The Millenary Petition, 1603 The Millenary Petition was a representation made to James VI  when he became King of England in 1603. It was so called from the 1000 signatories to the document, which was about a tenth of the English clergy. It was essentially a plea from the Puritans of the day to return […]

James VI of Scotland and James I of England. It is ironic that in 1603 James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English throne and became James I of England.  Thus a Scotsman ruled  three independent nations (England, Ireland and Scotland ; Wales being subject to English law by an Act of Union in 1536) […]

A CAMPBELL CLAN TALE   Wherever you turn whether researching or just plain reading about the Clan Campbell it is difficult to keep track of their wide achievements. Not least among these is the fact that there are no less than 18 Houses or branches, including Argyll, in the Campbell pedigree. Not all the  houses […]

A selection of books about Presbyterians and the Ulster Scots in Ireland. Many churches in Ulster have produced publications about their history.   A selection is included below. Carson, John T.  Presbyterian and Proud of It.  Belfast: The Sabbath School Society for Ireland, 1948. Corish,Patrick J. Ed. A History of Irish Catholicism.    Dublin: Gill & MacMillan, […]

A Proclamation Declaring Mr Richard Cameron, and others, Rebels and Traitors. Given under our Signet at Edinburgh, the last day of June, one thousand six hundred and eighty, and of our reign the thirty two year. The Proclamation begins erroneously referring to the Queensferry papers as found on Donald Cargil; they were in fact on […]

Old Mortality and his gravestones.   Robert Paterson was born ca 1713 on the farm of Haggis Ha, in the parish of Hawick and as married man moved to the village of Balmaclellan . A stonemason by trade and owner of a small quarry, he spent most of his life touring the lowlands of Scotland visiting […]

The Protest at Speyer, Germany. John, Elector of Saxony, reads the Protest to the Diet at Speyers. There was but one piece of business to be transacted at the Diet of Speyer – the Council of the Holy Roman Empire under Charles V,  when it convened in 1529. Very simply the Emperor wished to repeal […]

The Placards against the Mass. 24 October 1534. [ Extract from J A Wylie, History of Protestantism,vol 2 p 206-7] Undoubtedly frustration was building among the French Protestants who saw their dream taking place elsewhere in Germany and Switzerland, and a consensus was reached that positive action should be taken. They sought the advice of […]

Abjuration Act 1662 , and the Abjuration Oath 25 Nov 1684. There was more than one Abjuration Act usually with an oath to be taken by the people. These were essentially  about formally rejecting or disowning another statement. The Abjuration Act of 1662 was a formal rejection of the National Covenant of 1638 and the […]

Dean Colet, of St Pauls Cathedral (1467-1519) Dr John Colet  was the son of Sir Henry Colet of Wendover,  a member of the Mercers Guild and twice  Lord Mayor of London.  John was the sole surviving child of an allegedly very large family of ten sons and ten daughters. Coming from a reasonably well off […]

Trade memorials and gravestones. Throughout the 17th century there was increasing competition between the burgh merchants and the trade guilds. The merchants for a long time held the positions of authority and power, in part due to the fact that they also had money to spend and lend. The merchants of the City of London […]

Alexander Leighton D.D.  (1568- ca 1643 ) Alexander Leighton was of Scots origin, born about 1568 and educated at St Andrews university and Leyden; his doctorate of divinity was granted at these universities. Sir  Ellis Leighton and Archbishop Leighton were his sons. Although  able,  pious and learned his zealous resistance of episcopacy exposed him to […]

The Benedictine Orders in Medieval England. The arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066 is a convenient point to start as among the conquerors retinue was Ingulf, who had a prime role in the acceptance and establishment of monasteries in England. Ingulf had been secretary to William since meeting him in 1051 and had then […]

Military Orders. During the eleventh century Europe saw a resurgence of religious ardour led by the preaching of Peter the Hermit. This translated itself  into chivalry and  taking up of arms  to secure the Holy Sepulchre from the hands of the Moslems. The consequence was the formation of the monastic orders of the Trinitarians; Knights […]