How violent was the Reformation in Scotland?

Summary

The script delves into the Scottish Reformation, highlighting St Andrews' pivotal role as the cradle of religious transformation in the 16th century. It explores the theological disputes, social unrest, and key figures like Martin Luther and John Knox, who challenged the Catholic Church's authority. The narrative unfolds the rise of Protestantism, its societal impact, and the enduring influence on Scotland's national identity and global religious landscape.

Takeaways

• 🏛️ St Andrews, known for its university and golf course, was central to the Scottish Reformation, a period of religious transformation and violence.
• 👤 St Andrews was named for St Regulus, who brought the relics of St Andrew to the town, turning it into a pilgrimage site and a major center for the Scottish Church.
• 🏰 The Pope recognized St Andrews as 'the special daughter of the See of Rome', granting its bishop special privileges and eventually making it the first Archbishopric in Scotland.
• 🙏 The belief in purgatory and the practice of praying for the dead were central to the Church's financial exploitation, with chantries established for this purpose.
• 📚 The rise of Humanism and the education of clergy on the continent led to intellectual challenges to the Church's authority and doctrines.
• 📜 The Donation of Constantine, a document used to justify the Pope's claim to the Eastern Roman Empire, was proven a forgery by the humanist Lorenzo Valla.
• 🔨 Martin Luther's 95 Theses criticized the Church's practices, sparking widespread religious and social upheaval across Europe.
• 🔥 The Scottish Reformation was resisted by the monarchy but eventually took hold, influenced by reformers like Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart, who were martyred for their beliefs.
• ⚔️ John Knox played a pivotal role in the Scottish Reformation, preaching against the Catholic Church and influencing the drafting of the Scot's Confession.
• 📜 The Scot's Confession, influenced by Martin Luther, abolished the Catholic faith in Scotland and established Protestant doctrines, emphasizing faith alone for salvation.
• 🏛️ The Scottish Reformation led to a unique national identity and a distinct religious path, different from England's top-down approach and preserving some Catholic traditions.

Q & A

What was the historical significance of St Andrews in Scotland during the 16th century?

St Andrews played a central role in the Scottish Reformation, a period of significant religious transformation in Europe, and was a key location for the challenges against the Catholic Church.

Why was St Andrews an important religious center in medieval times?

St Andrews was an important religious center because it was named after St Andrew, one of Jesus' disciples, and housed his holy relics, attracting Christian pilgrims from afar.

What special status did St Andrews have within the Catholic Church by the year 1192?

By 1192, the Pope had recognized St Andrews as 'the special daughter of the See of Rome', granting its bishop special privileges in the Council of the Scottish Church.

What was the doctrine of purgatory and how did it relate to the Church's practices in the 15th century?

The doctrine of purgatory held that souls did not go directly to heaven or hell but to a 'middle-ground' where they could be prayed for by the clergy to eventually gain access to Heaven. This doctrine became a lucrative business for the Church, with chantries established for prayer services for the dead.

How did the Black Death impact the Catholic Church's pool of priests in Europe?

The Black Death significantly reduced the number of priests, making it difficult for the Church to fill its parishes with educated and knowledgeable clergy, which contributed to the Church's decline.

What was the impact of Humanism on the Catholic Church's authority in the 15th century?

Humanism, with its emphasis on challenging received wisdom and looking to the source, led to the questioning of the Pope's authority and the uncovering of fraudulent claims, such as the Donation of Constantine, which eroded the Church's credibility.

Who was Martin Luther and what did he do that challenged the Catholic Church?

Martin Luther was a German monk who became frustrated with the Church's practices and drafted a list of criticisms known as the 95 Theses, which he famously nailed to the door of the University of Wittenburg, sparking widespread religious upheaval.

What was the fate of Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart, two early Protestant reformers in Scotland?

Both Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart were executed for heresy against the Church. Hamilton was burned at the stake in St Andrews in 1528, and Wishart suffered the same fate in 1546 after denouncing the Church's errors.

How did John Knox contribute to the Scottish Reformation after the execution of George Wishart?

John Knox, a companion of George Wishart, returned to St Andrews after his master's death and delivered significant sermons that fueled the Reformation. He later joined the Protestant invaders who killed Cardinal Beaton and continued to preach radical sermons that led to the destruction of the Catholic cathedral.

