Scottish Reformation Worksheets
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Summary
- Scotland Before the Reformation
- A Need for Reform
- Reformation Crisis
- Church After the Reformation
- Second Reformation Crisis and Reign of James VI
- Impact of the Scottish Reformation
Key Facts And Information
Let’s know more about the Scottish Reformation!
The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Scotland separated from the Catholic Church and formed the Protestant Church of Scotland. It is part of the larger European 16th-century Protestant Reformation. The beliefs of Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, influenced Scottish scholars and religious leaders from the early 16th century. In 1560, a group of Scottish aristocrats known as the Lords of the Congregation took control of the government. Under their leadership, the Scottish Reformation Parliament produced legislation that established a Protestant doctrine and rejected papal power, although James VI only formally ratified it in 1567.
Statue of John Knox, key figure during the Scottish Reformation
SCOTLAND BEFORE THE REFORMATION
- Christianity began to expand in Scotland in the sixth century, primarily through Irish–Scots missionaries, with influences from Rome and England. The Scottish Church acquired independence from English rule in 1192 with Pope Celestine III’s Papal Bull Cum universi, which established the Ecclesia Scoticana as directly under the Pope, with the bishop of St Andrews emerging as its dominant figure. By the Reformation in the 16th century, many parish churches had been taken over by monastic institutions, leaving the parish clergy with little financial support.
- St Andrews became Scotland’s first archbishopric in 1472, and Glasgow followed in 1492. During the Papal Schism, the Scottish Crown gained effective control of ecclesiastical appointments, a power recognised by the Papacy in 1487. Monarchs assigned allies and relatives to important ecclesiastical places, notably James IV’s illegitimate son, Alexander Stewart, who was consecrated Archbishop of St Andrews at the age of 11.
- While this increased royal authority, it also sparked criticism for corruption and nepotism. Traditional perspectives portrayed the late medieval Scottish Church as corrupt; however, contemporary studies demonstrate its continued importance in addressing spiritual demands.
- Monastic life fell in the 15th century, with fewer monks and less communal living. However, urban regions saw an increase of mendicant orders such as the Observant Friars, which were officially formed in Scotland in 1467. The earlier Franciscans and Dominicans were recognised as independent provinces in the 1480s. In Scottish burghs, single-parish churches became focal points of the community. Devotion to saints rose, as did new religious cults centred on the Five Wounds or the Holy Name of Jesus.
- Despite efforts to restrict clerical plurality, the absence of trained clergy, particularly following the Black Death, led to public dissatisfaction. Reformist heresies such as Lollardry, influenced by John Wycliffe and Jan Hus, emerged in the early 15th century but had minimal influence.
A NEED FOR REFORM
- Starting in the 15th century, Renaissance humanism had a profound influence on Scotland, particularly in the realm of critical theological study and the need for church reform. Students and educators learnt about great humanists who initiated change within the Catholic Church, such as Desiderius Erasmus of the Netherlands and Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples of France. Humanism revolutionised the way students and educators thought and impacted their views on religion and politics. Humanism was included in the curriculum across universities in Scotland.
- Some significant humanist personalities included Archibald Whitelaw, James III’s royal secretary, and Robert Reid, Abbot of Kinloss and eventually Bishop of Orkney. Reid engaged the Italian humanist Giovanni Ferrario to lecture at Kinloss Abbey around the 1520s and 1530s. Ferrario established a huge collection and produced books on Scottish history. Reid also included funds in his will to support the establishment of the University of Edinburgh. Aside from humanism, Lutheranism influenced the view on Church reforms.
- Martin Luther’s ideas were introduced to Scotland in the 1520s. In 1525, Parliament prohibited Lutheran literature, but it continued to be disseminated, particularly through merchants. Patrick Hamilton, a Wittenberg and Marburg-educated nobleman, was killed for heresy in St Andrews in 1528, becoming Scotland’s first Protestant martyr. His execution sparked increased interest in the Reformation.
REFORMATION CRISIS
- On 1 January 1559, the Beggars’ Summons, an anonymous notice accusing friars of holding property that belonged to people of low income, was posted on friary doors throughout Scotland. This generated widespread uproar, particularly in urban areas where the hostility of friars was already high. In May, the Protestant reformer John Knox came to Scotland and preached at St. John the Baptist Church in Perth about Christ's purification of the temple. Inspired by his preaching, the crowd demolished religious icons, shrines and altars before raiding local friaries and a Carthusian monastery.
