History of Scotland

by Margaret MacArthur

7. Charles I., 1625-1649. Resumption of Benefices.—Charles, who succeeded James as King of the two kingdoms, had even more exalted ideas than his father of the power of the prerogative. It fell to the lot of the Scots to take the lead and set an example to the English in resisting his arbitrary measures. Before he had been a year on the throne, it was clear that he meant to carry out his father's plan of making the Scotch Church as like the English Church as possible. He issued a proclamation recalling all the church lands which were in the hands of laymen, whether they had been granted by the crown or not. The holders protested against this injustice, and at last a compromise was made by which they agreed to give up part of the lands they held on condition of having their claim to the rest made good.

8. King's Visit and Coronation.—In 1633 Charles came to Scotland, and was crowned with great pomp in the Abbey church of Holyrood. The vestments that were worn on this occasion by the clergy gave great offence to the people. Their discontent was increased by an order from the King enjoining their own ministers to wear surplices, and the bishops to wear rochets and sleeves, instead of the Geneva cloak as heretofore. While Charles was in Scotland, a meeting of the Estates was held, in which he met with no opposition, owing to a new arrangement in choosing the Lords of the Articles. Formerly this committee had consisted of eight members from each Estate chosen by their own peers; but now the bishops were first chosen, they again chose the barons, and barons and bishops together chose the commons, so that all those chosen were really the allies of the bishops. A supplication was drawn up to remonstrate with the King about this interference, but, instead of taking it in good part, Charles was very angry, treated their remonstrance as a political offence, and put the lord Balmerinoch, who had revised the supplication which was presented to him, in prison. He was afterwards pardoned, but this did not make the King any more popular, as it was thought that he had only liberated Balmerinoch from fear and not from goodwill. While in Scotland he founded a new bishopric at Edinburgh, which had formerly formed part of the diocese of St. Andrews.

9. Book of Canons.—The discontent and distrust of the people which had been roused by the introduction of vestments, by the increase in the number of the bishops, and by the appointment of the primate as chancellor were now brought to a head by the appearance of a Book of Canons, or rules for the government of the Church. This book they were called on to accept in place of the Book of Discipline, on the authority of the King alone, unconfirmed by the Estates, and not long after the King attempted to change their form of worship as well. Through the influence of Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, a Liturgy was drawn up on the plan of the first book of Edward the Sixth. From this Liturgy the Scotch clergy were commanded by the King to read prayers in the churches, instead of from the book of Common Order which was still in general use.

10. Liturgy Tumults.—The imposition of this book roused the old national jealousy. The people thought that to have an English service book forced upon them would be a mark of subjection; and on the day named by the King for bringing it into use, July 16, 1637, when the Dean of Edinburgh tried to read the prayers from it in St. Giles' Church, a riot broke out. Stools and books were thrown at the Dean, the Archbishop, and the Bishop of Edinburgh, who had great difficulty in escaping out of the hands of the mob. And this tumult was but a sign of the common feeling throughout the country. The King was highly incensed and ordered the offenders to be brought to punishment, and the use of the liturgy to be enforced. Numberless petitions against it from all ranks of the people poured in on the Privy Council, or were sent up to London to the King, while Edinburgh was thronged with the petitioners from all parts of the country waiting for the answer which they hoped would be favourable. No answer was given to them, but the King issued a proclamation ordering them all to return to their homes, and threatening to remove the courts from Edinburgh to Linlithgow if the disturbance continued, as had been done in the late reign. But this had no effect. The bishops and the other members of the Council were mobbed, and the supplicants joined in a common petition to the King, called the Great Supplication.

11. The Tables.—The Council finding it impossible to treat with a turbulent mob which increased instead of diminishing, persuaded the malcontents to choose representatives to act in their names, four from each class, nobles, lesser barons, clergy, and burgesses. The rest were to return peaceably to their several homes. But this committee, known as The Tables, gave the Council more trouble than the unruly mob had done, for they made their way into the Council chamber, insisted on debating there, and demanded that the bishops should be turned out.