What was the outcome of the Battle of Cupar Muir in 1560 and its significance for the Scottish Reformation?

The Battle of Cupar Muir resulted in a victory for the Protestant forces, the Lords of the Congregation, against the Catholic forces of Mary, Queen of Scots. This led to the signing of the Treaty of Edinburgh, which marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation's establishment in Scotland.

What were the key elements of the Scots Confession and how did it shape the Church of Scotland?

The Scots Confession abolished the Catholic faith and introduced a Protestant understanding of religion, emphasizing justification by faith alone and the rejection of purgatory. It also established a church structure based on local units called presbyteries and a General Assembly, giving local nobility significant roles as 'elders' in the Church.

Outlines

00:00

🏛️ St Andrews and the Scottish Reformation

This paragraph introduces St Andrews, Scotland, known for its ancient university and golf course, but historically significant as a hub for the Scottish Reformation. The town's growth from a fishing village into a religious powerhouse is traced back to the arrival of St Andrew's relics in 347 AD by St Regulus. The establishment of St Andrews as a center of pilgrimage and the granting of special status by the Pope are highlighted. The paragraph also touches on the theological and social challenges faced by the Catholic Church, including the doctrine of purgatory and the chantry system, which were exploited for financial gain, leading to corruption and dissent.

05:02

📜 Theological and Intellectual Challenges to the Church

The second paragraph delves into the intellectual and theological challenges that arose during the 15th century, contributing to the decline of the Catholic Church's authority. The critique of purgatory and the chantry system is expanded upon, with the illiteracy and poverty of the clergy being highlighted as a significant issue. The impact of the Black Death on the Church's ability to staff parishes is mentioned. Humanism's role in challenging the Church's doctrines and the Pope's authority, particularly through the work of Lorenzo Valla who exposed the Donation of Constantine as a forgery, is discussed. The paragraph culminates in the rise of Martin Luther and his 95 Theses, which marked a pivotal moment in the Church's history by critiquing its practices from within.

10:06

🔥 The Martyrdom and Resistance in St Andrews

This paragraph narrates the stories of Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart, two Protestant reformers who faced execution in St Andrews due to their beliefs. The actions of Cardinal Beaton in inviting and then executing Hamilton, and later Wishart, are detailed. The paragraph also describes the uprising led by the Castilians, who overthrew the Catholic stronghold in St Andrews, and the emergence of John Knox as a key figure in the Scottish Reformation. The violent resistance and the eventual assassination of Cardinal Beaton by the Protestants are highlighted, setting the stage for the broader conflict between Catholicism and the emerging Protestant movement in Scotland.

15:09

🛡️ The Triumph of the Scottish Reformation

The final paragraph outlines the progression of the Scottish Reformation, from the initial resistance to the establishment of a Protestant Scotland. It describes the formation of the 'Lords of the Congregation' and their alliance with Queen Elizabeth I, leading to a military victory against the Catholic forces at Cupar Muir. The signing of the Treaty of Edinburgh, which marked the end of French intervention in Scottish religious affairs, is noted. The paragraph details the first meeting of the Scottish Parliament, which produced the Scots Confession, a document that abolished Catholicism and established Protestantism as the state religion. The societal and ecclesiastical changes that followed, including the organization of the Church of Scotland into presbyteries and the General Assembly, are summarized. The paragraph concludes by reflecting on the long-term impact of the Reformation on Scotland's national identity and its influence on the spread of Protestantism beyond Scotland.

Keywords

💡St Andrews

St Andrews is a town in Scotland known for its historical significance as the home of Scotland's oldest university and the world's oldest golf course. In the context of the video, it played a central role in the Scottish Reformation, becoming a focal point for religious transformation and conflict. The script mentions St Andrews as the site of significant events, such as the housing of St Andrew's relics and the execution of Protestant reformers.

💡Scottish Reformation

The Scottish Reformation refers to the religious, political, and social upheaval in 16th-century Scotland that led to the establishment of Protestantism over Catholicism. The video discusses the brutality and theological debates that characterized this period, highlighting figures like John Knox and the impact of the Reformation on Scotland's national identity.