- In response, Regent Mary of Guise dispatched troops to quell the rebellion. However, the Protestant Earl of Glencairn organised a force to defend Perth. Although a royal mission led by Argyll and James Stuart first persuaded the inhabitants to back down, the regent’s hard tactics shattered the fragile truce.
- Argyll and Stuart deserted to the Protestant cause, joining the Lords of the Congregation, a group of Protestant lords who began planning military rebellion. Protestant reformations expanded quickly in towns like Aberdeen, St Andrews, and many eastern ports. These groups were frequently supported by local landowners and used intimidation rather than executions to remove Catholic clergy and install Protestant preachers. Mary of Guise attempted to regain power by deploying French troops to St Andrews in June, but they were forced to retreat at Cupar Muir due to insufficient numbers.
Mary of Guise
- The Protestant lords captured Edinburgh in July, but were quickly driven out by 1,800 French reinforcements. The lords requested support from England, which aided in the return of the Earl of Arran to head the cause. In October, Mary of Guise was declared suspended, and a provisional council took charge. The advent of an English fleet in January 1560 changed the tide. The French fled to Leith, and an English army, supported by the lords under the Treaty of Berwick, laid siege in February. Mary of Guise died in June, and the ensuing Treaty of Edinburgh ended foreign involvement by recognising Protestant sovereignty over Scotland. Parliament was granted the right to debate religious issues, although its ability to do so was limited.
- On 1 August 1560, the Parliament of Scotland met in Edinburgh, with representatives from a wide range of Scottish society, including 14 earls, 6 bishops, 19 lords, 21 abbots, 22 burgh commissioners, and more than 100 lairds.
- Despite the constraints stipulated in the Treaty of Edinburgh, Parliament made significant strides towards religious reform. On 17 August, it ratified the Scots Confession, a new Reformed statement of faith. One week later, on 24 August, Parliament passed three critical acts that effectively ended Roman Catholicism in Scotland.
- These laws repealed all previous ecclesiastical legislation that was not in accordance with Reformed doctrine, recognised only two sacraments, Baptism and Communion, to be administered by Protestant ministers, outlawed the Catholic Mass with penalties ranging from death to imprisonment, and formally rejected papal authority over the realm. Although these activities represented a dramatic shift in the nation’s religious orientation, Mary, Queen of Scots refused to sanction them legally. As a result, the newly created Protestant Church, or kirk, operated under legal ambiguity.
- The Lords of the Congregation had originally meant for Parliament to consider the Book of Reformation, a text principally drafted by John Knox. Dissatisfied with its content, they appointed a committee of six eminent Protestant clerics (Knox, John Winram, John Spottiswood, John Willock, John Douglas and John Row) to revise the text. Their new draft, known as the First Book of Discipline, proposed a bold plan for a national church infrastructure, including the redistribution of church money to pay minister salaries, a nationwide school system, universities and poor relief.
- However, this suggestion drew opposition. Rather than undergoing complete parliamentary ratification, a small group of nobles and lairds personally endorsed the scheme in January 1561. Finally, an Act of Council protected two-thirds of the ancient Church’s revenues for current holders, while the remaining third was divided between the Crown and limited reform attempts. The educational efforts were abandoned, the clergy were underpaid, and the Reformed Church faced financial constraints.
CHURCH AFTER THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION
- The Scots Confession, drafted over four days in 1560 by John Knox and five colleagues, constituted the Scottish Reformed Church’s doctrinal foundation. It was structured similarly to the Apostles’ Creed and consisted of 25 chapters that addressed issues such as God the Father, Christ the Son, the Church and the Last Judgement. It was deeply founded in Calvinist theology, emphasising divine providence, human depravity, and salvation only by grace. While it rejected Catholic concepts like transubstantiation, it did recognise the Eucharist’s genuine presence. Notably, the Confession used understandable words in defining faith, portraying the Church as a worldwide (Catholic) community of the elect.
Geneva Bible
- The Scottish Reformation had a profound impact on religious practices in Scotland. Simpler forms of worship replaced the complexity of the Catholic liturgy. Sunday was designated as the single recognised holy day, and lay participation in services (now conducted in the vernacular) was encouraged. Elaborate musical traditions gave place to communal psalm singing. The sermon, which frequently lasted an hour, became central; however, many parishes without professional clergy depended on reader services consisting of prayers, scripture readings and psalms. The Geneva Bible was widely used.
