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158-665: The Bishops' Wars were two separate conflicts fought in 1639 and 1640 between Scotland and England , with Scottish Royalists allied to England. They were the first of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms , which also include the First and Second English Civil Wars , the Irish Confederate Wars , and the 1650 to 1652 Anglo-Scottish War . In 1637, Charles I , then king of both Scotland and England , imposed changes in religious practice on

316-676: A Congregationalist or Presbyterian form of Church Polity. The Constitutions and Canons Ecclesiasticall were passed by the 1640 Convocation and they included as Canon VI, a pledge to uphold episcopacy and the current Anglican hierarchy. During the First English Civil War Priests and bishops who had gathered in Convocation to draft the canons of 1640, within months, were unable to enforce them. By December 1640 thirteen bishops had been impeached, with another dozen having followed them by December 1641. Within eight weeks of

474-823: A National Covenant , pledging resistance to liturgical "innovations". The Marquess of Argyll and six other members of the Scottish Privy Council backed the Covenant. Charles agreed to defer discussion of the new canons to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, but at the same time told his supporters that he had no intention of making concessions. As a consequence, when the Assembly gathered in Glasgow in December it rejected

632-410: A Protestant Reformation that created a predominately Calvinist national kirk . There were a series of religious controversies that resulted in divisions and persecutions. The Scottish Crown developed naval forces at various points in its history, but often relied on privateers and fought a guerre de course . Land forces centred around the large common army , but adopted European innovations from

790-450: A capital city in the second half of the 15th century. The Crown remained at the centre of political life and in the 16th century emerged as a major centre of display and artistic patronage, until it was effectively dissolved with the 1603 Union of Crowns. The Scottish Crown adopted the conventional offices of western European monarchical states of the time and developed a Privy Council and great offices of state. Parliament also emerged as

948-451: A "three-tier system, with Gaelic at the bottom and English at the top". The Pictish and Scottish kingdoms that would form the basis of the Kingdom of Alba were largely converted by Irish-Scots missions associated with figures such as St Columba , from the 5th to the 7th centuries. These missions tended to found monastic institutions and collegiate churches that served large areas. Partly as

1106-679: A Catholic revival remained widespread, even though by the 1630s Catholicism was practiced only by some of the aristocracy, and in the remote Highlands . Scots volunteers and mercenaries fought on the Protestant side in the Thirty Years' War , while Scotland had close economic and cultural links with the Dutch Republic , then fighting for independence from Catholic Spain . In addition, many Scots had been educated in French Huguenot universities,

1264-611: A Scottish force of 16,500 led by the veteran Alexander Leslie , who had served with the Swedes in the Thirty Years' War . On 14 May, Charles announced the Scottish army would be destroyed if it moved to within ten miles of the border. On 3 June, a small force of cavalry was sent to investigate reports Scottish troops had reached Kelso, well within the limit. Encountering Scottish units, the English feared they were outnumbered, and retreated back across

1422-509: A combination of kirk funds, contributions from local heritors or burgh councils and parents that could pay. They were inspected by kirk sessions, who checked for the quality of teaching and doctrinal purity. There were also large number of unregulated "adventure schools", which sometimes fulfilled a local needs and sometimes took pupils away from the official schools. Outside of the established burgh schools, masters often combined their position with other employment, particularly minor posts within

1580-478: A constitutional revolution, including Tri-annual Parliaments, and making the Covenant compulsory for all holders of public office. His advisors convinced Charles the only way to finance a second war was to recall the English Parliament , and in December 1639, he issued writs for the first time since 1629. Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford , his most capable advisor and Lord Deputy of Ireland also asked

1738-524: A desire, intensified after the Reformation, for women to take personal moral responsibility, particularly as wives and mothers. In Protestantism this necessitated an ability to learn and understand the catechism and even to be able to independently read the Bible, but most commentators, even those that tended to encourage the education of girls, thought they should not receive the same academic education as boys. In

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1896-809: A large area, one of the most infamous acts being the destruction of Airlie Castle in Angus. As they had done in the First Bishops' War, the Covenanter forces also seized Dumbarton Castle , preventing Strafford's Irish army from landing in Scotland and so enabling them to focus on the threatened English invasion. The Scottish army was again led by Leslie and consisted of around 20,000 well-equipped men, and possessed vastly superior artillery compared to its opponents. The English troops consisted largely of militia from Southern England , poorly-equipped, unpaid, and unenthusiastic about

2054-556: A major conflict between Protesters and Resolutioners , which became a long term divide in the Kirk. At the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, legislation was revoked back to 1633, removing the Covenanter gains of the Bishops' Wars, but the discipline of kirk sessions, presbyteries and synods were renewed. The reintroduction of episcopacy was a source of particular trouble in the south-west of

2212-461: A major influence on late medieval religious thought. The Wars of Independence largely closed English universities to Scots, and consequently continental universities became more significant. This situation was transformed by the founding of the University of St Andrews in 1413, the University of Glasgow in 1451 and the University of Aberdeen in 1495. Initially these institutions were designed for

2370-529: A major legal institution, gaining an oversight of taxation and policy, but was never as central to the national life. In the early period, the kings of the Scots depended on the great lords—the mormaers and toísechs—but from the reign of David I , sheriffdoms were introduced, which allowed more direct control and gradually limited the power of the major lordships. In the 17th century, the creation of Justices of Peace and Commissioners of Supply helped to increase

2528-481: A major legal institution, gaining an oversight of taxation and policy. By the end of the Middle Ages it was sitting almost every year, partly because of the frequent royal minorities and regencies of the period, which may have prevented it from being sidelined by the monarchy. In the early modern era, Parliament was also vital to the running of the country, providing laws and taxation, but it had fluctuating fortunes and

2686-586: A matter when available and to fill in any gaps with provisions from the common law embodied in Civil and Canon law , which had the advantage of being written. Under James IV the legal functions of the council were rationalised, with a royal Court of Session meeting daily in Edinburgh to deal with civil cases. In 1514, the office of justice-general was created for the Earl of Argyll (and held by his family until 1628). In 1532,

2844-540: A million by the end of the 15th century. Compared with the situation after the redistribution of population in the later Highland Clearances and the Industrial Revolution , these numbers would have been relatively evenly spread over the kingdom, with roughly half living north of the River Tay . Perhaps ten per cent of the population lived in one of many burghs that grew up in the later medieval period, mainly in

3002-506: A minority within the Church of England, while religious Independents opposed any state church, let alone one dictated by the Scots. One of their most prominent opponents was Oliver Cromwell , who claimed he would fight rather than agree to such an outcome. Many of the political radicals known as the Levellers , and much of the New Model Army , belonged to Independent congregations; by 1646,

3160-494: A process of religious and legal reforms. Until the 13th century, the border with England was very fluid, with Northumbria being annexed to Scotland by David I, but lost under his grandson and successor Malcolm IV in 1157. The Treaty of York (1237) fixed the boundaries with England close to the modern border. By the reign of Alexander III , the Scots had annexed the remainder of the Norwegian-held western seaboard after