💡Purgatory

Purgatory is a concept in Catholic theology where the souls of the deceased undergo purification before entering heaven. The script explains that the belief in purgatory was a source of income for the Church, with services like chantries offering prayers for the dead. This practice was challenged during the Reformation, symbolizing the Church's perceived corruption.

💡Chantries

Chantries were establishments in the 15th century dedicated to facilitating prayer for the dead, as part of the Catholic practice related to purgatory. The script describes how they represented a lucrative market for the Church, with even the poorest contributing financially to ensure the souls of their loved ones could reach heaven.

💡Humanism

Humanism, as discussed in the script, is an intellectual movement that emerged during the Renaissance, encouraging scholars to challenge traditional beliefs and seek knowledge from original sources. In the context of the Reformation, Humanism led to critical examination of the Catholic Church's doctrines and authority, contributing to the religious upheaval.

💡Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German monk and theologian who is considered the father of the Protestant Reformation. His 95 Theses, mentioned in the script, criticized the Catholic Church's practices, particularly the sale of indulgences, and sparked widespread religious and political change across Europe.

💡John Knox

John Knox was a key figure in the Scottish Reformation, as highlighted in the script. He was a Protestant preacher influenced by the executions of fellow reformers and went on to lead the movement against Catholicism in Scotland, eventually drafting the Scots Confession and shaping the Church of Scotland.

💡Scots Confession

The Scots Confession was the first statement of faith for the Church of Scotland, as stated in the script. It was a product of the Reformation and rejected Catholic doctrines, advocating for Protestant beliefs such as salvation by faith alone and the rejection of purgatory.

💡Presbyteries

Presbyteries are regional governing bodies within the Church of Scotland, as mentioned in the script. They represent the local organization of the Church, with elders from the community playing a significant role. This structure was a result of the Scottish Reformation and reflects the emphasis on local governance and community involvement.

💡Catholic Monasteries

Catholic monasteries were religious institutions that housed monks and nuns. The script contrasts the fates of monasteries in Scotland and England during the Reformation. While they were forcibly closed in England, in Scotland, they remained open, indicating a more gradual and less violent transition to Protestantism.

💡National Identity

The concept of national identity in the video is closely tied to the religious changes brought about by the Reformation. The script suggests that the establishment of a distinct Scottish Protestant Church contributed to a unique Scottish national identity, with its people identifying with a 'Covenant relationship' with God and viewing themselves as fighting against the anti-Christ of Catholicism.

Highlights

St Andrews, Scotland, was central to the Scottish Reformation and home to the world's oldest golf course and Scotland's oldest university.

In the 16th century, St Andrews was a significant religious center due to the relics of St Andrew, attracting Christian pilgrims.

The Pope recognized St Andrews as 'the special daughter of the See of Rome', granting its bishop special privileges in the Scottish Church.

Dissent against the Catholic Church arose from theological challenges, social issues, and criticism from within, including monks.

The belief in purgatory and the practice of chantries for praying for the dead became a lucrative business for the Church.

The illiteracy and poverty of parish clergy, exacerbated by the Black Death, led to challenges in upholding the Church's authority.

Humanism, with its emphasis on challenging traditional wisdom, began to erode the authority of the Pope and the Catholic Church.

Martin Luther's 95 Theses marked a pivotal moment, critiquing the Church's practices and sparking widespread religious upheaval.

In Scotland, the Reformation was initially resisted by King James V and Mary, Queen of Scots, who prevented its spread.

Protestant ideas infiltrated Scotland through educated individuals like Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart, who faced execution for their beliefs.

John Knox's radical sermons and the formation of the 'Lords of the Congregation' marked a turning point for the Reformation in Scotland.

The Treaty of Edinburgh in 1560 marked the end of French Catholic intervention in Scottish religious affairs.

The Scottish Parliament's 'Scots Confession' in 1560 abolished Catholicism and established a Protestant understanding of faith.

The Church of Scotland's structure, with local nobility as 'elders' and presbyteries, was significantly influenced by the Reformation.

Unlike England, Scottish monasteries remained open, and Catholicism retained cultural standing despite the Reformation.

The Scottish Reformation contributed to a unique national identity and a distinct Covenant relationship with God among Scottish Protestants.

Scottish emigrants spread their Protestant faith to Northern Ireland and America, influencing the religious landscape of the British Empire and the New World.

