“For the first year, in case it +be known to them that the said Thomas, with the fifty merks they have +granted him of yearly pension, with the fees of the bairns, which is +four shillings each, be not worth three hundred merks for the first +year or thereby, they shall cause their treasurer to give him other +fifty, which shall be one hundred merks for the first year, and each +year thereafter according to their appointment.” He entered on his +duties in February, 1569, but he left the situation in July, 1570.¹ +The citizens of Edinburgh manifested a keen interest in education, and +their persistent efforts were at last rewarded. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume III., pages 157, 250, + 251‒252, 259. + +In the year 1578, the High School of Edinburgh was erected on the +ground where the monastery of the Black Friars had stood. This school +soon took a high position among the educational establishments of the +kingdom. It was fortunate in having at its head two excellent teachers +in succession, who laid the foundation of its reputation. Hercules +Rollock was appointed Master of the High School of Edinburgh in 1584, +and filled this post for eleven years, and, by his energy and example, +and the success of his teaching, he contributed much to raise the +character of the school. Alexander Hume, the next head master, was +appointed in 1596. He was a good classical scholar, and proved to be +a very acceptable teacher. He was the author of a Latin grammar, which +the Privy Council, in pursuance of an Act of Parliament, ordered to be +used in all the schools of the kingdom. This injunction, however, was +frustrated by the action of some of the bishops, and by the opposition +of Ray, who succeeded him in the High School.¹ In the year 1598, a set +of rules was framed for the High School by a committee of learned men, +and were intended to regulate the mode of teaching and the government +of the youth; but I will return to this matter when I come to describe +the method of teaching and the subjects taught. + + ¹ _Ibid._; _Crawfurd’s History of the University of Edinburgh_, + pages 19‒20, 64; _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, + Volume IV., pages 157, 374; _Register of the Privy Council_. + +After the Reformation, the Grammar School of Glasgow was taught by +Thomas Jack, who had the reputation of being well qualified for the +task. He was the author of a work entitled “Onomasticon Poeticum,” +published at Edinburgh in 1592. It contains an explanation of the +proper names which occur in the writings of the ancient poets, and +composed in Latin verse, with the view of being committed to memory by +the boys. He left the school of Glasgow in 1574, and became minister +of the parish of Eastwood. Jack was succeeded by Patrick Sharp, who +held the office of master of the Grammar School till 1582; and he was +afterwards appointed principal of the University of Glasgow. Sharp was +succeeded by John Blackwood, who held the post of master of this school +for thirty years.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Glasgow_, pages 99, 243, 246, 310, 311. + +About the beginning of the seventeenth century the Town Council of +Glasgow was much occupied with the building of a new Grammar School. +In May, 1600, they ordered the master of work to go with two craftsmen, +a mason and a wright, to inspect the school and to ascertain what +repairs it required. But at a meeting of the council in August the same +year, it was “condescended that in respect that there was nothing more +profitable, first to the glory of God, next to the well of the town, +than to have a good grammar school;” and, seeing that it was altogether +ruinous and must be entirely rebuilt, they resolved to prosecute the +undertaking till it was finished.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 208, 210, 216, 217, _et seq._ There were + schools in Glasgow for teaching English, or reading in the + Scottish dialect. + +Touching the method of teaching and the books used by the teachers, +some interesting information has been preserved. In 1575 the Lords of +the Privy Council deemed it expedient for the upbringing of the youth +of the kingdom, that there should be only one form of grammar taught +in all the schools; and that this important end might be attained by +common consent, the council ordered letters to be sent to the most +learned schoolmasters――“Mr. George Buchanan, or Peter Young, preceptors +to the King’s majesty, Mr. Thomas Buchanan, Mr. William Robertson, +Mr. Andrew Simson, Mr. James Carmichael, and Mr. Patrick Auchinlek +――schoolmasters of Stirling, Edinburgh, Dunbar, Haddington, and St. +Andrews, requesting them to appear personally before the Regent and +Council at Holyrood, on the 10th of January, to give their advice +concerning the form of Grammar that should be used in all the Schools +of the realm hereafter; thus at once to show their desire to promote so +necessary a work, and to manifest their loyalty.”¹ It does not appear +that this order directly led to the production of such a Latin grammar +as was desired; but in the latter half of the century there were at +least four different Latin grammars written by Scotsmen――Simson’s, +Duncan’s, Carmichael’s, and Hume’s; and several attempts were made by +Parliament and by the Privy Council, to cause the same grammar to be +used in all the schools of the kingdom.² + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume II., page 78. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV., pages 157, + 371; _Register of the Privy Council_. + +As before observed, the aim of these schools was to impart to the +pupils a knowledge of the Latin language, as it was then the medium +through which Greek, theology, and ancient literature was universally +taught. That this method involved an excessive degree of labour in +order to reach its end, is quite evident; nor was the result obtained +at all commensurate to the waste of energy; and that it was so long +followed, is only another illustration of the strength and power of +habit. + +In the year 1598 the Town Council of Edinburgh adopted a set of rules +framed by one of the Senators of the College of Justice, six advocates, +the Principal of the university, and three of the ministers of the city, +for regulating the mode of teaching, and the management of the scholars +in the High School. The school was divided into four classes, each to +be taught by a separate master, one of whom was the rector. The boys +passed from master to master at the end of each year; the subjects and +the books to be taught, as well as the mode of teaching, were minutely +specified. No boy was to be admitted to the school till he had learned +to read English perfectly, and all the common schools were strictly +prohibited from teaching Latin. The following is a part of the rules: +――“They think it best and expedient that there be four learned and +godly men appointed regents to teach the grammar school of Edinburgh, +in all time coming by four several classes in the following manner: +――The first class, the regent thereof shall teach the first and second +rudiments of Dunbar, with the Colloquies of Corderius; and on Sunday +the catechism platatine. The second regent shall teach the rules of +the first part of Pelisso, with Cicerois familiar epistles; and to +make some version thrice in the week; and to teach them on Sunday the +foresaid catechism lately set out in Latin, with Ovid de tristibus. +The third regent shall teach the second part of Pelisso, with the +supplement of Erasmus Sintaxis Terence, the Methamorphoris of Ovide, +with Buchanan’s psalms on Sunday. The fourth regent shall teach the +third part of Pelisso, with Buchanan’s Prosodia, Taleus figures, and +rhetoric figure, constructions, Thome Linacri, Virgelius, Salustius, +Cesaris Commentaria, and florus Ovidij epistole, and the heroic psalms +of Buchanan on Sunday. Each of the foresaid regents shall teach their +class in separate apartments, and to this effect the High School shall +be divided into four houses. + +“And that there may be the better harmony between the four regents in +their procedure and teaching, and that they may the better answer for +their duty, discharges simpliciter masters or other persons whatsoever +from teaching of any rudiments or any other book in Latin in any +of their lecture schools. So that the first regent may be the more +answerable in grounding, and instructing them in rudiments. It is +always provided in favour of lecture schools, that none shall be +received in the said first class but he who can read first perfectly +the English with some writ; and the first regent shall in no ways be +suffered to teach any one the first A. B. C. + +“The fourth regent shall be Principal of the school and of the regents, +and have the oversight of them all, namely, he shall see and animadvert +that every one of the regents keep their own hours in the manner and +form of teaching presently set down, and that each of them continually +await all the day long upon the school in teaching and examining their +bairns. That all the regents, the Principal as well as the other three +inferiors, each of them teach their own class, and that each of them +use correction upon their own disciples, except in great and notorious +faults, then all the four to be assembled in a house and have the +Principal regent to punish the same.” + +Regarding the fees――“It has been thought good to make the fees and +quarter payments of the regents in this manner――The first and second +regents shall have quarterly each thirteen shillings and fourpence, the +third fifteen shillings, and the fourth twenty shillings.” + +“Their salaries, the first and second regents each twenty pounds; the +third forty merks; and the Principal two hundred merks. The same day +the provost, bailies, and council, discharged all masters, regents, +and teachers of bairns in their grammar schools of all creaving and +receiving of any bleyis silver of their bairns and scholars; as also +of any bent silver, except fourpence at a time only.”¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh._ For comparison it may be + noticed that the Town Council of Aberdeen, in 1579, resolved + to give the master of the grammar school a yearly pension + of fifty merks――“for bringing up, teaching, and instructing, + the bairns and scholars thereof, in virtue, learning, + letters and good manners.” _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, + Volume II., page 24. + +Passing to the universities, the next and the highest educational +institutions of the kingdom, we naturally begin with the earliest. +Additions were made to the University of St. Andrews early in the +century. Near the church of St. Leonards, within the precincts of the +Abbey, there was an hospital for the reception of pious strangers, who +came on pilgrimage to visit the relics of St. Andrews; and the patrons +resolved to convert it into a college, “for training up poor scholars +in learning and the arts, to the glory of God and the edification +of the people.” The foundation charter of St. Leonard’s college was +executed in 1512, by John Hepburn, prior of the abbey, and confirmed +by the Archbishop, and his father James IV. The prior and conventual +chapter were the patrons of this college, and retained the power of +visiting and correcting it; and the teachers were always taken from +the monastery. The college was intended for the support and education +of twenty poor scholars. The Principal was appointed to lecture twice +in the week on Scripture or theology to the priests, the regents, and +others who chose to attend.¹ + + ¹ Dr. M‘Crie’s _Life of Melville_, Volume I., pages 219‒222. + +The college of St. Mary was begun under the direction of Archbishop +Beaton, who obtained a papal bull in 1537 authorising him to erect the +buildings. The branches authorised to be taught in it were grammar, +logic, theology, medicine, canon and civil law; and within the +establishment divine offices were to be performed, and a common table +provided for the members from the rents and benefices annexed to the +institution. The building was begun by Archbishop Beaton, and carried +on by his successor the Cardinal; but the college was not completed +till 1554, when Archbishop Hamilton obtained a papal bull empowering +him to alter the arrangements made by his predecessors. According +to Hamilton’s foundation of the new college, there were to be four +principal teachers, called respectively, the provost, the licentiate, +the bachelor, and the canonist; eight students of theology, three +teachers of philosophy, and two of rhetoric and grammar. A pretty +full course of studies was prescribed; and there was to be lectures +on the Bible, the canon law, logic, ethics, physics, and mathematics; +and minute rules were laid down for the order and regulation of the +institution. The teachers, regents, and students, had to wear caps +after the Parisian fashion; and all the students, the nobles, as well +as the bursars, had to wear gowns bound round them with a girdle, but +the bursars were to add to this a black hood. There were then three +colleges at St. Andrews.¹ + + ¹ _Records of St. Andrew’s University._ + +The defence of the Roman Catholic faith was a special end of the +erection of all the colleges in the kingdom; but how far they +contributed to this, it is not difficult to discover. There can be no +doubt that the Scottish Universities aided the revolutionary movement; +as the carefully calculated system of instruction yielded results +little suspected by those who originated it. During the heat of the +Reformation struggle, the number of students at the universities +diminished; but many of the masters and regents of the colleges +embraced the reformed opinions. + +Everything relating to the Roman Catholic faith and worship, in any way +connected with the laws and practice of the universities, was removed +as soon as possible, after the establishment of the Reformation. Yet +the modes of teaching philosophy and the arts were little changed; and +even in the theological faculty some of the old forms of teaching were +retained. + +At St. Andrews the regular length of the course was four years, though +it was usually finished in three and a half. The session began on the +1st of October, and continued throughout the year, except the months of +August and September. All the scholars who entered for the first time +were placed under the tuition of a regent, who carried them through +the whole curriculum. He assembled his class three hours every day, and +read and explained the books of Aristotle; beginning with dialectics, +then ethics and physics, concluding the course with arithmetic and +mathematics, and the highest branch of philosophy, to wit, metaphysics. +In the progress of the course, the students were often engaged in +disputations and declamations, both before their class, and publicly +before the university. The Principal occasionally read public lectures +on what was deemed the higher branches of philosophy, which were +attended by the advanced students.¹ + + ¹ _Records of the University of St. Andrews_; Melville’s + _Diary_, pages 24‒28. + +About the middle of the third year of the course, the students that +had obtained an attestation of regular attendance and good behaviour +from the regent and the Principal of the college, were then admitted +to enter on trials for the degree of bachelor. Every year the faculty +elected three of the regents as examiners; and in their presence the +candidates determined a question in logic or morals in a connected +discourse, and answered the questions proposed on any of the branches, +which they had studied under their regents. The examiners reported to +the faculty, and those who passed were confirmed by the dean, and the +rest sent to a lower class. At the end of the course they were examined +in all the subjects taught, and candidates for graduation had to defend +a thesis, which had before been affixed to the gates of the different +colleges. They were divided into circles, and their names arranged in +the order of merit, but with a ♦preference to persons of rank; then the +degree of Master of Arts was solemnly conferred by the Chancellor of +the university, in the name of the Trinity.¹ + + ♦ “perference” replaced with “preference” + + ¹ _Statutes of St. Andrews University_, 1570, and previous + regulations. When receiving the degrees of bachelor and + master of arts, the graduates paid certain sums of money + to the purse of the university, to the dean, and to other + officials; those that were too poor, undertook to give what + was due to the public fund as soon as they were able. An old + law enacted that each student, including the bursars, was + bound to give his regent annually, for three years, a Scots + noble, which in later times was made to answer to a pound + Scots.――_Ibid._, 1561, 1579, 1583. + +The _First Book of Discipline_ sketched a scheme for remodelling the +three universities, but it was not adopted. In vain the Reformers +recommended it to the aristocracy, and argued for its acceptance with +all their powers of persuasion; in vain they urged, “if God shall give +your wisdoms grace to set forward letters in the way prescribed, ye +shall leave wisdom and learning to your posterity――a treasure more to +be esteemed than any earthly treasure ye are able to amass for them, +which, without wisdom, are more likely to be their ruin and confusion +than help and comfort.”¹ + + ¹ Knox’s _Works_, Volume II., pages 213‒221. + +Naturally the Reformation had more or less affected the teaching +staff of all the universities, and to a much greater extent the funds +on which they were supported. The University of Glasgow was nearly +ruined by the change of religion. As several of its professors were +maintained by their livings in the Church, and, as they adhered to the +old religion, there were no salaries for the Protestant professors, its +small revenue was also partly alienated, and unjustly seized. If the +Principal of the college, John Davidson, had not embraced the reformed +opinions, and continued his academical labour, indeed the institution +might have been utterly extinguished. As it was, Queen Mary in 1563, +granted to the College of Glasgow some houses, lands, and annual rents, +which had formerly been held by the friars, to found bursaries for five +poor scholars. The same year a petition was presented to the Queen and +the Lords of the Articles, “in the name of all that within this realm +are desirous that learning and letters may flourish.” This petition +stated that the patrimony of some of the foundations in the colleges, +especially those of St. Andrews, were wasted; and the sciences that +were most necessary, the tongues and humanity, were very imperfectly +taught in them, which was equally injurious to the people, to their +children, and to posterity. The petitioners therefore earnestly +requested that measures should be taken to remedy these matters. +Parliament appointed a committee to visit the universities, and to +report their opinions, as to the best mode of improving the state of +education. No report from the committee is preserved. But there is a +scheme for the University of St. Andrews, which was drawn by Buchanan, +who was one of the Commissioners.¹ Buchanan took a very keen interest +in all matters connected with education; and he had a leading hand +in the many schemes proposed after the Reformation. But the unsettled +state of public affairs, divided aims, and especially the lack of +funds, made it impossible to carry into effect the national system +of education proposed in the Book of Discipline. Along with the other +Reformers and friends of education, Buchanan did all that he could in +the circumstances; and the very inspiration of his name as a scholar, +and his life-long devotion to learning, was itself a powerful influence +on education in Scotland. Although it does not appear, that he had high +administrative abilities, still his example was great, and produced a +marked effect. The civil war, however, put a stop for a time to these +educational reforms. + + ¹ _Records of the University of Glasgow_; _Report of the + University Commissioners, 1826‒27 and 1836‒7_, Volume II., + pages 236, 237; _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, + Volume II., page 544. The plan of education proposed for + the University of St. Andrews was printed in Dr. Irving’s + _Memoirs of Buchanan_, appendix iii. It gave too exclusive + attention to the learned languages, though in some respects + it was a marked improvement on the existing mode of teaching. + +But in 1572 the town council of Glasgow granted lands, houses, and +rents to their college, which was called a new foundation. It was, +however, only sufficient to support fifteen persons. Andrew Melville +was appointed Principal of the University of Glasgow in 1574, and by +his energy and talents contributed much to raise the institution. +He proceeded to work with great earnestness, and resolved to conduct +a class himself through what he deemed a complete course of study.¹ +His method, and the subjects which he led the class through have been +minutely detailed by his nephew, James Melville. He began by teaching +his class the principles of Greek grammar, rhetoric, and logic, +using the dialects of Ramus. Once the students were engaged in these +fascinating subjects, he read with them the best classical authors, +pointing out their beauties, and thus illustrated the principles of +logic and rhetoric. He next treated geography and mathematics, using +the arithmetic and geometry of Ramus, the tables of Hunter, and the +astrology of Aratus. Moral philosophy followed; and he read the ethics +and politics of Aristotle; Cicero’s offices, paradoxes, and Tusculan +questions, and some of Plato’s dialogues: in physics, he commented +on some parts of the works of Aristotle and Plato. At last, entering +upon the subjects of his own special department, he taught the Hebrew +grammar; first cursorily, and then by a more searching examination +of its principles, accompanied with a praxis upon the Psalter and the +books of Solomon. Proceeding to the Chaldee and Syriac, he read the +parts of the Books of Ezra and Daniel which are written in Chaldee, +and the Epistle of the Galatians in the Syriac version. He also went +through the common heads of divinity, following the order of Calvin’s +Institutes; and gave lectures on the different books of the Bible. This +course was completed in six years. During all this time, Melville met +his class twice every day, including Sunday, besides holding occasional +discussions after dinner and supper with such as were present.