A Patriot Nobility? Calvinism, Kin-Ties and Civic Humanism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7540795 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Arthur Williamson (corresponding author), A H Williamson |
| Year | 1993 |
| Volume | 72 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-21 |
| Publication date | 1993-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Scottish historical review/ The Scottish historical review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0036-9241 • E-ISSN: 1750-0222 |
| Publisher | Edinburgh University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.3366/shr.1993.72.1.1 |
| OpenAlex | W2017033756 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
From Newcastle in August 1584 James Melville surveyed the catas trophe which had befallen the Presbyterian cause in Scotland with the overthrow of the Ruthven government, and he set out to explain to his fellow exiles what had gone wrong and why. Although Melville specifically addressed the great Protestant lords, he char acteristically did not mince his words. Scottish society had refused to fund the church and its social programme, which in turn had led to the corruption of that society at all levels. The underlying cause was simple and stark: this calamity had resulted directly from 'the insatiable, sacrilegius avarice of erles, lords, and gentlemen.'2 The consequences of 'this feirfull and horrible spoilation of Chryst Jesus and tyrannie over his Kirk' were dire indeed. Without an independent ministry which expounded the Word and main tained discipline irrespective of social rank, the watchtowers were unmanned, and Scotland became blindly subject to the plagues inherently visited upon a sinful nation. All levels of society had become corrupted. The great were defiled with 'sacrilage, swear ing, blasphemie, blud, adulter?is, reafe, and oppressioun, &c.' The poor sank into a 'fearfull darknesse of ignorance, superstitioun, and idol?trie.' Even more important, the law itself had lost its force. In a phrase which echoed the recently deceased George Buchanan and found its roots in Plato, Melville lamented that the 'lawes [were] nather throwlie weill made for punishment of sic hynous
Calvinism · Humanism · Nobility · Political science · Politics · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Law · Multicultural Socio-Legal Studies · Religious Freedom and Discrimination
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1996 - 2024 (29) |
| Highly cited | No |