History of the Reformation in Scotland

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The History of the Reformation in Scotland is a five-volume book written by the Scottish reformer, John Knox, between 1559 and 1566.

[edit] Development of the book

In 1559 during the Scottish Reformation, the leaders of the Protestant nobility, the Lords of the Congregation, asked Knox to write a history of the movement. This short pamphlet became the second book of the History.^[1]

In 1566 Knox continued writing the rest of the History while in Kyle in Ayrshire. By this time he probably had completed drafts of the third book which chronicles the events leading up to the arrival of Mary, Queen of Scots in Scotland. Knox mainly worked on the first and fourth books during this time. The first book covers the period from the beginnings of the Scottish Reformation up to 1559. The fourth book recorded the events from August 1561 to June 1564.^[2]

The fifth book first appeared in an edition published by George Buchanan in 1644. It covers the period from September 1564 to August 1567 when Mary was forced to abdicate the throne. In Buchanan’s biography of Knox, he claims that the History is based on Knox’s own manuscripts and papers. In a 1732 edition of the History, an unknown editor attributes the fifth book to Buchanan. It is not known who is the author of the fifth book.^[3]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Laing, David, ed. (1895), The Works of John Knox, Edinburgh: James Thin, 55 South Bridge , OCLC 5437053.
• Percy, Lord Eustace (1964), John Knox (2nd ed.), London: James Clarke & Co., Ltd. , OCLC 1296659.