John Davidson (reformer)
John Davidson | |
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![]() John Davidson preaching to the Assembly[1] | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1549 |
Died | 1603 Prestonpans |
Denomination | Church of Scotland |
Alma mater | St Leonard's College |
John Davidson (c.1549–1603) was born in
Early life
John Davidson (1549?–1603), church leader, was born about 1549 at
Return from Ayrshire
In 1577 Morton allowed him to return, and in 1579 he became minister of Liberton near Edinburgh. In June 1581, when Morton was under sentence of death and on the eve of ignominious execution, Davidson and another minister went to him, but found him, to their surprise and joy, at one with them in his religious experience and hopes. He begged Davidson to forgive him, and assured him of his forgiveness for what he had said against him in his book. Davidson was moved to tears, and a very affecting farewell followed.[8]
In 1582 he was presented to
In 1582, when Montgomery, bishop of Glasgow, was ordered by the general assembly to be deposed, Davidson was appointed to pronounce sentence of excommunication upon him, which he did in his own church at Liberton.[7] An attempt was made to seize Davidson's person, but the raid of Ruthven intervened, and he escaped. The Earl of Gowne was executed on 2 May for his alleged involvement in the failed coup, although he appears to have been doing his best to leave the country via Dundee at the time. On the same day, James Carmichael, minister of Haddington, Patrick Galloway, minister of Perth, John Davidson, minister of Liberton, and Andrew Polwart, minister of Cadder, fled to England to join Melville in exile, having been summoned before the privy council for involvement in the conspiracy.[9] In 1583 he corresponding with the puritan John Field to promote English Presbyterianism.[7] Going for a time to London, via Newcastle in 1584, he became known at the English court, and from the earnest style of his preaching was called the thunderer.[8][7]
Davidson and King James
King James passed the Black Acts in 1584, putting the Church of Scotland under royal control with two bishops. This met vigorous opposition and he was forced to concede that the General Assembly should continue to run the church, but Presbyterians reacting against the formal liturgy were opposed by an Episcopalian faction. When Davidson returned from London he did not resume his charge at Liberton, but officiated for a time here and there, at one time acting as one of the ministers of Holyrood.[10][3]
The feeling in the Scottish church against prelacy was much intensified by injudicious methods used to recommend it. Among these was the sermon preached by Richard Bancroft at St. Paul's Cross at the opening of parliament in February 1588–9, in which the divine right of bishops as a higher order than presbyters was maintained, and the orders of the Scottish church disparaged. Davidson at the request of the presbytery of Edinburgh published a reply, which was suppressed by order of the king. It became very scarce. Part of it is republished in the Miscellany of the Wodrow Society.[11][8]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Prestonpans_Parish_Kirk_%28geograph_3419492%29.jpg/220px-Prestonpans_Parish_Kirk_%28geograph_3419492%29.jpg)
The king being opposed to the strict observance of Sunday required by the church, resolved, after his marriage with Anne of Denmark, that the queen should be crowned on a Sunday. This was opposed strongly by Davidson and other clergy, but the king carried his point, and the coronation took place on 17 May 1590. Preaching in Edinburgh on 6 June in presence of the king, Davidson addressed a strong admonition to him. He also paid the king a pastoral visit at Holyrood with two other ministers, and made several complaints against his proceedings. He continued the same bold course, but, the king having commanded the provost of Edinburgh to prohibit his preaching again in the city, he made a kind of apology. But his brethren were uncomfortable under his bold language, and it was deemed better that he should remove from the city. In 1596 he became minister of Prestonpans, ten miles from Edinburgh, where there was no church.[4] Davidson erected a church at his own expense, and likewise a manse, which stood for more than a hundred and fifty years and was the birthplace of Dr. Alexander Carlyle.[8]
In 1595 the terror of Philip II of Spain, which had subsided for a time after the destruction of his armada, began to spread anew over the country. The privy council imposed a tax, to raise which the consent of the general assembly was necessary. On the motion of Davidson a resolution was passed by the assembly that humiliation for sin was the first and best preparation against a hostile invasion of the country. The king was alarmed and made some concession. Carrying out their resolution the assembly met in order that the ministers might humble themselves before God. Davidson preached on the sins of the ministry. An extraordinary scene took place, the whole assembly being melted into tears. No discourse had ever been known to produce such an impression.[8]
In February 1599 a proposal of the king that certain of the clergy should sit and vote in parliament was being discussed in the synod of Fife. Davidson opposed the scheme as an insidious attempt to introduce prelacy, saying, in words that became famous afterwards, ‘Busk him, busk him, as bonnily as ye can, and bring him in as fairly as ye will, we see him well enough, we see the horns of his mitre.’[13]
The contest with the king was carried on on various subsequent occasions, Davidson making himself obnoxious to James by his firm protests against the royal measures. At one time royal commissioners appeared before the presbytery of Haddington requiring them to prosecute him for his misdemeanors and offences. The presbytery, after consideration and inquiry, let the matter drop. Unable to attend the general assembly at Burntisland in 1601, he wrote a letter warning his brethren against the devices of Delilah. For this he was summoned before the king at Holyrood, and committed to Edinburgh Castle. Released next day, he was allowed to return to his parish, but interdicted from going beyond it. Various attempts were made to get this interdict removed, especially when the king, after succeeding to the English throne, was passing through Prestonpans on his way to England on 5 April 1603. A deputation met him there, and entreated his clemency for the minister, who had long been sick. ‘I may be gracious,’ said the king, ‘but I will be also righteous, and until he confesses his fault he may lie and rot there.’[14]
Death and legacy
Davidson died soon after, about the end of August 1603. With all his boldness of spirit and license of speech, Davidson was an accomplished scholar, and a very fervent and powerful preacher. He had formed the plan of a history of Scottish martyrology, but did not complete it. He wrote Memorials of his Time, a Diary of which Calderwood made use in his history. Other treatises likewise are referred to by Calderwood. His most useful prose work was a catechism with the title Some Helps for Young Scholars in Christianity, 1602. His poems were collected in 1829, and printed in a small volume. They are reprinted in Rogers's Three Scottish Reformers.[14]
Family
He left a widow (name unknown). His effects were devoted to the support of the school which he founded.[15]
Works
- Ane Breif Commendation of Uprightness (Sanct And., 1573)
- Dialogue betwixt a Cleric and a Courteour (Sanct And., 1573: D. Bancroft's Rashnes in rayling against the Church of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1590)
- Memorial of the Life arid Death of Robert Campbell of Kinzeaneleugh, and his Wife (Edinburgh, 1595)
- Some Helpes for Young Scholars in Christianity (Edinburgh, 1602)
- Discover ie of the Unnatural and Traitorous Conspiracy of Scottish Papists (Preface), (Edinburgh, 1593)
- His Apologie and Several Letters (Calderwood's Hist., v., vi.)