² + + ¹ _Report of the University Commissioners_, Volume II., pages + 237‒239; Melville’s _Diary_, pages 48, 49. + + ² Melville’s _Diary_, pages 48‒50. + +Andrew Melville was a man of great energy and ability, and +enthusiastically attached to his profession. In 1575 his nephew, James +Melville, began a class in the College of Glasgow: and he states that +he was the first regent in Scotland, who read the Greek authors to his +class in the original. In 1577, Andrew Melville attempted to appoint +permanent teachers to the different departments of study; while the +revenue of the university was augmented, and its privileges anew +confirmed by a royal charter, called a new erection.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 53, 54; _Records of the University of Glasgow_. + +The leaders of the Reformed Church were fully aware that the +universities greatly needed more reform. The General Assembly in +1576 appointed Commissioners to visit and examine the state of the +University of St. Andrews; and the following year parliament appointed +a committee to visit all the universities of the kingdom, but it +seems to have done nothing; and the General Assembly which met in +1579 presented a petition to the Government, urging the necessity of +reforming the University of St. Andrews, and nominated Commissioners +to act along with those whom the Council might appoint. The Council +at last named Commissioners, and gave them ample powers; they were +authorised to remove superstition, disqualified persons, and, if +necessary, to change the form of study, and the number of professors +and regents, to join or divide the faculties, and generally to make +such arrangements in the universities as should “tend to the glory of +God, the profit of the nation, and the upbringing of the youth in the +sciences which are needful for the continuance of religion.” They found +that all the colleges had departed from their original foundations, and +that the foundations themselves disagreed in many ways with the true +religion, and were not nearly up to “that perfection of teaching which +this learned age craves.”¹ + + ¹ _Book of the Universal Kirk_; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume III., page 98. + +The Commissioners introduced the following in St. Salvator’s College: +a Principal, and four ordinary regents of humanity and philosophy +were instituted. The first regent was to teach the Greek grammar; to +exercise the students in Latin composition during the first half year +of the course, and in Greek the second half. The second regent was to +teach rhetoric and elocution, illustrating them by examples from the +best Greek and Roman authors; this class had also an hour every day for +Latin composition, and during the last half of the session they had to +declaim an oration once every month in Latin and Greek alternately. The +third regent was to teach the most useful parts of Aristotle’s logic, +ethics, and politics, all in Greek, and the offices of Cicero in Latin. +The fourth regent was to teach as much of the physics as was necessary, +and the motions of the sphere. On Sunday a lesson on the Greek New +Testament had to be read in all the four classes. There were also to +be regents in mathematics, and law, who were to lecture on four days of +the week. The Principal of the college himself was to act as professor +of medicine. Similar arrangements were adopted in St. Leonards, except +that in it there was no classes for mathematics and law; and the +Principal, instead of teaching medicine, was to expound the philosophy +of Plato. + +St. Mary’s, or the New College, was limited to the study of theology, +and the languages connected with it. It was to have five instructors, +and a course of study extending to four years. The chief subjects +embraced in the course were the Hebrew, the Chaldee, and the Syriac +languages, in connection with the books of the Old Testament. One +regent was to explicate the New Testament during the whole course. The +Principal himself, the fifth instructor, was to lecture on the system +of divinity during all the time of the course. Public disputations +were to be held every week, declamations once a month; and, at three +different times during the course, a solemn examination was to be held, +at which “every learned man should be free to dispute.” The regents +and masters then in office were ordered to remove without delay; +the Commissioners elected those whom they thought best qualified for +teaching. They enacted that when a vacancy occurred in the future, it +should be filled by an open competitive trial; and vacancies in the +other two colleges were to be filled up in the same way. Regulations +were made to prevent the revenue of the university from being diverted +to improper purposes. At the end of every four years, there was to be a +royal visitation of the university to inquire into the effects of this +reformation, and to see that the regulations were observed.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, VIII., pages 178‒182; + Dr. M‘Crie’s _Life of Melville_, Volume I., pages 241‒244. + +This scheme of educational reform indicated, that its authors were +anxious to promote the study of the higher literature, and the various +branches of learning inseparably associated with Christian theology +and religion. The new plan, however, was not fully carried into effect. +In the College of St. Salvador and St. Leonards, the act of parliament +touching the number of regents was not carried out. + +Andrew Melville was translated from Glasgow to St. Andrews, and +appointed Principal of St. Mary’s College in 1580. After being +installed, he delivered his inaugural oration, and began to lecture +on theology. He went through the course of lectures and teaching with +much energy and ability. His lectures excited unusual interest in +the university, and were attended by some of the regents of the other +colleges, as well as by the class of theological students. Yet Melville +met with many difficulties in carrying out the new regulations, and +his own ideas of educational reform.¹ It has always been proverbially +difficult to reform old corporations; owing to various well known +influences, and the wisest reforms are often rendered almost nugatory. +An outside and powerful agent often sought to control the teaching in +the universities; as so many political crisis occurred, each dominant +party at the head of the Government deemed it necessary to apply their +tests, and to purge the educational institutions, and thus the field +of culture and the forms of religious thought were narrowed within the +walls of the universities. + + ¹ Melville’s _Diary_, pages 83‒86, 122‒128; _Life of Archbishop + Adamson_. + +The first attempt to purge the University of Aberdeen was made by the +General Assembly in January, 1561, when Knox and the leading Reformers +held a conference with Alexander Anderson, the Principal, John ♦Lesly, +the canonist, and others. This meeting produced no definite result, +and it seems that King’s College remained unreformed till 1569. In that +year the Commission of the General Assembly, led by Sir John Erskine +of Dun, Superintendent of Angus, and the Regent, accompanied by some +of the members of the Privy Council, proceeded to Aberdeen, and, having +called before them Mr. Alexander Anderson, Principal, Mr. Alexander +Galloway, sub-principal, and the three regents of the College, they +were then asked to subscribe this declaration:――“We whose names +are underwritten, do ratify and approve, from our very hearts, the +Confession of Faith, together with all other Acts concerning our +religion, given forth in the Parliaments held at Edinburgh, the 24th +day of August, 1560, and the 15th day of December, 1567, and join +ourselves as members of the true Kirk of Christ, whose visible face is +described in the said Acts; and shall, in time coming, be participant +of the sacraments, now most faithfully and publicly ministered in the +said Kirk, and submit us to the jurisdiction and discipline thereof.” +As they showed no signs of compliance with the requisition of the +Commission, they were then called before the Regent and Lords of +Council; but “they contemned his Grace’s admonitions, and declined to +subscribe the said articles.” Consequently the Principal, sub-principal, +and the three regents, were deprived of their offices, ordered to +remove from the College, and prohibited from teaching publicly or +privately in any quarter of Scotland. + + ♦ “Leslie” replaced with “Lesly” for consistency + +Alexander Arbuthnot was immediately appointed Principal of the reformed +University, and James Lawson, sub-principal, and new regents were +introduced. The office of canonist was abolished. Arbuthnot introduced +the study of Greek into the College, and, following the views of his +associate, Andrew Melville, he made an effort to limit each regent or +professor to one department of study, instead as had been the practice +formerly for each regent to take his class through all the branches +taught during the four years of the curriculum. Unfortunately the +records of the University under Arbuthnot’s presidency have been lost, +and no lists of the number of students or graduates now exist for this +period. It appears, however, that the new system had either not been +completely established, or it had fallen into disuse, shortly after +Arbuthnot’s death, as the lists of intrants from 1601 onwards show that +a regent taught the same students from the first to the fourth year.¹ + + ¹ _Fasti Aberdonenses_, page 27, _et seq._; _Book of the Kirk_, + page 142. + +We have seen that the citizens of Edinburgh took a warm interest in +education, and they were exceedingly anxious to have a college in the +capital. In 1579, the Town Council resolved to commence the building on +the piece of ground where Darnley met his fate. Owing, however, to the +opposition of some parties, the undertaking was for a time suspended; +but in 1581 the work was pushed forward with energy. It was not a +new and regularly designed structure, as it was patched up partly by +repairing the old houses upon the spot, and partly by the erection of +others upon the most economical plan. A royal charter was granted in +1582, authorising the foundation of the college, and confirming the +rights of the Town Council, with the advice of the ministers of the +city, as the patrons of the institution, conferring on them “full +freedom to elect the best qualified persons that could be found for the +discharge of the duties of the institution, with power to instal and +remove them as should be deemed expedient; and prohibiting all other +persons from teaching these sciences within the burgh, unless with the +permission of the magistrates and council.”¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume II., pages 528‒529; + _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume III., pages 105‒106, + 132, 163; Crawfurd’s _History of the University of + Edinburgh_, page 1‒16. + +The patrons intended the students to lodge within the college and to +reside there during the course of their study. This was the custom in +the other Scottish universities, and was continued till a much later +period. In King’s College at Aberdeen, by a regulation of the Senatus +in 1753, all the students had to live within the college gates. The +second section of the statutes enacted by the Senatus of King’s College, +touching the lodging of the students, after stating that the practice +of the students living and eating in private houses had been attended +with bad results, proceeded thus:――“Therefore, the masters have decreed +that for the future all the students shall lodge in rooms within the +college, and eat at the college table during the whole session, and +that no student whatsoever shall be exempted from obedience to this +statute without a dispensation from the Principal or sub-principal, who +are empowered to grant such dispensations, for weighty reasons to be +therein expressed.” At the same time we find the following interesting +statute:――“That students may have the benefit of those parts of +education which are not reckoned academical, such as dancing, writing, +book-keeping, French, etc., without losing time in attending Masters +at a distance from the college, the sub-principal and regents shall +appoint proper rooms in the college, and proper hours, when these +things may be taught, and shall bespeak masters of the best characters +and qualifications for instructing those who chose to attend them.” As +directly applicable to the later part of the sixteenth century, I may +transcribe what James Melville said about similar matters in connection +with his own education at St. Andrews, between 1569 and 1573. “Moreover, +in these years I learned my music, in which I took great delight, of +one Alexander Smith, a servant to the Principal of our college, who +had been trained up among the monks in the abbey. I learned of him the +gamut and plain song, and many of the trebles of the psalms.... I loved +singing and playing on instruments passing well, and would have gladly +spent time when the exercise thereof was within the college; for two or +three of our condisciples played tolerably well on the virginals, and +other instruments. Our regent also had the spinet in his chamber, and +learned something, and I after him.”¹ + + ¹ _Diary_, page 29. + +The Town Council of Edinburgh in 1583 appointed Robert Rollock to take +charge of the youth in the new institution, who had been acting as a +regent of philosophy in the University of St. Andrews. In October the +magistrates issued a proclamation requesting those that desired to be +taught in the college to present themselves before one of the bailies, +and enrol their names. A considerable number appeared, and with them +Rollock began the first year of the course. Many of them, however, +were too deficient in the Latin language for entering on the subjects +contemplated in the college. He recommended Duncan Narne as one of +the regents of philosophy, and proposed that Narne should take those +that were deficient in Latin, and prepare them for a new Bajan class +the next session, when those under his own charge would be in the +second year of their course. This plan was followed, so during the +first session of the college, which lasted from October, 1853, till the +end of August, 1584, there were only two classes and two instructors. +During the second session there was no more, but the two regents +proceeded with their classes. + +In the winter of 1586 Rollock was appointed Principal of the college; +he continued, however, to teach his class to the end of the course. +When the fourth session was opened, the teaching staff consisted of +the Principal and two regents, each having one class. In August 1587, +the first graduation took place, Principal Rollock conferred the degree +of Master of Arts on the students of the fourth year, educated by +himself――the number who graduated was forty-seven. After this Rollock +resigned the post of regent, and was appointed teacher or professor of +divinity, an office which continued to be attached to the Principalship +of the college till 1620. In 1589 a fourth regent of philosophy was +appointed, and in 1597 Mr. John Ray was elected regent of humanity. The +college now had six instructors――a professor of divinity, four regents +of philosophy, and a regent of humanity. At this strength the teaching +staff of the institution remained for many years.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_; Crawfurd’s _History of the + University of Edinburgh_, pages 30‒31; Dalziel’s _History + of the University of Edinburgh_, chapter 1. + +Rollock in his method of exposition followed Ramus, and no man knew +how to make a better use of this famous philosopher’s dialectics +than the first professor of the college of Edinburgh. The writings +of Ramus, however, though adopted by Andrew Melville and some of the +other regents in the Universities, did not supersede the authority of +Aristotle, whose writings were for long the texts of the philosophical +teaching imparted by the regents in Scotland. Rollock, according to +all accounts, was a very successful teacher, an exceedingly industrious +man, and did much to ensure the success, and to raise the character of +the new institution. He was cut off in the midst of his arduous work in +the forty-third year of his age, in 1598. After his death, the greatest +respect was shown to his memory, his body was followed to the grave +by a vast concourse of the people, lamenting him with the deepest +manifestations of grief. His old pupils and literary friends composed +upwards of forty Latin elegies in his praise; and the magistrates of +Edinburgh did not forget to provide for his widow and daughter.¹ + + ¹ Charteris’s _Narrative of the life and death of Rollock_; + _Select Works of Rollock_, Volume I., pages 65‒72, 86‒87; + Crawfurd’s _History of the University of Edinburgh_, pages + 44‒45. + +The salaries of the Principal and the regents of the college of +Edinburgh were comparatively small, and not at all calculated to +attract a man of great talents and ambition. In 1594 the four regents +of philosophy had each one hundred pounds Scots, that is £8 6 shillings +8 pence sterling per annum; even in 1620 the Principal had only +five hundred pounds yearly, or £41 14 shillings 4 pence sterling; +in consequence of the smallness of their salaries the regents seldom +remained long, and vacancies were always occurring.¹ + + ¹ Dalziel’s _History of the University of Edinburgh_. + +From the opening of the college of Edinburgh to the end of the +sixteenth century, the number of students who graduated in the faculty +of arts was about three hundred and twenty-two; the average attendance +including the four classes, probably did not exceed one hundred and +fifty. The number of students attending St. Andrews in the latter half +of the century was about two hundred;¹ and the number of students at +the other two Universities was at least, somewhat less than the average +at St. Andrews. + + ¹ Crawfurd’s _History of the University of Edinburgh_; + _Catalogue of the Graduates of the University of Edinburgh_, + 1858. + +Before leaving this subject, it seems desirable to give some account of +the kind of literature and science which was taught in the college of +Edinburgh. As it was founded after the Reformation, it may be assumed +so far to represent the views of the Protestants, touching learning, +literature, and science; this may also enable us to understand the cast +of the national mind, when we obtain a glimpse of one of the moulds +which so long contributed to form it. As then conceived, the main aim +of a liberal education was to acquire a knowledge of the Latin language, +as without this it was impossible to read the works of Roman authors, +which with the writings of the ancient Greeks, were deemed the only +genuine standards of fine composition. Much of the students’ time was +occupied in hearing the regents read and explain Latin authors, in +translating Latin exercises themselves, and in translating Greek into +Latin, and Latin into Greek. When they became adepts at this kind of +work, and had learned the rules of formal logic, with the ethics of +Aristotle, they were supposed to have received a liberal education. + +When the students returned to their work in the month of October, they +were employed in reading Latin and Greek, preparing for the ensuing +session: and about the first of November, when the classes were fully +assembled, the Principal in a meeting in the public hall, at nine in +the morning, prescribed to the Bajan class a piece of Scotch, which +being copied and read aloud, the students were separated, and under the +observation of the regents who attended by turns, they translated it +into Latin, then having copied their versions, and each subscribed his +own one with his name, and the name of the master, who had instructed +him in Latin, they delivered the versions to the attending regent +before twelve o’clock. At four in the afternoon they re-assembled in +the presence of the Principal and regents, and each being called by +name, read his Latin version aloud under the inspection of one of the +regents, and then returned the paper to be perused by the Principal +and the regents; if any one of them was so deficient in Latin as to be +unable to follow the instruction given in the class, they were advised +to return to the study of that language. The next day, a Latin theme +was prescribed to the Semi class, to be translated into Greek, and +afterwards read and examined in the form above stated. A passage of +some Latin and Greek author was set to the third class to be analysed, +and this was disposed of in the same manner. At the opening of the +session, the Semi class was engaged for several days in repeating what +they had learned before; after this they were publicly examined by the +regents and the professor of humanity; they were examined on Ramus’ +Dialectics and the compend of Ars Syllogistica, the Greek poets +and prose authors; and an account was taken of what had been taught +publicly, and also of what each student had acquired by his own energy +and industry. The third class was examined on philosophy and the +categories, some other parts of Aristotle’s logic, and on Ramus. +The Magistrand, or fourth year’s students, were examined on logic, +demonstration, on a few acromatical books, and on Aristotle’s ethics. + +In the month of July, near the close of the session, the fourth class +gave up their names for trial in the public hall, preparatory to +receiving the degree of Master of Arts. This examination was nearly +similar to the preceding. The evening before the public disputation on +the thesis, they met in the presence of the Principal and the regents, +and subscribed the Confession of Faith. When the Principal found +that they had all received certificates, and that they had performed +the necessary exercises, he then took the report of the five regents +touching the behaviour and ability of every one, and according to +their merit enrolled their names, distinguishing them into ranks. The +disputation upon the thesis commenced in the morning, and concluded +in the evening about six o’clock, when the candidates were called in +by name according to their ranks, and the Principal briefly exhorted +them to follow a virtuous life, and then performed the ceremony of +graduation in the form still practised on such occasions.