The title of Sir applied to Priests; and academic titles. It can be confusing at times to see priests with the prefix Sir which was a common title given to them in England and Scotland in the sixteenth century. The origin of this application , or rather the peculiar class of the Priesthood to whom […]
Further Reading on Presbyterianism, the Kirk and the Covenanters The bibliography below includes some small pamphlets as well as major scholarly works. It is offered as a source of further reading. Many of the books are out of print but may be available from antiquarian booksellers and companies specialising in re prints. It is always […]
The Martyrs of Wigton Lays of the Kirk and Covenant Mrs A. Stuart Menteath. Sime,Glasgow 1892. “Some think if it were Jesus Christ, and if it were a fundamental point they were called to confess, they would stand for it with life and estate ; but it is thought that Christians now stand upon some […]
The Bond – to refrain from attending conventicles etc. There were several Bonds used during the twenty eight years of persecution but this Bond in particular caused the most suffering when it was introduced in early 1678. Because of its Draconian terms very many refused to sign, and this was the cause for the Highland […]
Rev John Livingston The stories of the Covenanters and the bloody Killing Time understandably focus on the western shires of Scotland but it must be remembered that there were Covenanters in other less glamorous parts. Such was John Livingston of Ancrum in the Border country with England. Here too the persecutors caused the removal of […]
Philiphaugh 13 Sept 1645 After the battle at Kilsyth James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, was in virtual command of Scotland and was recognised by many as the King`s Viceroy, Edinburgh had released prisoners and Glasgow had opened its gates to him. But fate struck hard as he alienated his Highlanders by forbidding any plundering of […]
Thomas Garret or Garrard Thomas Garret ( or Garrard) was a curate to Roger Forman, rector of All Hallows church in Cheapside, London. Described as a plain man of lively imagination he was possessed of a `delicate conscience` and of a timid disposition. But as with so many of the unsung workers of the Reformation […]
A View of Ecclesiastical Benefices ca 1374 AD.. ( Extracted from The Acts and Monuments of John Foxe, first pub. ca 1580. Edited and corrected Rev Geo. Townsend , Pub Seeley, Burnside and Seeley, London 1843 The information in [ ] was validated to the List of Cardinals in Moreri`s Dictionary, the dates are of […]
England in the 15th century – a snapshot. Fifteenth century England was mostly overshadowed by the divide between the Houses of Lancaster ( Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI : 1399-1461) and York (Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III: 1461-1485). The Wars of the Roses divided loyalties, and military priorities largely distracted attention […]
Surrender of the Crown of England to Rome, 28 November 1554. The Copy of the Supplication and Submission exhibited to the King and Queens Majesties by the Lords and Commons of the Parliament. We, the lords spiritual and temporal, and the commons of this present parliament assembled—representing the whole body of the realm of England […]
The English Reformation – Introduction. The Reformation in England, that is the establishment of a national Protestant church, is often blurred by the essentially personal act of Henry VIII to facilitate his divorce to Catharine of Arragon. However, the Reformation was not exclusively about religion, change was already taking place driven by new thinking, art, […]
Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are […]
The Beggars Summons or Warning. [ Extract from The Works of John Knox, David Laing (1895) Vol 1 fn p 320-1 Also Calderwoods History of the Kirk of Scotland, vol 1 p 423 where he quotes 1 January 1559] The Beggars Warning was a formal summons that was affixed to the door of every friary […]
The ancient Royal Burgh of Kirkcudbright is steeped in history and features in several incidents of note. It is from Kirkcudbright that William Wallace took ship to France after the battle of Falkirk in 1298. Two years later the English fleet supporting the invasion of Edward I landed troops here. A stronghold of the Douglases […]