Part 24

Ane letter maid to Walter Scrymgeour of Glaswell his airis and assignais, ane or ma, of the gift of all and haile the takkis and assedationis quhilkis James Rollok, burges of Dunde, had of the commoun myln and wynd‑myln of the said burgh of Dunde, now fallin and cumin into our souerane lordis handis, be resoun of eschete for certane crymes of heresis committit be the said James, and he {366} adjugit and condamnit þairintill, as the process led þairupon at mair lenth proportis, with power, &c. At Linlithgow, the xxviij day of Marche, the ȝeir forsaid (1539). [Lib. xij. f. 93.] Per Signaturam.

Ane letter maid to James Murray, maister of aile seller, his airis and assignais, ane or ma, of the gift of all gudis, movable and vnmovabill, dettis, takkis, stedingis, sovmes of money, and vtheris quhatsumever, quhilkis pertenit to Margarete Jamesoun in Tulibody, and now pertenying, or onywis sall happin or may pertene to our souerane lord, be resoun of eschete, throw non fulfilling of certane pennance ordanit to be done be hir be the ordinar, for certane crymes of heresy committit be hir, of the quhilkis scho wes convict in jugement, &c. At Stirling, the aucht day of Aprill, the ȝer forsaid (1539.) vj{li}. xiij{s}.iiii{d}. [Lib. xij. f. 93.] Per Signaturam.

Ane letter maid to Charlis, James, Robert, George, Johnne, Andro, Archibald, Helene, Margaret, Elizabeth, Isabell, and Agnes Carnis, sonis and dochteris to Henry Carnis in Leith, yair airis and assignais, ane or ma, off the gift of all gudis, movabill and vnmovabill, dettis, takkis, schip, obligationis, sovmes of money, and vtheris gudis quhatsumever quhilkis pertenit to the said Henry, and now decernit to pertene to our souerane lord, be resoun of eschete for heresy, of the quhilk the said Henry was abiurit be ane sentence gevin be the spirituale juge aganis him for the samyn, &c. At Stirling, the viij day of Aprile, the ȝer forsaid (1539.) x{li}.xij{s}. [Lib. xij. f. 94.] Per Signaturam.

Ane letter maid to Alexander Orrok of Silliebawke, his airis and assignais, of the gift of all gudis, movabill and vnmovabill, cornis, catale, dettis, takkis, stedingis, money, gold, siluer, and vtheris gudis quhatsumever quhilkis pertenit to William Clerk, clerk of the schip callit the Barge, and now pertenying to our souerane lord, be resoun of eschete throw being of the said William convict of heresy, &c. At Stirling, the viij day of Aprile, the ȝeire forsaid (1539). x{li}. [Lib. xij. f. 94.] Per Signaturam.

Ane letter maid to James Lovell, of the gift of his awne eschete gudis, movabill and vnmovabill, pertenying to our souerane lord throw being of the said James abiurit of heresy, &c. At Sanctandros, the xi day of May, the ȝer forsaid (1539). [Lib. xiij. f. 4.]

{367} Ane letter maid to Johnne Henry, his airis and assignais, ane or ma, of the gift of all gudis, movabill and vnmovabill, quhilkis pertenit to Johnne Cameroun, burges of Perth, and now pertening to our souerane lord, be resoun of eschete throw being of the said Johne declarit heretyke, etc. At Sanctandros, the xxvi day of May, ye ȝer forsaid (1539). [Lib. xiij. f. 26.] Per Signaturam.

Ane letter maid to Johne Stewart, sone to Henry, lord Methven, rehabilland him to stand in preif and witness, and to exerce all lefull dedis in jugement, and outwith, and als frelie, in all thingis as he my{t} have done befor the tyme he was convict of heresy, etc. At Edinburgh, the xxij day of Februare, the ȝer forsaid (1539). [Lib. xiij. f. 65, b.] Per Signaturam.

Ane letter maid to Oliuer Sinclar and his assignais, ane or maa, of the gift of all gudis, movable and vnmovable, dettis, takkis, obligationis, sovmes of money, and vtheris gudis quhatsumever quhilkis pertenit to Sir David Huchesone, prouest of Rosling, and now pertening, or ony wise sal happin or may pertene to ws, throw being of the said Sir Dauid abiurit of certane poyntis of heresy, of the quhilkis he was dilatit, and ane sentence of the spirituale juge gevin aganis him þairupoun, as the same proportis, with power to the said Oliuer and his assignais, ane or maa, to intromet and tak vp ye saidis eschete gudis, etc. At Edinbur{t}, the xiij day of August, the ȝer foirsaid (1540). [Lib. xiv. f. 8, b.] Per Signaturam.

