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Covenanters

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This article is about the supporters of the 1638 Scottish National Covenant. For the 1949 petition for Scottish home rule, seeScottish Covenant.For the British tank, seeCovenanter tank.
A Covenanter flag

Covenanters[a]were members of a 17th-centuryScottishreligious and political movement, who claimed to have a "Covenant",or agreement withGod.They supported aChurch of Scotland,or kirk, that wasPresbyterianin structure, and the primacy of church leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes withJames VIand his sonCharles Iover church organisation anddoctrine,but expanded into political conflict over the limits of Royal authority.

In 1638, thousands of Scots signed theNational Covenant,pledging to resist changes imposed by Charles on the kirk. The subsequent 1639 and 1640Bishops' Warsinitiated theWars of the Three Kingdoms,and resulted in the Covenanters taking control of theScottish government.In response to theIrish Rebellion of 1641,Covenanter troops were sent toIreland,and the 1643Solemn League and Covenantbrought them into theFirst English Civil Waron the side ofParliamentagainst theRoyalists.

As the war progressed, many Covenanters came to view Englishreligious IndependentslikeOliver Cromwellas a greater threat than the Royalists, particularly their opposition tostate religion.As a result, a Covenanter faction known asEngagersallied with Scots and English Royalists during the 1648Second English Civil War.A Scottish army invaded England, but were defeated, while Charles was executed in January 1649. TheKirk Partynow gained political power, and in 1650,agreedto provide his sonCharles IIwith Scottish military support to regain the English throne, then crowned himKing of Scotsin 1651. Defeat in theAnglo-Scottish war (1650–1652)led to Scotland being absorbed into theCommonwealth of England.The kirk lost its position as thestate church,and the rulings of itsassemblieswere no longer enforced by law.

Following the 1660Stuart Restoration,theParliament of Scotlandpassed laws reversing reforms enacted since 1639. Bishops were restored to the kirk, whileministersand other officeholders were obliged to take theOath of Abjurationrejecting the 1638 Covenant. As a result, many Covenanters opposed the new regime, leading to a series of plots and armed rebellions. After the 1688Glorious Revolution in Scotland,the Church of Scotland was re-established as a wholly Presbyterian structure and most Covenanters readmitted. Dissident minorities persisted in Scotland, Ireland, andNorth America,which continue today as theReformed Presbyterian Global Alliance.

Background

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John Knox,who founded the reformedChurch of Scotland,or "kirk"

The 16th centuryScottish Reformationresulted in the creation of a reformedChurch of Scotland,or "kirk",Presbyterianin structure, andCalvinistin doctrine. In December 1557, the kirk became thestate churchof Scotland, and in 1560, theParliament of Scotlandadopted theScots Confessionwhich rejected manyCatholicteachings and practices.[1]

The Confession was adopted byJames VI,and re-affirmed first in 1590, then in 1596. However, James argued that as king, he was also head of the church, governing throughbishopsappointed by himself.[2][b]The kirk remained Calvinist in doctrine, and when James became king of England in 1603, he saw a unified Church as the first step in creating a centralised, unionist state.[5]Although both churches were nominallyepiscopalian in structureand Protestant in doctrine, even Scottish bishops rejected manyChurch of Englandpractices as little better than Catholic.[6]

Opposition to Catholicism remained widespread in Scotland, even though by 1630 it was largely confined to the aristocracy and remote, Gaelic-speaking areas of theHighlands and Islands.[7]Many Scots fought in theThirty Years' War,one of themost destructive religious conflicts in European history,while there were close economic and cultural with the ProtestantDutch Republic,thenfighting for independencefrom CatholicSpain.Lastly, the majority of kirk ministers had been educated in French Calvinist universities, most of which were suppressed in theHuguenot rebellionsof the 1620s.[8]

1637 riots over theBook of Common Prayer;some modern historians argue these were not spontaneous, but pre-planned

These links, combined with a general perception that Protestant Europe was under attack, meant heightened sensitivity around religious practice. In 1636, Charles I replaced the existing "Book of Discipline"used by the kirk with a newBook of Canons,and excommunicated anyone who denied Royal supremacy in church matters.[9]When followed by a revised "Book of Common Prayer"in 1637, it caused anger and widespread rioting, most famously sparked whenJenny Geddesthrew a stool at the minister inSt Giles Cathedral.[10]More recently, historians likeMark Kishlanskyhave argued her protest was part of a series of planned and co-ordinated acts of opposition to theBook of Common Prayer,whose origin was as much political as it was religious.[11]

Wars of the Three Kingdoms

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Covenanter political leader, theMarquess of Argyll