¹ + + ¹ Crawfurd’s _History of the University of Edinburgh_; + Dalziel’s _History of the University of Edinburgh_, Volume + II., pages 46‒50. 1862. There is no complete list of the + philosophical theses which were printed before the day + fixed for the graduation of Master of Arts; the earliest + one that has been found is that for the year 1596. In + 1599 and subsequent years the names of the candidates + and the presiding regent are affixed, with a dedication + to the provost and magistrates of Edinburgh, or to some + distinguished personage. + +There was a steadily growing interest in national education, and the +educational institutions were increasing. In the year 1592 a college +was founded at Fraserburgh by Sir Alexander Fraser, of Philorth, the +lineal ancestor of Lord Saltoun. It did not succeed, however, although +its foundation was ratified by parliament, and sanctioned by the +General Assembly. The change of Church government, and the disturbing +influences thence arising, were against it; while the establishing +of Marischal College in the new town of Aberdeen in 1693, probably +interfered with the chance of success of the College of Fraserburgh. +As originally endowed, Marischal College had only a rector, a dean of +faculty, a Principal, three regents, and six bursars; but the number +of its professors and bursars gradually increased, and it became a very +useful educational institution.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV., pages + 35, 147, 148; _Book of the Universal Kirk_; _Records of + Marischal College_. These records have now been carefully + and ably edited by Mr. P. J. Anderson, M.A., LL.B., for + the New Spalding Club, Volume I., under the title of “Fasti + Academiæ Mariscallanæ Aberdonensis,” was issued in 1889, + and contains the original foundations of the Marischal + College and University, and notices of its later endowments; + while the second volume will give an account of the system + of education, including the names of teachers and of + students. + +In forming an opinion on the educational system as it existed in the +latter part of the sixteenth century, it is necessary to remember the +limited range of the scientific knowledge of the period. As yet the +majority of learned teachers had no idea of the modern system of the +universe; they knew that the earth is a globe, but they thought it was +in the centre of the universe, and that all the heavenly bodies moved +round it every twenty-four hours. The idea that it was the earth that +moved they thought to be absurd; the earth stood still, they maintained, +like the everlasting hills. From this limited view of the universe, +there has sprung up a vast accumulation of childish and absurd notions: +the most learned men of the age thought that the planets were moved +by angels, and that the stars had a magic influence upon the affairs +of men. Thus they were ready to believe in visions, in prodigies, in +witchcraft, and in the power of the devil to fight pretty successfully +against God and mankind. Although a more correct conception and a wider +view of the universe had been expounded long before the end of the +sixteenth century, yet the mind of Europe had been so long held in +leading-strings that centuries were required for its emancipation. + +An educational system which assumed that the ancients knew everything, +could not have been expected to show much favour to any new discoveries +in physical science. Hence the comparatively narrow course of education +which so long prevailed in the Scottish universities. This education, +however, produced logical habits of thought, which, associated +with many other influences, contributed to form a strongly marked +national character. The encouragement given to dogmatic instruction +in religion, from the humblest of the parish schools to the divinity +halls, powerfully conduced to mould that argumentative cast of mind, so +characteristic of the Scottish people. This dogmatic and logical system +of theology ran very much in one channel for two centuries after the +Reformation, before it was at all seriously challenged among the Scots: +as they were well contented with their Church and her doctrine, which +maintained its ground with wonderful completeness. + +The deficiencies of the system in its early stages are seen in the +fact, that it was long after the Reformation ere either law or medicine, +reached the maturity of a faculty in any of the Scottish universities. +The languages and the literature of the Island itself were not deemed +worth the attention of the higher schools, till the present century.¹ +There were no chairs for history before the eighteenth century; and +many other requisites, such as large libraries, were almost entirely +wanting in the Scottish universities at the end of the sixteenth +century. It is known that there was a collection of books in King’s +College at Aberdeen in the sixteenth century, but there is no +record touching the library or its management prior to 1634. There +were collections of books in the University of Glasgow before the +Reformation, but that event in a great measure dispersed them; yet +there was a small library in the college in 1578. From that date it has +gradually increased, and in the first quarter of the present century it +contained upwards of 30,000 volumes. The library of the University of +St. Andrews was never large. In the year 1580, Mr. Clement Little, one +of the Commissaries of Edinburgh, bequeathed his library for the use of +the citizens of the capital. It consisted of 268 volumes, which at that +time was considered a valuable collection. They were at first placed in +the lodgings of Mr. Lawson, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, who was +a warm promoter of the scheme for erecting a college in the city. And +in 1584 the Town Council ordered Mr. Little’s donation of books to be +removed to the college, and delivered to the care of Principal Rollock. +This was the foundation of the library of the University of Edinburgh, +which now contains over 158,000 volumes, and 700 manuscripts. + + ¹ Dr. Bain, in his work entitled _Education as a Science_, + devotes a long chapter to the discussion of teaching the + “mother tongue,” and handles the subject in an exhaustive + and interesting style. Chapter 9, pages 312‒358; 1879. + +We have seen that music was cultivated and taught in the schools from +a very early period,¹ and there is evidence that singing was regularly +taught throughout the kingdom before the Reformation. In January, 1553, +the Town Council of Edinburgh resolved to grant a license to James +Lauder, the prebendary of their choir, to go to England and France, +and remain for a year, and learn better music, and more aptitude for +performing on musical instruments. In 1554 the Council ordered the +Dean of Guild to repair the song school in the churchyard, so that the +bairns may enter and attend it. The same year the magistrates engaged +Alexander Stevinson to sing in the choir every festival day, at the +masses of Our Lady and the Holy Blood, and ordered their treasurer to +pay him twenty merks for the year. To cheer the hearts of the national +legislators, four musicians were paid for playing during the sitting of +Parliament in 1555; while that year the musicians who played before the +image of St. Giles on his day, received forty shillings. In the year +1556, Jacques and his sons were paid for playing on All-hallow-een, and +all the time of the fair twice in the day through the town.² + + ¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume + I., pages 131, 245, 417, 468, _et seq._ + + ² _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., pages 176, 192, + 197, 219, 220, 336, 360. + +The Reformation, however, was not favourable to the musical art. An Act +of Parliament was passed in 1579 stating that the teaching of the youth +in the art of music and singing had begun to be neglected. It affirmed +that the instruction of the children in music and singing had almost +decayed, and must decay altogether, if a timely remedy was not provided. +The provosts and councils of the burghs throughout the kingdom, and +the patrons and provosts of colleges, were enjoined to repair and “to +set-a-going the sang-schools,” and to appoint qualified masters to +instruct the young in the science of music.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III. + +Although psalms were always sung, and sometimes hymns, in the Reformed +Church, the organs and all instrumental music were entirely discarded +from the public worship. From this and other influences the musical +faculty of the people was not so much encouraged and cultivated as +it might have been: in fact, in some of its forms music was directly +discouraged, while dancing was frowned upon, and sometimes denounced +as a sin.¹ + + ¹ _Second Book of Discipline_, chapter 7; Melville’s _Diary_, + page 350. + +There are numerous early editions of the metrical Psalms which were +adopted by the Reformed Church of Scotland. Touching the singing of the +Psalms in the sixteenth century, only the Church part, or the melody +of the tune, was given on the tenor cleff C, and not, as now, on the +treble cleff G, thus leaving the harmony to be supplied at discretion, +according to the skill of the different congregations. The music of +the Reformed Church at that time was what is called “plain song.”¹ The +importance justly ascribed to singing in public worship, seems to have +suggested this simple mode. + + ¹ “_The Scottish Metrical Psaltery_ of A.D. 1635, reprinted + from the original work; the additional matter and various + readings found in the editions of 1565, etc., being appended; + edited by the Rev. Neil Livingston,” 1864. “There is a + peculiarity in the mode of harmonising the Church tunes + in the sixteenth and early part of the following century + which require notice. The melody, or plain song, as it is + sometimes called, is given to the tenor voice, and not, as + in the generality of modern music, to the treble. This mode + of arrangement was derived from the Roman Church, where the + canto fermo, or plain song, is to this day sung by men’s + voices. It was, no doubt, intended that the congregation + should sing the tune (which from its pitch and compass would + suit any kind of voice), and that the accompanying parts + should be sung by a choir of voices.”――_Proceedings of the + Society of Antiquaries of Scotland_, Volume VII., page 446. + +During the sixteenth century architecture made no remarkable progress +in Scotland. The most notable peculiarity of the buildings of this +period was the adoption of several features of the French flamboyant +style, which had become mixed with other characteristics of native +origin. This peculiarity was frequently exhibited in the castellated +architecture of the period. The flowing tracery was retained till the +Reformation, but from that date church architecture has declined. A +pretty full account of the baronial and ecclesiastical architecture is +presented in Billing’s work, in four volumes, published in 1845‒52; and +in other works devoted to the subject. + +The Regent Morton greatly embellished his palace of Dalkeith with +tapestry and very fine pieces of art. Later in the century, Duncan +Campbell of ♦Glenorchy employed artists to decorate his mansion at +Taymouth, and others of the nobles then began to show a somewhat better +taste in connection with the style, the interior decoration, and the +convenient arrangement of their castles and houses; and in some castles +the ceilings and roofs were ornamented with a variety of paintings, in +small divisions, containing emblematic figures. About the beginning of +the seventeenth century, the first Marquis of Huntly rebuilt portions, +and repaired the whole of the Castle of Strathbogie; the later portions +of the castle were elaborately and finely ornamented, both externally +and internally, and some of the chimney-pieces were highly ornamented, +one of which is preserved――a beautiful piece of sculpture in freestone. + + ♦ “Glenurchy” replaced with “Glenorchy” + +Wood work, especially carving in oak, had attained a high degree of +perfection; but foreign artists have usually received the credit of +executing the best specimens of this description of work. A very fine +specimen of wood carving in oak is preserved in the chapel of King’s +College, Aberdeen, which presents a grand double row of oak canopied +stalls, with miserere seats and high open screen. The workmanship +is clean and delicate, and the traceried panels are beautifully +diversified and relieved by bold and elaborate treatment. The wood +carving of the stalls in the Cathedral of Dunblane is also fine, and +a few other specimens which have been preserved. The ceiling of the +audience-chamber of Queen Mary in the palace of Holyrood was executed +about 1558, and it is a good example of oak carving. Many admirable +specimens of the wood-workers’ art, such as cabinets, chests, and other +articles of household furniture, are preserved in public and in private +collections. + +Touching the higher forms of art, painting and sculpture were as yet, +almost a blank in Scotland. The remarkable revival of art in Italy +in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries had little effect in this +northern corner of Europe. Indeed, painting may be said to be an +importation among us; for, with a few exceptions, Scotland had no +painters till a recent period. It is not, however, to be supposed that +the Scots made no attempts at the figurative arts; only their efforts +in this department were so crude, comparatively, as to place them +nearly beyond criticism. No doubt a large quantity of decorations, +and frescoes, associated with the churches in Roman Catholic times, +disappeared at the Reformation. In the sixteenth century painters were +mentioned both before and after the Reformation, but probably few of +them were artists. A considerable number of portraits were painted in +Scotland in the sixteenth century. A few seem to have been painted in +the reign of James V., and a greater number in the latter part of the +century: and amongst those of the later time, were portraits of Esme +Stewart, Duke of Lennox; the Earl of Mar, Regent of Scotland; and his +brother, Sir Alexander Erskine of Gogar, by unknown artists. Arnold +Bronkhorst, a Fleming, appears to have attended the court of James +VI., and was employed as a painter. He received sixty-four pounds +for painting three portraits, viz., “a portrait of His Majesty from +the belt upward, a portrait of His Majesty full length; and another +portrait of Master George Buchanan,” and moreover a gift of one hundred +merks for his coming to this country. It seems that Ruthven, the +unfortunate and last Earl of Gowrie, showed a taste for art. It was not +any inaptitude of the mental characteristics of the Scots in relation +to art, but their social and material condition, which in the sixteenth +century rendered art so backward amongst them. As yet the art of the +professional painter can scarcely be said to have existed. + +The Reformation in Scotland was at first unfavourable to the culture +of the fine arts. Calvin admitted painting and sculpture to be gifts of +God, which should be used purely and lawfully; but he was disposed to +limit the subjects of the artist and the sculptor. He objected to all +images in churches and places of worship.¹ Thus the change in the creed +of the nation had a retarding influence on the development of art in +Scotland for several generations. + + ¹ Institutes, Book I., Chapter 12. The relation of fine art + to Christianity is well discussed by Mr. Symonds in his + “Renaissance in Italy.” He said――“Looking back upon this + phase of painting, we are able to perceive that already the + adoption of art to Christian dogma entailed concessions on + both sides.... There was consequently a double compromise, + involving a double sacrifice of something precious. The + faith suffered by having its mysteries brought into the + light of day, incarnate in form, and humanised. Art suffered + by being forced to render intellectual abstractions to the + eye through figured symbols. + + “As technical skill increased, and as beauty, the proper end + of art, became more rightly understood, the painters found + that their craft was worthy of being made an end in itself, + and that the actualities of life observed around them had + claims upon their genius no less weighty than dogmatic + mysteries. The subjects they had striven to realise with + all simplicity, now became the vehicles for the display of + sensuous beauty, science, and mundane pageantry. The human + body received separate and independent study, as a thing + in itself incomparably beautiful, commanding more powerful + emotions by its magic than aught that sways the soul. At the + same time the external world with all its wealth of animal + and vegetable life, together with all the works of human + ingenuity in costly and superb buildings, was seen to be in + every detail worthy of most patient imitation.” Volume III., + pages 21‒23. + + “On the very threshold of the matter I am bound to affirm my + conviction that the spiritual purists of all ages――the Jews, + the iconoclasts of Byzantium, Savonarola, and our Puritan + ancestors――were justified in their mistrust of plastic art. + The spirit of Christianity and the spirit of figurative + art are opposed, not because art is immoral, but because it + cannot free itself from sensuous associations. It is always + bringing us back to the dear earth, from which the faith + would sever us. It is always reminding us of the body which + piety bids us neglect. Painters and sculptors glorify that + which saints and ascetics have mortified.” _Ibid._, page 24, + _et seq._ + + + + + CHAPTER XXIII. + + _The Ultimate Problem of the Reformation._ + + +IT was indicated in the Introduction that we must look to the human +mind itself for the origin of society and of civilisation; and in like +manner, we must look to it as the prime source of religion. Although +the origin of religion cannot be reached by historic research, still, +from what has been ascertained by psychological analysis and the +results obtained through prehistoric and scientific investigation, it +appears that religion arose at a very early stage of man’s career. + +Probably the very earliest impulse of religious feeling sprang from +the primitive instinct of self-preservation. The sentiment evolved from +this instinct and the emotions associated with it run through the lower +and the higher religions of the world, in more or less developed forms. +Religion in the earlier stage of society seems to have been limited +to the family. Every father of a family acted as a priest, just as he +acted as a labourer in the field, and a soldier in war. Thought must +have preceded language, and the notion of an object mentally exists +in the mind, before it can be intelligibly expressed. Thus the idea +of power has to be realised, before applying it even to a natural +phenomenon; and therefore men must first have conceived their gods, +before they gave them names. When the gods were once conceived, +descriptive names were usually applied to them, which seem gradually +to have undergone modifications of form and meaning. + +The elements of the human mind are connected with the great external +system of natural phenomena, and the external senses of the human +organism are the media through which the processes of sensation and +perception operate. The prime and distinctive characteristic of mind +is consciousness, that is, to be conscious of its own phenomena, +both in the perception of external objects, and its own inner mental +operations――thoughts, feelings, and emotions. The nature of an act of +consciousness may be indicated thus:――I am conscious that I know, I +am conscious that I feel, I am conscious that I desire; so on the +one hand, consciousness is the recognition by the mind of its own +acts and affections, which is the simple self-affirmation that +certain mental modifications are known by me; while on the other +hand, consciousness may be viewed as the primary datum of intelligence +itself. Thus consciousness in its simplicity involves three points: +1, a recognising subject, an Ego or self; 2, a modification, +state, affection or operation; 3, a recognition by the Ego of the +modification, or operation. Every mental phenomenon may be called a +fact of consciousness. Although it is usual and useful to distinguish +consciousness from the special faculties of mind, for purposes of +analysis and exposition, yet these special faculties are fundamentally +modifications of consciousness itself. In short, philosophy is simply +a systematic evolution of the contents of consciousness. + +But