On This Day…More build up to the anniversary of the signing of the National Covenant. This upstairs room on the second floor of the Tailors’ Hall in Edinburgh’s Cowgate—now the Three Sisters pub—was the setting for a pivotal moment in Scottish Covenanter history. On 27 February 1638, the day before the National Covenant was signed…
Yesterday marked another landmark anniversary in Scotland’s church history. It was the day the National Covenant was begun. By the late 1630s, tensions were boiling over. Scottish Presbyterians believed their faith was under attack, provoked by fierce disputes around the bishops, the Book of Canons, and the Book of Common Prayer. If these changes took…
We are only days away from the anniversary of the signing of the National Covenant (28 February 1638), so over the next few posts we’ll trace the dramatic build-up to that moment. Today takes us to 20 February 1638—and to a tense, but often overlooked, confrontation in Stirling between those who opposed the king’s church…
On 17th February 1688, in the Grassmarket of Edinburgh, a young minister—only twenty-six years old—walked calmly toward the gallows. He was the last of Scotland’s Covenanter ministers to be martyred. His name was James Renwick. Those who stood near him that morning heard something astonishing. Instead of trembling, instead of pleading, Renwick declared: “I am…
Nestled in a natural amphitheatre among the hills near Dumfries lies another Covenanter obelisk, crowned with a carved Communion cup. The climb up the hillside and down into the hollow is well worth the effort. Within this sheltered dip in the landscape stands the memorial. On its north-east side are still visible the lines of…
Born on this day in 1723, was a Scotsman who helped give birth to a nation: John Witherspoon! Witherspoon was born in Gifford, near Haddington, and educated at the University of Edinburgh, where he was shaped by Scotland’s Presbyterian and Enlightenment traditions. Ordained as a Church of Scotland minister in 1743, he quickly gained a…
On this day, 2 February 1645, more than 1,500 Covenanters were killed at the Battle of Inverlochy, fought near Fort William. In the months leading up to the battle, James Graham, Marquis of Montrose—who had originally signed the National Covenant before changing sides—had been tearing through the Highlands for the Royalist cause, attacking the Covenanter…
ON THIS DAY (27 January 1544) Helen Stirk was drowned in the River Tay for her faith. On 25 January 1544, six people were arrested in Perth: Robert Lamb, William Anderson, James Hunter, James Finlayson, James Ronaldson, and his wife, Helen Stirk. Their chief crime was reading the Bible in their own language—an act considered…
On this day, 23 January 1570, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, Regent of Scotland, was shot and killed in Linlithgow—a dramatic moment in the turbulent years after the Scottish Reformation. Moray was the half-brother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a committed Protestant who played a leading role in defending Scotland’s Reformed settlement. After…
Some 17th century portraits are so good that with only slight adjustments, modern technology can give us a much better idea of what these historic figures actually looked like. One example is the man pictured here, George Gillespie, who was born on this day, 21st January 1613. A man who isn’t as well known in…