Transcripts

The city of St Andrews in Scotland.

Today, a quiet, sleepy place that is home to Scotland’s oldest university and the

world’s oldest Golf Course.

Back in the 16th century though, St Andrews played a central role in the Reformation in

Scotland, a period which saw one of the most violent transformations of religious practice

in Europe.

Today on the History Chronicles we will be looking at the theology and the brutality

behind the Scottish Reformation.

From a small fishing village on the East Coast of Fife, St Andrews grew throughout the Middle

Ages into a behemoth of the Scottish Church.

The town itself was named after one of Jesus’ own disciples.

His bones had been brought here in 347 AD by the Greek monk known as St Regulus.

Once here, these bones became a holy relic that made the town into a centre of pilgrimage.

Christians flocked from miles around to see the holy relics of St Andrew, which in the

12th century were housed in a special church named after the Greek Saint.

In the town, the tower of this church still stands known by the Anglicised version of

the saint’s name, St Rule.

By the year 1192, the Pope had taken St Andrews under his wing as ‘the special daughter

of the See of Rome’.

Its bishop enjoyed special privileges in the Council of the Scottish Church, and by the

mid-15th century the city became formally recognised as the first Archbishop in Scotland.

But, also in this same period were stirrings of dissent against the one universal, or Catholic,

Church.

This dissent manifested itself in challenges to the Church that came from its own theology,

wider social issues in Europe and, perhaps most significantly, from one of its very own

monks.

For the first challenge, we need to look at the belief in purgatory.

This was the belief that when you died, your soul didn’t go directly to heaven or to

hell but remained in a form of ‘middle-ground’.

Here, your soul could be prayed for on earth by the vast network of clergy, monks and nuns

at the Church’s disposal.

This would be needed ultimately to allow the soul of the deceased to gain access to God’s

side in Heaven.

The more prayers and masses that were said in the deceased name, the more likely they

were to enter into eternal life.

The Church, at cost, could provide a kind of ‘speedy boarding’ if you like, for

the immortal soul.

The doctrine of purgatory had developed into big business in 15th century Europe.

Special places were established to facilitate prayer for the dead, called chantries.

Here, people could gather with their priest to say Mass for the deceased.

To pay for a chantry was regarded an act of piety in itself, and the even the poorest

in society would make financial contributions towards Masses being said in the name of a

lost loved one.

There were over 50 of these chantries in the Scottish city of Edinburgh alone.

In the 15th century, prayers for the souls of the departed had become a lucrative market

for the institution of the Catholic Church.

Many indeed embraced the system of payments to ensure the safe and swift passage of the

deceased into heaven.

For others, however, the chantry system embodied the corrupt practices of money-making that

were a central part of the Church’s decline and sin.

The second challenge in this period came from the increasing illiteracy of parish clergy.

Entering the priesthood was the not the route to a lucrative life and clergy were poor and

often ill-educated.

The Black Death, the great plague that ravaged Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries, had

made this pool of priests even smaller, with the Church finding it evermore difficult to

fill its parishes with dutiful and knowledgeable servants of God.

Those few priests who were fortunate enough to receive an education were often trained

on the continent and down in England.

Here they fed on the new trend that had swept across Europe in the 15th century, that of

Humanism.

Humanism encouraged scholars to challenge the received wisdom of the age and instead

look to the source of where it came from.

Just what we do now in History!

Although this mainly led to a revival of the language and art of the Ancient Greece and

Rome, when this was applied to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, it created a problem.

Humanists began to poke holes in the previously unchallenged authority of the Pope.

For centuries, the Pope in Rome had laid claim to the Eastern part of the old Roman Empire,

all because of a document called the Donation of Constantine from the 4th century.

An Italian priest Lorenzo Valla famously showed that this claim was, in fact, fraudulent.

Valla proved that document was a recent forgery, put together by the Papacy in Rome centuries

after its supposed date..

Needless to say, the Pope was not amused but, on this occasion, he remained silent on the

matter for the moment.

Humanist ideas began to gradually erode the authority of the huge institution of the Catholic,

Universal Church.

Lorenzo Valla had highlighted just one fraudulent claim by looking at the evidence.