3318-491: A profound impact on the development of Scottish law, establishing feudal land tenure over many parts of the south and east that eventually spread northward. Sheriffs, originally appointed by the King as royal administrators and tax collectors, developed legal functions. Feudal lords also held courts to adjudicate disputes between their tenants. By the 14th century, some of these feudal courts had developed into "petty kingdoms" where

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3476-406: A result of these factors, some scholars have identified a distinctive form of Celtic Christianity , in which abbots were more significant than bishops , attitudes to clerical celibacy were more relaxed and there were some significant differences in practice with Roman Christianity, particularly the form of tonsure and the method of calculating Easter . Most of these issues had been resolved by

3634-480: A scholarly and written language. Monasteries served as repositories of knowledge and education, often running schools and providing a small educated elite, who were essential to create and read documents in a largely illiterate society. In the High Middle Ages, new sources of education arose, with song and grammar schools . These were usually attached to cathedrals or a collegiate church and were most common in

3792-551: A schoolhouse and pay a schoolmaster, while ministers and local presbyteries oversaw the quality of the education. In many Scottish towns, burgh schools were operated by local councils. By the late 17th century, there was a largely complete network of parish schools in the Lowlands, but in the Highlands basic education was still lacking in many areas. The widespread belief in the limited intellectual and moral capacity of women, vied with

3950-530: A temporary truce, and continued preparations for another military confrontation. The General Assembly met again in August 1639 and confirmed the decisions previously taken at Glasgow, which were then ratified by the Scottish Parliament. When Charles' representative, Lord Traquair , tried to suspend it, his action was declared illegal and Parliament continued to sit. A series of acts were passed which amounted to

4108-516: A treaty . The peace terms included calling a new General Assembly and Scottish Parliament , which Charles hoped would reverse their earlier decisions. Instead, they were re-confirmed, and both sides again made preparations for war. In 1640, in what is now called the Second Bishops' War, the Scots invaded and occupied parts of northern England, after winning a victory at the Battle of Newburn . Under

4266-533: A virtually independent Presbyterian Covenanter state in Scotland. It also helped precipitate the Wars of the Three Kingdoms , during which the Scots carried out major military interventions. After Charles I's defeat, the Scots backed the king in the Second English Civil War ; after his execution, they proclaimed his son Charles II king, resulting in the Anglo-Scottish War of 1650-1652 against

4424-409: A visual level. Upon his translation to the bishopric of Durham in 1617, Richard Neile had the communion table transformed into an altar at the east end of the cathedral and supported Laud (then under his patronage) in a similar action at the dioceses of Gloucester . In the 1630s, Laud declared that "the altar is the greatest place of God's residence upon earth, greater than the pulpit for there it

4582-400: Is Hoc est corpus meum , This is my body; but in the other it is at most but Hoc est verbum meum , This is my word." In November 1633, by act of Privy Council King Charles I established the precedent that all parochial churches should follow the by then general cathedral practice of placing communion tables altar-wise at the east end of chancels . The visual emphasis that this placed on

4740-578: Is he did not trust his ill-disciplined and mutinous troops, but morale in the rest of the army now collapsed, forcing Charles to make peace. The only other significant action of the war was the siege of Edinburgh Castle , held by the Royalist commander Sir Patrick Ruthven , who had previously served with Leslie in the Swedish army. Blockaded since the end of May, starvation forced him to surrender in September. Under

4898-478: Is to be followed, which we have expressly declared to us in the word of God.” The word generally is in the Latin generaliter , which means not usually, but universally and Article 31 says "Christ once made is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual" Building on this, Laudianism is based in the universality and objectivity of God's grace through

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5056-420: The congregations themselves. One reason was that bishops held a variety of non-religious roles which impacted all levels of society; they acted as state censors, who were able to ban sermons and writings, while ordinary people could be tried by church courts for crimes including blasphemy , heresy , fornication and other 'sins of the flesh', as well as matrimonial or inheritance disputes. As members of

5214-691: The 39 Articles like, the Intercession of saints , Eucharistic adoration , and prayers for the dead were rejected, as were the Roman doctrines concerning the Sacrifice of the Mass. Laudianism was as opposed to the "Papists" as the Puritans. The Sacraments are emphasized as means of Grace open to all who confess their sins and truly repent, and Baptism and Communion were raised over the preaching of sermons. Personal holiness and

5372-475: The Bank of Scotland . The bank issued pound notes from 1704, which had the face value of £12 Scots. Scottish currency was abolished after the 1707 Act of Unions, with Scottish coins in circulation being drawn in to be re-minted according to English standards. At its borders in 1707, the Kingdom of Scotland was half the size of England and Wales in area, but with its many inlets, islands and inland lochs , it had roughly

5530-723: The Church of Scotland . These were strongly opposed by many Scots who, in 1638, signed a National Covenant and became known as Covenanters . The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland then expelled bishops from the church, turning a religious dispute into a struggle for political supremacy. The new Covenanter government raised an army to prevent Charles using force to restore his authority. The First Bishops' War began in early 1639, when minor skirmishing between Covenanters and Scottish Royalists took place in north-east Scotland. In June, English and Scottish armies assembled near Berwick-upon-Tweed , but withdrew without fighting, after reaching

5688-609: The College of Justice was founded, leading to the training and professionalisation of lawyers. David I is the first Scottish king known to have produced his own coinage. After the union of the Scottish and English crowns in 1603, the Pound Scots was reformed to closely match sterling coin . The Bank of Scotland issued pound notes from 1704. Scottish currency was abolished by the Acts of Union 1707; however, Scotland has retained unique banknotes to

5846-719: The Glorious Revolution of 1688–1689, in which James VII was deposed by his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange in England, Scotland accepted them under the Claim of Right Act 1689 , but the deposed main hereditary line of the Stuarts became a focus for political discontent known as Jacobitism , leading to a series of invasions and rebellions mainly focused on the Scottish Highlands. After severe economic dislocation in

6004-772: The Great Ejection . Following the royal marriage negotiations with Spain, James I faced an upsurge in hostility from the pulpit and the press. Although the King tried to quiet such opposition through proclamations, the confinement of offenders and a set of Directions to Preachers in 1622, opposition came from senior figures within the established Church, such as several royal chaplains, Dean Sutcliffe of Exeter, Archdeacon Hakewill of Surrey and George Abbot , Archbishop of Canterbury. Indeed, James reacted to this episode by moving his support to anti-Calvinist churchmen such as Lancelot Andrewes at Winchester dioceses and Montaigne at London dioceses , and at last elevating Laud to

6162-690: The House of Lords , bishops often blocked legislation opposed by the Crown; their ousting from Parliament by the Clergy Act 1640 was a major step on the road to war, since it meant Charles could no longer prevent passage of legislation that he opposed. Their removal temporarily ended censorship, and especially in London led to an explosion in the printing of pamphlets, books and sermons, many advocating radical religious and political ideas, like doing away with Bishops in favor of

