Covenanter

The Covenanters were a radical Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England, during the 17th century.

Upheaval and Civil War

In 1637 Scotland was in a state of turmoil. Charles I and Archbishop Laud met with a reverse in their efforts to impose the English liturgy upon the Scots when Jenny Geddes started a turmoil in St Giles Cathedral; and fearing further measures on the part of the king, it occurred to Archibald Johnston (Lord Warriston), to revive the National Covenant of 1581.

Related Topics:
1637 - Charles I - Archbishop Laud - Jenny Geddes - St Giles Cathedral - Archibald Johnston - 1581

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Additional matter intended to suit the document to the special circumstances of the time was added, and the covenant was adopted and signed by a large gathering in the churchyard of Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, on the 28th of February 1638, after which copies were sent throughout the country for additional signatures. The subscribers engaged by oath to maintain religion in the state in which it existed in 1580, and to reject all innovations introduced since that time, while professed expressions of loyalty to the king were added. The General Assembly of 1638 was composed of ardent Covenanters, and in 1640 the covenant was adopted by the Scottish Parliament, and its subscription was required from all citizens. Before this date the Covenanters were usually referred to as Supplicants, but from about this time the former designation began to prevail. The Covenanters raised an army to resist Charles I's religious reforms, and defeated him in the Bishops Wars. The crisis this caused the Stuart monarchy helped to spark the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which included the English Civil War and Irish Confederate Wars.

Related Topics:
Greyfriars Kirk - Edinburgh - 1580 - 1638 - 1640 - Scottish Parliament - Charles I - Bishops Wars - Wars of the Three Kingdoms - English Civil War - Irish Confederate Wars

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For the following ten years of civil war in Britain, the Covenanters were the de facto government of Scotland. In 1642, the Covenanters sent an army to Ulster in Ireland to protect the Scottish settlers there from the Irish Catholic rebels who had attacked them after the Irish Rebellion of 1641. The Scottish army remained in Ireland until the end of the civil wars, but confined to its garrison around Carrickfergus after its dfeat at the battle of Benburb in 1646.

Related Topics:
Scotland - 1642 - Ulster - Ireland - Irish Rebellion of 1641 - Carrickfergus - Battle of Benburb

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A further Covenanter military intervention began in 1643. The leaders of the English parliament, worsted in the English Civil War, implored the aid of the Scots, which was promised on condition that the Scottish system of church government was adopted in England. After some haggling a document called the Solemn League and Covenant was drawn up. This was practically a treaty between England and Scotland for the preservation of the reformed religion in Scotland, the reformation of religion in England and Ireland "according to the word of God and the example of the best reformed churches," and the extirpation of popery and prelacy. It did not explicitly mention presbyterianism, and included some ambiguous formulations which left the door open to Independency. It was subscribed by many in both kingdoms and also in Ireland, and was approved by the English parliament, and with some slight modifications by the Westminster Assembly of Divines. This agreement meant that the Covenanters sent another army south to England to fight on the Parliamentarian side in the English Civil War.

Related Topics:
1643 - English Civil War - Popery - Prelacy - Independency - Westminster

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In turn, this sparked the outbreak of the Scottish Civil War of 1644-1647, as Scottish Royalist opponents of the Covenanters took up arms against them. Royalism was most common among Scottish Roman Catholics and Anglicans, who were opposed to the Covenanter's imposition of their religious settlement on the country. The covenanter's enemies, led by James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, were aided by an Irish expeditionary force but were ultimately defeated in 1646 after a bitter two year campaign.

Related Topics:
Scottish Civil War - Royalist - Roman Catholics - Anglicans - James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose

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The end of the first civil wars in Scotland and England left the Covenanters hopeful that their Solemn League and Covenant would be implemented in the Three Kingdoms. However, Charles I refused to accept it when he surrendered himself to the Scots in 1646, but he made important concessions in this direction in the "Engagement" made with the Scots in December 1647. This was rejected by he militant Covenanters known as the Kirk Party, who wanted the King to explicitly endorce their agenda before an alliance could be reached. The Covenanter's insitance on dictating the future of both scotland and England eventually led to a conflict with their erstwhile allies, the English Parliament and to the Scots signing an alliance with Charles II known as the Treaty of Breda (1650). Charles II before landing in Scotland in June 1650 declared by a solemn oath his approbation of both covenants, and this was renewed on the occasion of his coronation at Scone in the following January.

Related Topics:
1646 - Engagement - 1647 - Kirk Party - Charles II - Treaty of Breda (1650) - 1650

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However, the Covenanters were utterly defeated in the 1650-52 by the forces of the English Parliament under Oliver Cromwell. Scotland was occupied by the New Model Army and the Covenanters were sidelined. From 1638 to 1651 the Covenanters, led by Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, had been the dominant party in Scotland, directing her policy both at home and abroad. Their power, however, which had been seriously weakened by Cromwell's victory at Dunbar in September 1650, was practically destroyed when Charles II was restored nine years later. Firmly seated upon the throne Charles renounced the covenants, which in 1662 were declared unlawful oaths, and were to be abjured by all persons holding public offices. Argyll himself was executed for treason, episcopacy was restored, James Sharp was appointed Archbishop of St Andrews and Primate of Scotland, the court of high commission was revived, and ministers who refused to recognize the authority of the bishops were expelled from their livings. (Sharp was assassinated in 1679.)

Related Topics:
Oliver Cromwell - New Model Army - 1638 - 1651 - Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll - Dunbar - 1650 - 1662 - Episcopacy - James Sharp

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