viewed historically, the human mind in the early stages of the race +was in some measure influenced by the great cosmic forces of the solar +system. Such changes as day and night, summer and winter, the varying +phases of the moon, and the mystery of the vast cosmic movements, had +an influence on the mind of the human race for a long period. This +influence, however, was only relative, and it slowly diminished with +the advance of definite knowledge and experience. The influences of +a terrestrial character were considered in the second section of the +Introduction. Such influences viewed as bearing on man, are usually +called the environment, and their effects on the history of the human +mind have sometimes been grossly exaggerated. Environment has had an +influence on the thoughts and feelings of men, and in some quarters +of the globe it has been more felt than in others; yet, after all, +the power of environment on man is only relative in its action. For +it is the pre-eminent characteristic and function of man to rise above +his environment by the energy of his mind, and the application of +his knowledge and experience; and, in so far as the higher mental +operations of his mind are concerned, he can discard the influence of +external environment. + +In the early stages of the race, the most striking phenomena of nature, +as the sun, fire, the moon, the loud crack of thunder, the tempest, and +many other objects, which caused amazement or fear in the human breast, +were deified, and, for a time, worshipped. The conception of gods seems +to have been primarily individual, and the conceived standards of the +gods harmonised with the very limited range of ideas and knowledge then +attained. But the continuance of a religion was not dependent on the +character of its gods in early ages. The relation between men and their +gods was then very simple, and the moral element scarcely appeared. In +the Vedic hymns of India, such phrases were addressed to the gods, as: +“If you give me this, I shall give you that,” or, “As you have given me +this, I shall give you that.” Sometimes a strain of expostulation with +the gods occurs, in which the sacred writer tells them that, “if he was +as rich as they are, he would not allow his worshippers to go begging.” +When sacrificial offerings began, they consisted of some kinds of +food which men themselves relished, such as milk, butter, and berries, +cooked in various ways; and of sacrificial animals, such as sheep, +goats, oxen, and horses. The brief indications of cosmic notions in +the Veda are extremely crude, for instance, the following:――“The right +and true was born from kindled heat, then the night was born and the +surging sea. From the surging sea the annual sun was born, He who +orders day and night, the Lord of all that sees. The Creator made sun +and moon in turn, the sky, the earth, and the air, and then the heaven.” + +Another source of early religion sprang out of kinship, and ♦is +usually called ancestor-worship. This worship often co-existed in +the same communities with other religions; yet this co-existence――and +even association with other forms of religion――does not prove that +ancestor-worship was the earliest, or the original religion; ♠as it +seems to have been preceded by nature-worship. But the worship of +ancestors, or the spirits of the departed, arose at a comparatively +early stage of human progress, and became widely prevalent. It +explicitly implied a belief in the future existence of the human +soul, which gave it an elevation over many of the other early forms +of religion. + + ♦ duplicate word “is” removed + + ♠ duplicate word “as” removed + +Brahmanism never reached a high ethical standard, and socially it +issued in the institution of caste. The pantheistic conception which +finds God in all things, at a certain stage of its development when +applied to social life, leads to the conclusion that whatever exists, +simply because it exists, is therefore right. Hence, on this principle, +as class distinctions already existed in India, Brahmanism fixed +and consecrated them into the system of castes, which thenceforth +settled the status and the vocation of every individual in society. +The Brahmans were by origin and birth invested with sacred functions, +they were hereditary priests and lords over all the other castes, and +separated from them by an impassable barrier. They had the exclusive +right of reading and expounding the sacred books, and of performing +sacrificial rites; and any interference with their sacred functions +was prohibited under the severest penalties. This order of priesthood, +as determined by descent and birth alone, inevitably tended to the +substitution of mere rites and ceremonies for spiritual worship; and +ultimately issued in a fixed and dead level of debased ceremonialism +and superstition; while its system of caste resulted in a social +organisation of stereotyped inequalities, which completely stifled all +hope and chance of progress; and thus morally and socially perpetuated +injustice. As the Brahman by birth was nearer to God than other men, +whatever his character or moral worth might be, he stood in a special +relation to God such as no man of any other caste could aspire to, +however great his gifts and abilities; no other man could by any +possibility become his equal. On the other hand, there were amongst +the people those with whom the Brahman dare not associate, or help, +eat with, or visit in sickness, or even come into accidental contact +with, without undergoing a ceremonial pollution which could only be +atoned for by severe penalties. In short, the system of caste involved +the sanction of some of the worst and most cruel wrongs which could +be inflicted on human society. A reaction gradually arose in the +consciousness of the people against a religion, which so grossly +outraged the deepest instincts of man’s being. + +About the sixth century B.C., the great religious teacher Buddha +appeared in India, and entered on his remarkable career. There is no +very authoritative account of his personal characteristics and life, +as the writings in which such information is given were not written +until long after his death. But it has been recorded that, Buddha, the +Enlightened, was the son of a Rajah of the Sakyas, an Aryan tribe of +central India, who in early life abandoned his position and prospects +as heir to his father’s throne, and entered on a wandering life as a +religious mendicant. Considering the influence which the corruption +of the period――an age of degrading superstition and of cruel social +inequality and fixed injustice――would be likely to exert on a mind of +marked originality and great metaphysical power, as well as of deep +moral and intense religious susceptibilities, the step which Buddha +took is not difficult to understand. He seems to have been gifted +with a reflective, introspective, and restless mind, for which the +great problems of the moral and spiritual life have a significance +transcending all external interests, and which is induced to seek the +solution of these problems by an inner and irresistible aspiration. +Whether the inquiry present itself as the search for truth, or as the +search for the meaning and end of human life, the explanation of its +inconsistencies and anomalies, or for salvation from sin, suffering, +and death――for such a mind there is no resting-place till the inner +perplexities of the soul are dispelled. They cannot passively accept +the existing conditions of social life, so long as these conflict with +pure morals, and the higher craving and aspiration of the human soul +exists. Buddha’s life was a search for truth, a struggle for spiritual +rest and the moral reform of the race. + +Buddha first enrolled himself under the most famous Brahmanical +teachers of the time, and listened earnestly to their expositions +of the questions of metaphysics and ethics. But these studies under +the Brahmans failed to give him any mental peace. His moral and +religious sympathies were too keen, and his interest in humanity and +its suffering too intense to admit of his being satisfied with any +doctrines which the Brahmans could present. He then retired with five +faithful friends to a solitary spot in the jungles of Uruvela, and +there followed the ascetic discipline for the space of six years. At +last he became convinced that in seeking mental and spiritual peace +through the ascetic channel, he was on the wrong path. Accordingly +he relinquished asceticism, and betook himself simply to meditation +and prayer, wandering about from place to place, still longing and +aspiring after the secret of spiritual rest. It seems highly probable +that it was during these wanderings that Buddha made his profound +and exhaustive analysis of the human mind――an analysis perhaps more +accurate than has ever been made by any single man before or since. At +length, (we are told) after a prolonged stretch of meditation, while +resting under a tree, a new light seemed to break in upon his mind, his +difficulties vanished, and the secret of his own spiritual freedom, and +of the regeneration of the human race were within his grasp. + +The new light or doctrine which Buddha found and proclaimed, was that +salvation can not be obtained by external sacrifices and penances, +but only through inner renunciation and self-devotion. This religion +announced that human happiness, salvation, and blessedness, which +is the goal of life, does not consist in external conditions, but +essentially in the internal character of the mind itself. Thenceforth +the life of Buddha was that of a preacher of the new doctrine. Filled +with compassion for the wretchedness and ignorance of his fellow-men, +and conscientiously believing that he possessed the only truth which +could save them, he proceeded enthusiastically on his mission of love. +The fame of the new teacher and his doctrine began to spread abroad. +His intense earnestness, his self-renunciation, associated with unusual +gentleness and great benignity, his stirring eloquence and wisdom, and +his personal dignity, gave striking force to the doctrines which he +taught, and everywhere moved men’s hearts and minds. Great crowds of +people flocked to hear his teaching, and thousands of all castes soon +became his adherents; the schools of the Brahmans began to be deserted, +and some of the notable Brahmanical teachers joined Buddha. The +bondage of caste was shaken by the power of the new doctrine of human +brotherhood which Buddha preached; and a great moral Reformation +bore witness to the influence of the doctrines which he taught. It +is reported that he lived to the age of eighty years. He was a highly +gifted man, of a very lofty nature, one of those rare and exceptional +personalities, who wield a strange power over all men coming within the +range of their influence, and become great moral and religious leaders +of the human race. + +Morality formed the prime part of Buddha’s teaching, and this was +one of the chief causes of his remarkable success. The pre-existing +Brahmanism might be characterised as a political and social +institution――an organised system of castes――rather than as a religion +in the usual meaning of the term. Brahmanism had driven the religious +and moral instincts of the body of the people into a groove of an +elaborate system of prayers, penances, purifications, authoritative +precepts and prohibitions touching almost every action of daily life. +But it was the special and distinctive characteristic of Buddhism, that +the way in which it taught men to reach salvation, was simply through +the inner purification of the mind and heart, and moral goodness. It +rejected secret mysteries and ontological dogmas, which were attainable +only to speculative minds; and instead of these, demanded a knowledge +of morality which could be attained by clearing the soul from the +darkening influence of impulse and passion. Buddha said: “The highest +insight is not that which can be measured by an intellectual standard. +Merely to know is of little use. What is of supreme importance, is a +change of the heart and spirit.” As “anger, drunkenness, deception, and +envy constitute uncleanness, and not the eating of flesh,” so “neither +abstinence, nor going naked, nor shaving the head, nor a rough garment; +neither offerings to the priests nor sacrifices to the gods, will +cleanse a man, nor free him from the deluding influence of sensual +pleasure.” The importance assigned to practical morality in the +Buddhist religion, and its recognition of an appeal to the conscience +and the inner spiritual sentiment of man, formed the main element of +its strength, and placed it higher than any religion which had preceded +it. In short, its morals founded on love, charity and virtue, are so +humane, that it might perhaps be said to be the only religion that has +brought no ideal element of hostility into the world. + +When Buddha’s disciples met in council to form their primitive church, +they did not propose to teach men a new metaphysics; their chief aim +was to improve the bad customs of the people, to reform their morals, +to purify their souls from all debasing passions, and to unite them in +a universal sense of brotherhood and love. From this sprang the intense +proselytising spirit of Buddhism, and the remarkable self-denial of +its early teachers, who established centres of their religion in Tibet, +in Samarcand, in Siam, in Ceylon, China, and other countries, to the +reformation and the civilisation of which it largely contributed. Its +conquests have been greater and more permanent than those of any other +religion; and even now, two thousand and four hundred years after +the birth of its founder, its adherents number upwards of two hundred +millions of the human race. It appears that Buddhism easily and rapidly +overcame those countries in which there was no organised priesthood or +orthodox religion. A somewhat similar result occurred when Christianity +arrived in the West, where it only met with a decaying and incoherent +Polytheism. + +In so far as Buddha’s teaching was in its essence opposed to the +system of castes, Buddhism was a reaction against Brahmanism. From +another point of view, it was a marked original advance, and a higher +development of genuine religion. The vigour and spiritual power of +Buddhism as a reforming influence, was manifested in the effect which +it produced on the ancient religion itself; and in the reform which +it partly succeeded in effecting in the social life of the people. For +several centuries it was the dominant religion in India; although the +Brahmans after a time became intensely alarmed at its success, and, at +last, began to fight against it. When it is stated that the principles +of Buddhism admitted and recognised a priesthood recruited from +the lower castes, and from the pariahs or outcasts, the causes of +the opposition and the enmity of the Brahmans against it, is easily +understood. The Brahmans, as a hereditary priesthood, considered +themselves a class of very superior beings, on account of their pure +Aryan blood, and gloried in tracing their descent back to the early +Vedic times of the invasion and conquest of India. A hereditary caste +of priests, and a hereditary caste of legislators associated with +political institutions, always and everywhere, have fought hard to +maintain their status and special privileges. Buddhism dealt a severe +blow to the system of caste, and almost effected a complete social +revolution in India. But unhappily the usual and baneful consequence +followed. The reform of morals and religion had to give way to state +and political considerations. Hence on the revival of Brahmanism with +its political institution of castes, Buddhism was driven out of India, +the place of its birth, about the beginning of the sixth century, A.D. +The Brahman priesthood has continued, owing to the institution of +castes, which is its corner-stone. + +It would be going beyond the scope and aim of this chapter to enter +into the treatment of the ontology, metaphysics, or the highest +conceptions of the Brahmans touching God and the universe; let it +suffice to say that the highest conception of the Brahmans and of +Hindu thought are fundamentally pantheistic. The highest form of this +conception may be indicated thus:――The visible universe is nothing, God +is all in all――the One Unity, the One Being; or in other words, God is +the invisible substance, the only real existence――the One eternal and +self-existent essence of the universe. Such is the highest conception +of Brahmanic thought. Although metaphysics form one of the three parts +of the collection of Buddhist writings, usually called the “Tripitaka,” +yet it would be quite unhistoric and unjust to judge of Buddhism from +its metaphysical side. As I said before, it was in psychology, ethics +and religion, that Buddha was original, and really great, for in these +branches he left all his Aryan predecessors far behind him. Touching +Nirvana, which has been made a special Buddhist problem, and has +elicited much discussion, the conception of it was expounded by the +Brahmans long before Buddha’s time. It cannot therefore be specially +assigned to Buddha as one of his original and primary doctrines. +Nirvana means extinction, and applied to man it may be taken to mean +his absorption into God at death. + +Let me now direct attention briefly to the religion of the people of +Europe prior to the introduction of Christianity. The ancient religion +of Greece was elaborately polytheistic. There was no clear idea of +the one God in Greek religion, or any worthy conception of the Divine +attributes. The gods of the Greeks were mostly local, and bound to a +particular family, city, or district. As observed in the fifth section +of the Introduction, the Greeks had only a vague and feeble notion of +the immortality of the soul. Heroes might sometimes be exalted to the +skies, but for the common people there was no hope beyond the grave. +There was nothing in their religion to satisfy the inner craving of +the human soul, while its moral side was negative, if not positively +baneful. It was the Greek philosophers who gave morals and rules of +life to the people, not their religion. Thus Greek philosophy from +the first tended to undermine the popular religion, and any cult which +cannot embrace ethical ideas and truth, is doomed to decay. + +The religion of the ancient Romans was also polytheistic, and +associated with a strong element of ancestor worship. Apparently the +Romans had no more difficulty in changing and modifying their gods, +than in making new domestic and State arrangements. They had a great +multitude of gods and also goddesses, as the formula used by the +officiating priest on great occasions shows:――“Be thou god or goddess, +man or woman; whoever thou art, or by whatever name it is right to call +thee.” Ancestor worship held an important place among the Romans, and +their funeral rites were elaborate. At Rome it was the custom, after +the dead body had been washed, anointed, and clothed, to keep it seven +days in the house: and on the eighth day it was carried out and burned; +then the remains were collected, sprinkled with wine and milk, placed +in an urn, and deposited in the family tomb. The relatives on returning +home stepped over a fire, and were sprinkled with water. Then the +departed was believed to be a kind of divine being, and eight days +after the funeral, sacrifices were celebrated in his honour; and the +offering consisted of sheep or swine, dedicated to Ceres. This was +followed by a feast, during which speeches and songs were given in +honour of the departed, libations were made for him and incense burned. +After all the requisite rites had been performed, the soul of the +departed was supposed to be at rest; as it had become one of the Manes. +On the 19th of February every year, a commemorative festival was held, +at which offerings were made to the Manes; and similar offerings had to +be made on several other days; and again on other occasions connected +with important events. The Manes were supposed to remain in the lower +world; but the departed were also called gods. Cicero said “that the +days kept sacred for the dead, would not, like the days kept sacred +for the gods, have been called solemn holydays, had not our ancestors +wished that the departed should be considered as gods.” From this it +was an easy step to the deification of the Emperors. + +The College of Pontiffs was instituted at an early period, and +originally consisted of four persons of the patrician class, who +continued members for life, and had the right of electing to all +vacancies. In 300 B.C., four plebeians were added; and in 81 B.C. the +number was increased to fifteen. At first the Supreme Pontiff of the +College was elected by and from its own members, and subsequently by +the voice of the people. He was perpetual president of the College, +and invested with supreme power over the religion, worship, and the +priesthood of the State. In all matters relating to religious rites, +sacrifice and worship, sacred days and festivals, and the admission of +foreign gods with their cultus, the ceremonies at birth, marriage, and +funeral, and the conduct of the priesthood, their power was supreme. +All official documents touching religion were in their custody; +and of all the laws written and unwritten relating to it, they were +the interpreters and guardians; they had also the sole powers of +legislation in such matters. Dressed in purple-bordered robes and +conical woollen caps, they attended all the great public ceremonies, +and presided and read prayers at the opening of the Comitia, and other +important assemblies. The great Cæsar was made Supreme Pontiff as well +as Dictator; and all the Emperors to Theodosius assumed the same office. +Cæsar in his lifetime was honoured as a god, and after his death, he +was by the Senate formally enrolled