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Scottish
Reformation
In
August 1560 the Scottish Parliament passed a series of measures
that ended all links with Rome, proscribed the celebration of
the mass and authorised a Protestant confession of faith. The
antecedents of these momentous changes, passed by what is significantly
usually described as the 'Reformation Parliament', had been
in existence for some years beforehand and, in the case of the
deterioration of the Church, for a lengthy period.
The
Church in Scotland, like its continental counterparts, had been
going into a slow decline long before the sixteenth century and
inevitably was suffering from the various shortcomings that were
common elsewhere. Thus the grinding poverty and ignorance of the
majority of the priesthood stood in stark contrast with the affluent
worldliness of most of the bishops and monastic heads. The main
cause of this impoverishment was an iniquitous procedure whereby
the revenues of the individual parishes were absorbed by cathedrals,
monasteries, collegiate churches and universities leaving only
a meagre pittance for the hapless vicar. This appropriation of
benefices had been inaugurated in the twelfth century and bad
reached its zenith by the sixteenth when an estimated 85 per cent
of parishes were affected by it. There had been attempts to curb
such developments; an act of Parliament of 1471, for instance,
prohibited future appropriations except in the case of collegiate
churches.
Unfortunately,
this body was the main offender in later years. Accordingly, by
the sixteenth century a career in the priesthood had become an
unattractive proposition generally by-passed by those with any
ability and usually the resort of someone who had failed to get
on elsewhere. Not surprisingly, there were numerous reports and
allegations that the lower clergy were ill-educated, avaricious
and immoral. Impoverishment at parish level also meant that many
church buildings and furnishings were, dilapidated or neglected.
What
of the bishops or conditions within the various regular institutions?
Certainly there are some signs among the former of familiar abuses
such as pluralism, non-residence, nepotism, simony and immorality
and the behaviour of prelates like David Beaton (c. 1494-1546),
of St Andrews, or Patrick Hepburn Moray, did little to enhance
the reputation of the pre-Reformation clergy. Yet it would be
unwise to attach too much significance to their peccadilloes.
The Scottish hierarchy was no worse than elsewhere and had in
its midst some comparatively enlightened figures. One such was
Robert Reid (d. 1558), Bishop of Orkney and Commendator of Kinloss,
who at his death left the funds that ultimately provided the endowment
for the University of Edinburgh. Another such was John Hamilton
(1512-7 1), Beaton's successor at St Andrews, who did his utmost
in the decade before 1560 to eliminate some of the worst defects
among the clergy.
As
for the heads of monasteries and their inmates, there is little
evidence to suggest that there was widespread corruption and sinful
behaviour within the monastic system or, for that matter, the
friaries. Where criticism was certainly justified was in the case
of the nunneries, which were universally condemned for their illiteracy
and scandalous conduct.
The
main stricture that can be made against the bishops and the monastic
heads is the worldliness and the inertia that pervaded everywhere.
Again, this is hardly surprising when the policy towards the Church
adopted by the Crown since the late fifteenth century is taken
into Account Both James IV (1473- 1513) and James V (1512-42)
had made generous use of the arrangement negotiated with the papacy
by James 111 (1452-88) allowing the Scottish monarchy to make
major appointments in the Church. Consequently, various royal
kinsmen were promoted in this way and James V, following in the
footsteps of his father, who had introduced his illegitimate son
into the see of St Andrews, filled several abbeys and priories
with his natural offspring. By the 1530s James V was extending
this policy to include many of the nobility, notably the Hamiltons.
Moreover, even if a magnate was unable to gain complete control
over a monastery through a commendatorship there were often excellent
opportunities for profiting by means of becoming a lay bailie
responsible for ecclesiastical property, not to mention the practice
of reserving to certain noble families a part of the revenues
of a bishopric on the appointment of a new incumbent.
The
growing number of noblemen who began to obtain feu charters of
church land as the clergy tried to satisfy the financial demands
of James V only serves to underline the extent to which the bishoprics
and monasteries were becoming secularised. Thus, on the eve of
the Reformation, most monasteries were controlled by lay commendators,
a situation highly unlikely to promote reform or produce dynamic
leadership.
Another
significant factor in producing the Reformation was the growth
of Protestant opinions within the country, especially from around
the mid- 1 1540s. Before that date the impact of Lutheranism was
negligible and the execution of Patrick Hamilton (1504.28) for
heresy was followed by only a dozen such sentences during the
remainder of James Vs reign. For much of the 1540s there are instances
of sporadic heretical activities in places like Dundee, Perth
and their hinterland. The culmination of these was the murder
at St Andrews in May 1546, at least partly in revenge for the
execution of the Protestant George Wishart (c. 15 13-6) earlier
in the year, of David Beaton, Archbishop of St Andrews. But even
the accession of Edward VI (1537-53) followed by the introduction
of the Protestant faith into England had little effect on Scotland
despite the English strategy of infiltrating translations of the
Bible during both the Rough Wooing and thereafter. In fact, Protestantism,
outwith certain radical enclaves in Angus, Ayrshire, Fife and
the Lothians remained a predominantly underground affair still
lacking the catalyst that could make it become a serious threat
to the established Church. Where it existed in the 1550s, as the
visitations of John Knox (c. 1512-72) in these years confirm,
it was no longer Lutheran but Calvinist doctrines that it was
supporting.
