Drumclog 1 June 1679 Drumclog was the only occasion when the Covenanters gained a military victory over the government forces. Modest though the victory was, it gave them great hope. The battle came about when the Covenanters were assembling near Loudon Hill in Ayrshire, for worship on the Sabbath. Nearby John Graham of Claverhouse was […]
Bothwell Brig 22 Jun 1679 “Bothwell had been Bannockburn. But the palsy of fear united with the frenzy of faction to unman and distract them.” Martyrs & Heroes, Rev Geo. Gilfillan. Bothwell Brig will always be remembered as a battle of lost opportunities. Following the modest success at Drumclog three weeks previously the hopes ( […]
Ayrsmoss 22 July 1680 Richard Cameron`s defiance and declaration of war through the Declaration at Sanquhar in June 1680, raised the stakes considerably and the search for him intensified. His location was given away by an indulged minister, one Millar of Ochiltree, who ran as fast as his legs could carry him to Sir John […]
Proclamation declaring those persons at Rullion Green to be rebels and traitors, and prohibiting having any contact with them. [ Mackenzie, History of Galloway, ii, pt 1. p 167-8. Note the title Mr usually indicates a minister of the kirk.] Proclamation discharging the receipt of the rebels, December 4th, 1666. Charles, by the grace of […]
The Covenanters – Index The following pages are about the Covenanters – the persecuted `faithful remnant` of the Presbyterian Church. Their story is an integral part of the larger saga of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland between 1560 – 1690, when the Church of Scotland ` was by law established`. Within the articles are cross […]
Martin Luther`s Objections. The Humanists, such as Erasmus, and other satirical writers of the day variously illustrated, commented upon and ridiculed the excesses of the Church of Rome. In their way they contributed to the Reformation, bringing the attention of the people generally to the practices and questioning why they were used. The challenge to […]
The Pentland Rising – Rullion Green. The Pentland Rising and the Battle of Rullion Green is an important event in Covenanter history because it was the first time the Covenanters had come together as a substantial force to protest the constraints upon their religion since the Restoration of King Charles II. Significantly it arose not […]
16th century England – a snapshot. At the turn of the sixteenth century the church of Rome was possibly at its most powerful, but contrastingly at a very low ebb in the common man`s perception. At the Fifth Lateran Council in 1512 – 1517 the remark was passed “Now nobody contradicts, no one opposes” and […]
The background to the Divorce of Henry VIII and Catharine of Arragon. Catharine of Arragon had been a good wife to Henry and had tried hard to give him the son he wanted. In the event six children were born, including two sons, but five were still born or lived but a few days. Only […]
The Peace of Augsburg 1555 – Lutheranism established in Germany. Extracts from the Treaty. 15. In order to bring peace to the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nation between the Roman Imperial Majesty and the Electors, Princes and Estates, let neither his Imperial Majesty nor the Electors, Princes, etc., do any violence or harm […]
Henry VIII and his contribution to the Reformation. Following his marriage and coronation in June 1509 Henry spent a great deal of time and money in splendid entertainments and jousting tournaments in which he enjoyed participating, meeting with success on merit. But the joys of the new king were soon dimmed by a proposition from […]
The Scottish Reformation ca 1525 – 1690. Index. The following pages about the early part of the Scottish Reformation are necessarily brief; it would require very many more pages to tell the story in full. I hope, nevertheless, that they suffice to interest you in this fascinating period of Scottish history in which case […]
Edward III ( r 1327-1377 ) and Thomas Bradwardine (ca 1295-1349). Rumblings of discontent against the Church of Rome and its interventions in secular matters had been developing a momentum since King John (1199-1216) bent his knee to the Pope and the barons retaliated with Magna Carta. Within the Church there was strong advice to […]
The Augustine Orders in Medieval England. As their name implies, this Order was created by St Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, in Africa. Founded in AD 1061 they first came into England in the reign of Henry I. They had some one hundred and seventy houses in total throughout the country. The largest were at Plympton, […]