A Proclamation for the abolishing of English Books, after the Death of Anne Askew, act forth by the King, AD. 1546, the eighth day of July. Extracted from Foxes Acts and Monuments, Ed. Rev Geo. Townsend (1846) vol 5 p 565-8. Anne Askew, daughter of Sir William Askew of Lincolnshire, was charged with heresy and […]
Mortmain, Praemunire, and Provisors Three practices or principals of the medieval church were seen to interfere in secular rule – Mortmain, Praemunire and Provisors. These three principals were eventually enshrined in English law and became the bain of the clerics` ambitions. It effectively stemmed the flow to Rome of ownership of land; civil complaints and […]
John Wyckcliffe and the English Reformation. The simpler beliefs in the Scriptures, Protestantism as it later became known, was making renewed progress in England from about the beginning of the 14th century and received an essential boost when a Bible in the vernacular was produced. There had been earlier translations including the Psalms, but the […]
The Society of Jesus – the Jesuits Don Inigo Lopez de Recalde, the Ignatius Loyola of history, was youngest son of a Spanish Grandee and born in the Castle of Loyola in 1491. Growing up in a relative luxury at the Spanish Court he sought adventure and glory as a soldier, and did so […]
HISTORICAL LANDMARKS A TIME LINE FOR THE ULSTER SCOTS AND A BACKCLOTH TO THE EMIGRATION FROM SCOTLAND AND IRELAND 1600 -1840 Year 1603 Irish revolt suppressed by Mountjoy. Accession of James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England and Ireland; pursues `Divine Right` policies aiming to be supreme in both State and Church throughout Britain. Fire and Sword […]
David Hackston. Although a lesser light among the Covenanters in terms of preaching , David Hackston of Rathillet, stands tall among the soldiers of the Covenant as the leader of “The Cameronians “ as the armed supporters of Richard Cameron became known. Hackston came from an old Scottish and reasonably well off family in the Parish of […]
Wakefield’s Account of Ireland. A footnote from p 331 , ” The Irish Rebellion ” by W H Maxwell (1891), adds a comment from :”Wakefield’s Account of Ireland.” ” Having traced out the leading events of this unfortunate business, it is necessary to call the attention of the reader to the Presbyterians of the north, […]
The Reformation story begins with the contentious and unacceptable behaviour of the late medieval Catholic church, followed by the emergence of Protestant evangelism, John Knox and Presbytery. It continues with the Covenanters through to the Glorious Revolution in 1688 (accession of William & Mary), when the Presbyterian Church of Scotland was finally established by law […]
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 […]
Scottish Kings 330 BC-1567 AD, and Pictish Kings 451 – 843 AD [For large images click on thumbnail .]
Elizabeth I Declaration against Nonconformists 1573. A proclamation against the despiser. or breakers of the orders prescribed in the book of Common Prayer. BY THE QUEEN. The Queen’s Majesty being right sorry to understand that the order of Common Prayer set forth by the common consent of the realm and by authority of parliament in […]
The Fiery Cross in Moray and Ross, 1679. A curious event at the time of Bothwell Brig concerned the sworn appearance of the ancient call to arms – the Fiery Cross, or Crann Taire. This was a traditional demand by a clan chieftain for all his supporters to gather in full armour and accoutrements to […]
Catholic Missionaries in Scotland 1653-1741. Extracts from The Scotichronicon, Appendix. Rev J F S Gordon (1868) [Click for larger image] pages 6-10
The people on the eve of the Reformation. In the highly regulated medieval society in which they lived and worked the people still managed to find time to relax between sunset and sunrise when their time was nominally their own. In the towns the watchmen did their rounds and the curfew (although not called that, […]