Ane letter maid to Maister Williame Arthur, citinare of Sanctandross, his airis and assignais, of the gift of the escheit of all gudis, movable and vnmovable, dettis, takkis, steiddingis, rowmes, possessions, teyndis, cornis, catale, actiones, obligationis, sowmes of money, and vtheris gudis quhatsumevir, quhilkis pertenit to George Wynchister, cietinar of the said ciete, and now pertening to oure souerane lady, and being in hir hienes handis be resoun of escheit throw the said Georgeis noncomperance before ane maist reverand fader in God, Johnne, archbishop of Sanctandros, his juge ordner, to haif vnderlyne the law for certane crymes of herisie quhairof he was dilaittit and convict of the samyn, and yairfore declarit heretick, as at mair length is contenit in the sentence and proces led and gevin aganis him þairvpone, with powar, &c. At Edinbur{h}, {368} the xiiij day of September, the ȝeir of God, ane thousand, fyve hundreith, and fyfty ȝeiris. [Lib. xxiv. f. 24, b.] Per Signaturam.

Ane letter maid, makand mentioun, That yair was ane pretendit sentence of auld gevin aganis Johnne Boirthwikt of Ciueray, kny{t}, declaring him to be ane allegit heretike, as the said sentence beiris, quhilk was gevin aganis him in his absence, without ony defence maid be him, and he yairby allegit to be depriuit of all honour, and dispossessit of all his landes, rowmes, and possessionis; Nochttheles, oure souerane lady, of hir auctorite royal, speciall grace, and fauour, rehabillis the said Johnne, and restoiris him to all his landis, heretages, takkis, stedingis, rowmes, and possessionis, and to all and sindrie his gudis, movable and vnmovable, quhatsumevir, and to his honour, fame, and dignitie; and reponis him agane in the same estait he was in befoir the leding and deduceing of the said pretendit sentence aganis him, sua that he may peceabillie brouk, joys, occupy, labour, and manure his landis, rowmes, takis, stedingis, and possessionis, intromet and vptak the malis, fermes, proffittis, and dewiteis yairof, off all ȝeiris and termes bigane, restand vnpayit sin the geving and deduceing of the said pretendit sentence aganis him, and gif neid be, to convene, call, follow, and persew the detenaris yairof, befoir quhatsumeuir juge or jugeis, spirituale or temporale, vnto the finall end and recovering of the samin vpoun yame, and to stand in jugement, beir witnes, and frelie vse and exerce all maner of offices or vther publict efferis in hir common weill, in jugement, and outwith, and joys and brouk siclike priuilegeis as he did, or my{t} have done, befoir the leding and deduceing of the said pretendit proces aganis him, siclike as the samyn had neuer bene gevin or pronunceit, &c. With inhibitioun in the samyn to all and sindrie our souerane lady’s liegis and subdittis baith spirituall and temporall, of quhatsumeuir auctoritie or dignitie yai be of, that nane of thame tak vpoun hand to molest, truble, or invaid the said Johnne in his person, fame, landis, gudis, or possessionis, for quhatsumevir caus or actioun bigane; or to detract, bakbyte, sclander, or defame him, in ony maner of way, vnder all hieast pane, and charge, and offence. That þai and ilk ane of þame may commit and inryn aganis her maiestie, in þat parte, &c. At Sanctandrois, {369} the last day of Februare, the ȝeir of God I{m}.v{c}.lxij ȝeiris. [Lib. xxxj. f. 79, b.] Per Signaturam.[482]

Ane letter maid makand mention that thair wes ane pretendit sentence gevin and pronunceit againis James Hamiltoun of Kincavill, of lang tyme begane in his absence, for null defence, declaring him to be ane allegeit heretike, as the pretendit sentence gevin thairupoune buir; be the quhilk, he was allegit to be depryvit of all honoure, fame, and dignitie, and dispossessit of all his landis, heretages, rowmes, possessionis, teyndis, and vtheris pertening to him, quhilk pretended decrete and sentence the said James hes gotten retretit and reducit, with all that followith thairupoune: Thairfore oure said souerane ladie, of her auctorite royall speciale grace and favoure, rehabillis the said James, and restoris him to all his landis, &c. [in similar terms with the preceding.] At Edinburgh, the fift day of Merche, the ȝeir of God, I{m}.v{c}.lxiij ȝeris. [Lib. xxxi. f. 35, b.] Per Signaturam.

Note I, Footnote 48.