amongst the deities. The Emperors +were also deified; the Romans talked of their majesty and eternity; +sacrifices were offered to them, and the sacred fire was carried before +them. The worship of the Emperors, in short, constituted the religion +of a corrupted and declining Empire. + +The religion of the Teutonic nations――the Germans and the +Scandinavians――was a rude and vigorous polytheism. Their chief gods +were Odin and Thor, and their great goddess was Friga, one of Odin’s +wives, though they had many minor gods, and elves and dwarfs were also +numerous in their world. Odin, as the father of the gods, was called +Allfather, and also Valfather, because he takes as his sons the heroes +who fall in battle. He was represented as a very tall, one-eyed old +man, with a long beard and flowing hair, and a rather broad brimmed +hat, which was supposed to represent the vault of heaven, and a spear +in his hand to signify his great conquering power. All the other gods +were emanations from him, or renovations of him. He was the “father of +time, the lord of gods and men, the god of heaven, the king of the year, +and the god of war and giver of victory.” The other gods were generated +through Odin’s relations to external objects. Thor was the son of +Odin by his wife Jord, the uninhabited earth, and he was a great and +physically powerful personage. He was the god of thunder, and ruled +over clouds and rain. His home was in the region of cloudy gloom, and +his great shining palace contained five hundred and forty floors, from +which he sent forth lightnings. His grand chariot was drawn by two +goats, whose hoofs and teeth flashed forth fire. He was girded with a +wonderful belt which doubled his strength, and in his hand he carried +his terrible hammer, which he hurled at his foes, and which, after +dealing the fatal blow, returned to him. His great enemies were the +frost and mountain giants, with whom he was constantly at war. He was +represented as a powerful young man with a red beard, and when it +thundered in some places, the people used to say that “Thor is blowing +through his beard.” The worshippers of Odin and Thor were rude and +ruthless, yet they were free, brave, vigorous, and enterprising. Their +cult was extremely crude, and their stage of civilisation was still +comparatively low. + +Looking at the peoples of Europe from the moral and social stand-point +at the period immediately preceding the general introduction of +Christianity amongst them, it appears that they were in a very bad +condition. In those parts of Europe which had been overrun and +conquered by the Romans, the spirit of the inhabitants was broken and +greatly enfeebled by complete subjection to a military power, which had +obtained the empire by force and upheld it by the same means; while the +Romans themselves had become corrupted by power, and their Empire was +disorganised, and exhausted at its centre. When the day of retribution +came, the Empire, raised by so many hands, by so much bloodshed, +cruelty and oppression, was attacked in the north and in the south, in +the west and in the east, and compelled to contract its lines till its +power and existence ceased. + +It has been ascertained that humane sentiment, a respect for justice, +honesty, and an elevating and humanising morality, have been only very +slowly developed, even amongst the most advanced branches of mankind. +How is this? What were the causes and influences which retarded moral +developments? Such questions are not easily answered, and can be only +briefly touched on, in relation to the problem under consideration. +For a long period mankind was so much engaged in war that the higher +sentiments could not be developed, save in a very imperfect and limited +degree. At later periods, when conquering races appeared, the rude +and cruel natural propensities and passions were stimulated, fed, and +developed to an extent which often engendered in the conquering race +or nation an utter disregard for human life and human suffering. The +conquering race or nation became intoxicated by power, and elated by +the feelings and pride always associated with power, easily imagined +that they were a superior class of people, and had a right to subject +and enslave as many of the human race as they possibly could. Time +rolled on and human intellect developed, and mankind multiplied; but +the military passion and the inhuman propensities associated with it +still reigned in the world. + +In the short intervals of peace, which occurred here and there, moral +feeling and humane sentiment had not time to develop, except on a +very narrow and limited scale. For ages, the moral development of the +race was retarded by the interest of power, empire, caste, and the +supposed requisites of political institutions. Religion too was usually +subordinated to State and political considerations, and this often +vitiated its moral influence. Although Buddhism had effected a social +revolution in India, the ruling power, for considerations connected +with the immoral and degrading system of caste, expelled this great +religion from India. + +Viewed as a conception of an invisible Being, religion is distinct +from morality. Yet it is only when religion exercises an influence on +the moral character and life of man that it attains significance and +real importance. If the god or object of worship be not conceived as +benevolent, perfect, pure, and just, the religion to which it belongs +can be neither elevating nor purifying. It is quite true that the +attributes of God cannot be adequately conceived by finite minds; still, +if in the Divine attributes there is no moral characteristic, the great +difficulty of the relation between God and man becomes insurmountable. +Christianity removed this difficulty. + +Christianity in the person and life of Jesus, its founder, manifested +the complete relation between God and man, the union of the Divine +and human. This Christian communion with God should embrace the whole +receptive life of man, filling him with the peace and love and joy of +God, and pervade his whole active life. + +When Christianity was introduced into Europe, it had no difficulty in +overcoming the decaying and disjointed polytheisms which then existed. +Yet the Gospel of Jesus, as may be easily imagined, was too elevated +to be received in all its purity; and the result was that some of the +old notions were retained and transferred to it, for instance, ancestor +worship was continued under the form of the worship of the Saints. +In fact, at an early stage of the history of Christianity in the +West, Rome became its chief centre, and the Popes of Rome with their +immediate associates elaborated a great system of religious polity, +framed partly on the principles of the Roman empire; but partly also +on the principle of caste. Thus what is called Roman Catholicism is +essentially a political, and not a religious institution. It is well +known that the Popes claimed and exercised unlimited temporal power. +The royal power of Kings was subordinated to the head of the Church; +the authority of the Church assumed the right to dominate over civil +law and every institution. The Pope suspended Kings by excommunication, +and exercised despotic political power. Centuries passed, and the +organisations of the Roman hierarchy multiplied and developed to an +enormous extent in every country of Europe; while, as stated in the +first section of this volume, the Gospel of Jesus was obscured and +almost superseded by a vast number of legends, relics, traditions and +ceremonies, which for a considerable length of time seems to have been +pretty much in harmony with the ancient cultus of the people of Europe. +Throughout the centuries of comparative darkness, however, there was +a slow but continuous moral and intellectual progress, which, owing to +various agencies and influences, at last assumed the form of a reaction, +and issued in the Reformation. + +It was already stated, that the diffusion of the Bible amongst the +people of Europe in the vernacular language was one of the deepest and +most powerful causes of the Reformation. Both Catholics and Protestants +believed in the supernatural origin of the Scriptures. The latter +especially maintained that the Bible contained a special revelation +from God to man, and therefore to the Reformers the Word of God was the +real and absolute authority in religion. The influence of this belief +was great, and in conjunction with other influences contributed much to +awaken the religious consciousness, and to intensify the feelings and +emotions. Moreover, the Gospel――the Christian revelation as contained +in the New Testament――presented in a simple and intelligible form, +the precepts, the doctrines, and the promises of immortality, which +satisfied the inmost craving of the soul, gave to faith and hope a +clearer vision, and in relation with the will and active efforts, +contributed much to sustain and cheer man in the daily struggle of life, +and in the most trying and perplexing difficulties. As life’s sojourn +approached its termination, and the years came when men are accustomed +to say there is no pleasure in them, they experienced the Saviour to be +as rivers of water in a dry place, and as the shadow of a great rock in +a weary land. At last, when the Christian’s feet began to stumble upon +the dark mountains of eternity, and one by one external objects began +to vanish away, the faith in immortality became as an anchor of hope to +the still conscious soul. + +This faith in a future life has had a great and beneficial influence +in stimulating and sustaining human effort. A belief in the immortality +of the soul is not in the least inconsistent with the highest knowledge +and the most accurate results as yet reached by science. While the +universe still remains far above and beyond our finite power of +comprehension, a belief in the immortality of the soul appears to be +requisite, as a supreme act of faith in the reasonableness of God’s +work. It seems to me, that only on such a view can the reasonableness +of the universe maintain its ground. + +Volition, feeling, emotion, and sentiment, have usually entered more +into the heart of religion than cognition or formal thought. Religion +in the highest reach of its ideal always involves something which +cannot be known as a fact, or demonstrated as a scientific truth; in +other words, there is a region of belief, and beyond it, a region of +faith and hope. As some men manifest this emotional and volitional side +of the mind more than others, or even the same man at different times +under changed circumstances and influences may manifest it in higher +or lower degrees; in like manner there have been periods in the history +of the race, and in the history of nations, when this psychological +phenomenon became unusually prominent, and culminated in social +revolutions. Now, the Reformation era was of this character, as it was +characterised by an awakening of the religious consciousness, which was +manifested by an intense and prolonged excitement of the emotional and +the volitional sides of the mind. + +I. The evidence supplied by the history of Scotland touching the +progress of social organisation and religion in relation to the +Reformation, may be briefly summarised. In the first volume it was +shown that the earliest inhabitants of the country were a people of +short stature, living under the tribal organisation; and that their +religion probably contained an element of animal worship, which was +connected with a form of ancestor worship. Subsequently the Celts +arrived and became the dominant people. The religion of the Celts +was polytheistic, with a strong element of ancestor worship in it; +and a vivid belief in the future existence of the soul. Christianity +was introduced into Scotland under the monastic form; and the early +saints who converted the people were venerated down to the eve of +the Reformation. In the twelfth century the Church of Scotland was +brought into conformity with the prevailing form of Christendom――Roman +Catholicism. The national clergy, however, on many occasions gave +evidence that their patriotism had risen above their allegiance to +the Pope; and this was specially manifested in the great struggle for +national Independence, as the bishops and the clergy gave effective aid +to Wallace and Bruce, and to other national leaders.¹ + + ¹ Volume I., pages 266, 271, 281, 288, _et seq._ + +It was shown that historic conditions had arisen after the arrival of +the Celts, and that the nation was gradually developed out of a number +of tribes. It was indicated how the social and moral characteristics +of the nation had been developed, and the influences which Christianity +had contributed to it were pointed out. At a certain stage of +civilisation the customary law of the country appeared to be passing +into crude written laws, which in turn were modified and improved by +the current flow of influences and events, and the increasing command +of appliances; and it was noted that the conception of public justice +was gradually formed, and at last distinguished from the primitive +feeling of revenge. The growing complexity of the internal organisation +of the nation, as shown in the rise and the incorporation of the towns, +and also in the incorporation of the various classes of craftsmen in +these small centres of industry, was elucidated. Ample details were +presented touching the religious ideas, feelings, and sentiments of the +people from the prehistoric ages to the end of the fifteenth century. + +II. In this volume, the first section of the thirteenth chapter +presented a brief outline of the general causes of the Reformation, +and of the state of Roman Catholicism and its chief characteristics; +while in the second section of the same chapter, and in the fourteenth +chapter, and the first part of the twenty-first chapter, evidence +of the awakening of the moral and religious consciousness was given, +which was soon perceived by the Roman Catholic clergy, who exerted +themselves to the utmost to extinguish it. Many of the heretics proved +the sincerity of their conviction and the strength of their faith by +suffering at the stake. Thus the religious feeling and aspiration was +constant in its action and persistent in its manifestation, even in the +face of the most appalling suffering and of death itself. On the other +hand, it was pointed out that the political causes of the Reformation +could not have originated, or produced, or sustained it; because +when the selfish aims which stimulated these political causes were +gained, then such causes fluctuated, and soon ceased to operate; nay, +these political powers, as soon as their special ends were attained, +frequently turned round and fought against the genuine outcome of this +great religious and moral revolution of the sixteenth century. + +III. In this chapter on psychological and historic ground, I have +made a brief, and consequently a very incomplete effort, to indicate +the probable origin of religion. It appears that religion at first +was limited to the family, and to small communities, so that great +orthodoxies, such as Brahmanism, Buddhism, and Roman Catholicism, are +comparatively late developments. Fully developed ♦Brahmanism was more +of a political institution than a religion, while Buddhism was a real +and vigorous religious reaction against the frigid and rigid orthodox +Brahmanism and its system of castes. After Buddhism had effected a +social and moral revolution in India, mainly through the purity of its +moral doctrines and the humane ideas which it inculcated, the ruling +power, for political considerations connected with the degrading +system of castes, deemed it necessary to expel Buddhism from India. +Thus Brahmanism was revived and continued in India, because it was a +political institution under the semblance of a religion, but utterly +without the spirit and the characteristics of a real religion. In +like manner, the Reformation was a reaction against the hierarchy and +orthodoxy of Roman Catholicism; and, in so far as Catholicism was a +political institution, it then suffered an irreparable shock. + + ♦ “Brahmanisms” replaced with “Brahmanism” + +It was remarked on a preceding page that the moral development +of the race has been greatly retarded by the absorbing interest +always associated with political power, empire, caste, and the +supposed necessities of State institutions. Thus the highest ideal +of Christianity and its most elevating doctrines have often been +perverted, and used for the accomplishment of the most pernicious ends; +yet this will yield no ground for an argument against Christianity. On +the contrary, it only shows how corrupting the love of power and its +exercise by an individual, a class, a nation, or an empire, always is, +when not limited and restrained by a sense of justice and feelings of +humanity. + +IV. In Scotland there were indications of widening sympathy and humane +feeling in the earnest appeals of the Reformed preachers on behalf of +the oppressed tenants and labourers of the land, and in the efforts +to mitigate the suffering of the poor and helpless. The reformed +clergy made the utmost efforts to procure the cessation of all manual +labour on Sunday, and to devote that day to the moral and religious +instruction of the people, and to the worship of God. The ministers +in the daily exercise of their functions, and in their Sessions, and +in other Church Courts, unceasingly struggled to reform the habits +and to improve the morals of the people; they endeavoured to check all +disorder and excess; to place the important institution of marriage +on a proper footing, and manifested an earnest intention to protect +the lives of infants. They fearlessly exposed the immorality of the +Court, and of those in authority, and fought manfully against vice and +crime in all its forms. When they were harassed by the Government and +deserted by the nobles, they still continued steadfastly to contend +for what they believed to be the truth. Finally, they made great and +successful efforts to introduce and to extend the means of education +to the humblest classes of the people in the Kingdom. Thus various +influences were brought to bear upon the people which ultimately +effected a marked improvement in their moral habits and character. The +tentative deduction enunciated at the close of the eighteenth chapter +may be re-stated:――“The prime sustaining causes of the Reformation +throughout were the moral sentiments and ideas, associated with the +religious aspiration and the belief in the Divine revelation of the +Bible.” This deduction seems to be well founded, inasmuch, that, so far +as has been ascertained, the social instincts of the race originated +society; and that slowly in the roll of ages, the primitive social +instincts developed into moral sentiments, humane feeling, and finally, +the moral sense or conscience――from which in association with cognition +and the special faculties of knowledge――all conceptions of Justice, +of Law, of Truth, and of God, have been gradually developed. The +social feelings were the original foundation of society, and the +ethnic conceptions and ideals evolved from them in association with +the cognitive faculties of the mind, ultimately gave forms to law and +justice, and to all organisations and institutions. Thus the social +feelings and the moral sentiments have always been an essential factor +in the progress and civilisation of the human race. In so far as +religion has tended to elevate the ethnic standard and ideal, it has +contributed to the culture of the race. While viewed in its divine +and spiritual characteristics, it has satisfied the inner craving and +the highest aspiration of the soul, and thus Christianity has been an +important factor in civilisation. + +V. But the Reformation ultimately produced intellectual results not +less remarkable than the moral and religious ones; as it was then that +a real zeal for education was instilled into the Scottish mind, which +ever since has been developing. The general intelligence of the people +of Scotland, the scientific and literary eminence which many Scotsmen +have attained, is partly traceable to the revolutionary movement of the +sixteenth century. + +Another important result of the Reformation was to weaken the claims +and the chains of authority, and thus to give a new impetus to those +habits of mind so necessary in all branches of scientific inquiry. +Men began with greater freedom and boldness to interrogate nature; the +human mind awoke from a long sleep, and with refreshed strength and +glowing energy entered on the course of modern scientific progress. +Improvements in the methods of investigation were made, and original +discoveries and inventions soon followed; conquest after conquest +succeeded each other in regular sequence, the varied and beneficial +results of which we see around us at the present day. After a +relatively advanced stage of scientific knowledge is reached, +intellectual ideas begin to influence religious beliefs and doctrines, +and in some directions moral conceptions. The diffusion of knowledge +tends to purify religion; the conception of the Supreme Being gradually +becomes more elevated; the horizon of the moral vision is widened; and +more effective methods are devised and applied for the moral culture of +the race. + + + + + INDEX. + + + Abercorn, i., 116; + castle of, 343, 390; + Earl of, iii., 19. + + Abercromby, Dr. Patrick, iv., 143. + + Aberdeen, i., 148, 151, 234, 238‒9, 264, 284, 288, 306, 325, 366, + 370, 386‒7, 390; + ii., 116, 123, 192, 202, 212, 241, 247; + iii., 28, 90, 91, 219, 223, 228; + iv., 370, 375; + University of, i., 415, 467; + ii., 412, 413; + iii., 62, 392‒3; + iv., 60, 139, 317‒320. + + Aberdeen, Earl of, iv., 482. + + Aberdeenshire, i., 28, 49, 52, 68, 75, 90, 95, 140, 184, 271, 284, + 287, 325; + ii., 154; + iii., 244; + iv., 370, 