- While Knox initially supported the 1552 Book of Common Prayer, he later wrote his own Book of Common Order, which John Calvin encouraged. The General Assembly approved it in 1562, and it was reissued in 1564. It remained the norm until the Westminster Directory was adopted in 1643. A Gaelic copy was printed in 1563, making it the first book in that language; nonetheless, a Gaelic Bible did not appear until the 18th century.
- The first Book of Discipline proposed distributing reformed clergy to Scotland’s 1,080 parishes. However, progress was slow: just 240 positions were filled by the end of 1561; by 1574, there were approximately 1,000 clergy, many of whom served in inferior roles as readers due to a lack of university-trained personnel.
- The hierarchical organisation of 13 Catholic dioceses was to be reduced to 10 districts supervised by superintendents, albeit few were appointed, and commissioners temporarily replaced several positions. In 1576, the General Assembly established five ecclesiastical positions: archbishops, bishops, superintendents, commissioners and visitors.
- Along with these duties, a system of ecclesiastical courts developed. Local kirk sessions were formalised, some of which predated 1560; moderators were introduced in 1563, and presbyteries were established by 1580. By the 1590s, there were over 50 presbyteries, each managing about 20 ministers, with regional synods and the General Assembly at the helm. These sessions empowered local lairds, who frequently assumed the role of elder, thereby reinforcing both ecclesiastical and social authority within the parish framework.
SECOND REFORMATION CRISIS AND REIGN OF JAMES VI
- Following her husband Francis II’s death in 1560, Mary, Queen of Scots, at the age of 19, returned from France to rule Scotland. She reached a deal that allowed her to practise Catholicism personally without imposing it on her Protestant subjects, a concession that angered many notable Catholic lords. Her six-year reign (1561–1567) was characterised by political unrest, spurred by noble rivalries and scandals, notably the murder of her secretary, David Riccio, and the subsequent execution of her second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Her contentious marriage to James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, who is commonly believed to have been involved in Darnley’s killing, fuelled the development of the Confederate Lords, a group of aristocrats opposed to Bothwell.
- In July 1567, Mary was forced to resign in favour of her baby son, James VI, who was raised as a Protestant under the regency of nobles beginning with the Earl of Moray. Following her escape in 1568 and loss at the Battle of Langside, Mary escaped to England, leaving her son in the care of the King’s Party. A civil war broke out in Scotland between regency supporters and Mary’s side, culminating in the surrender of Edinburgh Castle in 1573. The Second Book of Discipline, adopted in 1578, established a more explicitly Presbyterian ecclesiastical system.
- While Mary became a symbol of Catholic intrigues in England, eventually culminating in her execution for treason under Elizabeth I in 1587, her son James VI pursued a Calvinist theology while favouring episcopal rule. He actively limited the power of radical Presbyterian clergy affiliated with Andrew Melville, known as the Melvillians, by controlling General Assembly gatherings, subsidising moderate pastors and reinstating episcopacy.
IMPACT OF THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION
- The post-Reformation Scottish Church prioritised education as a key component of ecclesiastical and societal transformation, which resulted in an immense increase in literacy rates. Melville returned to Scotland and served as the Principal of the University of Glasgow from 1574 until 1580. Melville transformed the university’s curriculum and offered subjects that focused on humanism. Melville went on to execute similar reforms at the universities of St Andrews and Aberdeen, improving higher education in Scotland.
- Along with reforms on education, the Protestant Church tried to address issues concerning poor people, in contrast to their condemnation of the Catholic Church’s claimed wealth accumulation and exploitation of the lower classes. Despite these ambitions, meaningful aid to people experiencing poverty was limited. Financial constraints frequently hindered the Church’s ability to give ongoing support.
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Frequently Asked Questions About The Scottish Reformation
- What was the Scottish Reformation?
The Scottish Reformation was the 16th-century religious movement that led Scotland to break from the Roman Catholic Church and adopt a Protestant faith, particularly Calvinism.
- When did the Scottish Reformation happen?
The Reformation in Scotland generally dates to 1560, when the Scottish Parliament officially adopted Protestantism and rejected papal authority.
- What role did John Knox play in the Reformation?
John Knox was a former Catholic priest turned Protestant preacher. He influenced Scottish theology and church structure and helped establish the Presbyterian Church.