The
first real indication of serious opposition to the administration
of Mary of Guise (1515-60) and her admittedly equivocal support
of the Church came in December 1557 when the signing by Argyll
(c.1538-73), Lorne (1545-84), Glencaim (d.1574), Morton (c.1516-81)
and Erskine of Dun (c.1509-91) of an agreement known as the 'First
Band' wherein the signatories pledged themselves to work for the
establishment of a reformed Church. Yet it was not until May 1559
with the return of Knox from France and the attack on the friaries
that same month that the Reformation can actually be considered
to have got properly under way. By this stage it was apparent
that other motives were increasingly playing a significant role,
especially political considerations.
Mary
of Guise, once she had taken over from Chatelherault (15 16-75)
in 1554 pursued an astute but incontrovertibly Francophile policy,
which had resulted in several Scottish members of the government
being replaced by various Frenchmen. Additionally there was the
presence of a French military force and the burden of the taxation
controversially imposed for its upkeep. For some magnates the
marriage of the Regent's daughter Mary, Queen of Scots, (1542-87)
to the Dauphin in 1558 only confirmed their growing fears that
Scotland was becoming a French satellite. But the Regent handled
the marriage issue competently by ensuring that three of the eight
commissioners who went to France on this business, Cassillis (1517-58)
Lord James Stewart, Earl of Moray (1531-70) and Erskine of Dun,
were sympathisers of the reform movement.
In
fact, as long as the fanatically Catholic Mary Tudor (1516-58)
remained alive Mary of Guise did little to hinder Protestantism.
Thus, in order to embarrass her neighbour and give moral support
to France, at war with England and Spain, she did not discourage
continental exiles such as Knox and John Willock (d. 1585), formerly
a Dominican friar at Ayr, from returning. It was only with the
accession of the Protestant Elizabeth (1533-1603) and the peace
settlement of Cateau-Cambresis in March 1559, ending the Habsburg-Valois
conflict, that the Regent seriously altered her policy towards
the reformers. Hence the summons to Knox and his fellow preachers
to appear before her on 10 May 1559 and their subsequent outlawing
for failing to do so. These events effectively marked the beginning
of the religious civil war that was to last until July 1560.
During
this period while some noblemen such as Argyll and Glencairn were
influenced in supporting the rebellion by their religious feelings,
with others, like Huntly (c. 1530-62) or Chatetherault, political
considerations predominated. The latter, for instance, diplomatically
delayed in joining the rebels until September 1559 by which date
his eldest son, the Earl of Arran (1537-1609) had escaped from
detention in France. Meanwhile, another prominent figure, the
Earl of Morton, spent these months switching from one side to
the other. Unquestionably what caused most of the nobility to
support Knox and the others was the conviction that it was in
their best interests to do so. Not, it should be stressed, with
financial objectives uppermost in their thoughts they had already
extensively pillaged the wealth of the Church but bemuse they
realised success would mean the end of the French hegemony in
Scotland. This outcome would restore them to their former ascendancy
in the government and also strengthen ties with England, an impossible
undertaking as long as Mary of Guise was at the helm.
The
lairds, while some of them like Maitland of Lethington (c. 1525-73)
welcomed improved Anglo-Scottish relations, were as a class more
motivated by social aspirations. Consequently their attendance
in large numbers at the Reformation Parliament signified a desire
to have a greater voice in national affairs and to play a substantial
role in the establishment of the reformed Kirk. The burgesses
to some extent shared this outlook, although some of them were
doubtless aware of the commercial advantages of stronger ties
with England.
Only
those furthest down the social ladder had strong economic motives
for becoming involved in the Reformation struggle. For this group
the financial exactions and devices of the Church had become increasingly
intolerable. This, of course, was partly a result of James Vs
taxation of the clergy, ostensibly for the creation of his new
College of Justice, which led to the Church adopting unpopular
and harmful to the case with those affected by rent increases
imposed by the new feuars, and particularly so by those unfortunate
enough to be evicted as part of this process.
At
the same time there was always in Scottish society in the sixteenth
century a large section of the population in desperate economic
circumstances. This body in company with the numerous vagabonds
and beggars who roamed the countryside gladly participated in
a movement that they conceived as an attack on the wealthiest
institution in the kingdom. The various outbreaks of mob violence
against churches and friaries that characterised the start of
the Reformation bear witness to their involvement. If the origins
of the Reformation consist of an amalgam of religious, political
and socio- economic factors, it was English intervention that
ensured victory for the Protestant cause. Despite initial success
against the Regent's forces, the Lords of the Congregation, as
they were called after the 'First Band' of 1557, soon lost their
momentum. Before long they were desperately seeking English assistance
only to find that Elizabeth, with her own domestic position insecure,
was very wary about intervening on behalf of rebels in Scotland.
The radical religious opinions of Knox and his outspoken views
about female rulers were additional justification for a cautious
stance. It was fears of continued French influence in Scotland
in conjunction with their support of the claim of Mary, Queen
of Scots to the English throne which finally persuaded Elizabeth
to take action openly across the Border. The Treaty of Berwick,
February 1560, was the turning point in the religious conflict
that ended with the Treaty of Edinburgh, July 1560. Significantly,
the only reference to religion came in the 'concessions' attached
to the main body of the political settlement where it was agreed
that the Scottish estates should be summoned to discuss ecclesiastical
matters and other issues.
The
subsequent Reformation Parliament completely neglected some of
the major proposals outlined by the reformers in their Book of
Discipline. Thus, questions such as the endowment and organisation
of the Reformed Kirk remained unresolved and were to bedevil relations
between the post-Reformation Church and the State for many years
thereafter.
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