371. + + Abernethy, i., 114, 165, 245. + + Aboyne, i., 174; + Viscount of, iii., 93. + + Ada, daughter of Earl David, i., 204, 256. + + Adam, + Dr. Alexander, iv., 153; + William, Robert, James, 402. + + Adamson, Archbishop of St. Andrews, ii., 182‒4, 189, 271, 380. + + Aed, King, i., 136. + + Agricola, General, i., 105, 109. + + Agriculture, i., 100, 133, 150, 250‒254, 376‒381; + ii., 266, 289, 290; + iii., 303‒305; + iv., 332‒339. + + Aidan, King of Dalriada, i., 117‒8. + + Aikman, iv., ♦429. + + ♦ page number provided by transcriber + + Airlie, Earl of, iii., 90; + castle of, 337. + + Alan, Lord of Galloway, i., 211. + + Albany, + Duke of, i., 319, 321‒2, 324‒6; + Murdoch, 326, 327, 328; + Alexander, 348‒351; + John, Regent, ii., 36‒37. + + Ale, i., 251, 399, 400, 401, 402, 404; + ii., 291‒292; + iii., 217‒219; + iv., 395. + + Alexander I., reign of, i., 200, 201. + + Alexander II., reign of, i., 209‒212, 242. + + Alexander, III., + coronation of, i., 213; + reign of, 213‒217. + + Alexander, William, iv., 209‒211. + + Alison, + Rev. Archibald, iv., 86; + Sir Archibald, 155‒6; + Dr. William, 312. + + Allan, + David, iv., 433; + Sir William, 443. + + Alloa, iv., 433. + + Alnwick castle, i., 143, 300. + + Amberley, Viscount, ii., 43, 44. + + Anderson, + Dr. Joseph, i., 52, 55, 57, 61, 65, 66, 168, 180; + William, ii., 68; + James, iv., 143, 144; + Robert, 173. + + Angles, i., 113, 118, 119. + + Angus, + Pictish King, i., 120; + Angus, Chief, 116, 202; + Angus Duff, 329; + Angus, Lord of the Isles, 218, 285, 292, 293; + Angus, Earl of, 342, 343, 350, 351; + ii., 36, 37, 38, 61, 63, 64, 65, 181, 195, 212. + + Annandale, i., 26, 203, 223, 349. + + Annandale, Earl of, iii., 179. + + Anne, Queen, iii., 204, 205, 209, 211, 220, 222. + + Anstruther, ii., 192. + + Arbroath, + monastery of, i., 249, 296, 432, 433, 434; + town of, 238, 409; + iii., 93, 301; + iv., 375. + + Arbuthnot, + Alexander, ii., 372, 373, 413; + Dr. John, iv., 228‒230. + + Architecture, i., 157‒165, 247‒250, 428‒431; + ii., 396, 397; + iii., 396‒7; + iv., 401‒411. + + Ardnamurchan, i., 24, 261, 356; + iii., 90. + + Ardoch, i., 106. + + Argyle, + Earl of, i., 356‒7, 364, 365; + ii., 63, 64, 89, 96, 97, 130, 134, 135, 145, 150, 181, 201, + 202, 224, 226, 229; + iii., 90, 91, 92, 99, 104, 121, 123, 159, 167, 192; + Duke of, 206, 223, 241. + + Argyleshire, i., 53, 116, ♦117, 121, 127, 210, 261, 369; + iii., 91; iv. + + ♦ “177” replaced with “117” + + Arkinholm, battle of, i., 343. + + Armada, ii., 191, 192. + + Armstrong, + John, a marauder, ii., 224, 225; + Dr. John, iv., 169. + + Arran, island of, i., 23, 95, 216, 286, 379, 380. + + Arran, + Earl of, i., 346; + Regent, ii., 63, 65, 67, 70, 74, 78, 86, 87; + Stewart, Earl of Arran, 175, 177, 181, 184, 185, 187. + + Arrowheads, i., 49, 50. + + Art, + early, i., 52, 75‒79, 166‒174, 176‒180, 241‒243, 470, 471; + ii., 423‒425; + iii., 393‒396; + Progress of, in Scotland, iv., 428. + + Aryan race, i., 38‒42; + language of, 43. + + Arth, a friar, ii., 51‒53. + + Asceticism, i., 131, 156, 157, 244; + ii., 43‒46, 261, 262. + + Assembly, General, + ii., 115, 129, 149, 151, 160, 166, 167, 169, 188, 193, 211, + 213; + iii., 28, 34, 36, 39, 69‒72, 77, 83, 84, 98, 104, 186; + iv., 465‒485. + + Athole, + Earl of, i., 208, 209, 214, 217, 255, 263, 283, 285, 305, 306, + 335, 337; + ii., 143, 148; + iii., 110; + Marquis of, 174; + Duke of, 207, 212. + + Attwood, iv., 143, 144. + + Auldearn, battle of, iii., 94. + + Ayr, + Burgh of, i., 240, 356, 359, 386, 387; + ii., 69; + iii., 303; + iv., 369‒372; + Castle of, i., 215, 248, 274, 287. + + Ayrshire, i., 29, 114, 286, 287, 379; + ii., 78; + iii., 134, 153; + iv., 341, 342. + + Aytoun, William E., iv., 194. + + + Bacon, Lord, ii., 395; + iii., 434‒435. + + Badenoch, i., 211, 276, 356; + iii., 181. + + Badenoch, Lord of, i., 217, 256, 271, 274, 275, 277. + + Baillie, + General, iii., 93, 94, 95; + Rev. Robert, 75, 76, 87, 88, 357, 358. + + Bain, Dr. Alexander, ii., 420; + iv., 139, 140, 141, 155. + + Balcanqhall, Walter, ii., 177, 184, 187, 206. + + Balfour, + Sir James, ii., 75, 135, 144, 146; + John, of Burley, iii., 151, 153, 343; + Sir Andrew, 369. + + Baliol, Bernard de, i., 203. + + Baliol, + King John, i., 256, 258, 259, 260‒262, 263, 264, 366; + Edward, 304, 305, 306, 307. + + Ballads, + early, i., 184‒5, 441‒450; + ii., 76, 77, 244, 245, 341‒345; + referring to the Civil War and persecution, iii., 237‒346; + Jacobite ballads, 346‒353. + + Balmerino, Lord, iii., 18, 60. + + Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, iii., 32. + + Bane, Donald, King, i., 144. + + Banff, i., 148, 248, 307, 385, 390, 391; + iii., 301; + iv., 373. + + Bank of Scotland established, iii., 327‒329. + + Bannatyne, George, ii., 371, 372. + + Bannockburn, battle of, i., 291‒295. + + Barbour, John, i., 451‒454. + + Barclay, + Robert, iii., 258; + Dr., iv., 308. + + Barlow, Bishop, ii., 54, 56. + + Barmekyn hill, fort on, i., 90. + + Barony, i., 223, 225. + + Barton, Captain, i., 359, 363. + + Beaton, + James, Archbishop, ii., 38, 58; + David, Cardinal, 58, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70‒72, 79. + + Beaumont, Henry, i., 301, 305, 306. + + Beck, Bishop of Durham, i., 266, 270. + + Bede, i., 116, 122, 126. + + Bellhaven, Lord, iii., 197, 211‒12. + + Bell Rock, i., 23. + + Bell, + Dr. John, iv., 306, 307; + Sir Charles, 307, 308. + + Bellenden, + John, ii., 317, 318; + Sir John, 158; + Sir Lewis, 274. + + Berkeley, Bishop, iii., 470, 471. + + Berwick-North, i., 387, 389. + + Berwick, i., 206, 233, 234, 236, 238, 239, 248, 259, 260, 263, + 264, 268, 279, 285, 295, 305, 350, 382; + Treaty of, ii., 100, 272. + + Bible, translations of, ii., 25‒27, 49, 170. + + Bisset, Thomas, i., 271. + + Black, + David, ii., 204‒206; + Dr. Joseph iv., 260‒263, 273, 276, 278. + + Blackadder, John, iii., 139. + + Blackie, John S., iv., 247‒249. + + Blakey, Robert, iv., 160. + + Blacklock, Dr. Thomas, iv., 171, 172. + + Blair, + Robert, iv., 169, 170; + Dr. Hugh, 215. + + Blair Athole, iii., 90. + + Blair Castle, iii., 181. + + Bœce, Hector, ii., 316. + + Bondmen, i., 252, 380‒382. + + Book of Common Order, ii., 113, 114; + Book of Discipline, the first, 105‒113; + the second, 171‒173. + + Book of Canons, iii., 45, 46. + + Boot and shoe manufactures, iv., 392, 393. + + Borders, + state of, i., 309, 315‒318, 322, 324, 342; + ii., 223‒225; + order established on the Borders, iii., 20‒28. + + Borthwick Castle, ii., 143. + + Bothwell, + Earl of, i., 353, 426; + ii., 69, 131, 133, 134, 135, 136, 138‒145; + Francis Stewart, Earl of, 198, 272, 273, 274‒276. + + Bothwell Bridge, Battle of, iii., 153, 154. + + Botriphnie, i., 378; + iv., 197. + + Bower, Walter, i., 376, 463. + + Boyd, + Robert, of Kilmarnock, i., 283; + Robert, Lord Boyd, 345, 346, 347; + Sir Thomas, created Earl of Arran, 146, 147. + + Boyd, Zachary, iii., 358, 359. + + Braemar, iii., 222. + + Brahmanism, ii., 428, 429, 431, 433. + + Braxfield, Lord, iv., 458. + + Breadalbane, Earl of, iii., 190, 191. + + Brechin, i., 138, 164, 183, 238, 249, 276, 409; + Castle of, 264, 276; + Battle of, 342. + + Bridges, Early, i., 250. + + Briggs, Henry, ii., 389, 390, 391. + + Brigham, treaty of, i., 218. + + Britons of Strathclyde, i., 113, 114, 117, 123‒125, 138. + + Britons and Scots, early laws of, i., 151‒153. + + Brochs, i., 157‒163. + + Brodick Castle, i., 286. + + Brodie, + Alexander, iii., 255; + William, iv., 454. + + Bronze weapons and tools, i., 74‒79. + + Brooches, i., 117‒119. + + Brown, + Janet, ii., 231; + Dr. Thomas, iv., 87‒97; + John, 216; + Dr. John, 217; + Dr. William L., 218, 219. + + Bruce, + Robert, of Annandale, i., 203, 218, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, + 260; + Robert, Earl of Carrick, 266, 267, 271, 276, 278, 281‒283. + + Bruce, + Nigel, Thomas, Alexander, i., 285; + Edward, 287, 290, 291, 292; + Robert, ii., 201, 208, 216, 381, 382; + Michael, iv., 177. + + Brude, King of the Picts, i., 127. + + Bruno, Giordano, writings of, iii., 399‒401. + + Brunston, Laird of, ii., 69. + + Buchan, Earl of, i., 208, 209, 211, 213, 217, 262, 287, 288, 319, + 325, 352, 353, 373. + + Buchan, Peter, i., 446. + + Buchanan, + George, ii., 58, 145; + writings of, 364‒369, 409; + Thomas, 260; + Dr. Robert, iv., 224. + + Buddha, his life and work, ii., 429‒432. + + Buddhism, ii., 233, 432. + + Burghs, + the origin and organisation of, i., 33, 82, 83, 152, 232‒237; + Custom and trade of, 382‒391; + Social life and characteristics of the burghal communities, + 397‒408, 414, 438, 439; + ii., 230‒243, 291‒294; + iii., 245‒248, 274‒278, 283‒289. + + Burghs of regality, barony, and church, i., 226, 237, 238, 408, + 409. + + Burial dues exacted by the Church, ii., 39, 40. + + Burnet, + Bishop, his works, iii., 364‒366; + John, iv., 441. + + Burns, Robert, iv., 179‒182. + + Burntisland, iii., 301. + + Burton, Dr. John H., iv., 160. + + + Caerlaverock Castle, i., 247, 272. + + Cairns, burial, chambered, i., 53‒64, 91, 92. + + Caithness, + prehistoric structures in, i., 53‒58; + Norseman inroads, 136, 138, 139. + + Caithness, Earls of, i., 207, 208; + ii., 227; + iii., 237, 238, 239. + + Calderwood, David, iii., 38, 356, 357. + + Caledonians, i., 105‒109, 110, 111, 114. + + Caledonian Canal, iv., 354. + + Calvin, ii., 119, 357‒360. + + Cambuskenneth, i., 249, 367. + + Cameron of Lochiel, i., 356; + iii., 181. + + Cameron, Richard, iii., 155, 156. + + Cameronians, iii., 155, 174, 185, 186, 187. + + Campbell of Glenlyon, iii., 192. + + Campbell, + Sir Colin, iii., 395; + Dr. John, iv., 144; + Dr. George, 85, 86; + Thomas, his writings, 185‒187; + Colin, architect, 402; + Thomas, sculptor, 454. + + Candlish, Dr. R. T., iv., 221, 222. + + Canterbury, Archbishop of, i., 200, 201, 272. + + Cantyre, i., 21, 215, 261, 285, 348. + + Canute, i., 139, 192. + + Carberry Hill, ii., 144. + + Cardross, i., 302, 303. + + Cargill, Donald, iii., 155, 156, 157. + + Carham, battle of, i., 138. + + Carlisle, i., 210, 318; + iii., 227. + + Carlyle, + Thomas, iv., 156‒159; + Dr. Alexander, 19, 43, 44. + + Carmichael, Lord, iii., 186, 187. + + Carmichael, + John, of ♦Meadowflat, iii., 27; + William, 151; + Gershom, iv., 18. + + ♦ “Meadowflatt” replaced with “Meadowflat” + + ♦Carmon, Colonel, iii., 183. + + ♦ Printed out of alphabetic order. + + Carrick, Earl of, i., 217, 266, 271, 278, 281, 302, 305, 314, + 316. + + Carswell, John, ii., 108. + + Carstairs, William, iii., 178, 179. + + Carved woodwork, i., 430; + ii., 423. + + Casket Letters, ii., 141, 142; + iv., 145. + + Cassillis, Earl of, i., 365; + ii., 69, 150; + iii., 19, 56, 87, 99, 104. + + Castellio, Sebastia, ii., 359. + + Castles, i., 247, 248, 428, 430; + ii., 422, 423. + + Catechisms, ii., 77, 78, 85, 109, 110; + iii., 89. + + Caterthun, hill fort, i., 89, 90. + + Cathen, the King’s adviser, i., 125. + + Caves, i., 43, 83, 163. + + Celestius, ii., 356. + + Celibacy, i., 131, 156, 244, 245; + ii., 21, 22, 41‒43, 45, 46, 261, 262. + + Celtic tribes, i., 44, 45, 90, 100, 101, 105, 110, 113‒116, 119. + + Censorship of the press, ii., 277, 278. + + Chalmer, James, ii., 90. + + Chalmers, + George, iv., 153; + Dr. Thomas, 219‒221. + + Chambered Cairns, i., 53‒65. + + Chambers, + Thomas, i., 336, 337; + David, ii., 138; + Dr. Robert, iv., 163. + + Charles I., + reign of, iii., 42‒100; + policy of, 43‒50, 51‒54, 57, 58, 59, 63‒65, 66‒68, 71, 73‒75, + 76, 77, 78‒82, 90, 95, 96, 97. + + Charles II., reign of, iii., 103, 107, 110, 119‒163. + + Charles Stewart, prince, iii., 226‒229. + + Charters, i., 148, 201, 223‒225, 227, 232‒234, 373, 387, 422. + + Chartularies, i., 247. + + Chatelherault, Duke of, ii., 86, 130. + + Chemical Science, iv., 260‒266, 273, 286, 296‒298, 397. + + Chepman, Walter, ii., 300‒302. + + Christian I., King of Denmark, i., 346. + + Christianity, + introduced, i., 121‒129; + early form of, 130‒134; + influence of, 134, 135, 168, 181, 186, 232, 245, 248‒250, 288, + 289, 466, 467; + ii., 437‒439, 443. + + Church, + early, i., 130‒134, 155‒157, 200, 201; + re-organisation of, 212, 213, 243‒245; + property of, 227, 252‒254, 380, 431‒433; + state of, 332, 333, 431, 432; + ii., 40‒43, 51, 76‒78, 79, 102. + + Church, the Reformed, + organisation of, ii., 104‒115; + conflict with the Government, 165‒173, 177‒189, 192‒194, + 197‒220; + iii., 20‒42, 46‒82, 83‒87, 95‒101, 110, 120‒163, 164‒169; + internal struggles of, iv., 467, _et seq._ + + Circuit Courts, i., 222, 355, 356, 424; + Lords of Council, Judicial Committee, i., 370, 371; + Court of Session, ii., 216, 223; + iii., 112, 113, 124, 232‒235; iv.; + Church Courts, i., 227, 230, 371. + + Cists, i., 55, 93, 95. + + Civilisation, + primary causes of, i., 19‒20, 31‒33, 34, 35; + ii., 426, 427; + gradual progress of, i., 53, 70, 71, 98‒102, 119‒121, 135, + 149‒151, 161, 164, 169, 170, 181‒188, 232‒241, 245‒55, + 330‒332, 366‒371, 382‒397, 408, 418‒422, 465‒472; + ii., 109, 278‒291, 398, 419; + iii., 101, 102, 294‒335; + rapid development of, iii., 215; + iv., 142‒145, 165, 284, 324‒332; _et seq._, 341‒400. + + Clackmannan, iv., 343. + + Claim of Right, + of the Scotch Parliament, iii., 176, 177; + Claim of Right, of General Assembly of the Church, iv., 480, + _et seq._ + + Clan, i., 146; + iii., 225. + + Clan Canan, i., 150. + + Clan Morgan, i., 150. + + Clanranald, chief of, i., 356; + ii., 226; + iii., 242, 243. + + Cleland, William, iii., 153. + + Clunymore, i., 378. + + Coal, + early notice of, i., 238, 409; + mining, ii., 286; + iii., 292‒293; + iv., 341‒343. + + Cochrane, Robert, i., 348‒350. + + Cockburne, of Henderland, ii., 224. + + Cockburn, Sir Richard, Sir John, iii., 18. + + Coinage, i., 238, 394‒397; + ii., 279‒282; + iii., 320‒327; + paper currency, 327‒329. + + Coldingham, i., 209, 246. + + Colin, King, i., 137. + + Colliers, iii., 291‒292; + iv., 342‒344. + + Colville, John, i., 448. + + Commerce, i., 239‒240, 391‒394; + ii., 286‒290; + iii., 112, 300‒303, 311; + iv., 352‒357, 359‒363, _et seq._ + + Compurgators, i., 228‒229. + + Comyn, Clan, i., 213‒214. + + Comyn, + John, i., 217, 256, 271, 275, 277; + slaughter of, 281. + + Confessions of Faith, ii., 34‒35, 102, 204‒205; + iii., 89. + + Constantine, Roman general, i., 112. + + Constantine I., son of Kenneth M‘Alpin, i., 136. + + Constantine II., 136‒137. + + Constantine III., 138. + + Conventicles, acts against, iii., 130, 131, 133, 138, 140, 146, + 148, 149. + + Convention of Royal Burgh, i., 234, 235. + + Convention of Estates, iii., 173‒177. + + Cope, Sir John, iii., 226, 227. + + Corrichie, battle of, ii., 123, 124. + + Cotterel, Colonel, iii., 110, 111. + + Covenant, + National, iii., 59‒62; + Solemn League and Covenant, 83‒86. + + Covenanters, iii., 68‒73, 74‒77, 78‒82, 86, 89‒102, 103‒105, 107. + + ♦Craftsmen, i., 335, 336, 404‒408; + ii., 240, 241, 242, 293, 294; + iii., 287‒289. + + ♦ “Craftesmen” replaced with “Craftsmen” + + Craig, + John, ii., 110, 158, 167, 185; + Sir Thomas, 384; + Andrew, iii., 245. + + Craigellachie, iv., 354. + + Craigmiller Castle, i., 349. + + Craigphadrig, vitrified fort, i., 91. + + Crannogs, i., 42, 84‒87. + + Cranstoun, Sir William, iii., 21, 24, 25, 27. + + Crawar, Paul, i., 332. + + Crawford, Earl of, i., 321, 340, 341, 342, 343, 364; + iii., 120, 179, 186. + + Crawford, Sir William, i., 388, 389. + + Crawford Moor, ii., 282; + iii., 293. + + Crichton, Sir William, i., 338, 339, 340. + + Crinan, Abbot of Dunkeld, i., 139, 140. + + Cromwell, iii., 99, 108, 100, 110, 111, 112‒115. + + Culblean, battle of, i., 306. + + Cullen, burgh of, i., 385, 386. + + Culloden, battle of, iii., 229, 230, 351, 352; + iv., 172, 173. + + Cumberland, i., 105, 125, 142. + + Cumberland, Duke of, iii., 228, 229. + + Cummene, i., 181. + + Cunningham, Allan, iv., 192, 193. + + Cupar, i., 465; + iii., 157. + + Curates, under Charles II., iii., 130, 132, 173. + + + Dacre, Lord, ii., 62. + + Dalkeith, iii., 227; + castle of, i., 316, 342; + ii., 423. + + Dalriada, i., 116, 117, 127. + + Dalry, iii., 133. + + Dalrymple, Sir John, iii., 191‒193, 233, 234. + + Dalziel, General, iii., 134, 135, 342. + + Dancing, i., 457, 468; + ii., 124, 125, 415; + iv., 416. + + Darien Colony, iii., 196‒204. + + Darnaway Castle, i., 360; + ii., 124. + + Darnley, ii., 128, 129, 130‒136, 137, 138. + + Dauney, William, iv., 416. + + David I., reign of, i., 201‒204, 221, 223, 224, 225, 227, 228, + 230, 232, 234, 235, 243, 244. + + David II., reign of, i., 304, 306, 307‒313, 429. + + David, Earl of Huntingdon, i., 204, 256. + + Davidson, + John, ii., 198, 214, 373, 374; + Thomas, 302, 303; + John, Principal of the University of Glasgow, 352, 408; + Dr. Patrick, iv., 164. + + Dean of Lismore’s Book, i., 442, 443. + + Defence of the Country, armour, weapons, organisation of the + army, i., 409‒413. + + Denmark, marriage treaty, i., 346. + + Descartes, method and principles of his system, iii., 403‒418. + + Dickson, David, iii., 61, 359. + + Dingwall, i., 385, 386. + + Divorce, ii., 265, 266. + + Donald I., i., 136. + + Donald II., i., 136. + + Donald Bane, i., 144. + + Donald Balloch, i., 329, 330. + + Donald, Lord of the Isles, i., 324‒326. + + Douglas, + Sir William, i., 266, 267; + Sir James, 283, 286, 287, 290, 292, 300, 303; + Sir Archibald, 305, 306; + Sir William, 307; + Sir John of Dalkeith, 342; + Sir James, 435; + Sir William of Drumlanrig, 389; + Sir James, ii., 225; + George of Parkhead, 284, 285; + Sir Archibald, iii., 18. + + Douglas, Earl of, i., 316, 317, 318, 321, 323, 326, 338, 339, + 340, 341, 342, 343, 349, 388, 389, 390. + + Douglas, + Gavin, ii., 36, 310‒315; + Dr. James, iv., 320. + + Drumclog, battle of, iii., 153. + + Drummond, + Lord, i., 360; + ii., 228; + Earl of Perth, iii., 171, 172; + Lady Margaret, i., 360. + + Drummond, + General, iii., 135; + James, 227; + William, 366, 367. + + Dryburgh, Monastery, ii., 66. + + Duff, + King, i., 137; + Angus Chief, 329; + + ♦Dumbarton, i., 114, 121; + castle of, 248, 278; + ii., 149, 154, 155; + burgh of, i., 386, 391; + iii., 302, 303; + iv., 361. + + ♦ Separate item, not part of Duff. + + ♦Dumfries, + Castle of, i., 248, 290; + burgh of, 282, 356, 384; + ii., 131, 186; + iii., 24, 27, 134, 212, 228, 342, 386; + iv., 371. + + ♦ Printed out of alphabetic order. + + ♦Dumplin, battle of, i., 305. + + ♦ Printed out of alphabetic order. + + Dunaverty Castle, i., 285, 355. + + Dunbar, + Castle, i., 263, 383; + ii., 133, 140, 141, 143, 149; + town of, i., 383, 503; + iii., 227, 300, 387; + battle of, 109. + + Dunbar, Earl of, i., 212, 214, 217, 218; + iii., 18, 25, 26, 30. + + Dunbar, William, ii., 303‒310. + + Dunblane, + cathedral, i., 249; + ii., 423; + city of, i., 238, 408. + + Duncan I., i., 139, 140. + + Duncan II., i., 143, 144. + + Duncan, Dr. Andrew, iv., 302‒304. + + Dundee, i., 83, 119, 248, 265, 267, 288, 387, 391, 437; + ii., 69, 93, 197, 202, 233, 235, 237, 240, 243, 400; + iii., 93, 223, 301, 303; + iv., 243, 331, 357, 358, 375, 376. + + Dundee, Viscount, iii., 174, 175, 181, 182, 183. + + Dunfermline, + Abbey of, i., 141, 144, 156, 239, 248, 252, 303, 385; + burgh of, 238, 258, 408; + ii., 400; + iv., 375. + + Dunfermline, Earl of, iii., 18, 30. + + Dunkeld, i., 119; + church of, 120, 134; + abbot of, 138, 139, 143; + bishopric of, 210, 218, 222, 225. + + Dunlop, + John, iv., 155; + Alexander, 480. + + Dunnichen, i., 116. + + Dunnotter, i., 136. + + Duns Law, iii., 74. + + Dunsinnane, i., 91, 92, 140. + + Dupin, Nicolas, iii., 313, 318, 333. + + Durham, i., 203; + battle of, 308; + iii., 97. + + Durham, James, iii., 359. + + ♦Durrisdeer, i., 91. + + ♦ Printed out of alphabetic order. + + Durward, Alan, i., 214, 216. + + Dury, John, ii., 167, 178, 179, 182. + + + Eadmer, i., 200, 201. + + Earth-houses, i., 65‒70. + + Earthenware, iii., 317; + iv., 365, 366. + + Edgar, King, i., 143, 144, 148. + + Edinburgh, + annexed, i., 137, 144, 151, 233, 247, 258, 276, 301, 306, 312, + 317, 319, 338, 352, 354, 370, 388, 389; + ii., 35, 54, 58, 65, 66, 78, 89, 90, 91, 93, 97, 99, 100, + 115, 117, 119, 124, 128, 132, 133, 135, 140, 143, 148, + 151, 154, 163, 167, 179, 183, 203, 206, 213, 219, 237; + iii., 37, 41, 42‒44, 48, 49, 54, 55, 56, 67, 81, 99, 110, + 120, 129, 134, 135, 147, 153, 163, 168, 171‒173, 174‒176, + 180, 182, 186, 203, 206, 213, 219, 227, 236, 241, 274, 285; + iv., 44, 70, 75, 87, 97, 144, 148, 165, 174, 178, 194, 211, + 222, 234, 330, 391, 405‒6; + Castle of, i., 248, 264, 274, 307, 322, 339, 349, 350, 358, + 429; + ii., 101, 134, 142, 144, 149, 152, 155; + iii., 73, 159, 174, 175, 227; + University of, ii., 414‒419; + iii., 392, 393; + iv., 18, 69, 70, 74, 75, 87, 97, 102, 103, 136, 148, 156, + 157, 167, 257, 263, 274, 291‒315. + + Edinburgh, treaty of, ii., 100. + + Edmund, i., 143. + + Education, i., 184, 245, 466; + first Educational Act, 466, 467, 468; + ii., 109, 110, 397‒422; + iii., 375‒393; + iv., 324‒330. + + Edward I., policy of, i., 218, 219, 255‒260, 261, 262, 263‒265, + 266, 269‒271, 272, 273‒279, 283, 287. + + Edward II., i., 287, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 296, 298, 299, 300. + + Edward III., + Invasions of Scotland, i., 305, 306, 307; + policy of, 309, 310, 311, 312. + + Edward IV., i., 348, 349, 351. + + Edward VI., ii., 75, 86, 87. + + Egfrid, defeat of, i., 116. + + Eglinton, Earl of, ii., 140, 229; + iii., 56, 75, 99. + + Elgin, i., 139, 264, 385, 390; + ii., 251; + iii., 92, 94; + iv., 370; + + Elizabeth, wife of Robert I., i., 303. + + Elizabeth, Queen, ii., 92, 93, 99, 100, 145, 150, 220; + iv., 147. + + Elliot, Robert, iii., 27. + + Ellon, iv., 370. + + Elphinstone, Bishop, i., 467; + ii., 300, 301. + + Elphinstone, + Lord, iii., 19; + master of, 292. + + England, policy of toward Scotland, i., 206, 214, 218, 257‒260, + 261, 263‒265, 271, 273, 278, 280, 283, 287, 299, 300, 301, + 305, 306, 309, 310, 322, 349, 361, 362; + ii., 54‒57, 63‒67, 76, 99‒101, 155; + iii., 179, 183, 184, 190‒193, 198, 201‒204, 206, 217‒221. + + English language, i., 441, 443, 464. + + English money, i., 396; + ii., 282; + one standard fixed, iii., 216. + + Eocha, King, i., 136. + + Episcopacy, ii., 108, 109, 157‒160, 164‒171, 177, 182‒185, 188, + 210‒218; + iii., 28‒42, 44‒69; + abolished, 