6320-527: The Late Middle Ages , Early Scots , then called English, became the dominant spoken language of the kingdom, aside from in the Highlands and Islands and Galloway . It was derived largely from Old English, with the addition of elements from Gaelic and French. Although resembling the language spoken in northern England, it became a distinct dialect from the late 14th century onwards. It began to be adopted by

6478-923: The Parliament of Ireland for funds. In March 1640, they approved an army of 9,000 to suppress the Covenanters, despite violent opposition from their co-religionists in Ulster. This provides an example of how the Bishops Wars destabilised all three kingdoms. Charles hoped this would provide an example for the Short Parliament , which assembled in April; however, led by John Pym , Parliament demanded he address grievances like ship money before they would approve subsidies. After three weeks of stalemate, Charles dissolved Parliament, ensuring he would have to rely on his own resources to fund

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6636-836: The Real Presence and the Eucharist aligned with Lutheran practice and deemphasized the Calvinist practice of having the pulpit at the centre, which emphasized preaching . Laud was concerned with conformity in the Church and the Puritans who did not follow the services as written in the Liturgy found in the Book of Common Prayer were labeled Nonconformists . The 1630s saw deepening polarization of religious opinion influenced by reactions to tracts, sermons and lobbying. The religious changes Laud and King Charles tried to implement in Scotland culminating with

6794-701: The Spanish Netherlands , exposing him to accusations of using foreign Catholics against his own subjects. Though both sides included large numbers of professional soldiers who had served in the European wars, many of the senior English commands went to Charles' favourites, who were largely inexperienced. This was exacerbated by factional disputes within the leadership, some of whom like the Presbyterian Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex , appeared unclear as to what they were fighting for. The English faced

6952-402: The episcopate , thus radically shifting the power-base in favour of the emerging movement. Charles I took these personnel changes even further when Laud was promised the archbishopric of Canterbury . As bishop of London, he had been controlling the printing presses since 1628 and prohibiting discussion of predestination. The York primacy had been filled with a succession of Laudians since

7110-516: The truce negotiated in October 1640, the Scots were paid £850 per day and allowed to occupy Northumberland and County Durham until peace terms had been finalised. Many believed this arrangement was secretly agreed between the Parliamentary opposition and the Scots, since it allowed them to maintain pressure on London by controlling the export of coal from Newcastle, while only Parliament could levy

7268-486: The 10th century until before the Black Death arrived in 1349, estimates based on the amount of farmable land suggest that population may have grown from half a million to a million. Although there is no reliable documentation on the impact of the plague, there are many anecdotal references to abandoned land in the following decades. If the pattern followed that in England, then the population may have fallen to as low as half

7426-584: The 11th century is largely speculative, but it was probably a mixture of legal traditions representing the different cultures inhabiting the land at the time, including Celtic , Britonnic , Irish and Anglo-Saxon customs. The legal tract, the Leges inter Brettos et Scottos , set out a system of compensation for injury and death based on ranks and the solidarity of kin groups. There were popular courts or comhdhails , indicated by dozens of place names in eastern Scotland. In Scandinavian-held areas, Udal law formed

7584-505: The 12th century, the writer Adam of Dryburgh described lowland Lothian as "the Land of the English in the Kingdom of the Scots". At least from the accession of David I, Gaelic ceased to be the main language of the royal court and was probably replaced by French, as evidenced by reports from contemporary chronicles, literature and translations of administrative documents into the French language. In

7742-636: The 1380s. They were almost exclusively aimed at boys, but by the end of the 15th century, Edinburgh also had schools for girls, sometimes described as "sewing schools", and probably taught by lay women or nuns. There was also the development of private tuition in the families of lords and wealthy burghers. The growing emphasis on education cumulated with the passing of the Education Act 1496 , which decreed that all sons of barons and freeholders of substance should attend grammar schools to learn "perfyct Latyne". All this resulted in an increase in literacy, but which

7900-517: The 1690s, there were moves that led to political union with England as the Kingdom of Great Britain , which came into force on 1 May 1707. The English and Scottish parliaments were replaced by a combined Parliament of Great Britain , which sat in Westminster and largely continued English traditions without interruption. Forty-five Scots were added to the 513 members of the House of Commons and 16 Scots to

8058-409: The 1690s. Significant languages in the medieval kingdom included Gaelic , Old English , Norse and French ; but by the early modern era Middle Scots had begun to dominate. Christianity was introduced into Scotland from the 6th century. In the Norman period the Scottish church underwent a series of changes that led to new monastic orders and organisation. During the 16th century, Scotland underwent

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8216-457: The 16th century emerged as a major centre of display and artistic patronage, until it was effectively dissolved with the Union of the Crowns in 1603. The Scottish Crown adopted the conventional offices of western European courts, including High Steward , Chamberlain , Lord High Constable , Earl Marischal and Lord Chancellor . The King's Council emerged as a full-time body in the 15th century, increasingly dominated by laymen and critical to

8374-449: The 16th century; and many Scots took service as mercenaries and as soldiers for the English Crown. From the 5th century on, north Britain was divided into a series of petty kingdoms. Of these, the four most important were those of the Picts in the north-east, the Scots of Dál Riata in the west, the Britons of Strathclyde in the south-west and the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia (which united with Deira to form Northumbria in 653) in

8532-401: The 190 members of the House of Lords . It was also a full economic union, replacing the Scottish systems of currency, taxation and laws regulating trade. The unified kingdom of Alba retained some of the ritual aspects of Pictish and Scottish kingship. These can be seen in the elaborate ritual coronation at the Stone of Scone at Scone Abbey . While the Scottish monarchy in the Middle Ages

8690-418: The Anglican Archbishop William Laud made a statute in 1636 instructing all clergy to wear short hair, many Puritans rebelled to show their contempt for his authority and began to grow their hair even longer their portraits ) These conflicts exacerbated the deep polarization within the Church of England , to the extent that Anglicans and Puritans could no longer be united in one church, which ultimaty led to

8848-581: The Church in Scotland remained relatively stable before the 16th century. During the 16th century, Scotland underwent a Protestant Reformation that created a predominately Calvinist national church, the Church of Scotland (also known as 'the Kirk' ), which was strongly Presbyterian in outlook, severely reducing the powers of bishops, although not abolishing them. The teachings of first Martin Luther and then John Calvin began to influence Scotland, particularly through Scottish scholars who had visited continental and English universities. Particularly important

9006-454: The Church of England between the Anglican and Puritan parties. In addition, Archbishop Laud disagreed with the views of his predecessors, such as John Whitgift , that the Puritan Calvinists were aberrant brethren, erring but deserving some level of leniency; instead he believed that the Puritan non-conformists presented a direct threat to the establishment and that there was more common ground between Anglicanism and Lutheranism or even that of

9164-428: The College of Justice as a supreme court of appeal. David I is the first Scottish king known to have produced his own coinage. There were soon mints at Edinburgh, Berwick and Roxburgh . Early Scottish coins were similar to English ones, but with the king's head in profile instead of full face. The number of coins struck was small and English coins probably remained more significant in this period. The first gold coin