- Short Form of Morning and Evening Prayer, etc. (Wodrow Miscell.). His Poems were reprinted in 1829. He wrote also Memorials of his Time, a diary of which Calderwood made use in his History.[15]
Bibliography
- Row's, Calderwood's, and Cunningham's Hists.
- Acts Pari., iv.
- Wodrow Miscell.
- Livingston's Charac
- Booke of the Kirk
- M'Crie's Melville, ii.
- Rogers' Three Scottish Reformers[15]
References
- Citations
- ^ M'Crie 1846a, p128.
- ^ Scott 1915, p170.
- ^ a b Scott 1915, p27.
- ^ a b c Scott 1915, pp387-388.
- ^ Rogers 1874a, pp80-99.
- ^ Blaikie 1888, pp125-126.
- ^ a b c d Kirk 2004.
- ^ a b c d e f Blaikie 1888, p126.
- ^ MacDonald 1994.
- ^ Scott 1915, p53.
- ^ Wodrow 1844.
- ^ Hewison 1913, p155.
- ^ Blaikie 1888, pp126-127.
- ^ a b Blaikie 1888, p127.
- ^ a b c Scott 1915, p388.
- Sources
- Blaikie, William Garden (1888). "Davidson, John (1549?-1603)". In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 14. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 125–127.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Calderwood, David (1842). Thomson, Thomas Napier (ed.). The History of the Kirk of Scotland. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: Wodrow Society.
- Calderwood, David (1843). Thomson, Thomas Napier (ed.). The History of the Kirk of Scotland. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: Wodrow Society.
- Calderwood, David (1843). Thomson, Thomas Napier (ed.). The History of the Kirk of Scotland. Vol. 3. Edinburgh: Wodrow Society.
- Donaldson, Gordon (1963). Scottish presbyterian exiles in England, 1584-8. Edinburgh: Scottish Church History Society. pp. 67-80.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Gillon, Robert Moffat (1936). John Davidson of Prestonpans (1549? - 1604) (PDF) (PhD). Edinburgh Research Archive.
- Hewison, James King (1913). The Covenanters. Vol. 1 (Revised and Corrected ed.). Glasgow: John Smith and son.
- Howie, John (1870). "John Davidson". In Carslaw, W. H. (ed.). The Scots worthies. Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson, & Ferrier. pp. 83–87.
- Kirk, James (2004). "Davidson, John". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/7217. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Knox, John (1895). Laing, David (ed.). The works of John Knox. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: James Thin.
- Knox, John (1895). Laing, David (ed.). The works of John Knox. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: James Thin.
- Knox, John (1895). Laing, David (ed.). The works of John Knox. Vol. 6. Edinburgh: James Thin.
- Laing, David, ed. (1844). The Miscellany of the Wodrow Society. Vol. I. Edinburgh: Wodrow Society.
- Lees, James Cameron (1889). St Giles, Edinburgh: Church, College, and Cathedral: from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers.
- MacDonald, Alan R. (1994). The Subscription crisis and church-state relations, 1584-1586. Edinburgh: Scottish Church History Society. pp. 222-255.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- M'Crie, Thomas (1819). The Life of Andrew Melville. Edinburgh: William Blackwood. pp. 126ff..
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- M'Crie, Thomas (1846). Lives of the Scottish reformers(American ed.). Xenia, [Ohio]: Published by the Board of the Calvinistic Book Concern.
- M'Crie, Thomas (1846a). Sketches of Scottish church history : embracing the period from the Reformation to the Revolution. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: J. Johnstone. p. 128passim.
- Row, John (1842). The history of the Kirk of Scotland : from the year 1558 to August 1637. Edinburgh: Printed for the Wodrow Society. p. 462ff.
- Rogers, Charles (1874a). Three Scottish reformers, Alexander Cunningham, Henry Balnaves and John Davidson, with their poetical remains. London: English Reprint Society.
- Rogers, Charles (1874b). "Three Poets of the Scottish Reformation". Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. 1. 3: 163-294.
- Scott, Hew (1915). Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ: the succession of ministers in the parish churches of Scotland. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Scott, James (1810). A history of the lives of the Protestant reformers in Scotland. Edinburgh: for John Ogle by James Ballantyne and Co.
- Russell, Michael (ed.). History of the Church of Scotland. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: Bannatyne Club.
- Wodrow, Robert (1834). Duncan, William J. (ed.). Collections upon the lives of the reformers and most eminent ministers of the Church of Scotland. Glasgow: Maitland Club. p. p559.