70‒72; + reintroduced, 122‒128; + again abolished, 180, 181, 184. + + Erc, Chief, i., 116. + + Eric II., King of Norway, i., 217, 259. + + Errol, Earl of, i., 365, 373; + ii., 195, 196, 199, 201, 212; + iii., 19. + + Erskine, + Lord Robert, i., 334; + John, of Dun, ii., 88, 89, 93, 108, 158, 185; + Rev. Ebenezer, iv., 213; + Rev. Ralph, 213; + Dr. John, 213, 214; + Thomas, Lord, 232‒234. + + Ethnology, i., 38‒43; + of Scotland, 43‒47, 114, 115, 116, 118. + + Etive, Loch, vitrified fort on, i., 91. + + Evans, Dr. John, i., 50, 51. + + Exchequer, i., 221. + + Excise, difficulties connected with, iii., 217‒219; + iv., 395, 396. + + Excommunication of Robert I., i., 295, 303; + form of, ii., 255, 257. + + + Fairfax, iii., 342. + + Falasie, i., 192. + + Falkirk, battle of, i., 269‒271; + iii., 228. + + Falkland Castle, i., 323, 430; + ii., 213, 274. + + Fast Castle, i., 324, 353. + + Fasting, i., 131; + ii., 257‒260; + iii., 272, 273. + + Fergus, + King, i., 120; + Chief, 116, 205. + + Ferguson, + David, ii., 352; + Adam, iv., 69‒74, 152. + + Fergusson, Robert, iv., 178, 179. + + Feudalism, i., 161, 190, 193, 198, 199, 201, 203, 209, 211, + 220‒228, 256, 260, 261, 269, 337, 371‒376, 411. + + Fife, Earl of, i., 143, 204, 209, 213, 217, 225, 271, 308, 314, + 317, 319, 333. + + Fifeshire, i., 105, 119, 121, 136, 304; + ii., 66; + iii., 151; + iv., 142, 143, 341, 373. + + Finlay, John, i., 446. + + Firth of Forth, i., 23, 28, 109, 110, 115, 119. + + Fisheries, i., 239, 377, 390, 391, 432; + ii., 40, 54; + iii., 301, 302, 303, 308; + iv., 400. + + Flanders, Count of, i., 240, 241, 391, 392. + + Fleming, + Robert, i., 283; + Malcolm, 327, 339. + + Fleming, Lord, i., 345; + ii., 150. + + Fletcher, + Sir John, iii., 120; + Andrew, of Saltoun, 179, 206, 255. + + Flint weapons and tools, i., 48‒52. + + Flodden, Battle of, i., 363‒365. + + Forbes, Lord, i., 353, 354. + + Forbes, + Patrick, Bishop, iii., 362; + Dr. John, 362, 363; + Professor, iv., 266, 268. + + Fordoun, iii., 94. + + Fordun, John, i., 463. + + Forest, + free, i., 223; + forest laws, 225, 417. + + Forfar, + Castle of, i., 248, 267, 288; + burgh of, 373, 387; + iv., 375. + + Forfarshire, i., 89, 121, 202, 264, 378; + ii., 88; + iii., 90, 110; + iv., 373. + + Forfeited estates, i., 343, 344, 347; + ii., 60; + iii., 217, 224; + iv., 336. + + Forman, Andrew, Archbishop of St. Andrews, i., 428; + ii., 36. + + Forres, i., 248, 372, 385. + + Forrest, Thomas, martyred, ii., 58. + + Forrester, Robert, martyred, ii., 58. + + Four Burghs, court of, i., 234, 235. + + France, + Alliance with, i., 262, 274, 275, 299, 300, 315; + French troops in Scotland, 316, 317, 330, 363; + ii., 76, 97. + + Franchise, iv., 456, 460, 461‒463. + + Francis II., ii., 97, 116. + + Frankfort, ii., 75. + + Fraser, William, Bishop of St. Andrews, i., 217, 246, 255. + + Fraser, + Sir Simon, i., 275, 277, 285; + Alexander, 283; + James, 305; + Simon, 305; + Captain Simon, iv., 421. + + Free Trade with England under Cromwell, iii., 112. + + French refugees, ii., 189. + + Fyvie, i., 50, 432; + iii., 91. + + Fyvie, Lord, ii., 204; + iii., 18. + + + Gaelic, i., 148, 175, 183, 184, 442‒444. + + Galgacus, Chief, i., 106‒109. + + Galloway, i., 115, 122, 201, 203; + risings in, 205, 206, 211, 212, 272; + law of, 229, 230; + castles of, 290. + + Galloway, + Lord of, i., 211, 230, 256; + Bishop of, 212; + ii., 153. + + Galt, John, iv., 204. + + Game laws, i., 417. + + Garioch, i., 325. + + Gasklune, battle of, i., 319, 320. + + Geddes, Sir William, iv., 142. + + Geneva, ii., 75, 89, 113, 114, 359. + + Geology, iv., 268‒271. + + George I., iii., 222. + + Gibbs, James, iv., 402‒404. + + Gibson, James, ii., 188. + + Gilbert, Chief, i., 206. + + Gillespie, George, iii., 87, 362. + + Gillies, Dr. John, iv., 152, 153. + + Gladstanes, Archbishop of St. Andrews, iii., 19. + + Glammis, + Lord, i., 373; + Master of, ii., 177, 181; + iii., 19. + + Glasgow, + Bishop of――Wishart, i., 266, 273, 277, 283, 294; + Turnbull, 466, 467; + Laing, 467; + Archbishop of, ii., 38, 59; + iii., 19, 35, 363; + Cathedral of i., 249. + + Glasgow, + city of, i., 125, 238, 403, 408, 465; + ii., 97, 252, 400, 402, 403; + iii., 50, 69, 128, 153, 218, 228, 245, 246, 248, 254, 284, + 302, 303, 319, 328, 330, 331; + iv., 348‒351, 360‒363, 370, 376, 378, 380, 383, 389, 392‒393, + 395, 397‒399, 406‒409, 428; + University of, i., 466; + ii., 408‒410; + iii., 388, 390, 391, 392; + iv., 18, 19, 44, 60, 102, 260‒263, 266, 272‒275, 284, 315‒317. + + Glass, + introduction of, i., 420; + Glass-making, iii., 315‒317; + iv., 363‒365. + + Glencairn, Earl of, ii., 69, 88, 89, 97, 130, 133, 145, 148, 177; + iii., 120, 124. + + Glencoe, iii., 191‒193. + + Glenfinnan, iii., 226. + + Glengarry, chief, iii., 190, 191, 226. + + Glenlivet, battle of, ii., 201, 202. + + Glenmore, i., 25, 215. + + Godly Ballads, ii., 341‒345. + + Gold ornaments, ancient, i., 79‒81. + + Goodal, Walter, iv., 145. + + Goodsir, John, iv., 306. + + Gordon, Duke of, iii., 174, 175; + iv., 421, 454. + + Gordon, + Sir Adam, i., 298, 305; + Sir Alexander, 338; + Sir John, ii., 124; + George, 124; + Sir Robert, iii., 237, 238; + Sir Alexander, 238; + Lord Gordon, 238, 239; + Robert, 247; + George, 267, 268; + Dr., iv., 309; + Sir John W., 446. + + Gourlay, Norman, burned, ii., 54. + + Gow, + Neil, iv., 418, 420; + Nathaniel, 421, 422. + + Gowrie, Earl of, ii., 177, 179, 180, 181, 218, 219. + + Gowrie, Carse of, i., 28. + + Graham, + Sir John, i., 271; + David de, 277; + Sir Robert, 327, 334, 335, 336, 337; + William, iii., 313; + John of Claverhouse, 153; + George F., iv., 416. + + Grammar Schools, i., 465, 466; + ii., 399‒405; + iii., 380‒388; + iv., 327. + + Grant, James, iv., 208. + + Gray, Lord, iii., 238. + + Gray, David, iv., 195. + + Greenock, i., 409; + iii., 303; + iv., 394. + + Gregory, + James, iii., 371, 372; + David, 372, 373; + Dr. John, iv., 300, 302; + Dr. James, 302. + + Greyfriars Church, iii., 49. + + Greyfriars Churchyard, iii., 61, 154. + + Grub, Dr. George, iv., 164. + + Gruoch, i., 139, 140. + + Guilds, laws of, i., 235‒236, 404. + + Guinea, iii., 330. + + Guise, House of, ii., 57, 92, 93, 116, 124, 125. + + Grum John, iv., 422. + + Guthrie, + James, iii., 123, 326; + William, iv., 150; + Dr. Thomas, 222. + + + Hackston, of Rathillet, iii., 151, 153, 156. + + Haco, i., 215, 216. + + Haddington, i., 307, 386, 387, 465; + ii., 69, 303, 315; + iv., 370. + + Haddington, Earl of, iv., 335. + + Haddingtonshire, i., 271; + iv., 343, 373. + + Hailes, Lord, iv., 146, 151, 152. + + Halidon Hill, battle of, i., 306. + + Hall, Sir John, i., 336. + + Hamilton, + Lord, i., 345, 346; + Lord Claud, ii., 150, 155, 208; + Marquis of, iii., 63, 64, 65, 67, 70, 71, 74; + Duke of, 98, 99, 174, 175, 177, 179, 181, 193, 207, 211. + + Hamilton, Patrick, martyred, ii., 49, 50. + + Hamilton, + of Bothwellhaugh, ii., 152; + John, Archbishop of St. Andrews, 71, 77, 87, 96, 138, 150, 154, + 406; + Sir Thomas, of Monkland, iii., 18; + James, Master of Paisley, 19; + Sir Robert, 154; + William, iv., 167; + William, of Bangour, 170; + Sir William, his writings, 102‒135. + + Hamilton town, iii., 153; + iv., 295, 296. + + Harlaw, battle of, i., 324‒326, 450. + + Harold, King, i., 194. + + Harold, Earl of Orkney, i., 207, 208. + + Harrington, James, iii., 450. + + Hastings, + John, i., 256, 259, 260; + Henry de, 204. + + Hawick, iv., 369, 370, 371. + + Hawley, General, iii., 228, 229. + + Hay, + Gilbert, of Errol, i., 283; + Hugh, 283, 284; + Alexander, iii., 19; + Sir James, 19. + + Hebrides, i., 22, 23, 118, 134, 144, 156, 215, 217, 329, 346, + 348, 355, 356, 357; + ii., 60; + iii., 242, 243. + + Henderson, + James, ii., 238; + Alexander, iii., 52, 55, 60, 61, 70, 87, 88, 362. + + Henry, the minstrel, i., 458‒462. + + Henry I., i., 195, 202. + + Henry II., i., 205, 206. + + Henry III., i., 214. + + Henry IV., i., 322, 324. + + Henry VI., i., 345. + + Henry VII., i., 353, 358, 361, 362. + + Henry VIII., i., 362, 363; + ii., 37, 51, 54‒56, 57, 61, 63‒67, 69, 76. + + Henry II. of France, ii., 97. + + Henry, Dr. Robert, iv., 151. + + Henryson, + Robert, i., 376, 462, 463; + Dr. Edward, ii., 383. + + Hepburn, + William, i., 353; + Patrick, Lord Hailes, 353; + John, ii., 36, 406. + + Hereditary jurisdiction, i., 220, 221, 223, 225, 226, 228, 237, + 238, 372, 411, 424‒426; + iii., 213, 225, 226. + + Heresy, i., 37, 327, 332; + ii., 18, 19, 49, 53, 58‒60, 68‒70, 74, 75, 78, 81, 91. + + Hermitage Castle, i., 309. + + Herries, Ralph, i., 285. + + Herries, Lord, ii., 150. + + Hertford, Earl of, ii., 65‒67. + + Hexham, i., 253, 254, 268. + + High Commission, Courts of, iii., 34, 132, 133. + + Highlands, i., 23‒25, 27, 29, 206‒208, 329, 348, 355‒357; + ii., 226, 227, 290; + iii., 237‒239, 241‒244; + iv., 353, 354. + + Hill, Dr. George, iv., 219, 470. + + Hill forts, i., 88‒92. + + Historic Interpretation, i., 33‒37. + + Historical conditions, i., 19, 45, 46, 85, 88, 101, 102, 113, + 119, 120, 121, 135, 136, _et seq._, 227, 228, 255‒265; + ii., 1, 2, _et seq._, 100, 103, 220; + iii., 17‒20, 176, 177, 214, 215. + + History of Scottish philosophy, iv., 17‒142. + + Hogarth, George, iv., ♦422, 423, 427, 429. + + ♦ page numbers supplied by transcriber + + Hogg, James, iii., 344; + iv., 189‒191. + + Holland, John, iii., 328. + + Holyrood Abbey, i., 221, 222, 249, 338; + Palace of, ii., 117, 130, 133, 136, 142, 179, 206, 209, 215, + 273, 275, 423; + iii., 396; + Chapel of, ii., 119, 138; + iii., 37, 51, 169, 172. + + Home, Lord, i., 364; + ii., 199, 224. + + Home, John, iv., 174. + + Homeldon Hill, battle of, i., 323. + + Homil, James, i., 348, 350. + + Hope, Sir Thomas, iii., 84, 367. + + Howard, Lord, i., 363. + + Hume, Lord, ii., 143, 145, 148. + + Hume, + Alexander, ii., 377, 378; + Alexander, 402, 403; + Sir Patrick, iii., 179; + David, + his philosophical writings, iv., 25‒44; + history, 146‒148. + + Huntingdon, Earl of, i., 204. + + Hunter, + Dr. Henry, iv., 217, 218; + Dr. William, 320, 321; + Dr. John, 321‒323. + + Huntly, + Earl of, i., 342, 350, 354, 356, 357, 358, 364; + ii., 63, 64, 78, 116, 123, 124, 133, 134, 135, 136, 138, 139, + 150, 152, 155, 192, 195, 196, 199, 201, 202, 203, 204, 206, + 212; + Marquis of, iii., 68, 74, 90, 94, 104, 222. + + Hurry, General, iii., 93, 94. + + + Icolmkill, statutes of, iii., 242, 243. + + Inchaffary, Abbot of, i., 292. + + Inchcolm, ruins of monastery, i., 163. + + Inchkeith, i., 23. + + Inchmahome, i., 249. + + Incontinence, i., 155, 244, 245; + ii., 41. + + India-rubber manufactures, iv., 391, 392, 393. + + Indulf, King, i., 137. + + Independents, iii., 88, 96, 97. + + Influence of surrounding nature upon the Mind, i., 19, 20, 31‒33, + 66; + ii., 427. + + Innermaith, Lord, ii., 145, 146. + + Innes, + Thomas, iv., 145; + Cosmo, 162. + + Invercharron, iii., 105, 106. + + Inveresk, iv., 418. + + Inverkeithing, i., 307, 387; + iii., 301. + + Inverlochy, battle of, iii., 92. + + Inverness, i., 83, 91, 127, 151, 207, 233, 240, 306, 329, 356, + 385, 390, 404; + ii., 226, 227; + iii., 94, 225, 226, 227, 228, 288, 302; + iv., 354, 373, 374. + + Inverurie, i., 278‒287; + iii., 74. + + Iona, i., 127‒134, 156, 175, 181, 182. + + Ireland, 21, 48, 70, 77, 78, 126, 127, 133, 161, 174, 181, 211, + 285, 291, 357; + iii., 65, 85, 90, 297, 302, 303. + + Irish, + early writings, i., 117, 150; + note illuminated manuscripts, 172, 173. + + Iron works and manufactures, iv., 345‒352. + + Irvine, i., 267, 391, 434; + iii., 134. + + Irvine, Sir Alexander, i., 328. + + Irving, Dr., ii., 367; + iv., 163. + + Isles, lordship of forfeited, i., 348, 355. + + Isabella, daughter of Earl David, i., 204, 256. + + + Jack, Thomas, ii., 402. + + Jacobites, iii., 175, 176, 181‒183, 190, 193, 195, 196, 201, + 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 211, 213, 218, 219, 220, 222‒224, + 226‒230. + + Jacobite Songs, iii., 346‒353. + + James I., reign of, i., 226‒337. + + James II., reign of, i., 338‒344. + + James III., reign of, i., 344‒352. + + James IV., reign of, i., 353‒365. + + James V., reign of, ii., 38‒39, 49‒62. + + James VI., reign of, ii., 169‒220; + iii., 17‒42. + + James VII., policy of, iii., 163‒172. + + James VIII., Pretender, iii., 223. + + Jamesone, George, painter, iii., 393‒396. + + Jamieson, Dr., i., 280, 461. + + Jedburgh, 238, 356, 383, 426; + ii., 292; + iii., 24, 27, 380; + iv., 371; + castle of, i., 248, 264, 324; + abbey of, 248; + ii., 66. + + Jeffrey, Lord, iv., 234‒236. + + Jesuits, ii., 82‒84, 192, 195. + + Joanna, Queen of David II., i., 302, 306, 307, 310. + + John, King of England, i., 208, 209, 210. + + Johnstone, + of Johnstone, ii., 186, 224; + Archibald, of Warriston, iii., 60, 61, 70, 87, 121, 123; + Dr., 380; + Mrs., iv., 204, 205. + + Justiciary, i., 214, 222, 330, 386, 424. + + Jury trial, i., 221, 230, 371. + + Justice of the Peace, iii., 248, 249, 294. + + + Kay, John, iv., 366. + + Kells, Book of, illuminated manuscripts, i., 172, 173. + + Keith, iii., 244. + + Keith, + Sir Robert, i., 292, 293, 305, 367; + Sir William, of Inverugy, ii., 228; + Dr. William, iv., 319. + + Kelso, i., 238, 344, 384; + iv., 369; + Abbey of, i., 216, 249, 250, 252‒254, 432; + ii., 66. + + Kennedy, + Bishop of St. Andrews, i., 340, 345; + Walter, ii., 309; + Quintin, 349, 352, 353. + + Kennedy, Lord, i., 360; + ii., 309. + + Kenneth I., M‘Alpin, i., 120, 121, 136. + + Kenneth II., i., 138. + + Kenneth, M‘Duff, i., 138. + + Ker, + George, ii., 195, 196; + Mark, 224; + Robert, iii., 19; + Dr. David, iv., 319. + + Kilconcath, William, i., 246. + + Kildelith, i., 246. + + Kildrummy Castle, i., 247, 264, 276, 284, 285, 306, 307. + + Killiecrankie, Battle of, iii., 181‒183. + + Kilmarnock, i., 409; + iii., 297; + iv., 369, 371, 372. + + Kilpatrick, West, i., 110. + + Kilsyth, battle of, iii., 95. + + Kincardineshire, i., 136, 137, 378. + + Kinghorn, i., 217, 258. + + Kinghorn, Earl of, iii., 19. + + Kirk-of-Field, ii., 135. + + Kirkcaldy, iii., 301, 303; + iv., 375. + + Kirkcaldy, Sir William, of Grange, ii., 71, 149, 152, 153, 155, + 156. + + Kirkpatrick, i., 282. + + Knapdale, i., 348. + + Knox, + John, ii., 69, 72, 73, 74, 75, 87‒89, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98, 99, + 100, 104, 118, 119, 120, 123, 124‒127, 130, 134, 147, 153, + 154, 159, 160‒165; + his writings, 345‒349, 352‒354, 360‒364; + Andrew, minister of Paisley, 195; + Bishop of the Isles, iii., 242, 243; + Dr., iv., 309. + + + Laing, David, ii., 300, 305, 331, 340, 343, 346; + iv., 163. + + Lamberton, Bishop of St. Andrews, i., 274, 281, 283, 285. + + Lanark, i., 356, 387; + ii., 181; + iii., 160; + iv., 373. + + Lanarkshire, i., 29, 81, 114, 271, 279; + iii., 134; + iv., 341, 342, 343, 344, 347, 378, 381, 388. + + Land, in connection with the tribe, and organisation of society, + i., 100, 146‒150, 202, 223‒228, 250‒254, 371‒376, 377‒380, + 380‒382, 421, 422; + ii., 39, 40, 110, 266, 297; + iii., 305; + iv., 336‒339. + + Langside, battle of, ii., 150. + + Largs, battle of, i., 216. + + Latin, i., 183, 245, 463, 464; + ii., 5, 6, 379, 380. + + Laud, Archbishop, iii., 45, 63, 66. + + Lauder Bridge, i., 350. + + Lauder, Sir Thomas D., iv., 206. + + Lauderdale, Earl of, iii., 14, 129, 137, 142, 348. + + Laws, early, i., 151‒153, 221, 222, 228‒231, 370, 371. + + Lawson, James, ii., 162, 167, 184, 421. + + Le Crocke, ii., 161. + + Leibnitz, theory of monads, iii., 432‒434; + iv., 255, 256. + + Leighton, Bishop, iii., 141, 363‒364. + + Leith, i., 316, 333, 346, 358, 359, 419; + ii., 66, 89, 97, 98, 99, 100, 117, 132, 158, 275, 291, 294; + iii., 74, 84, 300, 301, 303, 309, 313, 331, 332; + iv., 357, 369. + + Lennox, + Earl of, i., 217, 283, 285, 327, 328, 354, 364, 365; + ii., 37, 128, 131, 139, 152, 154, 155; + Duke of, iii., 54. + + Lennox, Esme Stewart, Duke of, ii., 175, 176, 177, 179. + + Lesley, Norman, ii., 71. + + Leslie, + General Alexander, iii., 73, 76, 79, 338; + General David, 95, 338; + Sir John, iv., 263‒265. + + Lesly, John, ii., 116. + + Lesmahagow sanctuary, i., 232. + + Leven, Earl of, iii., 175. + + Lewis, island, i., 22, 357. + + Leyden, University of, iv., 287, 292, 293, 304. + + Leyden, John, ii., 319; + iv., 184, 185. + + Liddel, Dr. Duncan, ii., 393, 394. + + Lindisfarne, i., 126. + + Lindores, i., 323. + + Lindsay, + Alexander, i., 267, 277; + Sir James, 317; + Sir William, 321, 322; + David, Lord of Crawford, 434; + David, ii., 158, 167, 188. + + Lindsay, Lord, ii., 132, 134, 143, 145, 148, 155, 175, 181, 206, + 207. + + Linlithgow, i., 258, 264, 274, 276, 290, 294, 307, 326, 345, 358, + 387, 390; + ii., 120, 152, 207, 349, 400; + iii., 29, 80, 54; + iv., 370. + + Linlithgow, Palace of, i., 333, 360, 377, 429, 430, 470; + ii., 62. + + Linlithgow, Earl of, iii., 19. + + Linlithgowshire, i., 29, 119; + iv., 341, 342, 343, 373. + + Lismore, Book of the Dean of, i., 442. + + Literature, + early, i., 181‒185, 215‒247, 441‒464; + Poetry, ii., 301‒315, 331‒341, 370‒380; + Ballad, 341‒345; + Historical and various, 315‒330, 345‒364, 364‒370, 380‒385, + 393‒396; + Ballad and Jacobite Song, iii., 336‒355; + Historical and various, 356‒368; + Historical, iv., 143‒154, 154‒164; + Poetry, 165‒182, 183‒198; + Fiction, 199‒212; + Religious, 213‒228; + Miscellaneous, 228‒254. + + Liturgy, iii., 44, 46‒50, 51‒58, 62, 63. + + Livingston, + Sir Alexander, i., 338, 339, 340; + John of Livingston, 389, 390; + Sir William, iii., 19. + + Livingston, Lord, i., 345; + ii., 150. + + Livingstone, Dr. David, iv., 250. + + Lochaber, i., 329, 356; + iii., 181. + + Lochiel, chief of the clan Cameron, i., 356; + iii., 181, 226. + + Lochindorb Castle, i., 247, 276. + + Lochleven, i., 140; + ii., 144, 145, 147, 150. + + Lochmaben, + Castle, i., 281; + town of, 372, 468. + + Locke, John, writings of, iii., 452‒462; + iv., 17, 18, 27. + + Lockhart, + Colonel, iii., 113; + Sir George, 148, 233; + Sir George of Carnwath, 208, 209, 210, 214; + John G., iv., 207, 208. + + Logan, John, iv., 177, 178. + + Logic, iii., 437‒439; + iv., 130‒133. + + Logie, Margaret, i., 310. + + Lomond, Loch, i., 29. + + London, i., 271, 279, 280, 285; + ii., 99, 220; + iii., 54, 82, 86, 116, 118, 173, 179, 183, 198, 229, 296; + iv., 167, 173, 245. + + Long Parliament, iii., 80, 84, 86, 87, 89, 96, 97. + + Lord of the Isles, i., 285, 292, 312, 324, 325, 329, 330, 341, + 348, 355. + + Lords of the Articles, i., 369, 370; + iii., 37, 38, 129, 130, 180, 183, 184. + + Lords of the Congregation, ii., 89, 91, 93, 95, 96, 97, 99, 100. + + Lorne, + Lord of, i., 284, 312; + black knight of, 338; ii., 89. + + Lothian, i., 47, 116, 138, 185, 189. + + Lothian, Earl of, iii., 18, 188, 189, 190. + + Loudon, Lord, iii., 55, 57, 58, 60, 61. + + Loudon Hill, battle of, i., 286, 287. + + Lowe, Dr. Peter, ii., 393. + + Lovat, Lord, i., 386. + + Lubeck, i., 268. + + Lude Hill, iii., 181. + + Lulach, i., 140. + + Lumphanan, battle of, i., 140. + + Luther, ii., 17, 32‒34, 49. + + Lyndsay, Sir David, ii., 42, 331‒340. + + + M‘Ancrum, Donald B., ii., 229. + + M‘Angus, William, iii., 237. + + Macbeth, i., 139, 140, 148. + + M‘Cowane, Donald C., ii., 229. + + M‘Crie, Dr. Thomas, iv., 154. + + M‘Culloch, Horatio, iv., 449. + + Macdonald, Lord, i., 163. + + Macdonald, + Sir Donald, iii., 190; + Chief of Glencoe, 191‒192; + of Boisdale, Glengarry, Keppoch, 191, 226; + Donald Gorm of Sleat, Donald of Ylanterim, Captain of + Clanranald, Angus of Dunivaig, 242, 243. + + Macdonald, Alaster, iii., 90. + + Macduff, i., 261, 271. + + Macgill, James, ii., 146, 158, 274. + + MacGregors, + clan of, iii., 243; + Patrick Roy, 244. + + MacHeth, i., 205, 207, 209. + + Mackay, ii., 227; + Donald, iii., 237, 238; + Dr. Charles, iv., 196; + Angus, 425. + + Mackay, General, iii., 176, 181‒183. + + Mackenzie, + Kenneth, iii., 19; + Sir George, 144, 146, 147, 234, 368; + Henry, iv., 199, 200. + + Mackinnons, i., 117, note; + Rory, iii., 242. + + Mackintosh, + of Borlum, iii., 224; + Sir James, iv., 97‒101; + Robert, 421. + + Macknight, Dr. James, iv., 216, 471. + + Maclean of Lochbuy, i., 357; + Lauchlan, iii., 242; + Hector of Duart, 242; + Lauchlan of Lochbuy, 242. + + Macleod, + of Lewis, i., 357; + Rory, of Harris, iii., 242; + Dr. Norman, iv., 223, 224. + + MacNeil of Barra, i., 357. + + Macpherson, James, iv., 175, 176. + + Macquharrie, Gellespie, iii., 242. + + M‘Sevir, Farquhar, ii., 229. + + MacWilliam, i., 207, 208, 209. + + Magi, i., 128, 129. + + Magnus VI., King of Norway, i., 216. + + Maid of Norway, i., 217, 218, 219. + + Mair, John, ii., 51, 315, 316. + + Maitland, + Sir Richard, i., 445; + ii., 370, 371; + William, 99, 100, 120, 121, 135, 141, 152, 155, 156, 157. + + Malcolm I., reign of, i., 137. + + Malcolm II., reign of, i., 138, 139. + + Malcolm III., reign of, i., 140‒143. + + Malcolm IV., reign of, i., 204, 205. + + Malise, Earl of Strathern, i., 203. + + Mallet, David, iv., 169. + + Man, Isle of, i., 216, 301. + + Manufactures, + Textile, woollen, i., 100, 133, 150, 162, 241, 390, 392, 406, + 407; + ii., 294; + iii., 306‒310; + iv., 366, 369‒372; + linen, iii., 311‒313; + iv., 372‒376, 377; + jute, 375‒377; + cotton, 377‒379, 383; + thread, 379‒380; + silk, 380; + mixed fabrics, 380, 381. + + Mar, + Earl of, i., 208, 214, 216, 217, 304, 305, 312, 325, 334, 348, + 349; + ii., 139, 145, 148; + elected Regent, 155, 177, 184; + iii., 19; + John, Secretary of State, 210; + his rising, 222‒224. + + March, Earl of, i., 255, 270, 305, 321, 322, 328, 333, 334. + + Marchmont, Earl of, iii., 262. + + Margaret, + Queen of Malcolm III., i., 141, 143, 155‒157; + Queen of James III., 346, 351; + Queen of James IV., 360‒362; + ii., 36, 37. + + Marischal, Earl, i., 358; + ii., 86, 419; + iii., 19, 222. + + Marriage, i., 99, 153‒156, 428; + ii., 229, 261‒266; + iii., 264, 278‒281. + + Mathematical Science, progress of, ii., 386‒391; + iii., 371‒374, 403; + iv., 254‒260. + + Marston Moor, battle of, iii., 95. + + Mary of Gueldres, Queen of James II., i., 340, 344, 345. + + Mary of Guise, Queen of James V., ii., 57, 86, 87, 90, 91, 93, + 95, 97, 98, 101. + + Mary, + Queen of Scotland, ii., 62, 63, 79; + reign of, 116‒147; + imprisonment of, 144; + escape, flight to England, 150; + her execution, 189, 