9322-412: The Covenanter government ordered a force of 8,000 under Montrose to occupy Aberdeen, which fell bloodlessly on 30 March. On 13 May, the Royalists won a minor victory at the so-called Trot of Turriff , where a Royalist soldier became the first casualty of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Royalists under Viscount Aboyne retook Aberdeen, but were then defeated on 19 June at the Brig of Dee by Montrose. This

9480-443: The Covenanters occupied Edinburgh Castle, then secured likely landing places on the West Coast, notably Dumbarton Castle . This ended any prospect of an Irish landing, while Hamilton's amphibious force was unable to disembark after finding the Forth estuary strongly defended. Despite widespread domestic support for the Covenant, this was less so in north-east Scotland, particularly in Aberdeenshire and Banffshire . Recognising this,

9638-414: The Crown gained greater political control at the expense of independent lords and regained most of its lost territory to around the modern borders of the country. The dowry of the Orkney and Shetland Islands, by the Norwegian crown, in 1468 was the last great land acquisition for the kingdom. In 1482 the border fortress of Berwick—the largest port in medieval Scotland—fell to the English once again; this

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9796-427: The English and French. In the mid-16th century, the Scottish Reformation was strongly influenced by Calvinism , leading to widespread iconoclasm and the introduction of a Presbyterian system of organisation and discipline that would have a major impact on Scottish life. In the late 16th century, James VI emerged as a major intellectual figure with considerable authority over the kingdom. In 1603, he inherited

9954-513: The English rate. The Scottish penny became a base metal coin by c.  1484 and virtually disappeared as a separate coin from c.  1513 onwards. In 1356, an English proclamation banned the lower quality Scottish coins from being circulated in England. After the union of the Scottish and English crowns in 1603, the Pound Scots was reformed to closely match coins of the pound sterling , with £12 Scots equal to £1 sterling. The Parliament of Scotland enacted proposals in 1695 to set up

10112-423: The French and martyrs for the Protestant cause. Limited toleration and the influence of exiled Scots and Protestants in other countries, led to the expansion of Protestantism, with a group of lairds declaring themselves Lords of the Congregation in 1557. By 1560, a relatively small group of Protestants were in a position to impose reform on the Scottish church. A confession of faith, rejecting papal jurisdiction and

10270-528: The Highlands and Islands in the north and west and the Lowlands in the south and east. The highlands are further divided into the Northwest Highlands and the Grampian Mountains by the fault line of the Great Glen . The Lowlands are divided into the fertile belt of the Central Lowlands and the higher terrain of the Southern Uplands , which included the Cheviot Hills , over which the border with England ran. The Central Lowland belt averages about 50 miles (80 kilometres) in width and, because it contains most of

10428-498: The Highlands and to create a cultural gulf with the Lowlands. From the mid-16th century, written Scots was increasingly influenced by the developing Standard English of Southern England due to developments in royal and political interactions with England. With the increasing influence and availability of books printed in England, most writing in Scotland came to be done in the English fashion. Unlike many of his predecessors, James VI generally despised Gaelic culture. Having extolled

10586-407: The King of Strathclyde before inheriting the throne of Alba; he is credited with later annexing parts of Lothian, including Edinburgh, from the Kingdom of Northumbria. The reign of David I has been characterised as a " Davidian Revolution ", in which he introduced a system of feudal land tenure, established the first royal burghs in Scotland and the first recorded Scottish coinage, and continued

10744-466: The King's courts did not have authority except for cases of treason. Burghs also had their local laws dealing mostly with commercial and trade matters and may have become similar in function to sheriff's courts. Ecclesiastical courts had exclusive jurisdiction over matters such as marriage, contracts made on oath, inheritance and legitimacy. Judices were often royal officials who supervised baronial, abbatial and other lower-ranking "courts". However,

10902-407: The Kingdom of Alba/Scotland, and he was later credited with bringing Scottish Christianity into conformity with the Catholic Church. Máel Coluim I (Malcolm I) ( r.   c. 943–954) is believed to have annexed the Kingdom of Strathclyde , over which the kings of Alba had probably exercised some authority since the later 9th century. His successor, Indulf the Aggressor , was described as

11060-426: The Prayer Book of 1637 which was produced under Laud for Scotland led to the formation of the Puritan Covenanters and the start of the Bishops' Wars After the 1640s, King Charles and any of the Cavaliers who supported him, found themselves under attack from the Roundheads . More books were published by Puritans attacking the Divine right of Kings, the most well known of which is Lex, Rex . Furthermore attacks on

11218-415: The Royal College of Justice was founded, leading to the training and professionalisation of an emerging group of career lawyers. The Court of Session placed increasing emphasis on its independence from influence, including from the king, and superior jurisdiction over local justice. Its judges were increasingly able to control entry to their own ranks. In 1672, the High Court of Justiciary was founded from

11376-631: The Sacraments, the universal atonement and the free will of all men to obtain salvation in Christ's Church through the Sacraments as means of grace thus, various Reformed theories of predestination were rejected, and predestination was based on God's promise to the Church as the Ark of Salvation in Ecclesiastical Election . Salvation was conditioned on entering the Church through Baptism and remaining in

11534-692: The Scots and their English allies viewed them as a greater threat than Charles. Defeat in the 1648 Second English Civil War resulted in Charles I's execution, while a failed invasion of England intended to restore his son in the Anglo-Scottish war (1650–1652) was followed by Scotland's incorporation into the Commonwealth , a union made on English terms. Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland ( Scottish Gaelic : Rìoghachd na h-Alba ; Scots : Kinrick o Scotland , Norn : Kongungdum Skotland )

11692-698: The Scots assert their independence from the English. Following the annexation of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles from Norway in 1266 and 1472 respectively, and the capture of Berwick by England in 1482, the territory of the Kingdom of Scotland corresponded to that of modern-day Scotland , bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to

11850-515: The Scottish church established its independence from England, developed a clearer diocesan structure, becoming a "special daughter of the see of Rome", but lacking leadership in the form of Archbishops. In the late Middle Ages, the problems of schism in the Catholic Church allowed the Scottish Crown to gain greater influence over senior appointments and two archbishoprics had been established by

12008-470: The University of Glasgow in 1574. He placed an emphasis on simplified logic and elevated languages and sciences to the same status as philosophy, allowing accepted ideas in all areas to be challenged. He introduced new specialist teaching staff, replacing the system of "regenting", where one tutor took the students through the entire arts curriculum. Metaphysics were abandoned and Greek became compulsory in

12166-571: The administration of justice. The Privy Council , which developed in the mid-16th century, and the great offices of state, including the chancellor, secretary and treasurer , remained central to the administration of the government, even after the departure of the Stuart monarchs to rule in England from 1603. However, it was often sidelined and was abolished after the Acts of Union 1707 , with rule direct from London. The Parliament of Scotland also emerged as

12324-511: The aggrandisement associated with the New Monarchs elsewhere in Europe. Theories of constitutional monarchy and resistance were articulated by Scots, particularly George Buchanan , in the 16th century, but James VI of Scotland advanced the theory of the divine right of kings , and these debates were restated in subsequent reigns and crises. The court remained at the centre of political life, and in