Supervised byArchibald JohnstonandAlexander Henderson,in February 1638 representatives from all sections of Scottish society agreed to aNational Covenant,pledging resistance to liturgical "innovations". An important factor in the political contest with Charles was the Covenanter belief they were preserving an established and divinely ordained form of religion which he was seeking to alter.[12]Debate as to what that meant persisted until finally settled in 1690. For example, the Covenant made no reference to bishops;Murdoch MacKenzie,Bishop of Orkneyfrom 1677 to 1688, viewed himself as a Covenanter and argued their expulsion interfered with that form. Nevertheless, when theGeneral Assembly of the Church of Scotlandmet inGlasgowin December 1638, it abolished episcopacy and affirmed its right to meet annually.[13]

Support was widespread except inAberdeenshireandBanff,heartland of Royalist and Episcopalian resistance for the next 60 years.[14]The Marquess of Argylland six other members of theScottish Privy Councilhad backed the Covenant;[15]Charles tried to impose his authority in the 1639 and 1640Bishop's Wars,with his defeat leaving the Covenanters in control of Scotland.[16]When theFirst English Civil Warbegan in 1642, the Scots remained neutral at first but sent troops toUlsterto support their co-religionists in theIrish Rebellion;the bitterness of this conflict radicalised views in Scotland and Ireland.[17]

Since Calvinists believed a "well-ordered" monarchy was part of God's plan, the Covenanters committed to "defend the king's person and authority with our goods, bodies, and lives". The idea of government without a king was inconceivable.[18]This view was generally shared by EnglishParliamentarians,who wanted to control Charles, not remove him, but both they and theirRoyalistopponents were further divided over religiousdoctrine.In Scotland, near unanimous agreement on doctrine meant differences centred on who held ultimate authority in clerical affairs. Royalists tended to be "traditionalist" in religion and politics but there were various factors, including nationalist allegiance to the Kirk. Individual motives were very complex, and many fought on both sides, includingMontrose,a Covenanter general in 1639 and 1640 who nearlyrestored Royalist rule in Scotlandin 1645.[19]

Alexander Leslie,Lord General of the Covenanter Army during theWars of the Three Kingdoms

The Covenanter faction led by Argyll saw religious union with England as the best way to preserve a Presbyterian Kirk and in October 1643, theSolemn League and Covenantagreed a Presbyterian Union in return for Scottish military support.[20]Royalists and moderates in both Scotland and England opposed this on nationalist grounds, while religiousIndependentslikeOliver Cromwellclaimed he would fight, rather than agree to it.[21]

The Covenanters and their English Presbyterian allies gradually came to see the Independents who dominated theNew Model Armyas a bigger threat than the Royalists and when Charles surrendered in 1646, they began negotiations to restore him to the English throne. In December 1647, Charles agreed to imposePresbyterianismin England for three years and suppress the Independents but his refusal to take the Covenant himself split the Covenanters intoEngagersand Kirk Party fundamentalists orWhiggamores.Defeat in theSecond English Civil Warresulted in the execution of Charles in January 1649 and the Kirk Party taking control of the General Assembly.[22]

In February 1649, the Scots proclaimedCharles IIKing of Scotland and Great Britain; under the terms of theTreaty of Breda,the Kirk Party agreed to restore Charles to the English throne and in return he accepted the Covenant. Defeats atDunbarandWorcesterresulted with Scotland being incorporated into theCommonwealth of England, Scotland and Irelandin 1652.[23]

Under the Commonwealth

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1661 execution of Protester leaderJames Guthrie

After defeat in 1651, the Covenanters split into two factions. Over two-thirds of the ministry supported the Resolution of December 1650 re-admitting Royalists and Engagers and were known as "Resolutioners". "Protestors" were largely former Kirk Party fundamentalists or Whiggamores who blamed defeat on compromise with "malignants". Differences between the two were both religious and political, including church government, religious toleration and the role of law in a godly society.[24]

Following the events of 1648–51, Cromwell decided the only way forward was to eliminate the power of the Scottish landed elite and the Kirk. The Terms of Incorporation published on 12 February 1652 made a new Council of Scotland responsible for regulating church affairs and allowed freedom of worship for all Protestant sects. Since Presbyterianism was no longer the state religion, kirk sessions and synods functioned as before but its edicts were not enforced by civil penalties.[25]

Covenanters were hostile to sects like theCongregationalistsandQuakersbecause they advocated separation of church and state. Apart from a small number of Protestors known as Separatists, the vast majority refused to accept these changes, and Scotland was incorporated into the Commonwealth without further consultation on 21 April 1652.[26]

