The Jacobean Kirk, 1567û1625: Sovereignty, Polity and Liturgy

by MacDonald,Alan R.

• ISBN13: 9781859283738
• ISBN10: 185928373X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-11-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This book is the first detailed discussion of the political history of the Scottish Church in the reign of James VI (1567-1625). It offers a refreshing new perspective on the Reformed Kirk during the crucial period in its development. It is an examination of relations between Kirk and State based firmly on contemporary sources. Analysing the formation and evolution of clerical views, it argues for fluid patterns of opinion governed by events rather than fixed ideologies. As a result, it rejects the established notion of 'Melvillian' and 'Episcopalian' parties in the Kirk. Pivoting on the regal union of 1603, it explores the Scottish experience of the implementation of ecclesiastical policies under a multi-state monarchy in the light of recent British scholarship. It also assesses the significance of the regal union for the government of Scotland, for the status of the Kirk within Scotland and in relation to the Church of England. The result is a significant and challenging contribution to early modern Scottish and British historiography.

Table of Contents

List of maps	ix	(2)
Acknowledgements	xi	(2)
Conventions and abbreviations	xiii
Introduction	1	(5)
1 The formative years, 1567-85	6	(24)
2 Compromise and conflict, 1586-92	30	(20)
3 An untidy tumble towards crisis, 1592-96	50	(24)
4 The road to consensus, 1597-1602	74	(27)
5 The regal union and the collapse of consensus, 1603-1606	101	(23)
6 The new autocracy, 1606-10	124	(24)
7 New polity, new liturgy, 1610-25	148	(23)
8 Conclusion	171	(18)
Appendix: Maps	189	(8)
Bibliography	197	(8)
Index	205