12482-560: The basis of the legal system and it is known that the Hebrides were taxed using the Ounceland measure. Althings were open-air governmental assemblies that met in the presence of the Jarl and the meetings were open to virtually all "free men". At these sessions decisions were made, laws passed and complaints adjudicated. The introduction of feudalism in the reign of David I of Scotland would have

12640-528: The border without a shot being fired. Their retreat further lowered English morale, while the Scots now felt confident enough to ignore the 10 mile limit, and on 5 June advanced as far as Duns . Neither side was anxious to fight and opened negotiations on 11 June, concluding with the signing of the Pacification of Berwick on 19 June. This referred all disputed questions either to the General Assembly, or Parliament of Scotland . However, both sides viewed this as

12798-457: The changes, expelled bishops from the Kirk, and affirmed its right to meet annually, not just when granted permission. The Marquis of Hamilton , Charles' chief advisor on Scottish affairs, now advised him there was no alternative to war. Charles decided to re-assert his authority by force, using his own financial resources and thus avoiding the need to recall Parliament to obtain tax funding. An English army of 20,000 would advance on Edinburgh from

12956-442: The church and not departing from it, as well as being nourished and strengthened by Communion . This is significant since one of the main points of Calvinism is the replacement of the teaching that salvation necessarily came from the Church through the Sacraments, but rather instead came through the individual, and Unconditional election of God, which could not be forfeited . However Roman Catholic practices condemned in

13114-519: The country, an area with strong Presbyterian sympathies. Abandoning the official church, many of the people here began to attend illegal field assemblies led by excluded ministers, known as conventicles . In the early 1680s, a more intense phase of persecution began, in what was later to be known in Protestant historiography as " the Killing Time ". After the Glorious Revolution, Presbyterianism

13272-449: The death of Calvinist Matthews in 1628 and from 1632 it was occupied by Neile , the one-time mentor of William Laud. In 1628, the Duke of Buckingham was made Chancellor of Cambridge University and all predestinarian teaching was subsequently banned. This was supported by a royal proclamation which effectively outlawed Calvinism on a national level. There was also a break with Calvinism on

13430-461: The developing burghs. By the end of the Middle Ages grammar schools could be found in all the main burghs and some small towns. There were also petty schools, more common in rural areas and providing an elementary education. Some monasteries, like the Cistercian abbey at Kinloss , opened their doors to a wider range of students. The number and size of these schools seems to have expanded rapidly from

13588-459: The early 17th century. Calculations based on hearth tax returns for 1691 indicate a population of 1,234,575, but this figure may have been seriously effected by the subsequent famines of the late 1690s. By 1750, with its suburbs, Edinburgh reached 57,000. The only other towns above 10,000 by the same time were Glasgow with 32,000, Aberdeen with around 16,000 and Dundee with 12,000. Historical sources, as well as place name evidence, indicate

13746-504: The east and south. They would have had a mean population of about 2000, but many would have been much smaller than 1000 and the largest, Edinburgh, probably had a population of over 10,000 by the end of the Medieval era. Price inflation, which generally reflects growing demand for food, suggests that the population probably expanded in the first half of the 16th century, levelling off after the famine of 1595, as prices were relatively stable in

13904-401: The effectiveness of local government. The continued existence of courts baron and the introduction of kirk sessions helped consolidate the power of local lairds . Scots law developed in the Middle Ages and was reformed and codified in the 16th and 17th centuries. Under James IV the legal functions of the council were rationalised, with Court of Session meeting daily in Edinburgh. In 1532,

14062-410: The emerging republican regime of Parliamentarians in England led by Oliver Cromwell . The results were a series of defeats and the short-lived incorporation of Scotland into the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland (1653–1660) . After the 1660 restoration of the monarchy , Scotland regained its separate status and institutions, while the centre of political power remained in London. After

14220-440: The end of the 15th century. While some historians have discerned a decline of monasticism in the late Middle Ages, the mendicant orders of friars grew, particularly in the expanding burghs , to meet the spiritual needs of the population. New saints and cults of devotion also proliferated. Despite problems over the number and quality of clergy after the Black Death in the 14th century, and some evidence of heresy in this period,

14378-428: The episcopacy increased as both issues were linked, because in the 17th century 'true religion' and 'good government' were seen as mutually dependent. In general, Laudian Royalists supported a Church of England governed by bishops , appointed by, and answerable to, the king, while most Parliamentarians were Puritans and believed he was answerable to the leaders of the church , appointed by their congregations, or to

14536-515: The excise, allowing the completion of buildings including the college in the High Street in Glasgow. They were still largely seen as a training school for clergy, and came under the control of the hard line Protestors . After the Restoration there was a purge of the universities, but much of the intellectual advances of the preceding period was preserved. The universities recovered from the upheavals of

14694-464: The extreme case of the upper Grampians an ice free season of four months or less and for much of the Highlands and Uplands of seven months or less. The early modern era also saw the impact of the Little Ice Age , with 1564 seeing thirty-three days of continual frost, where rivers and lochs froze, leading to a series of subsistence crises until the 1690s. From the formation of the Kingdom of Alba in

14852-532: The first year followed by Aramaic , Syriac and Hebrew , launching a new fashion for ancient and biblical languages. Glasgow had probably been declining as a university before his arrival, but students now began to arrive in large numbers. He assisted in the reconstruction of Marischal College , Aberdeen , and in order to do for St Andrews what he had done for Glasgow, he was appointed Principal of St Mary's College, St Andrews , in 1580. The University of Edinburgh developed out of public lectures were established in

15010-481: The good quality agricultural land and has easier communications, could support most of the urbanisation and elements of conventional government. However, the Southern Uplands, and particularly the Highlands were economically less productive and much more difficult to govern. Its east Atlantic position means that Scotland has very heavy rainfall: today about 700 mm per year in the east and over 1000 mm in

15168-461: The humanist and historian Hector Boece , born in Dundee, returned from Paris to become the first principal at the new university of Aberdeen. These international contacts helped integrate Scotland into a wider European scholarly world and would be one of the most important ways in which the new ideas of humanism were brought into Scottish intellectual life. The humanist concern with widening education

15326-420: The interim Treaty of Ripon , the Covenanters continued the occupation pending a final settlement, during which Charles agreed to pay their expenses. This required him to recall the Parliament of England to raise money for this purpose and to ratify the treaty which was finalised in August 1641. Though this ended the Bishops' Wars, political differences between Charles and the new English Parliament escalated to

15484-504: The kirk, such as clerk. At their best, the curriculum included catechism , Latin , French , Classical literature and sports. In 1616, an act in Privy council commanded every parish to establish a school "where convenient means may be had", and when the Parliament of Scotland ratified this with the Education Act 1633 , a tax on local landowners was introduced to provide the necessary endowment. A loophole which allowed evasion of this tax

