The Reformation set the scene for the birth of the Church of Scotland. It was not only a religious upheaval but changed the social, royal and political aspects of the country. Come with us on a journey as we discover the roots of today's church.
In the early 16th century, during the reign of James V, the church in Scotland was bringing itself into disrepute. The King ordered the clergy to reform, but failed to give a clear lead and follow the command through. This meant that the seeds of reformation were sown.
James V died leaving as his only heir Mary, later to be Queen of Scots. At the same time Catholicism in Scotland was in decline with few Scots attending church on a regular basis. The monasteries were small and parishes were stripped of any wealth in order to support abbeys and cathedrals. There was a general decline in morality as the rules of celibacy were openly flouted. Attempts were made to resurrect the fortunes of the church by appeals to Burgesses in towns, who were persuaded to pay for altars and repairs to churches and cathedrals.
The Protestant reformation of Scotland was a gradual process to begin with. Lacking a printing press, Protestant notes and tracts were brought in from England and the Netherlands. In an attempt to stem the tide, the Scots parliament passed an act in July of 1525 prohibiting the importing of Lutheran materials. This did little to stop the spread of Protestantism and this was fuelled by the translation into Scots of the Bible by Murdoch Nisbet.
Scotland's first major reformer was Patrick Hamilton who was a nephew of the Earl of Arran, and great-grandson of King James II. He published a bestseller aimed at stimulating religious debate while at university and studied under Luther at Wittenberg in Germany before returning to Scotland. At Linlithgow he preached the Lutheran word and was duly summoned to St.Andrews to answer charges of heresy. He converted the advocate that Archbishop Beaton had selected to return him to sensible thinking. Beaton was furious and eventually had Hamilton arrested again. After refusing to recant, he was burned at the stake and became the first reformation martyr in Scotland.
After the death of James V with no male heir to the throne, the protestant Earl of Arran governed Scotland while catholic Mary was still a minor. Looking with a keen eye on extending his influence, Henry VIII of England decided to use this time to strike. He proposed that one-year old Mary be betrothed to his five-year old son Edward. His plan was that she would come to England and eventually Scotland's throne would be subjugated to England. He bribed various nobles with money, freedom or the promise of lands, in particular the Earl of Arran. In response Mary's mother counter-bribed other nobles. In 1543, the Earl of Arran persuaded the Scots parliament to agree to the proposal. However, the Earl was suddenly converted back to Catholicism and formed a Council to administer the affairs of Scotland. Cardinal Beaton, a member of the Council and nephew of the former Archbishop of St.Andrews, quickly set about having Mary crowned 'Queen of Scots'. The response from England was a series of invasions and incursions to force the marriage agreement to be adhered to. This strengthened the 'Auld Alliance' between Scotland and France. This was a significant factor as Mary Queen of Scots' mother was Mary of Guise, one of the most powerful families in France. After ordering the burning of another reformer and English agent, George Wishart, Beaton was himself murdered by a group of Fife protestants. They took St.Andrews castle and were joined by sympathisers including John Knox. Unfortunately for them, French troops arrived before the English and they were sent as slaves to France.
The English invasions continued with much of the country being taken under their control. In 1548, French troops arrived but were only allowed to fight the English after Mary Queen of Scots was promised in marriage to the future King of France. With this strong French presence, the cause of Scottish Catholicism seemed secure. The church was not blind however to the need for reform and those like Archbishop Hamilton made an honest attempt to address some of the shortcomings pointed out by the reformers. This however failed to be addressed at parish level and the church remained aloof from the people.
The real fathers of the Scottish Reformation were a group of five noblemen known as 'the Lords of the Congregation'. In 1557 they signed a covenant to work towards abandoning the Catholic Church and turn Scotland into a protestant country. This caught the imagination of the gentry and nobility who subscribed to it in great numbers. At the same time the marriage between Mary Queen of Scots and Francois, Daphin of France was being negotiated. The Scots commissioners worked hard to ensure that Scottish sovereignty would be maintained, but Mary signed that one her death, the French Royal House of Valois would succeed to the Scottish throne.
The reformation in Scotland was often influenced by outside events, and in 1558 the protestant Elizabeth I became Queen of England. She was adamant that England would be made a Protestant country, and would use whatever force was necessary to realise that goal. Realising the threat that this posed, Mary of Guise tried to repress the covenant that had been so successfully adopted by the Lords of the Congregation, ending in the outlawing of the Protestant preachers.
On 1st January 1559 the "Beggars' Summons" was posted on the doors of friaries and other religious buildings. It called for the friars to leave their houses by 12th May so that the poor, who had long been ignored by the church, could take possession of what belonged to them by right. The document was nothing short of an incitement to riot. Noting the change in fortunes and the mood on the street, a number of prominent burghs including Perth and Dundee formally supported the reformed faith in clear defiance of the Crown.
The Scottish nobility recalled John Knox from his exile, and he landed in Edinburgh to a hero's welcome. On 11th May 1559, Knox preached at St.John's Kirk in Perth where he denounced the Roman church as idolatrous. When a priest approached the alter to say Mass, he was struck by a stone thrown from the congregation. This was the start of two full days of rioting in Perth. Anything connected with the Roman church was stripped, burned and gutted.
Mary of Guise, having failed to stop the Lords of the Congregation once, assembled an army from loyal nobles and on 22nd May, marched on Perth to put an end to the uprising. In response, the Lords of the Congregation assembled their own forces and attacked St. Andrews. The coalition of forces put together by Mary began to disintegrate and she was forced to retreat from Edinburgh until French forces arrived to redress the balance.
The Protestant forces were outnumbered and outgunned and retreated to fight another day. It was clear to them that, ironically, they would require English intervention if they were to succeed.
In July of 1559, the husband of Mary Queen of Scots acceded to the throne of France. He regarded his wife as the rightful heir to the English throne through descent from Henry VII. Ranged against France and the rest of catholic Europe, Elizabeth needed allies to strengthen her position. Looking north were the likely candidates in the Scottish Protestants. She sent aid and eventually a fleet to blockade the French in Leith. When Mary of Guise died in June 1560, the French troops surrendered. In July the French agreed to the Treaty of Edinburgh that would see them withdraw from Scotland and recognise Elizabeth as Queen of England. Although the treaty was between France and England, there were a number of issues relating to Scotland over which the other parties agreed. The Scots parliament met the next month to discuss the areas of governance that the treaty required, and spent a whole week debating whether they were a legal assembly or not as Mary Queen of Scots, still in France, had not signed the treaty. The business committee of the parliament was appointed and had a majority of Protestants. The reform movement seized the opportunity and the authority of the Pope was abolished, the celebration of Mass was forbidden and John Knox was commanded to produce a definition for the new religious order. In addition the nobles were given a pay-off for supporting the Reformation through an Act of Parliament, to seize the estates and wealth of the Church of Rome. Knox took four days to come up with twenty-five Articles of Confession of Faith (known as the Scots Confession), which held as the as the basis of the reformed church for over eighty years. It is interesting to note that Mary Queen of Scots never signed the Treaty of Edinburgh and as such the actions of parliament were illegal, however with no chance of a military intervention by France, she was powerless to reverse its decisions.