The Covenanters: Volume One

by J.K. Hewison

The progress and persecution of evangelical Christianity in Scotland from 1560 to 1689 is the subject of these rare volumes. In that history, ‘covenants’ were oaths of allegiance which bound Christians, their bodies and possessions, to the furtherance of ‘all things required of God in his Scripture, that may be to his glory.’ Handwritten and circulated from 1557, when martyrdom was still a prospect for the few who pledged themselves, the covenants became a crucial part of an immense struggle to uphold the Bible in the Church and nation. After ‘the National Covenant’ of 1638, ‘Covenanters’ became the accepted name, honoured by the sufferings of perhaps 18,000, before the Stuart monarchy fell in ‘the glorious revolution’ of 1689.

After that date, controversy over these men and women was to continue. Some authors pitied them as fanatics, others as heroes whose lives were outstanding examples of devotion. This great work of James King Hewison has three distinctive characteristics. First, he aimed by exact research at ‘an absolutely impartial account,’ not accepting traditional representations from either side which lacked firm evidence. Second, he took care to show how the covenanting movement was bound up with many political events, leading to the making of a new nation. And third, he believed the covenanting story is one of intrinsic interest, vigour and power. In the view of Alexander Smellie, the result is ‘a great book, one for which all true Scotsmen will thank him.’

The Solemn League and Covenant
Cost Scotland blood—cost Scotland tears:
But it sealed Freedom’s sacred cause—
If thou’rt a slave, indulge thy sneers.
— Robert Burns

Genres: History, Church History

504 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Leon McNair · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Covenanters, Vol.I

Essential in any respectful study of Scottish history is the allocation of space for a proper review of the complicated and intense discourse between the Scots Covenanters of the Presbyterian faith, and the Scots Royalists of the Catholic faith. The complete works by J.K.Hewison, a two-volume publication as relevant today as ever since it first appeared over one-hundred years ago, provides an ironclad account through use of primary and secondary material sources of the Scottish minds and use of Protestations in the Reformation period in the 16th Century, up to the Covenanting period in the late-17th Century, and everything else between. Volume I commences with the situation and struggles precipitating the Reformation involving Wycliff, John Knox, Andrew Melville, Wishart, David Leslie, and the likes of Bishop William Laud, Huntly, the earl of Argyll and the Marquis of Montrose, up until the execution of Charles I.

The Roman Catholic Church's authority in Scotland began to wane under pressure of the Scots protesting against its prohibition of public sermon, and public ownership and reading of a Bible. The Scots felt it was essential in a Christian's growth that a Bible be part of their daily equipment for reading, and therefore should be accessible for all to learn. By 1559 onwards, the Catholic Church experienced a paradigm shift in which those priests, in unprecedented numbers, moved to the Protesters' persuasion. Foremost in this upheaval was John Knox, who was a fierce theologian: he, along with associates, wrote the Confession Of Faith - a work that would become the prime essence of Presbyterianism; as well as with five other Johns, First Book of Discipline. In this work we see an example of the application for parishes be made at every local corner, with every local parish there be a school for children to learn rudimentary skills in reading and writing, in order to understand the Word of God in the Bible. It was a monumental change that would not, unfortunately, see the proper light of day until much later in the 17th Century.

Fundamental in this Reformed Church of Scotland was the acknowledgement, as John Knox would constantly argue, that the Pope was the Antichrist. Another fundamental issue, at the core of Presbyterian teaching, was that the king should be the servant of the people of Scotland, wholly anointed by God, but not a "lesser god" with Divine Right over the people; as well, all adornment and gold, ornamental decorations and praising or praying of Saints and Mary, be utterly detested as idol-worship and dismantled: that the Presbyterian faith wrapped itself around the Bible, and only the Bible, for how a Church and congregation should be governed and treated - that, if it is not in the Bible in plain respect, or not one of Christ's teachings, it therefore cannot be assumed to be a true piece of doctrine; or not a manmade assumption. Entry into the kingdom of Heaven was too much of a risk to lose in the mind of a Presbyterian Scotsman to juggle with assumed-right doctrines.