15642-627: The land. From the 14th century, there are surviving examples of early Scottish legal literature, such as the Regiam Majestatem (on procedure at the royal courts) and the Quoniam Attachiamenta (on procedure at the barons court), which drew on both common and Roman law . Customary laws, such as the Law of Clan MacDuff , came under attack from the Stewart Dynasty which consequently extended

15800-526: The lands of the Scottish lords dispossessed by Robert I and his successors in the 14th century in the Wars of Independence (1296–1357). The king of France attempted to thwart the exercise, under the terms of what became known as the Auld Alliance , which provided for mutual aid against the English. In the 15th and early 16th centuries, under the Stewart Dynasty , despite a turbulent political history,

15958-422: The late 17th to the early 18th centuries and perhaps 85 percent for women of all ranks by 1750, compared with 35 per cent for men. Among the nobility there were many educated and cultured women, of which Mary, Queen of Scots is the most obvious example. After the Reformation, Scotland's universities underwent a series of reforms associated with Andrew Melville , who returned from Geneva to become principal of

16116-466: The local Norn , which lingered until the end of the 18th century, and Norse may also have survived as a spoken language until the 16th century in the Outer Hebrides . French , Flemish and particularly English became the main languages of Scottish burghs, most of which were located in the south and east, an area to which Anglian settlers had already brought a form of Old English. In the later part of

16274-403: The lower ranks of society, they benefited from the expansion of the parish schools system that took place after the Reformation, but were usually outnumbered by boys, often taught separately, for a shorter time and to a lower level. They were frequently taught reading, sewing and knitting, but not writing. Female illiteracy rates based on signatures among female servants were around 90 percent, from

16432-457: The main official of law in the post-Davidian Kingdom of the Scots was the Justiciar who held courts and reported to the king personally. Normally, there were two Justiciarships, organised by linguistic boundaries: the Justiciar of Scotia and the Justiciar of Lothian , but sometimes Galloway also had its own Justiciar. Scottish common law , the jus commune , began to take shape at the end of

16590-429: The majority of the population was probably still Catholic in persuasion and the Kirk would find it difficult to penetrate the Highlands and Islands, but began a gradual process of conversion and consolidation that, compared with reformations elsewhere, was conducted with relatively little persecution. In 1635, Charles I authorised a book of canons that made him head of the Church, ordained an unpopular ritual and enforced

16748-406: The majority of which were suppressed by Louis XIII in the 1620s . A general perception Protestant Europe was under attack meant increased sensitivity to changes in church practice. In 1636, a new Book of Canons replaced John Knox's Book of Discipline and excommunicated anyone who denied the King's supremacy in church matters. When followed in 1637 by a new Book of Common Prayer , the result

16906-425: The mass, was adopted by Parliament in 1560 . The Calvinism of the reformers led by Knox resulted in a settlement that adopted a Presbyterian system and rejected most of the elaborate trappings of the Medieval church. This gave considerable power within the new Kirk to local lairds, who often had control over the appointment of the clergy, and resulting in widespread, but generally orderly, iconoclasm . At this point

17064-537: The mid-7th century. After the reconversion of Scandinavian Scotland from the 10th century, Christianity under papal authority was the dominant religion of the kingdom. In the Norman period, the Scottish church underwent a series of reforms and transformations. With royal and lay patronage, a clearer parochial structure based around local churches was developed. Large numbers of new foundations, which followed continental forms of reformed monasticism, began to predominate and

17222-483: The mid-century with a lecture-based curriculum that was able to embrace economics and science, offering a high quality liberal education to the sons of the nobility and gentry. Laudianism The Elizabethan Settlement of 1559, which set the tone for English religious policy until the rise of Laudianism, was theologically a mixture of Lutheranism , some pre- council of Trent Catholic doctrines, and some minor elements from Calvinism . The doctrine of predestination

17380-399: The monarch as head of both church and state, while Covenanters held this applied only to secular matters, and "Chryst Jesus ... was King of the Kirk". However, there were many other factors, including nationalist allegiance to the Kirk, and individual motives were very complex; Montrose was a Covenanter in 1639 and 1640 before becoming a Royalist, and switching sides was common throughout

17538-473: The monarch, Presbyterian by presbyters , elected by ministers and elders . This meant arguments over the role of bishops were as much about politics, and the extent of royal authority, as they were about religious practice. The vast majority of Scots, whether Covenanter or Royalist, believed a "well-ordered" monarchy was divinely mandated; they disagreed on what "well-ordered" meant, and who held ultimate authority in clerical affairs. In general, Royalists viewed

17696-552: The necessity of good works are emphasized and taught, and the Daily Office was encouraged and the "Beauty of Holiness" in aesthetics was emphasized against the low church practice of the Calvinists. The services were referred to as high and dry. Subjective means of determining ones state with God or ones vocation were rejected in favor of objective means, and Enthusiasm was not to be trusted. The political theology of Laudianism

17854-640: The opening of Parliament, the Houses were calling not for the restoration of the Anglican church, but the abolition of the entire ecclesiastical order and its reconstruction in a Puritan mold. During the conflicts the removal of ecclesiastical judges and the abolition of the High Commission meant that the Established Church was unprotected on a parish level since the Church could no longer charge anyone with

18012-539: The outbreak of the First English Civil War in August 1642. The Reformation in Scotland created a Church of Scotland , informally referred to as the Kirk , that was Presbyterian in structure, and Calvinist in doctrine . While Presbyterian and Episcopalian now imply differences in both structure and doctrine, this was not the case in the 17th century. Despite shared Protestant beliefs, Episcopalian churches were governed by bishops, usually appointed by

18170-456: The peace and the Commissioner of Supply helped to increase the effectiveness of local government. The continued existence of courts baron and introduction of kirk sessions helped consolidate the power of local lairds . Scots law developed into a distinctive system in the Middle Ages and was reformed and codified in the 16th and 17th centuries. Knowledge of the nature of Scots law before

18328-604: The period, assimilating Gaelic and Britonnic law with practices from Anglo-Norman England and the Continent. There is some evidence that, during the period of English control over Scotland, Edward I of England attempted to abolish Scottish laws in opposition to English law as he had done in Wales . Under Robert I in 1318, a parliament at Scone enacted a code of law that drew upon older practices. It codified procedures for criminal trials and protections for vassals from ejection from

18486-428: The period. When James VI and I succeeded as king of England in 1603, he viewed a unified Church of Scotland and England as the first step in creating a centralised, Unionist state. This policy was adopted by his son, Charles I , but the two were very different in doctrine; many in both Scotland and England considered Charles' reforms to the Church of England as essentially Catholic . This mattered because fears of

18644-447: The pre- Reformed Roman Catholic Church. The 1633 edition of the standard Latin-English Dictionary, dedicated to William Laud , contained for the first time the word Praedestinatiani , who were defined as "a kind of heretic that held fatal predestination of every particular matter person or action, and that all things come to passe, and fell out necessarily; especially touching the salvation and damnation of particular men". After

