Court, Kirk, and Community


Book Description

Contextualizes the refugee crisis through a historical study of Muslim mobility and violence.




Scotland Re-formed, 1488-1587


Book Description

From the death of James III to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, Jane Dawson tells story of Scotland from the perspective of its regions and of individual Scots, as well as incorporating the view from the royal court. Scotland Re-formed shows how the country was re-formed as the relationship between church and crown changed, with these two institutions converging, merging and diverging, thereby permanently altering the nature of Scottish governance. Society was also transformed, especially by the feuars, new landholders who became the backbone of rural Scotland. The Reformation Crisis of 1559-60 brought the establishment of a Protestant Kirk, an institution influencing the lives of Scots for many centuries, and a diplomatic revolution that discarded the 'auld alliance' and locked Scotland's future into the British Isles.Although the disappearance of the pre-Reformation church left a patronage deficit with disastrous effects for Scottish music and art, new forms of cultural expression arose that




Religion, Culture and Society in Early Modern Britain


Book Description

Seventeen distinguished historians of early modern Britain pay tribute to an outstanding scholar and teacher, presenting reviews of major areas of debate.




The Society of Jesus in Ireland, Scotland, and England 1541-1588


Book Description

This volume is the first comprehensive study of the work of the Society of Jesus in the British Isles during the sixteenth century. Beginning with an account of brief papal missions to Ireland (1541) and Scotland (1562), it goes on to cover the foundation of a permanent mission to England (1580) and the frustration of Catholic hopes with the failure of the Spanish Armada (1588). Throughout the book, the activities of the Jesuits - preaching, propaganda, prayer and politics - are set within a wider European context, and within the framework of the Society's Constitutions. In particular, the sections on religious life and involvement in diplomacy show how flexibly the Jesuits adapted their "way of proceeding" to the religious and political circumstances of the British Isles, and to the demands of the Counter-Reformation.




Church, Politics and Society


Book Description

The essays in this volume, by distinguished historians, deal with the correlation of the Church and society in Scotland from the birth of Bishop Kennedy at the beginning of the fifteenth century to the reunion of the Church of Scotland with most of the United Free Church in 1929. This is not a comprehensive survey of the Church and its institutions; rather the book is concerned with the careers of prominent individuals within the Church and with the response of the people to the challenge of the vast ecclesiastical changes in the five centuries under review. The volume grew out of a two-year seminar programme organised jointly by the Departments of Ecclesiastical History and Scottish History at the University of St Andrews, and held in St John's House, the Centre for Advanced Historical Studies in the university. Contributors: Norman Macdougall, Leslie Macfarlane, Roderick Lyall, Jenny Wormald, Michael Lynch, Roger Mason, James Kirk, Walter Mackey, Julia Buckroyd, Henry Sefton, Richard Sher, Alexander Murdoch and Ian Machin.




Defining Community in Early Modern Europe


Book Description

Numerous historical studies use the term "community'" to express or comment on social relationships within geographic, religious, political, social, or literary settings, yet this volume is the first systematic attempt to collect together important examples of this varied work in order to draw comparisons and conclusions about the definition of community across early modern Europe. Offering a variety of historical and theoretical approaches, the sixteen original essays in this collection survey major regions of Western Europe, including France, Geneva, the German Lands, Italy and the Spanish Empire, the Netherlands, England, and Scotland. Complementing the regional diversity is a broad spectrum of religious confessions: Roman Catholic communities in France, Italy, and Germany; Reformed churches in France, Geneva, and Scotland; Lutheran communities in Germany; Mennonites in Germany and the Netherlands; English Anglicans; Jews in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands; and Muslim converts returning to Christian England. This volume illuminates the variety of ways in which communities were defined and operated across early modern Europe: as imposed by community leaders or negotiated across society; as defined by belief, behavior, and memory; as marked by rigid boundaries and conflict or by flexibility and change; as shaped by art, ritual, charity, or devotional practices; and as characterized by the contending or overlapping boundaries of family, religion, and politics. Taken together, these chapters demonstrate the complex and changeable nature of community in an era more often characterized as a time of stark certainties and inflexibility. As a result, the volume contributes a vital resource to the ongoing efforts of scholars to understand the creation and perpetuation of communities and the significance of community definition for early modern Europeans.




James VI and I


Book Description

James VI and I was the first king to rule both England and Scotland. He was unique among British monarchs in his determination to communicate his ideas by means of print, pen, and spoken word. James's own work as an author is one of the themes of this volume. One essay also sheds new light on his role as a patron and protector of plays and players. A second theme is the king's response to the problems posed by religious divisions in the British Isles and Europe as a whole. Various contributors to this collection elucidate James's own religious beliefs and their expression, his efforts before 1603 to counter a potential Catholic claim to the English throne, his attempted appropriation of scripture in support of his own authority, and his distinctive vision of imperial kingship in Britain. Some different reactions to the king, to his expression of his ideas and to the implementation of his policies form this book's third theme. They include the vigorous resistance to his attempt to change Scottish religious practice, and the sharply contrasting assessments of his life and reign written after James's death.




Community without Borders: Scots Migrants and the Changing Face of Power in the Dutch Republic, c. 1600-1700


Book Description

This is a valuable book for anyone interested in the cultural meaning of preindustrial migration. Arguing that early modern European migrants could fundamentally influence their fate and their adopted communities, it explores the world of Scots migrants to the Dutch port of Rotterdam, c. 1600-1700. The heart of the study is a reconstruction of the social networks that Scots used to establish and sustain themselves in Rotterdam, drawn from unusually rich narrative sources. Through their social ties, Scots also told stories and kept memories as they created complex identities encompassing Rotterdam, Scotland, and places further afield. By shaping their relationships to Rotterdam, Scots had a broad impact on their adopted home. Their actions helped change Rotterdam’s political, religious, and legal fabric and even tied Rotterdam to the wider Atlantic world.




The Making of the British Isles


Book Description

The history of the British Isles is the story of four peoples linked together by a process of state building that was as much about far-sighted planning and vision as coincidence, accident and failure. It is a history of revolts and reversal, familial bonds and enmity, the study of which does much to explain the underlying tension between the nations of modern day Britain. The Making of the British Islesrecounts the development of the nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland from the time of the Anglo-French dual monarchy under Henry VI through the Wars of the Roses, the Reformation crisis, the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, the Anglo-Scottish dynastic union, the British multiple monarchy and the Cromwellian Republic, ending with the acts of British Union and the Restoration of the Monarchy.




God’s Watchman


Book Description

John Knox ranks among the great leaders of the Reformed tradition. In particular, he made significant contributions to this movement as it unfolded in Scotland. In doing so, Knox wore many hats--prophet, pastor, preacher, reformer, statesman, revolutionary, and more. God's Watchman: John Knox's Faith and Vocation attempts to connect these aspects of Knox's life. Being a man of action, these roles come to the forefront. Still, they rest on a particular faith shaped by his interpretation of Scripture, his view of God, and the events of sixteenth-century Europe. Section one of this study establishes these beliefs. Part two spells out his vocation--namely, functioning as a prophet, pastor, and preacher. All of this--his faith and vocation--culminated in his revolutionary political ideas, which are the subject of section three.