It wasn’t long before the entire authority held by the supposed heir of St Peter, the

Pope himself, was to be brought under the same spotlight of scrutiny.

This legitimacy of this institution had indeed been challenged before, but the advent of

Humanism had brought intellectual criticism of the Church into more mainstream discourse.

However, the biggest challenge regarding the legitimacy of the Church itself was to emerge

from a humble German monk called Martin Luther.

Martin Luther was a monk in Wittenburg, located in modern-day Germany, who had become frustrated

with many of the established practices of the Church.

He felt simply felt unable to access the Divine using the prayers and rituals of the Catholic

faith.

As a result of this he drafted a list of criticisms of the Church which, more according to legend

than historical fact, he nailed to the door of the University of Wittenburg.

Whether or not that story is true, Luther’s 95 Theses marked the first time that the Catholic

Church had endured criticism from one of its own monks over its doctrine.

And the implications of that were to create chaos throughout the whole of Europe.

Luther’s ideas challenged both ecclesiastic and secular authority across the continent.

In Germany, there were mass uprisings as peasants rose against their masters.

In Switzerland, clashes between hardline and moderate interpretations of Luther’s ideas

almost resulted in Civil War.

In England, the King used Luther’s ideas as a means to evade the once-transcendant

authority of the Pope, breaking away from Rome altogether.

In Scotland, the new Reformation had so far been avoided.

King James V and his heir, Mary, Queen of Scots, had prevented the theological change

to the Church that had taken place in England, seeing off the distribution of English Bibles

and even a series of military invasions from England, casting a kind of medieval filter

over Scotland.

However, men with new ideas, just like small grains of rice, began to percolate through

the tightened web of Catholic Scotland.

These were men who had been educated in the Protestant heartlands of the continent, influenced

by the fire for reform found in Germany and Switzerland.

They weren’t to receive a warm welcome in their homeland.

Patrick Hamilton, a Scottish nobleman related by blood to the Scottish King, returned to

Scotland in 1527 after a spell in Germany were he had been studying with Protestant

scholars.

He came to the town of St Andrews at the invitation of the local bishop, Cardinal Beaton.

Beaton, however, had heard of Hamilton’s Protestant ways already, and was to use this

invitation as an opportunity to be rid of Hamilton.

Hamilton arrived in St Andrews in 1528 where, in a month of trial in front of the bishop

and clergy, Hamilton was sentenced to death for 13 counts of heresy against the Church.

He was burned to the stake outside the university chapel, where his initials now stand in his

memory.

George Wishart, another Protestant who had studied in Europe, followed Patrick Hamilton’s

lead.

He travelled around Scotland in 1544, denouncing the errors of the Pope and the abuses of the

Church.

In 1546 he too was arrested on the orders of Cardinal Beaton, brought to St Andrews

and burned alive, outside of the Bishop’s castle window.

Before his death, however, he had told his young companion to return home, saving his

life.

This young man, a man called John Knox, was to return to the site of his master’s death

and, in doing so, to have an irreversible effect on the Reformation in Scotland.

In response to the execution of George Wishart, St Andrew’s castle was overwhelmed by an

uprising in the town.

The Protestant invaders, called the Castilians, swept over the castle’s defences and reached

the rooms of Cardinal Beaton himself, stabbing him to death.

John Knox joined the invaders, and from inside the castle walls, he gave what was perhaps

his first significant sermon in Scotland.

‘Others snip the branches of Papistry; but he who strikes at the root, will destroy the

whole’ However, it wasn’t long before the bishop’s

men found their reinforcements.

A force of Scottish nobles, along with support from Catholic France, ousted the Protestants

from the castle a month later.

Their lives were spared, but all were forced to serve for 19 months of hard labour, rowing

on the on the galleys of France.

It was on the sweat and toil of these galleys, while he was prisoner, that John Knox became

convinced he would spend the rest of his days fighting for the supremacy of his beliefs

in Scotland.

John Knox wrote later, in one of his diaries, that ‘I was assuredly persuaded that I should

not die till I had preached Christ Jesus, even where I now am.’

After his months of capture and more time with his Protestant allies on the continent,

John Knox returned to Scotland with ever more radical preaching.

In the summer of 1559, John Knox returned to the city of St Andrews.

