Witchcraft The occult and fear of the unknown has been with man from time immemorial and has bred many cults with strange practices that continue today. A feature picked on by critics of the Protestant Reformation is the allegation that it was responsible for witchcraft in the century and a half after the Reformation in […]

The Presbytery of Paisley and the pursuit of papists. At the turn of the sixteenth century the concerns for the `trew religioun` and the fear of a return to Catholicism or papacy were very much in the mind of the relatively new Presbyterian Church. Thus Paisley Presbytery was not alone in being charged with the […]

Injunctions of Edward VI to the Church of England, 1547. [Paraphrase of the injunctions in Foxes Monuments, Ed. Geo. Townsend (1846) vol 5 p 706-713 ] 1. All clerics to obey the laws against the usurped powers of the pope . 2.To preach quarterly against the usurped powers of Rome. 3.Kings supremacy preached four times […]

John Knox;  Mary of Guise, Queen Regent; and the First Reformation.   John Knox has been called many things but in the context of the religious reformation then taking place, the comment by  Mary, Queen of Scots, sums him up. She considered him “ the most dangerous man in all the realm”  – meaning his ideas. […]

General Monk consults with Archbishop Sharp and plan for episcopacy. Extract from The Scotichronicon, Rev J F S Gordon DD (1867) Vol 2. Note: At this time General Monk was Vice Regent of Scotland and Commander of the Parliamentary Army ( the relic from Cromwell`s rule). Lt General Lambert was a colleague of Monk but […]

The events of May – June 1559. Opinion as to the extent to which John Knox was responsible for the attacks on the religious institutions, monasteries etc varies considerably. Some would have us believe that he was the ring leader at the head of the mob physically participating in the rabbling ; others that he […]

List of Popes since St Peter 41 AD to 1846.Dates denote when they began their reign. [For large images click on thumbnail] 41-252 AD 253-498 AD 514-687 AD 701-897 AD 898-1004 AD Continued

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 ( […]

November 1559 – July 1560. Inevitably the Act of Separation and letter to the Regent Mary informing her of the decision hardened attitudes. First to enter the lists was the Congregation who by sound of trumpet and declaration sought the French troops and foreign Scots ( also soldiers in the main) in Leith to leave […]

Saint Andrew: Scotland’s Myth and Identity A Book Review  Most people, whether or not Scottish, would be able to identify St. Andrew as the patron saint of Scotland, and it is likely that some will know of the history of the Scottish flag, the Saltire, or St Andrew’s Cross. I suspect fewer would realise that […]

Declaration at Breda – Treaty with Charles II 19 Mar-1May 1650 Breda in Holland was the venue for discussions in 1650 between the newly succeeded King Charles II ( his father having been executed 30 January 1649) and Commissioners from Scotland. Breda was also the location ten years later when Charles made his declaration about […]

The monasteries and the people.  The church organisation that prevailed in Scotland until the Reformation was essentially a monastic one. By virtue of their wealth, territorial possessions and their real or presumed sanctity, the monasteries exercised a predominating influence on the people. The system replaced the simple and selfless Celtic church of St Columba  with  […]

George Wishart George Wishart, was a younger son of John Wishart, laird of Pitarrow in the  Mearns. His brother James  was clerk of the Justiciary and an advocate (d 1524). George was born about 1513 and was probably first educated at Kings College, Aberdeen  where he learnt Greek. About 1538 he taught at a school […]

John Knox, his  early days in England. It is very easy to think of John Knox as being involved only in the Scottish Reformation along with the Lords of the Congregation. But Knox  spent several years in England before his appearance on the Scottish scene and had become well known there, sufficient to be appointed […]