Contests for control of individual presbyteries made the split increasingly bitter and in July 1653 each faction held its own General Assembly in Edinburgh.Robert Lilburne,English military commander in Scotland, used the excuse of Resolutioner church services praying for the success ofGlencairn's risingto dissolve both sessions. The Assembly would not formally reconvene until 1690, the Resolutioner majority instead meeting in informal "Consultations" and Protestors holding field assemblies orconventiclesoutside Resolutioner-controlled kirk structures.[27]

Whenthe Protectoratewas established in 1654,Lord Broghill,head of the Council of State for Scotland summarised his dilemma; "the Resolutioners love Charles Stuart and hate us, while the Protesters love neither him nor us."[28]Neither side was willing to co-operate with the Protectorate except inGlasgow,where Protestors led byPatrick Gillespieused the authorities in their contest with local Resolutioners.[29]

Since the Resolutioners controlled 750 of 900 parishes, Broghill recognised they could not be ignored; his policy was to isolate the "extreme" elements of both factions, hoping to create a new, moderate majority.[30]He therefore encouraged internal divisions within the Kirk, including appointing Gillespie Principal of theUniversity of Glasgow,against the wishes of theJames GuthrieandWarriston-led Protestor majority. The Protectorate authorities effectively became arbitrators between the factions, each of whom appointed representatives to argue their case in London; the repercussions affected the Kirk for decades to come.[31]

Restoration settlement

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James Sharp,Archbishop of St Andrews,assassinated by Covenanter radicals in 1679

After theRestoration of the Monarchyin 1660, Scotland regained control of the Kirk, but theRescissory Act 1661restored the legal position of 1633 and removing the Covenanter reforms of 1638–1639. The Privy Council of Scotland restored bishops on 6 September 1661.James Sharp,leader of the Resolutioners, becameArchbishop of St Andrews;Robert Leightonwas consecratedBishop of Dunblane,and soon an entire bench of bishops had been appointed.[32]

In 1662, the Kirk was restored as the national church, independent sects banned and all office-holders required to renounce the 1638 Covenant; about a third, or around 270 in total, refused to do so and lost their positions as a result.[32]Most occurred in the south-west of Scotland, an area particularly strong in its Covenanting sympathies; the practice of holding conventicles outside the formal structure continued, often attracting thousands of worshippers.[33]

The government alternated between persecution and toleration; in 1663, it declared dissenting ministers "seditious persons" and imposed heavy fines on those who failed to attend the parish churches of the "King's curates ".In 1666, a group of men from Galloway captured the local military commander, marched on Edinburgh and were defeated at theBattle of Rullion Green.Around 50 prisoners were taken, while a number of others were arrested; 33 were executed and the resttransportedto Barbados.[34]

The Rising led to the replacement of theDuke of Rothesas King's Commissioner byJohn Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdalewho followed a more conciliatory policy. Letters of Indulgence were issued in 1669, 1672 and 1679, allowing evicted ministers to return to their parishes, if they agreed to avoid politics. A number returned but over 150 refused the offer, while many Episcopalians were alienated by the compromise.[35]

The outcome was a return to persecution; preaching at a conventicle was made punishable by death, while attendance attracted severe sanctions. In 1674,heritorsand masters were made responsible for the "good behaviour" of their tenants and servants; from 1677, this meant posting bonds for those living on their land. In 1678, 3,000 Lowland militia and 6,000 Highlanders, known as the "Highland Host", were billeted in the Covenanting shires, especially those in the South-West, as a form of punishment.[36]

1679 rebellion and the Killing Time

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Covenanters in a Glenby Alexander Carse; an illegal field assembly or Conventicle

The assassination of Archbishop Sharp by Covenanter radicals in May 1679 led to a revolt that ended at theBattle of Bothwell Bridgein June. Although battlefield casualties were relatively few, over 1,200 prisoners were sentenced to transportation, the chief prosecutor beingLord Advocate Rosehaugh.[37]Claims of undocumented, indiscriminate killing in the aftermath of the battle have also been made.[38]

Defeat split the movement into moderates and extremists, the latter headed byDonald CargillandRichard Cameronwho issued theSanquhar Declarationin June 1680. While Covenanters previously claimed to object only to state religious policy, this renounced any allegiance to either Charles, or his Catholic brotherJames.Adherents were known asCameronians,and although a relatively small minority, the deaths of Cameron, his brother and Cargill gained them considerable sympathy.[39]