The mark of the Presbyterian movement was very often influenced by who reigned at the time, usually for the negative. Whilst the Reformed Church would make constructive steps to ensure the Bible in all its entirety, could be taught in private homes as well as in Church; the Confession of Faith was authorised; there was an elected governing body of Elders, rather than appointed Bishops, with a Minister and a weekly Kirk-Session of other local Presbyterian churches to discuss matters of worship; finances; prayers, and ongoing local matters, the Catholic queen - or indeed kings - would constantly be a thorn, pressuring these "delinquents" and "devils" to repent and relinquish their Presbyterian-evildoing or else face the Divine Right of judgement. Consequently, many battles ensued, and not least of the new Ministers' problems - many of whoms' background were Catholic - was the paucity of stipends met, and salaries made, such that often the Minister's living was arranged by the trades of produce by landowners and donating congregationalists, and this ensued for most of the 16th Century. Poverty, however, was not an issue considered brokered by the devil and then suffering for the association; it was, rather, an example of purity of heart and self-control in a Christian's life, in a Presbyterian's life. And, at this time, also simply a matter of the hard-working Scottish life.

James VI came on the throne in 1587 after Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed by Protestant Queen of England, Elizabeth I. Even after all the incidents revolving around Mary, Queen of Scots, and John Knox; the Presbyterian Church; the controversial marriages of Lord Darnley and Lord Bothwell, the Scots saw this act as a National insult. James VI was taught and educated by George Buchanan in his youthful years, and brought up on the Presbyterian faith. However, James VI never left the idea of Divine Right behind, nor of his Catholic origin by his mother. He implemented a strategy to consolidate the two rival faiths together, under a Presbyterian-Catholic mergence, known as the coming Episcopalian faith. He also published a Creed in which, by this faith and all else, the king is father of his subjects - a god upon earth - not bound to obey the laws of his realm, and that he would represent "The Common Weal, not the Common Will". He also produced a work known as the Rex Doron, for his sons Henry and Charles, which encapsulated this mindset and authority of Divine Right. Eventually, it would become the very stubborn act that would endanger Charles I, and ultimately lead to his execution by the English Parliament and Puritans - not by the Scots who, whilst always fighting against him for the right of Presbyterianism, recognised him as their king and even attempted to save him, had he just signed the Solemn League & Covenant recognising the Church's right to exist. The first National Covenant in Charles I's reign, by comparison, in 1638 was zealously signed at Greyfriar's Kirk, Edinburgh, with copies taken all across the realm in the Highlands and Lowlands, with this National Zion accruing over 300,000 signatures of a population of less than one-million, and even copies were taken South into England by Alexander Henderson.

[Richard Klueg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read this due to my Scottish heritage and my Reformed faith. Glad I read it, but I cannot say it was an easy read for me! One difficulty is keeping straight all of the names and what side who is on for how long and why! Another is having to sound out some of the Scottish quotes to make sense of them. It helped when I figured out that "qu" often substitutes for "w," i.e. "quho" is "who," etc. But most of all, one's sensibilities are assaulted by the brutalities that take place as politics, culture, religion, and personality clash together in a volatile mix of intrigue and conflict. As much as the concept of "toleration" is misapplied to a fault today, I thank the Lord that I live now and not then.

I plan to go on to read volume 2. After I catch my breath from reading this one!

[Ethan McCarter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a massive work on the history of the Reformation in Scotland from the beginning movement under Whishart and, primarily, Knox, Melville, and the early Reformers to the end of the first civil war and the rise of the Commonwealth. The second volume addresses the second civil war along with the killing times. The first goes from right before the rise of John Knox in Scotland to the execution of Montrose and Charles I. Hewison is thorough in his mastery of source material from the time period along with his intimate knowledge of the history of the rise of the Covenanters. It took me a while to get through the first volume due to the shear amount of information Hewison writes on. His writing style is a little hard to follow at times though I did like that he kept many of the original Scots wordings when he quotes original material. The reason why I didn't give it a perfect 5 is due to the fact of writing style, poor flow of arguments and communication in certain areas, and difficult phrases to grasp clearly. I will say if you want a thorough history of the Covenanters and a good look at everything else going on in the Scottish Reformation period this is the book to look at.

[Sean Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this difficult to enjoy the longer it went on, and the rhetoric obscured clear communication of what was actually happening much of the time.

[Travis Daggett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good.