_Protestant Exiles from Scotland._――I have not reckoned it necessary to insert in this work those particulars respecting Scottish reformers before Patrick Hamilton, which have been repeatedly published in the Life of Andrew Melville. The reader may consult vol. i. p. 8, 418‒421 of the second edition of that work.――In this note, I shall state a few facts respecting those eminent men who were obliged to forsake their native country subsequently to Hamilton’s martyrdom, in consequence of having expressed sentiments favourable to the Reformation.

Gawin Logie, who, in his important station of rector of St Leonard’s College, was so useful in spreading the reformed doctrine, drew upon himself the jealousy of the clergy. More decided in his sentiments, and more avowed in his censure of the prevailing abuses, than the sub‑prior of the abbey, (who maintained his situation until the establishment of the Reformation,) Logie found it necessary to consult his safety by leaving the country in 1533. {370} Cald. MS. i. 82. I have not seen any notice of him after this. Robert Logie, a kinsman of Gawin, was a canon regular of Cambuskenneth, and employed in instructing the novices. Having embraced the reformed sentiments, he, in 1538, fled into England, and became a preacher there. Thomas Cocklaw, parish priest of Tullibody, seems to have accompanied him, and was also employed as a preacher in England. Ibid. p. 97.

Alexander Seaton was confessor to James V. The cause of his flight from Scotland, his letter to the King, and his retiring to England, are recorded in our common histories. Fox (p. 1000) informs us that he was accused of heresy before Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, in 1541, and induced to recant certain articles which he had preached. Spotswood (p. 65) speaks of “the treatises he left behind him,” and, among others, his “Examination by Gardiner and Bonner,” from which it appears that “he never denied any point which formerly he taught.” Fox had not seen this. We learn from another quarter, that, after his trial, he continued to preach the truths for which he had been accused. Bale says that he died in 1542, in the family of Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, who retained him as his chaplain. Script. Brytan. Post. Pars. p. 224.

Alexander Aless was a canon of the metropolitan church of St Andrews. His conversion to the protestant faith was very singular. Being a young man of quick parts, and well versed in scholastic theology, and having studied the Lutheran controversy, he undertook to reclaim Patrick Hamilton from heresy, and held several conferences with him for this purpose. But, instead of making a convert of Hamilton, he was himself staggered by the reasoning of that gentleman. His doubts were greatly strengthened by the constancy with which he saw the martyr adhere to his sentiments to the last, amidst the scorn, rage, and cruelty of his enemies. Alesii Præfat. Comment. in Joannem: Jacobi Thomasii Orationes, p. 307, 308. Lipsiæ, 1737. Bayle, Dictionnaire, Art. _Ales._ A short time after this, he delivered a Latin oration before an ecclesiastical synod, in which he censured the vices of the clergy, and exhorted them to diligence and a godly life. This was enough to bring him under the suspicion of heresy, and he was thrown into prison, from which, after a year’s confinement, he made his escape, and, getting into a {371} vessel which lay on the coast, eluded his persecutors. He escaped in 1532. Cald. MS. i. 76. On leaving his native country, Aless went to Germany, where he was virulently attacked by Cochlæus, whom the Scots bishops hired to abuse him.[483] On the invitation of lord Cromwell and archbishop Cranmer, he came to England in 1535, and was appointed Professor of Theology in the university of Cambridge. But he had scarcely commenced his lectures, when the patrons of popery excited such opposition to him that he resolved to relinquish his situation. Having, at a former period of his life, applied to medical studies, he went to Dr Nicol, a celebrated physician in London, and, after remaining with him for some years, commenced practice, not without success. In 1537, lord Cromwell having met him one day accidentally on the street, carried him to the convocation, and persuaded him to engage, without preparation, in a dispute with the bishop of London, on the subject of the sacraments; of which Aless has given a particular account in one of his publications. De Authoritate Verbi Dei Liber Alexandri Alesii, contra Episcopum Lundinensem, p. 13‒31. Argentorati, apud Cratonem Mylium, An. M.D.XLII. Archbishop Parker calls him, “virum in theologia perdoctum.” In 1540, he returned to Germany, was made Professor of Divinity at Leipsic, assisted at several public conferences, and wrote many books, which were much esteemed. Strype’s Cranmer, p. 402, 403. Bayle, Dict. ut supra. He died on the 17th of March, 1565, in the 65th year of his age. (Vita Alex. Alesii, in Observ. Select, vol. v. p. 443. Halæ Magd. 1702.) Bishop Bale was personally acquainted with him, and has enumerated his works. Ut supra, p. 176.