The 1681 Scottish Succession and Test Acts made obedience to the monarch a legal obligation, "regardless of religion", but in return confirmed the primacy of the Kirk "as currently constituted". This excluded the Covenanters, who wanted to restore it to the structure prevailing in 1640.[40]A number of government figures, includingJames Dalrymple,chief legal officer,andArchibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll,objected to inconsistencies in the Act and refused to swear.[c]Argyll was convicted of treason and sentenced to death, although he and Dalrymple escaped to theDutch Republic.[42]

The Cameronians were now organised more formally as the United Societies; estimates of their numbers vary from 6,000 to 7,000, mostly concentrated in Argyllshire.[43]Led byJames Renwick,in 1684 copies of anApologetical Declarationwere posted in different locations, effectively declaring war on government officers. This led to the period known in Protestant historiography as "the Killing Time";the Scottish Privy Council authorised the extrajudicial execution of any Covenanters caught in arms, policies carried out by troops underJohn Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee.[44]At the same time, Lord Rosehaugh adopted the French practice of same day trial and execution for militants who refused to swear oaths of loyalty to the king.[45]

Despite his Catholicism, James VII became king in April 1685 with widespread support, largely due to fears of civil war if he were bypassed, and opposition to re-opening past divisions within the Kirk.[46]These factors contributed to the rapid defeat ofArgyll's Risingin June 1685; in a bid to widen its appeal, his manifesto omitted any mention of the 1638 Covenant. Renwick and his followers refused to support it as a result.[47]

The Glorious Revolution and the 1690 settlement

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A major factor in the defeat of Argyll's Rising was the desire for stability within the Kirk. By issuing Letters of Indulgence to dissident Presbyterians in 1687, James now threatened to re-open this debate and undermine his own Episcopalian base. At the same time, he excluded the Society People, and created another Covenanter martyr with the execution of Renwick in February 1688.[48]

The "Burning Bush" emblem of the Church of Scotland, bearing the motto "Yet it was not consumed"

In June 1688, two events turned dissent into a crisis: the birth ofJames Francis Edwardon 10 June created a Catholic heir, excluding James' Protestant daughterMaryand her husbandWilliam of Orange.Prosecuting theSeven Bishopsseemed to go beyond tolerance for Catholicism and into an assault on the Episcopalian establishment; their acquittal on 30 June destroyed James' political authority.[49]Representatives from the English political class invited Williamto assume the English throne; when he landed inBrixhamon 5 November, James' army deserted him and he left for France on 23 December.[50]

TheScottish Conventionelected in March to determine settlement of the Scottish throne was dominated by Covenanter sympathisers. On 4 April, it passed theClaim of Rightand the "Articles of Grievances", which held James forfeited the Crown by his actions; on 11 May, William and Mary became co-monarchs of Scotland. Although William wanted to retain bishops, the role played by Covenanters during theJacobite rising of 1689,including the Cameronians' defence ofDunkeldin August, meant their views prevailed in the political settlement that followed. The General Assembly met in November 1690 for the first time since 1654; even before it convened, over 200 Episcopalian ministers had been removed from their livings.[51]

The Assembly once again eliminated episcopacy and created two commissions for the south and north of the Tay, which over the next 25 years removed almost two-thirds of all ministers.[52]To offset this, nearly one hundred clergy returned to the Kirk in the 1693 and 1695 Acts of Indulgence, while others were protected by the local gentry and retained their positions until death by natural causes.[53]

Following the 1690 settlement, a small minority of the United Societies followed Cameronian leaderRobert Hamiltonin refusing to re-enter the Kirk.[54]They continued as an informal grouping until 1706, whenJohn M'Millanwas appointed minister; in 1743, he andThomas Nairnset up theReformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland.[55]Although the church still exists, the vast majority of its members joined theFree Church of Scotlandin 1876.[53]

Legacy

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Memorials

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Martyrs' MonumentGreyfriars Kirkyard

Covenanter graves and memorials from the "Killing Time" became important in perpetuating a political message, initially by the small minority of the United Societies who remained outside the Kirk. In 1701, their Assembly undertook to recover or mark the graves of the dead; many were to be found in remote places, as the government of the time deliberately sought to avoid creating places of pilgrimage.[56]

Old Mortality,an 1816 novel bySir Walter Scott,features a character who spends his time travelling around Scotland, renewing inscriptions on Covenanter graves. In 1966, the Scottish Covenanter Memorial Association was established, which maintains these monuments throughout Scotland. One of the most famous is that erected atGreyfriars Kirkyardin 1707, commemorating 18,000 martyrs killed from 1661 to 1680.[57]