12. Renewal of the Covenant, 1638.—Still the King would not give in, and he met a less submissive protest on the part of his subjects by another threatening proclamation. On this the Tables renewed the Covenant, with a clause added to it aimed at the bishops. At the last renewal of the Covenant, only notable persons had put their names to it, but this time it was signed by every one throughout the land, rich and poor alike. There was the greatest excitement and enthusiasm about it all over the country, and from this time the popular party became known as the Covenanters.

13. Hamilton Commissioner.—A few months later the Marquess of Hamilton came to Scotland as Commissioner with full power, it was said, to settle everything. The demands of the Covenanters were that the Court of High Commission, the Canons and the Liturgy should all be done away, and that a free Assembly and a free Parliament should be summoned. But Hamilton, acting on the orders given him, kept putting them off with promises till the King should be ready to put them down by force, when suddenly the King turned about, promised all they asked, and agreed that the Assembly should be called, and that the bishops should be tried by it.

14. Glasgow Assembly.—The Assembly met in the Cathedral Church at Glasgow, November 21, 1638. Hamilton opened it as the Royal Commissioner. But after a few days, when the attack on the bishops began, he withdrew and ordered the members to disperse. They paid no heed to this order, but went on with the trial of the bishops, who were all deposed, and eight of them excommunicated. The Canons and the Liturgy were then rejected, and all acts of the Assemblies held since 1606 were annulled.

15. War in the North.—In the North, where Huntly was the King's Lieutenant, the Covenant had not been received, and the Tables resolved to enforce it with the sword. Scotland was now full of trained soldiers just come back from Germany, where they had learnt to fight in the Thirty Years war, and as plenty of money had been collected among the Covenanters, an army was easily raised. Their banner bore the motto, For Religion, the Covenant, and the Country, and their leader was James Graham, Earl of Montrose, one of the most zealous among the champions of the cause. Aberdeen, Huntly's capital, dared make no resistance, for the soldiers occupied the town and the ministers the pulpits, and Montrose brought Huntly himself back to Edinburgh in his train. But in the first brush of actual war the King's party, the Cavaliers, or Malignants as their opponents called them, had the advantage, for they surprised and scattered the Covenanters of the North at the little village of Turriff, which they had made their trysting place. In this action, called the Trot of Turriff, the first blood was shed in the great Civil War. The Cavaliers were the first to draw the sword. Though Huntly had been taken out of the way by his removal to Edinburgh, his two sons, the Lord Aboyne and Lewis Gordon, supplied his place and called out the Highlanders. Aberdeen changed hands, and again Montrose was sent to subdue the North before the expected struggle with England should begin. At the Bridge of Dee he defeated the Malignants, and once more entered Aberdeen in triumph. Just after this entry the news was brought that peace had been made between the King and the other army of the Covenant on the Border. June 1639.

16. Pacification of Berwick.—While Montrose had been thus busy for the Covenant in the North, the King had been making ready to put down his rebellious Scottish subjects with the sword. Early in May a fleet entered the Forth under the command of Hamilton. But the Tables took possession of the strongholds, and seized the ammunition which had been laid in for the King. They then raised another army of twenty-two thousand foot and one thousand two hundred horse, and placed at its head Alexander Leslie, a veteran, trained in the German war. Their army they sent southwards to meet the English host which the King was bringing to reduce Scotland. The two armies faced each other on opposite banks of the Tweed. The Scots were skilfully posted on Dunse Law, a hill commanding the Northern road. To pass them without fighting was impossible, and to fight would have been almost certain defeat. The King seeing this agreed to treat. By a treaty called the "Pacification of Berwick," it was settled that the questions at issue between the King and the Covenanters should be put to a free Assembly, that both armies should be disbanded, and that the strongholds should be restored to the King. June 9, 1639.