18802-479: The present day. Geographically, Scotland is divided between the Highlands and Islands and the Lowlands . The Highlands had a relatively short growing season, which was even shorter during the Little Ice Age . Scotland's population at the start of the Black Death was about 1 million; by the end of the plague, it was only half a million. It expanded in the first half of the 16th century, reaching roughly 1.2 million by

18960-635: The reach of Scots common law. From the reign of King James I a legal profession began to develop and the administration of criminal and civil justice was centralised. The growing activity of the parliament and the centralisation of administration in Scotland called for the better dissemination of Acts of the parliament to the courts and other enforcers of the law. In the late 15th century, unsuccessful attempts were made to form commissions of experts to codify, update or define Scots law. The general practice during this period, as evidenced from records of cases, seems to have been to defer to specific Scottish laws on

19118-452: The rest of Leslie's army. The Scots bypassed the town, and headed for Newcastle-upon-Tyne , centre of the coal trade with London , and a valuable bargaining point. On 28 August, the Scots forced a passage over the River Tyne at the Battle of Newburn ; they still had to take Newcastle, but to Leslie's surprise, when they arrived on 30 August, Conway had withdrawn to Durham . One suggestion

19276-479: The ruling elite as they gradually abandoned French. By the 15th century, it was the language of government, with acts of parliament, council records and treasurer's accounts almost all using it from the reign of James I onwards. As a result, Gaelic, once dominant north of the Tay, began a steady decline. Lowland writers began to treat Gaelic as a second-class, rustic and even amusing language, helping to frame attitudes towards

19434-460: The same amount of coastline at 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometres). Scotland has over 790 offshore islands, most of which are to be found in four main groups: Shetland , Orkney , and the Hebrides , subdivided into the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides . Only a fifth of Scotland is less than 60 metres above sea level. The defining factor in the geography of Scotland is the distinction between

19592-465: The same year, matters were taken even further, when at a meeting of the General Assembly in Glasgow the Scottish bishops were formally expelled from the Church, which was then established on a full Presbyterian basis. Victory in the resulting Bishops' Wars secured the Presbyterian Kirk and precipitated the outbreak of the civil wars of the 1640s. Disagreements over collaboration with Royalism created

19750-570: The south, while an amphibious force of 5,000 under the Marquis of Hamilton landed on the east coast, where it would link up with Royalist troops led by the Marquess of Huntly . Lastly, an Irish army under the Earl of Antrim would invade western Scotland from Carrickfergus , where he would join forces with the MacDonalds and other Royalist clans. This overly complex plan quickly fell apart. On 21 March 1639,

19908-600: The south-east, stretching into modern northern England. In 793, ferocious Viking raids began on monasteries such as those at Iona and Lindisfarne , creating fear and confusion across the kingdoms of north Britain. Orkney , Shetland and the Western Isles eventually fell to the Norsemen. These threats may have sped up a long-term process of Gaelicisation of the Pictish kingdoms, which adopted Gaelic language and customs. There

20066-458: The southwest. In 1603, James VI of Scotland became King of England , joining Scotland with England in a personal union . In 1707, during the reign of Queen Anne , the two kingdoms were united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain under the terms of the Acts of Union . The Crown was the most important element of Scotland's government. The Scottish monarchy in the Middle Ages was a largely itinerant institution, before Edinburgh developed as

20224-464: The stalemate of the Battle of Largs and the Treaty of Perth in 1266. The Isle of Man fell under English control, from Norwegian, in the 14th century, despite several attempts to seize it for Scotland. The English briefly occupied most of Scotland, under Edward I . Under Edward III , the English backed Edward Balliol , son of King John Balliol , in an attempt to gain his father's throne and restore

20382-436: The struggle that led to war in August 1642. Both he and Parliament agreed on the need to suppress the revolt but neither trusted the other with control of the army raised to do so, and it was this tension that was the proximate cause of the First English Civil War . Victory confirmed Covenanter control of government and the Kirk, and Scottish policy now focused on securing these achievements. The 1643 Solemn League and Covenant

20540-562: The taxes needed to pay the occupation costs. The so-called Long Parliament that assembled in November 1640 asserted its power by executing Strafford in May 1641. By August, the Treaty of London was signed and the Scottish army finally evacuated Northern England. While defeat forced Charles to call a Parliament he could not get rid of, the Irish Rebellion of 1641 was arguably more significant in

20698-505: The thrones of England and Ireland, creating a Union of the Crowns that left the three states with their separate identities and institutions. He also moved the centre of royal patronage and power to London . When James' son Charles I attempted to impose elements of the English religious settlement on Scotland, the result was the Bishops' Wars (1637–1640), which ended in defeat for the king and

20856-546: The town 1440s on law, Greek, Latin and philosophy, under the patronage of Mary of Guise . These evolved into the "Tounis College", which would become the University of Edinburgh in 1582. The results were a revitalisation of all Scottish universities, which were now producing a quality of education the equal of that offered anywhere in Europe. Under the Commonwealth, the universities saw an improvement in their funding, as they were given income from deaneries, defunct bishoprics and

21014-433: The training of clerics, but they were increasingly used by laymen who would begin to challenge the clerical monopoly of administrative posts in the government and law. Those wanting to study for second degrees still needed to go abroad. The continued movement to other universities produced a school of Scottish nominalists at Paris in the early 16th century, of which John Mair was probably the most important figure. By 1497,

21172-475: The use of a new liturgy. When the liturgy emerged in 1637 it was seen as an English-style Prayer Book, resulting in anger and widespread rioting. Representatives of various sections of Scottish society drew up the National Covenant on 28 February 1638, objecting to the King's liturgical innovations. The king's supporters were unable to suppress the rebellion and the king refused to compromise. In December of

21330-432: The virtues of Scots "poesie", after his accession to the English throne, he increasingly favoured the language of southern England. In 1611, the Kirk adopted the 1611 Authorized King James Version of the Bible. In 1617, interpreters were declared no longer necessary in the port of London because as Scots and Englishmen were now "not so far different bot ane understandeth ane uther". Jenny Wormald describes James as creating

21488-503: The war. Meanwhile, in January 1640 the Covenanter leaders mustered their regiments, and to secure their rear, occupied Aberdeen, centre of the Royalist north-east. In June, the Scottish Parliament met in Edinburgh, and granted Argyll a commission of 'fire and sword' against the Royalist areas of Lochaber , Badenoch and Rannoch in the Scottish Highlands. A force of 5,000 conducted this campaign with great brutality, burning and looting across

21646-481: The war. On the march north, lack of supplies meant they looted the areas they passed through, creating widespread disorder; several units murdered officers suspected of being Catholics, then deserted. Lord Conway , the English commander in the north, focused on reinforcing Berwick-upon-Tweed , the usual starting point for invading England. On 17 August, cavalry units under Montrose crossed the River Tweed , followed by

21804-817: The ways in which the Pictish language in the north and Cumbric languages in the south were overlaid and replaced by Gaelic , Old English and later Norse in the Early Middle Ages . By the High Middle Ages , the majority of people within Scotland spoke the Gaelic language, then simply called Scottish , or in Latin , lingua Scotica . In the Northern Isles the Norse language brought by Scandinavian occupiers and settlers evolved into