In 1721 and 1722,Robert WodrowpublishedThe History of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland from the Restoration to the Revolution,detailing the persecution of the Covenanter movement from 1660 to 1690. This work would be brought forward again when elements in the Church of Scotland felt it to be suffering state interference, as at theDisruption of 1843.[58]

Covenanters in North America

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Throughout the 17th century, Covenanter congregations were established inIreland,primarily inUlster;for a variety of reasons, many subsequently migrated toNorth America.In 1717,William Tennentmoved with his family toPhiladelphia,where he later foundedLog College,the first Presbyterian seminary in North America.[59]

In North America, many former Covenanters joined theReformed Presbyterian Church of North America,which was founded in 1743.[60]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Scottish Gaelic:Cùmhnantaich
  2. ^James summarised this as "No bishops, no King"; the alternative view was best expressed byAndrew Melvilleas "Thair is twa Kings and twa Kingdomes in Scotland... Chryst Jesus the King and this Kingdome the Kirk, whose subject King James the Saxt is";[3]the Kirk was subject only to God, and its members, including James, ruled bypresbyteries,consisting ofministersandelders.[4]
  3. ^Poorly written, it seemed to require office holders to confirm both Jesus and the reigning monarch were head of the kirk.[41]

References

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  1. ^Wormald 2018,pp. 120–121.
  2. ^Lee 1974,pp. 50–51.
  3. ^Melville 1842,p. 370.
  4. ^"Our Structure".ChurchofScotland.org.uk.Church of Scotland. 22 February 2010.Retrieved25 August2020.
  5. ^Stephen 2010,pp. 55–58.
  6. ^McDonald 1998,pp. 75–76.
  7. ^Fissel 1994,pp. 269, 278.
  8. ^Wilson 2009,pp. 787–778.
  9. ^Stevenson 1973,pp. 45–46.
  10. ^Mackie, Lenman & Parker 1986,p. 203.
  11. ^Kishlansky 2005,pp. 43–50.
  12. ^Mackie, Lenman & Parker 1986,p. 204.
  13. ^Harris 2014,p. 372.
  14. ^Plant 2010.
  15. ^Mackie, Lenman & Parker 1986,pp. 205–206.
  16. ^Mackie, Lenman & Parker 1986,pp. 209–210.
  17. ^Royle 2004,p. 142.
  18. ^Macleod 2009,pp. 5–19 passim.
  19. ^Harris 2014,pp. 53–54.
  20. ^Robertson 2014,p. 125.
  21. ^Rees 2016,pp. 118–119.
  22. ^Mitchison, Fry & Fry 2002,pp. 223–224.
  23. ^Royle 2004,p. 612.
  24. ^Holfelder 1998,p. 9.
  25. ^Morrill 1990,p. 162.
  26. ^Baker 2009,pp. 290–291.
  27. ^Holfelder 1998,pp. 190–192.
  28. ^Dow 1979,p. 192.
  29. ^Holfelder 1998,p. 196.
  30. ^Dow 1979,p. 204.
  31. ^Holfelder 1998,p. 213.
  32. ^abMackie, Lenman & Parker 1986,pp. 231–234.
  33. ^Mitchison, Fry & Fry 2002,p. 253.
  34. ^Mackie, Lenman & Parker 1986,pp. 235–236.
  35. ^Mackie, Lenman & Parker 1986,p. 236.
  36. ^Mackie, Lenman & Parker 1986,pp. 237–238.
  37. ^Kennedy 2014,pp. 220–221.
  38. ^M'Crie 1875,p. 331.
  39. ^Christie 2008,p. 113.
  40. ^Harris 2007,pp. 153–157.
  41. ^Harris 2007,p. 73.
  42. ^Webb 1999,pp. 50–51.
  43. ^Christie 2008,p. 146.
  44. ^Mackie, Lenman & Parker 1986,pp. 240–245.
  45. ^Jardine 2017.
  46. ^Womersley 2015,p. 189.
  47. ^De Krey 2007,p. 227.
  48. ^Christie 2008,p. 160.
  49. ^Harris 2007,pp. 235–236.
  50. ^Harris 2007,pp. 3–5.
  51. ^Mackie, Lenman & Parker 1986,pp. 241–245.
  52. ^Mackie, Lenman & Parker 1986,p. 246.
  53. ^abMackie, Lenman & Parker 1986,p. 253.
  54. ^Christie 2008,p. 250.
  55. ^McMillan 1950,pp. 141–153.
  56. ^Wallace 2017.
  57. ^SCMA.
  58. ^Wodrow.
  59. ^EPH.
  60. ^RPCNA.

Sources

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Bibliography

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