Here, in the city’s church, he preached a radical sermon that condemned the Catholic

Church in the town.

This made the population so angry that they descended on the city’s cathedral and tore

the building stone from stone.

This time, however, Knox would find support, rather than opposition, from the Scottish

nobility.

A new group of Protestant noblemen and formed ‘the Lords of the Congregation’.

These barons were not alone.

They could also enjoy the support of the English monarch Queen Elizabeth I, herself a Protestant,

eager to seek like-minded allies beyond the borders of her kingdom.

It was with this, new, military alliance, that the Protestant Reformation was to gain

a true foothold in Scotland and move against the Catholic forces of Mary, Queen of Scots,

and her French partners.

In 1560, the two sides met in a place just outside of St Andrews called Cupar Muir.

On one side were the Lords of the Congregation.

On the other were the forces of Mary Queen of Scots, Catholic and backed up by the Catholic

monarch, the King of France.

Despite superior Catholic numbers, the Protestants claimed the day.

The French Catholic army was forced to retreat and signed the Treaty of Edinburgh to guarantee

their departure.

Mary, Queen of Scots, whose husband was a French Catholic, had little choice.

The Treaty guaranteed that the French would no longer intervene in Scottish religious

affairs.

The Protestant Lords of the Congregation were now in control of Scotland.

In 1560 there was the first meeting of the new Scottish Parliament.

This Parliament completely ignored the Treaty of Edinburgh.

Instead, what they produced was the first confession of faith that became known as the

Scots confession.

In this, the Catholic faith was abolished and replaced by the Protestant understanding

of religion: justification by faith alone, no purgatory.

In other words, doing almost exactly what Martin Luther had promulgated back in Wittenburg

in 1517.

John Knox had, of course, had a big hand in the radical Protestant nature of the Scot’s

Confession.

He had purportedly worked with five other reformers for four days straight drafting

the document.

The Scot’s Confession guaranteed what it said was ‘the inscrutable providence of

God’.

Latin was to be abandoned.

The Catholic singing of psalms was to be replaced by the polyphony of the choir.

There was an emphasis on the Bible and the Sermon in church and, just as Luther had argued

back in Germany, the Christian was to be saved before God by Grace alone.

On a societal level, the Scot’s Confession had an impact that is still felt in the Church

of Scotland today.

Considerable importance was given to local nobility who could become ‘elders’ in

the Church.

The Church was organized into a number of small, local units called presbyteries, together

making up the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

Significantly, however, the Scottish Reformation avoided the excesses of what had happened

in England.

Catholic monasteries, of which there were still many dotted around Scotland, remained

open.

In England, they had been stamped out by Henry VIII.

Most of the population of Scotland in the years following 1560 remained Catholic.

In England, the Catholic uprising, the Pilgrimage of Grace, had been extinguished with violence

and bloodshed.

Mary, Queen of Scots, did not return to enforce Catholicism in Scotland.

The new King, James VI, was, in 1560, only a baby.

He was to be brought up following the Protestant faith.

Mary herself, defeated at the Battle of Langside in 1568 and captured by English forces in

1573, suffered a gruesome fate.

She was beheaded in London on the order of Queen Elizabeth I.

But, despite its violent, radical beginnings, back in Scotland the Reformation remained

a gradual process.

Once the Lords of the Congregation had taken over the Scottish Government, the process

began of gradually reforming the Church.

Unlike in England, where monasteries had been forcibly closed down to pay for Henry VIII’s

wars, in Scotland they remained open.

As a result, Catholicism still retained some standing in Scottish culture.

Arguably one of the most significant impacts of the Reformation in Scotland was the impact

that it had on Scotland’s national identity.

The Church in Scotland was now distinct from the less-clearly defined Reformation in England

that had begun from the top down, from the monarchy.

Many Scottish Protestants now identified themselves with the particularly unique, Covenant relationship

with God.

They were the people Israel, fighting against the anti-Christ of Catholicism and the terrors

of the Papacy.

What’s perhaps even more significant, was that the ripples of this religious change

on Scottish shores were going to reach even further afield.

Scots that emigrated to Northern Ireland in the 17th century and America in the 19th were

to take their faith with them, and begin the process of Protestantism’s expansion into

other parts of the British Empire and the New World.