In 1637, Charles I attempted to bring greater unity to the churches of Scotland and England by issuing a new Scottish prayer book, written by Archbishop William Laud. However, despite his Scottish birth, the King was completely out of touch with his northern kingdom. He failed to realize that the Calvinist movement which was creeping slowly into English theological debate was already firmly entrenched in much of Scotland. The new prayer book flew in the face of many of the ideals of these new Scottish Presbyterians, and they decided not to stand for it.
The Edinburgh Riots
The Scottish clergy knew they were in for a battle on the day that the new prayer book became law in Scotland, but still they underestimated the strength of resistance. In several Edinburgh churches as ministers began to read from the new text, they suffered a barrage of hurled abuse and furniture. Many were chased out of their churches and through the streets. In other places, the clergy stood their ground, most notably the Bishop of Brechin who read the service from the new prayer book while holding a pair of loaded pistols.
The Birth of the Covenanters
It wasn’t just the common people who stood against the prayer book. Many of the Scottish nobility stood against it as well. The Marquis of Montrose notably referred to the book as ‘the brood of the bowels of the whore of Babel.’ Some of the nobility objected on religious grounds, others argued that changing the prayer book was beyond the powers of the king, especially without the support of Parliament.
By 1638 the stance of the monarch had weakened. His agents stated that the law only required the purchase of the book, not preaching from it. Later that year, use of the book was suspended. However by that point, it was too late. In February of 1638, the leaders of the resistance created the Scottish National Covenant, which brought together everyone who opposed the prayer book and which acknowledged Scottish Presbyterianism as the only true faith.
This new group, now called the ‘Covenanters’ formed an army. Dressed in sombre black and grey and accompanied only by the sound of beating drums, the Covenanters marched into England. It was not an invasion as such, but more an armed political procession. The First Bishop’s War had begun.
Primary Sources:
The English Civil War by David Clark, Pocket Essentials, 2008
Civil War by Taylor Downing and Maggie Millman, Collins & Brown, 1991
God’s Fury, England’s Fire by Michael Braddick, Allen Lane, 2008