21962-419: The west. This encouraged the spread of blanket bogs , the acidity of which, combined with high level of wind and salt spray, made most of the islands treeless. The existence of hills, mountains, quicksands and marshes made internal communication and conquest extremely difficult and may have contributed to the fragmented nature of political power. The Uplands and Highlands had a relatively short growing season, in

22120-473: Was a sovereign state in northwest Europe , traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain , sharing a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England . During the Middle Ages , Scotland engaged in intermittent conflict with England, most prominently the Wars of Scottish Independence , which saw

22278-409: Was a largely itinerant institution, Scone remained one of its most important locations, with royal castles at Stirling and Perth becoming significant in the later Middle Ages before Edinburgh developed as a capital city in the second half of the 15th century. The Crown remained the most important element of government, despite the many royal minorities . In the late Middle Ages, it saw much of

22436-484: Was a noble (6s. 8d.) of David II. Under James I pennies and halfpennies of billon (an alloy of silver with a base metal) were introduced, and copper farthings appeared under James III . In James V's reign the bawbee ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 d) and half-bawbee were issued, and in Mary, Queen of Scot's reign a twopence piece, the hardhead, was issued to help "the common people buy bread, drink, flesh, and fish". The billon coinage

22594-483: Was also a merger of the Gaelic (Scots) and Pictish kingdoms, although historians debate whether it was a Pictish takeover of Dál Riata, or vice-versa. This culminated in the rise of Cínaed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin) as "king of the Picts" in the 840s (traditionally dated to 843), which brought to power the House of Alpin . When he died as king of the combined kingdom in 900, one of his successors, Domnall II (Donald II),

22752-582: Was anger and widespread rioting, said to have been set off with the throwing of a stool by Jenny Geddes during a service in St. Giles Cathedral . Historians like Mark Kishlansky now argue her action was not spontaneous, but one in a series of planned and co-ordinated opposition to the Prayer book, the origin of which was as much political as religious. These culminated in February 1638, when delegates from across Scotland agreed

22910-480: Was closed in the Education Act 1646 , which established a solid institutional foundation for schools on Covenanter principles. Although the Restoration brought a reversion to the 1633 position, in 1696 new legislation restored the provisions of 1646. An act of the Scottish parliament in 1696 underlined the aim of having a school in every parish. In rural communities these obliged local landowners (heritors) to provide

23068-490: Was discontinued after 1603, but twopence pieces in copper continued to be issued until the Act of Union in 1707. Early Scottish coins were virtually identical in silver content to English ones, but from c.  1300 onwards their silver content began to depreciate more rapidly than their English counterparts. Between 1300 and 1605, Scottish coins lost silver value at an average of 12 percent every decade, three times higher than

23226-425: Was driven by concern over the implications for Scotland if Parliament were defeated; like Charles, the Covenanters sought political power through the creation of a unified church of Scotland and England, only one that was Presbyterian, rather than Episcopalian. However, success in the Bishops Wars meant they overestimated their military capacity and ability to enforce this objective. Unlike Scotland, Presbyterians were

23384-511: Was largely concentrated among a male and wealthy elite, with perhaps 60 per cent of the nobility being literate by the end of the period. Until the 15th century, those who wished to attend university had to travel to England or the continent, and just over a 1,000 have been identified as doing so between the 12th century and 1410. Among these the most important intellectual figure was John Duns Scotus , who studied at Oxford , Cambridge and Paris and probably died at Cologne in 1308, becoming

23542-415: Was never as central to the national life as its counterpart in England. In the early period, the kings of the Scots depended on the great lords of the mormaers (later earls ) and toísechs (later thanes ), but from the reign of David I, sheriffdoms were introduced, which allowed more direct control and gradually limited the power of the major lordships. In the 17th century, the creation of justices of

23700-473: Was recruited, with several instances of men attacking their own officers. Internal conflict was enhanced by Covenanter propaganda, and meant many English politicians opposed the war. In May, an English army of around 15,000 assembled at the border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed . The vast majority were untrained conscripts from the northern trained bands or militia, many armed only with bows and arrows. Charles tried to compensate by recruiting foreign mercenaries from

23858-543: Was restored and the bishops, who had generally supported James VII, abolished. However, William, who was more tolerant than the kirk tended to be, passed acts restoring the Episcopalian clergy excluded after the Revolution. The result was a Kirk divided between factions, with significant minorities, particularly in the west and north, of Episcopalians and Catholics. The establishment of Christianity brought Latin to Scotland as

24016-487: Was shared by the Protestant reformers, with a desire for a godly people replacing the aim of having educated citizens. In 1560, the First Book of Discipline set out a plan for a school in every parish, but this proved financially impossible. In the burghs the old schools were maintained, with the song schools and a number of new foundations becoming reformed grammar schools or ordinary parish schools. Schools were supported by

24174-572: Was the Divine right of kings and that power flows from God down to the King, not from the people up to the King. Those who followed it were called Cavaliers and it later became the Tory movement. Unconditional election was the unifying feature of the Continental Reformed Churches, and the Puritans of all types. The rejection and suppression of this view of election led to deep friction within

24332-458: Was the first man to be called rí Alban (King of Alba ). The Latin term Scotia would increasingly be used to describe the heartland of these kings, north of the River Forth , and eventually the entire area controlled by its kings would be referred to, in English, as Scotland. The long reign (900–942/3) of Donald's successor Causantín (Constantine II) is often regarded as the key to formation of

24490-585: Was the last time it changed hands. The Auld Alliance with France led to the heavy defeat of a Scottish army at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513 and the death of the King James IV . A long period of political instability followed. In the 16th century, under James V of Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots , the Crown and court took on many of the attributes of the Renaissance and New Monarchy , despite long royal minorities , civil wars and interventions by

24648-488: Was the only significant engagement of the First Bishops' War. The First Bishops' War was unpopular in England, where it was labelled "King Charles's northern follies" by many within the English media and political class. Since only Parliament could approve taxes, Charles tried to fund the war using forced loans, impressments, and requiring the civilian population to provide accommodation for his troops. This resulted in widespread anti-war sentiment among those from whom his army

24806-734: Was the work of the Lutheran Scot Patrick Hamilton . His execution with other Protestant preachers in 1528, and of the Zwingli -influenced George Wishart in 1546, who was burnt at the stake in St Andrews , did nothing to stem the growth of these ideas. Wishart's supporters seized St Andrews Castle , which they held for a year before they were defeated with the help of French forces. The survivors, including chaplain John Knox , were condemned to be galley slaves , helping to create resentment of

24964-444: Was to be handled with care at a parish level in order to offset despair and the ensuing disobedience, the seventeenth of the Thirty-Nine Articles sets out a doctrine of predestination to life, in Christ , as one of the founding principles of the English Church and omits reference to reprobation . “Furthermore we must receive God’s promises in such wise as they be generally set forth in holy Scripture; and in our doings that will of God

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