John Fife fled from St Andrews, accompanied Aless to Germany, and shared in his honours at Leipsic. “Francofurti ad Viadrum Scotus quidam, Joannis Fidelis, Theologiæ Doctor et Professor fuit; et anno 1551 rectoratum Academiæ gessit, ut in Actis Lipsiensibus Eruditorum anno 1684, p. 386, notatum est. Sed {372} dubitari vix debet, Fidelem illum eundem fuisse qui Fife, sive Fief, dicebatur, cum ea vox _feudum_ significet, ad quod alludit nomen Fidelis.” Seckendorf. Hist. Luth. lib. iii. sec. 25. Fife returned to Scotland, acted as a minister, and died in St Leonard’s College, soon after the establishment of the Reformation. Cald. MS. i. 78. Knox, 20. Strype’s Cranmer, 403.

John Macbee, known on the continent by the name of Dr Maccabæus, fled to England in 1532, and was entertained by bishop Shaxton. He afterwards retired to Denmark, and was of great use to Christian III. in the settlement of the reformed religion in his dominions. He was made a professor in the university of Copenhagen. Gerdesii Historia Evang. Renovat. iii. 417‒425. The Danish monarch held him in great esteem, and, at his request, wrote to queen Mary of England, in behalf of his brother‑in‑law, Miles Coverdale, bishop of Exeter, and the venerable translator of the bible, who was released from prison through his importunity. Bale, ut supra, p. 226. Fox, 1390. Maccabæus was acquainted with the Danish and German languages, and assisted in the translation of the bible into Danish (according to Luther’s first German translation), which was printed in folio at Copenhagen, in 1550, by Ludov. Diest, accompanied with a marginal index, parallel places, and plates. Maittaire, apud Chalmers’s Lindsay, i. 82. Gerdes. Hist. tom. iii. Præfatio, **3. An edition of Lindsay’s “Monarchie” bears on the title‑page, that it was “imprintit at the command and expensis off Dr Machabæus, in Capmanhouin.” But the editor of Lindsay insists, that this is “a deceptious title‑page.” Ut supra, 80, 81. That Maccabæus was alive in 1557, appears from the following passage of a Danish literary work: “In facultate Theologica, Doctores creati sequentes in Academia Hafniæ Aº. 1557, a D. Joh. Maccabeo, M. Nic. Hemmingius Theolog. Professor,” &c. Albert Thura, Idea Histor. Literar. Danorum, p. 333. Hamburgi, 1723. This writer (p. 274) mentions “Annot. in Matthæum” as written by him, but does not say whether it was a MS. or a printed book. Bale mentions another work of his, entitled, “De vera et falsa Religione.” Ut supra, p. 226. Those who have access to the Bibliotheca Dunica, will find some of his writings inserted in that work, {373} Part v. and viii. Gerdes. iii. 417. Among the MSS. bequeathed by archbishop Parker to Corpus Christi Collegi, is “De conjugio sacerdotum, an liceat sacris initiatis contrahere matrimonium affirmatur autore Johanne Macchabeo Scoto.”

We learn from Bale, that Maccabæus was well born (“præclara familia”); and that, having discovered from his infancy a strong propensity to learning, his parents provided him with the best teachers. But I have an additional piece of information to communicate, which cannot fail to be gratifying to some readers: The proper name of this divine was neither Maccabæus nor Macbee, but Macalpine, and he belonged to the noble and celebrated Clan Alpine. In what degree of kindred he stood to the noted Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, and whether he was obliged to change his name on account of the outrage which caused that chieftain and his whole clan to be proclaimed rebels, I cannot determine, as I have met with no northern Scald, or Gaelish bard, who has touched on these circumstances. But the following are my authorities for the statement which I have given: “Ad docendas sacras literas accersivit [Danniæ Rex] Johannem Maccabæum, proprio nomine Macalpinum, Scotum, virum doctrina et pietate gravem, Regique ac bonis omnibus modestia longe carissimum.” Vinding. Descript. Acad. Hafniæ, p. 71‒73. “Reliquerat is, qui ex nobili et antiqua Macalpinorum in Scotia familia ortum trahebat, Religionis erga, Scotiam, et migraverat Witebergam, atque ibi cum Luthero et Melanchthone familiaritatem contraxerat, unde Hafniam vocatus Academiæ præfuit per annos sedecim, mortuus d. 6. Decemb. 1557.” Gerdes. iii. p. 417. See also the verses on Maccabæus in Supplement.

Macdowal repaired to Holland, and was so much esteemed, that he was raised, though a stranger, to the chief magistracy in one of its boroughs. Knox, 20.