190. + + Mary, Queen of England, ii., 87, 92. + + Maxwell, + Lord, i., 345; + ii., 186, 187, 224; + Master of, 225; + iii., 27. + + Maybole, ii., 353. + + Mechanical Science, i., 408; + ii., 384‒386; + progress of, iv., 271‒285. + + Medical Science, + state of, i., 414, 415; + ii., 392‒394; + iii., 368‒371; + progress of, iv., 286‒323. + + Melrose, Monastery of, i., 125, 126, 246, 254, 302, 303, 432, + 438; + ii., 66. + + Melville, + James, ii., 71; + Sir James, 141, 142; + Andrew, 167, 182, 201, 202, 213, 214, 409, 410, 412; + iii., 32, 33; + Sir Robert, iii., 19. + + Melville, Lord, iii., 179, 183, 186. + + ♦Menteith, Earl of, i., 213, 214, 217, 218, 263, 383, 308, 317. + + ♦ “Monteith” replaced with “Menteith”; + Printed out of alphabetic order. + + Menteith, Sir John, i., 278, 279. + + Metaphysics, iii., 399‒401, 405, 407‒414, 418‒452, 432‒434, 468, + 469, 470; + iv., 126‒130, 136‒139. + + Methven, + Bruce defeated at, i., 284; + lands of, 377. + + Middleton, Earl, Royal Commissioner, iii., 121‒123, 125‒129. + + Military service under the feudal organisation, i., 409‒412. + + Mill, + Walter, executed for heresy, ii., 91; + John S., iv., 135; + James, 155. + + Miller, Hugh, iv., 238‒240, 271. + + Mining, ii., 282‒286; + iii., 291‒294; + iv., 340‒345. + + Mitchell, + James, 135, 147, 148; + Dr. Charles, iv., 318. + + Moir, + Dr. James, i., 461; + David, iv., 208. + + Monk, General, iii., 110, 116. + + Monmouth, Duke of, iii., 153, 154, 167. + + Monro, + John, iv., 292; + Alexander, professor, 292‒294; + Alexander, 304‒305; + Alexander, 305‒306. + + Montgomery, + Sir John, i., 321; + Sir Hugh, 449; + Sir Matthew, ii., 229; + Alexander, poems of, 375‒377; + Sir James, iii., 179, 180. + + Montgomery, Lord, i., 345. + + Montrose, i., 276, 387, 391; + ii., 69, 182, 217; + iii., 301, 303, 323; + iv., 369, 375, 424. + + Montrose, + Earl of, iii., 18, 74; + Marquis of, 90‒95, 105, 106, 338, 339. + + Moral philosophy, iii., 417, 418, 424‒430, 448, 451, 452, + 466‒467; + iv., 19‒24, 38‒40, 45‒50, 68, 69, 71‒74, 81, 82, 94‒96, + 98‒101. + + Moray, + Sir Andrew, i., 266, 267, 268; + Sir Andrew of Bothwell, 306, 307, 378; + Thomas, 379. + + Moray, + Earl of, Randolph, i., 283, 290, 292, 296, 298, 299, 300, 302, + 304, 305, 308, 317, 360; + James Stewart, Earl of, ii., 123, 128, 129, 130, 131, 134, 136; + elected Regent, 148‒152. + + Morken, King, i., 124, 125. + + Morton, + Earl of, ii., 132, 133, 134, 142, 143, 145, 147, 151; + elected Regent, 155, 158, 165, 169, 175, 176. + + Mouat, Bernard, i., 285. + + Mowbray, 291, 294. + + Mure, William, iv., 163, 164. + + Murray, + Lord George, iii., 227, 228; + Mungo, 227; + Gideon, 21. + + Music, i., 245, 468, 469; + ii., 421‒422; + iii., 386‒388; + iv., 416‒428. + + Musselburgh, ii., 144; + iii., 300. + + + Nairn, i., 372, 386; + castle of, 248. + + Napier, John, inventor of logarithms, ii., 386‒391. + + Narne, Duncan, ii., 415. + + Nasmyth, iv., 436. + + Navigation, teaching of, iii., 386. + + Navy, under James IV., i., 363. + + Negative Confession, ii., 176. + + Ness, Loch of, i., 25. + + Newbattle, i., 239, 434, 435. + + Newbattle, Lord, iii., 18. + + Newcastle, i., 318; + ii., 75, 184; + iii., 33, 79, 80, 97. + + Nithsdale, Earl of, iii., 222. + + Nithsdale, i., 26, 272. + + Norham, + meetings at, i., 255, 256, 258; + castle of, 209, 300, 359, 363. + + Normans, i., 189‒194, 196, 197, 101‒103. + + Norman Conquest, i., 141, 197, 198. + + Norsemen, i., 47, 118, 120, 134, 136, 214‒217. + + Northallerton, battle of, i., 203, 204. + + Northampton, Treaty of, i., 300, 301. + + Northumberland, i., 142, 143, 262, 268, 295, 300, 318. + + Northumbria, i., 116, 138, 441. + + Norway, 21, 144, 215, 216, 217, 219. + + + Oaths associated with feudalism, i., 258, 264, 281, 372, 373. + + Ochiltree, Lord, ii., 146, 275; + iii., 19, 235, 236. + + Odistown, i., 303. + + Ogham, writing, i., 174, 175. + + Ogilvie, Sir Walter, i., 319, 320. + + Oliphant, Sir William, i., 277, 278. + + Oliphant, Lord, i., 373; + ii., 228. + + Orkney Isles, i., 22, 47, 53, 58‒61, 138, 139, 158, 215, 217, + 219, 346; + ii., 60; + iii., 302; + iv., 372, 373. + + Orkney, Earl of, i., 138, 139, 207, 208; + iii., 239‒241. + + Ormiegill, i., 55. + + Ormiston, Laird of, ii., 69. + + Ormond, Earl of, i., 343, 379. + + Ossian, Ossianic poems, i., 442‒444; + iv., 175, 176. + + Otterburn, battle of, i., 318, 449. + + Otterburne, Thomas, i., 468. + + Oxford, i., 451, 452; + iii., 372, 373, 374; + iv., 102, 134. + + + Pae, David P., iv., 208, 209. + + Painting, i., 470; + ii., 423, 424; + iii., 393‒396; + iv., 428‒454. + + Paisley, i., 83, 151, 238, 409; + ii., 195; + iii., 386; + iv., 182, 183, 205, 206, 214, 372, 377, 378, 380; + Abbey of, i., 249, 324, 355. + + Paper, manufacture of, ii., 2; + iii., 317‒319; + iv., 384‒389. + + Parliament, + origin and constitution of, i., 366‒370; + Meetings of, 295, 309, 310, 311, 313‒315, 316, 320, 327, 328, + 329, 330, 334, 340, 343, 347, 349, 351, 353, 354, 357; + ii., 38, 49, 60, 65, 68, 91, 102, 126, 139, 149, 183, 193, + 213; + iii., 30, 33, 37, 41, 44, 77, 81, 84, 97, 99, 103, 121‒128, + 129, 137, 140, 142, 158‒160, 164‒167, 168, 180, 183, 193, + 202, 203, 205, 206‒208, 210‒215. + + Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced changes in Scotland, + iii., 217‒218, 220. + + Paterson, + Abraham, ii., 284; + Robert, 289; + William, iii., 196, 199. + + Patronage, ii., 107, 172; + iii., 103, 104, 184; + iv., 467‒473 _et seq._ + + Peasantry, + in Normandy, i., 191, 193; + in Germany, ii., 16, 17. + + Pedro de Ayala, i., 360. + + Peebles, i., 282, 356, 384, 402; + ii., 260; + iii., 274, 290, 307, 380; + iv., 246, 369. + + Peers, Scottish representative, iii., 214. + + Pembroke, Earl of, i., 283, 284, 286, 287. + + Pennington, Joseph, iii., 21. + + Pentland Firth, i., 22. + + Pentland, battle of, iii., 134. + + Percy, + Henry, i., 266; + Sir Henry, Sir Ralph, 318, 449. + + Perkin Warbeck, i., 357‒359. + + Persecution, ii., 49, 50, 53, 54, 58, 68‒70, 91; + iii., 130‒135, 140, 144‒154, _et seq._ + + Perth, i., 119, 151, 205, 208, 233, 258, 264, 276, 278, 279, 283, + 290, 307, 311, 320, 327, 333, 335, 369, 386, 387, 391, 433; + ii., 69, 93, 94, 96, 179, 214; + iii., 39‒41, 90, 193, 194, 222, 223, 226; + iv., 196, 354, 373. + + Perth, Earl of, iii., 171, 172. + + Peterhead, iii., 223, 301, 302; + iv., 370, 374. + + Philip IV., of France, i., 262, 271. + + Phillip, John, iv., 450, 451. + + Philiphaugh, battle of, iii., 95, 338. + + Philosophy, ii., 28‒30, 220; + outline of European in the seventeenth century, and early part + of the eighteenth, iii., 398‒471; + Scottish, iv., 17‒142. + + Physical Science, progress of, iv., 255‒271. + + Picts, i., 112, 114, 115, 116, 119, 120, 127, 128. + + Pinkerton, John, iv., 153, 154. + + Pinkie, battle of, ii., 76. + + Pitcairn, + Dr. Archibald, iii., 371; + Robert, iv., 163. + + Plantations, nonconformists banished to, iii., 167, 168, 223. + + Pont, Robert, ii., 158, 184, 382, 383. + + Poor Laws, ii., 238, 239, 267; + iii., 248‒254. + + Population, i., 413; + iv., 214, 495. + + Postal communication, iii., 296‒296; + iv., ♦352, 356. + + ♦ Page numbers supplied by transcriber. + + Prehistoric period, + Stone Age, i., 36, 47‒71; + stone weapons and tools, 48‒53; + modes of disposing of the dead, chambered cairns, cremation, + 53‒65; + earth-houses, 65‒70; + primitive boats, 70; + Bronze Age, 71‒74, 74‒96; + bronze weapons and implements, 74‒79; + ornaments, 79‒81; + traces of dwellings, 81‒83; + crannogs, 84‒87; + hill forts, 88‒92; + cairn, and urn interment, 92‒96; + summary, 96‒104. + + Prelacy, iii., 177. + + Presbyterianism, ii., 166‒175, 193‒194; + iii., 68‒72, 184‒185. + + Press, censorship of, ii., 84, 277, 278. + + Preston, battle of, iii., 227. + + Primrose, Sir Archibald, iii., 120. + + Pringle, Charles, iii., 236, 237. + + Printing, + introduction of, ii., 2, 25‒27, 299‒303; + development of, iv., 389‒391. + + Privy Council, ii., 223, 225, 229, 248, 273, 275, 279, 281, 283, + 288, 403; + iii., 18‒20, 24, 26, 28, 30, 47, 49, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 59, + 62, 67, 123, 124, 128, 131, 133, 134, 136, 142, 146, 147, + 148, 163, 171, 182, 192, 195. + + Protestantism, history of in Scotland, ii., 149‒218. + + Protests, iii., 59, 65, 67. + + Protesters, iii., 109, 110, 111. + + Provincial councils of the Roman Catholic clergy, i., 212, 213; + ii., 41, 42, 76, 77, 78. + + Psalms, ii., 114, 342, 422. + + Psalmody, iv., 426‒427. + + Psychical faculties, i., 34, 35. + + Psychological phenomenon, ii., 439, 441. + + Psychology, ii., 30; + iii., 414‒417, 422‒430, 435, 436, 438‒444, 453‒460, 470; + iv., 20, 27‒39, 61‒68, 77‒82, 88‒96, 108‒126. + + + Quakers, iii., 114, 115, 256‒259. + + Quarries, iv., 406, 411, 412. + + Queensberry, Duke of, iii., 164, 202, 205, 210. + + Quoyness, i., 59. + + + Raban, Edward, iii., 363. + + Raeburn, Sir Henry, iv., 436‒439. + + Raid of Ruthven, ii., 179‒181. + + Ramorgny, Sir John, i., 322. + + Ramsay, + John, i., 460; + Allan, ii., 305; + his writings, iv., 165, 166; + Allan, painter, 429‒431. + + Randolph, Thomas, i., 283, 284. + + Ratisbon, ii., 351. + + Reader, office of, ii., 108, 174. + + Reeves, Dr., i., 127, 129, 181. + + Reformation, + rise of, ii., 16‒31; + eras of, 32, 85, 86; + history of, in Scotland, 38‒54, 58‒60, 67‒103, 104, 105, 149. + + Reformed Church, organisation of, ii., 104‒115, 121, 122, + 161‒175. + + Regalities, i., 225, 226, 373, 374, 425, 426; + iii., 225. + + Regality burghs, i., 234, 237, 238. + + Reid, + Dr. Thomas, writings, iv., 161‒169; + General, 427, 428. + + Religion, + prehistoric in Scotland, i., 58, 63, 99; + primitive, ii., 426, 428. + + Renwick, James, iii., 155, 171. + + Representatives of Scotland in the United Parliament, iii., 214. + + Rescissory Act, iii., 122. + + Resolutioners, iii., 109, 111. + + Reuchlin, ii., 17, 18. + + Revenue, i., 220, 221, 391. + + Revocation Act of Charles I., iii., 43‒45. + + Ricco, ii., 131, 132, 133, 134. + + Richard, I., i., 206. + + Riderch, King, i., 125. + + Ripon, iii., 80, 81. + + Roads, i., 256, 413; + iii., 225, 294‒296; + iv., 352‒355. + + Robert I., reign of, i., 283‒303. + + Robert II., reign of, i., 313‒319. + + Robert III., reign of, i., 319‒324. + + Robert, Prior of Scone, i., 201. + + Robertson, + William, iv., 148‒150; + Joseph, 162, 163; + E. W., 163; + George C., 139‒142; + James S., 425; + Andrew, 439. + + Robin Hood, i., 451. + + Rollo, a Norman hero, i., 190, 191. + + Rollock, + Robert, ii., 380, 381, 415, 416; + Hercules, 402. + + Roman Catholic Church, ii., 3‒14; + Power of, 14‒20; + state of the clergy, 20‒23, 40‒43, 51‒77, 78, 328, 329. + + Roman invasion, i., 104‒112. + + Romanised tribes, i., 112, 113. + + Rome, i., 45, 122, 129, 140, 341, 354, 355; + ii., 5, 20, 33, 58, 82, 103, 434, 435, 438. + + Roslin, battle of, i., 275. + + Ross, Earl of, i., 209, 211, 217, 264, 306, 312, 324, 325, 326, + 340, 341, 348. + + Ross, Lord, iii., 179. + + Ross, + Alexander, iv., 170, 171; + William, 425. + + Rothes, Earl of, ii., 130, 139, 150; + iii., 56, 60, 61, 120, 129, 148, 156, 165. + + Rothesay, Duke of, i., 320, 321, 322, 323. + + Rowll, i., 463. + + Roxburgh, i., 231, 232, 245; + Castle of, 248, 264, 290, 305, 364, 383. + + Roxburgh, Earl of, iii., 49, 57. + + Royal Burghs, i., 233‒237, 382‒387, 397‒408. + + Runic Inscriptions, i., 59, 175. + + Russell, Dr. William, iv., 152. + + Rutherford, Samuel, iii., 359‒362. + + Rutherglen, i., 386, 409; + iii., 152. + + Ruthven, + Lord, ii., 132, 133, 134, 135, 145, 158; + Master of, 219. + + Ruthwell, i., 175. + + + Sadler, Sir Ralph, ii., 57, 65. + + St. Adamnan, his life of St. Columba, i., 126, 181‒183. + + St. Andrews, i., 137, 148, 200, 201, 238, 239, 277, 322, 332, + 367, 387, 408, 413; + ii., 49, 66, 69, 70, 91, 96, 120, 136, 153, 199; + iii., 38, 151; + Castle of, i., 322; + ii., 49, 70, 71, 72, 73‒75; + Cathedral of, i., 249; + Bishop of, 137, 200, 209, 217, 255, 271, 281, 283, 285, 304, + 340, 345, 353, 355, 360; + ii., 36, 58, 71, 77, 78, 90, 138, 154, 159, 182, 271, 380; + iii., 19, 63, 119, 124, 129, 131, 135, 147, 151; + University of, i., 466; + ii., 405‒408, 410‒413; + iii., 390, 392, 393; + iv., 136, 178, 219, 220, 224. + + St. Bartholomew, massacre of, ii., 160, 161. + + St. Bridget, i., 131. + + St. Columba, i., 126‒131, 132‒135, 136. + + St. Cuthbert, i., 125, 126. + + St. Duthac, i., 436, 438. + + St. Fergus, i., 439. + + St. Fillan, relics of, i., 180, 439. + + St. Finnian, i., 127. + + St. Giles, i., 430, 431; + ii., 239. + + St. Kentigern, i., 124, 125. + + St. Maclou, i., 431. + + St. Monance, i., 430. + + St. Nicholas, i., 431; + ii., 239, 240. + + St. Ninian, i., 122, 123; + shrine of, 48. + + St. Regulus, i., 148. + + St. Serf, monastery of, i., 455. + + St. Servanus, i., 407. + + Sandlands, John, i., 358. + + Salt, export of, ii., 288, 289. + + Sang Schools, early, i., 245, 468; + ii., 421, 422. + + Sanquhar, Declaration proclaimed at, iii., 155. + + Sauchie Burn, battle of, i., 352. + + Saxons, i., 47, 112, 115, 116, 119, 141, 189. + + Scandinavia, i., 161, 190. + + Scandinavians, i., 47, 118. + + Schools, i., 245, 465, 466; + ii., 398‒405; + iii., 375‒388; + iv., 224‒327. + + Schrander, Dr., i., 41. + + Science, progress of, ii., 384‒391; + iii., 371‒374; + iv., 255‒323. + + Scolocs, i., 184. + + Scone, i., 119, 121, 137, 141, 204, 209, 213, 217, 221, 241, 260, + 262, 264, 283, 305, 313‒315, 319, 327, 353; + iii., 110, 223; + Monastery of, i., 201, 227, 239, 250; + ii., 94. + + Scots, i., 112, 116, 118, 120, 127. + + Scott of Tuschielaw, ii., 224; + John, 303, 372; + Walter, iii., 27; + Sir Walter, iv., 187‒189, 202‒204; + William B., 453. + + Scrymgeour, + Alexander, i., 366; + Sir James, iii., 19. + + Sculptured stones, i., 165‒174. + + Seaforth, Earl of, iii., 92, 110, 222. + + Selby, Sir William, iii., 21. + + Security of the Kingdom, Act for, iii., 205, 206. + + Segrave, Sir John, i., 275. + + Selkirk, i., 356; + ii., 189; + iii., 378; + iv., 371; + forest of, i., 223, 274, 287, 343. + + Semple, Robert, ii., 374. + + Serfs, i., 250, 380‒382. + + Seton, Sir Christopher, i., 283, 385, 453. + + Seton, Lord, ii., 138. + + Seton of Pitmedden, iii., 211. + + Severus, his campaign, i., 110, 111. + + Sharp, James, Archbishop of St. Andrews, iii., 118, 119, 120, + 124, 129, 135, 137, 143, 147, 148, 151, 152. + + Shawfield, iii., 218. + + Sherifmuir, battle of, iii., 223. + + Sheriffs, Sheriffdoms, i., 223, 261, 423‒426; + ii., 223. + + Shetland Isles, i., 22, 47, 174, 185, 215, 217, 346; + ii., 60; + iv., 372. + + Shipbuilding, i., 133, 240, 333, 363; + iv., 357‒363. + + Shipping, i., 239, 240, 241, 391‒393; + ii., 286‒289; + iii., 300‒303; + iv., 356‒357. + + Sibbald, Sir Robert, iii., 370. + + Sigurd, i., 138. + + Silver, ancient ornaments of, i., 177‒178. + + Siward, Earl of Northumberland, i., 140. + + Simpson, Sir James Y., iv., 313‒314. + + Simson, + Andrew, ii., 400, 403; + Robert, iv., 260; + William, 446. + + Sinclair, + Oliver, ii., 62; + Sir John, iv., 346. + + Skene, + Dr. Gilbert, ii., 392, 393; + Sir John, 383, 384; + iii., 18; + Dr. William F., iv., 161. + + Smith, + Adam, iv., 25, 43, 44‒59; + Alexander, 195, 196; + William R., 226, 227; + Robert A., 426. + + Smollett, Dr., iv., 150, 172, 173, 199. + + Social state of the People, i., 70, 71, 98‒103, 145‒157, 220‒254, + 366‒440; + ii., 222‒298; + iii., 232‒335. + + Solemn League and Covenant, iii., 85, 86. + + Solway Firth, 21, 26, 70, 105. + + Solway Moss disaster, ii., 62. + + Somerled, i., 205. + + Somerset, + Earl of, i., 326; + Duke of, ii., 76. + + Soulis, + John, i., 271, 274, 277; + Nicholas, 256. + + Southesk, Earl of, iii., 222. + + Spain, i., 357, 360, 363; + ii., 18, 19, 20, 131, 191, 192. + + Spear-heads, + flint, i., 50; + bronze, 76, 77. + + Spense, John, ii., 138. + + Spey, i., 150; + iv., 354. + + Spinoza, his method and ethics, iii., 418‒432. + + Spottiswood, + John, ii., 104, 108, 349, 350; + John, Archbishop, iii., 19, 26, 39, 63; + his writings, 357. + + Stair, Lord, iii., 223, 232, 235, 367, 368. + + Standard, battle of, i., 203, 204. + + Stephen, King, i., 202, 203. + + Stevenson, Professor, iv., 18, 75. + + Stevenson, Robert L., iv., 211, 212. + + Steward of Scotland, i., 214, 217, 218, 267, 274, 277, 292, 306, + 307, 308, 309, 312, 313. + + Stewart, Lord of Brechin, i., 321. + + Stewart, + Sir Walter, of Jedworth, i., 321, 384; + Sir Alexander, 328; + Sir James, 338; + Duncan, 319, 320; + Sir Walter, 327; + James, 360; + Captain James, iii., 235; + William, 236. + + Stewart, + Dugald, iv., 74‒84; + Matthew, 260. + + Stirling, i., 83, 116, 140, 151, 209, 233, 234, 238, 264, 276, + 386, 387, 391; + ii., 58, 93, 97, 99, 120, 124, 129, 140, 147, 152, 155, 179, + 181, 187; + iii., 59, 62, 123, 228; + iv., 369; + castle of, i., 206, 248, 277, 278, 291, 294, 307, 338, 341, + 352, 430; + ii., 140, 152, 181; + iii., 64, 228. + + Stirlingshire, i., 29, 119, 121, 265; + ii., 364; + iv., 341, 342, 343, 373, 378. + + Stirling, James, iv., 259, 260. + + Stirling, Earl of, iii., 366. + + Stone circles, i., 94‒96. + + Stone weapons and tools, i., 48‒53. + + Stone of Destiny, i., 119, 137, 264, 265. + + Stonehaven, i., 28, 106. + + Stormont, Earl of, iii., 222. + + Strachan, Colonel, iii., 106. + + Strafford, iii., 80. + + Strathbogie, i., 140, 284; + castle of, ii., 123, 124, 202. + + Strathclyde, i., 84, 85, 114, 139. + + Strathern, i., 136, 138. + + Strathern, Earl of, 203, 209, 213, 214, 217, 308, 317, 333. + + Strathmore, i., 28. + + Strathmore, Earl of, iii., 205. + + Strathspey, i., 27, 207, 267. + + Strathurd, lordship of, i., 378. + + Succession Acts, i., 296, 313‒315; + iii., 155. + + Stuart, Lord of Aubigny, i., 362. + + Stuart, + John, i., 68, 69; + Dr. Gilbert, iv., 151; + Dr. John, 162. + + Sugar works, iii., 330; + refining of, iv., 394, 395. + + Sunday, i., 158, 439; + observance of, enforced, ii., 247, 248, 251‒254; + iii., 269‒272. + + Superintendents, ii., 108. + + Surrey, Earl of, i., 264, 267, 268, 270, 364. + + Sutherland, Earl of, i., 306, 308, 318; + ii., 139; + iii., 53, 61. + + Sutherland, James, iii., 369. + + + Tables, institution of, iii., 56, 57. + + Tacitus, i., 106‒108. + + Tactics of the Scots, i., 412. + + Taverns, i., 415. + + Taxes in early times, i., 149, 150, 220, 221, 251, 386‒391. + + Tay, i., 27, 105, 106, 109, 110, 119, 264, 267, 287; + iv., 354. + + Test Act, iii., 158, 159. + + Teviotdale, i., 26. + + Thane, thanage, i., 152, 251, 252. + + Thrift, early laws touching, i., 128‒131. + + Thomas the Rhymer, i., 446‒448. + + Thomson, + James, iv., 167, 168; + Dr. Andrew, 219; + Dr. John, 309‒311; + Sir William, Lord Colvin, 266, 284; + George, 434. + + Thor, ii., 436. + + Thorburn, Robert, iv., 452. + + Thorfinn, i., 138, 139. + + Tithes, i., 243, 244; + ii., 40; + iii., 43, 44. + + Todd, Dr., i., 117. + + Torture, i., 276, 427; + ii., 195, 196; + iii., 134, 147, 148, 158, 177. + + Torwood, i., 291; + iii., 156. + + Traquair, Earl of, iii., 58, 59, 62, 77. + + Trent, Council of, ii., 79‒85, 161. + + Tucker, iii., 300, 301. + + Tullibardine, Marquis of, iii., 222. + + Tulloch, Dr. John, iv., 224, 225. + + Turgot, Bishop, i., 156, 200. + + Turnberry Castle, i., 286. + + Turner, + Sir James, iii., 134; + William, iv., 306. + + Tweed, i., 21, 138, 203, 363; + iii., 79, 86. + + Tweeddale, i., 26. + + Tweeddale, Marquis of, iii., 206, 210. + + Tyrie, James, ii., 353, 354. + + Tytler, + William, iv., 151; + Patrick F., 155. + + + Ulbster, i., 55. + + Umfraville, Sir Ingram, i., 274. + + Union of England and Scotland, + proceedings connected with, iii., 206‒215; + advantages of, 216, 217, 231. + + Universities, + institution of, i., 466‒468; + changes in, ii., 405‒419; + iii., 388‒393; + iv., 327‒330. + + Urns, i., 92, 93‒96. + + + Vane, Sir Henry, iii., 84, 85. + + Veitch, John, iv., 246, 247. + + Vesy, John, i., 258. + + Vienne, John de, i., 316, 317. + + ♦Vipont, i., 294. + + ♦ Printed out of alphabetic order. + + Vikings, i., 118. + + Vitrified forts, i., 90‒92. + + + Wade, General, iii., 224‒225. + + Wager of battle, i., 228‒229. + + Wake, Lord, i., 301, 315. + + Wales, i., 125, 174. + + Walker, + William, iv., 197, 198; + James, 425. + + Walls, Roman, i., 109, 110. + + Wallace, Sir William, i., 265‒272, 277, 278‒280. + + Wallace, + Adam, ii., 78; + William, iv., 253. + + Wanlock, lead mine, ii., 284. + + Wardlaw, Dr. Ralph, iv., 221. + + Warwick, iv., 342. + + Watson, Dr. Robert, iv., 152. + + Watt, James, iv., 272, 274‒281. + + Weapons, prehistoric, i., 49, 50, 75‒78. + + Webster, Dr. Alexander, iv., 214. + + Wedderburn, + Robert, ii., 319, 341; + James, 341, 343; + John, 343. + + Weights and measures, i., 239, 332, 401, 402. + + Wells, venerated, i., 128, 135, 260, 261. + + Welsh, + John, iii., 29; + Dr., iv., 483. + + Welwood, William, ii., 384, 385. + + Wemyss, glass work at, iii., 315. + + Westminster Assembly of Divines, iii., 85, 87‒89. + + Whig, early use of the word, iii., 155, 342, 350, 351. + + Whisky, ii., 192, 193; + iv., 396, 397. + + White Caterthun, i., 89, 90. + + William the Conqueror, i., 142, 143, 192, 193‒195, 196, 198. + + William the Lion, reign of, i., 205‒209, 222, 227, 230. + + William Rufus, i., 143, 196. + + William of Orange, iii., 171, 173, 174‒176, 178‒180, 183‒185, + 186‒190, 192, 201‒204. + + Willock, John, ii., 87, 97, 98, 101, 104, 108. + + Wilson, + John, iv., 105, 205, 206; + Alexander, 182. + + Wine, i., 393, 394, 415, 416, 432; + ii., 292. + + Winram, John, ii., 52, 104, 108, 158. + + Winzet, Ninian, ii., 349‒352. + + Wishart, + Bishop of Glasgow, i., 266, 273, 283, 285; + George, ii., 69; + seized and martyred, 69, 70. + + Witchcraft, ii., 9, 268‒277; + iii., 259‒264. + + Witherspoon, Dr. John, iv., 214, 215. + + Wool, i., 240, 333, 387, 388; + ii., 290; + iii., 306, 307, 308. + + Worcester, battle of, iii., 110. + + Wyntoun, Andrew, i., 455, 456. + + + York, Duke of, iii., 156, 157, 163. + + York, Archbishop of, i., 200, 201. + + Young, + Peter, ii., 403; + Dr. Thomas, iv., 267. + + Yule, i., 416, 417. + + + Zealand, i., 392. + + + END OF VOLUME II. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78939 *** |