John Mackbray, or Macbrair, a gentleman of Galloway, fled to England about 1538, and at the death of Edward VI. retired to Frankfort, where he preached to the English congregation. Troubles at Frankford, p. 13, 20, 25. Spotswood, 97. He afterwards became pastor of a congregation in Lower Germany, and wrote an account of the formation and progress of that church. Balei Scriptores M. Brytan, p. 229. On the accession of Elizabeth, he returned to {374} England, and officiated as a preacher in that country. He is called “an eminent exile,” in Strype’s Annals, i. 130. Grindal, p. 26. On the 13th of November, 1568, he was inducted to the vicarage of St Nicholas, in Newcastle, and was buried there on November 16, 1584. Dr Jackson complains that “Mackbray, Knox, and Udale, had sown their tares in Newcastle.” Heylin speaks in the same strain. Brand’s Hist. of Newcastle, p. 303. Bale (p. 229) mentions several works of Mackbray, and says that he “wrote elegantly in Latin.” Spotswood also mentions some of his works. Ut supra.

The causes of Buchanan’s imprisonment and escape from Scotland, and his reception and employments on the continent, may be found in other publications which are accessible to the reader. See Irving’s Memoirs of Buchanan, and Chalmers’s Life of Ruddiman. Some facts which have not been fully stated by his biographers, will be found in a subsequent part of this work.

James Harrison was a native of the south of Scotland, and liberally educated, says Bale. He seems to have gone to England at a period somewhat later than the others mentioned in this note. He wrote a treatise, “De regnorum unione,” in which he warmly recommended to his countrymen the advantages of a union with England. It was dedicated to the duke of Somerset, in 1547. Bale (p. 225) gives the first words of it, “Comminiscens, ut soleo per ocium;” and calls it “elegans ac mellitum opus.”

Robert Richardson was a canon of the monastery of Cambuskenneth, and fled to England in 1538. Cald. MS. i. 97. I suppose he is the person who is called “Sir Robert Richardson, priest,” in Sadler’s Letters. He was sent into Scotland in 1543, by Henry VIII., with a recommendation to the regent Arran, who employed him in preaching through the kingdom, along with Guillaume and Rough. When the regent apostatized from the reformed cause, he withdrew his protection from Richardson, who was obliged to flee a second time into England, to escape the cardinal’s persecution. Sadler’s State Papers, i. 210, 217, 344.

Note K, Footnote 50.

_Influence of Poetry in promoting the Reformation._――As the {375} influence which the poets and satirists of the age had upon the Reformation, is a subject curious in itself, and to which little attention has been paid, the following illustrations of what has been generally stated in the text, may not be unacceptable to some readers. Dante, Petrarch, Boccacio, and other Italian writers, by descanting on the ambition, luxury, and scandalous manners of the clergy, had contributed greatly to lessen the veneration in which they had been long held, and to produce in the minds of men a conviction of the necessity of a reformation. “There was,” says John Gerson, chancellor of the university of Paris, “one called Johannes Meldinensis, who wrote a book called the Romaunt of the Rose, which book, if I only had, and that there were no more in the world, I would rather burn it than take five hundred pounds for the same; and if I thought the author thereof did not repent of that book before he died, I would no more pray for him, than I would for Judas that betrayed Christ.” Catal. MSS. in Adv. Lib. The writings of Chaucer, and especially those of Langland, had the same effect in England, When the religious struggle had actually commenced, and become hot, a diversion, by no means inconsiderable, was made in favour of the reformers by the satirists and poets of the age. A pantomime, intended to degrade the court of Rome and the clergy, was acted before Charles V. at the Augsburg assembly. Lud. Fabricius de Ludis Scenicis, p. 231. Gerdesii Historia Evangel. Renovat. tom. ii. Docum. No. vii. p. 48. In 1524, a tragedy was acted at Paris, in the presence of Francis I., in which the success of Luther was represented, and the pope and cardinals were ridiculed, by kindling a fire, which all their efforts could not extinguish. Jacob. Burchard. de Vita Ulrici Hutteni, pars ii. 293, pars iii. p. 296. Gerdes. Hist. iv. 315. As late as 1561, the pope’s ambassador complained to the queen mother of France, that the young king, Charles IX., had assisted at a show, in which he had counterfeited a friar. Letters of the cardinal de St Croix, prefixed to Aymons, Synodes Nationaux de France, tom. i. p. 7‒11. In Switzerland, Nic. Manuel wrote certain comedies of this description in the year 1522, which were published under the title of Fastnachts Spielen, at Berne, in 1525. Gerdes. ii. 451. There were similar compositions in Holland. Brand’s Hist. of the Reformation, i. 127, 128. {376} Lond. 1720. And also in England. Burnet’s Hist. of the Reform. i. 318. Nasmith, Catal. Libr. Manuscr. Colleg. Corporis Christi, p. 93.