James VI and Andrew Melville

Pages 48 to 56 deserve to be read carefully, if only because they predict many of the problems the Stuart kings will have over the next 90 years. Central in the conflict between King James VI of Scotland--soon to be a focus of our tour in England--and his Scots church is Andrew Melville, the proto-Presbyterian.

It is difficult to reconcile Gardiner's view of Melville as "the Presbyterian leader of the day, with a mind narrower than that of Knox, the champion of a system rather than a spiritual guide"; with the opposite opinion (see the link) that he was far more interested in matters of faith than of government. The conflicting conclusions probably reflect the man's complexity.

There is nothing so prophetic of the Stuarts' fate as Melville telling King James to his face that he was "God's silly vassal." ("Silly" meant weak and foolish.)

James Melville was the most advanced Scots scholar of his time. He was one of a handful of Scotsmen who could read Greek. His reputation as a scholar in France and Switzerland spanned religious boundaries. He is deservedly considered the founder of Scotland's reputation for learning.

Note two links in the linked article on Melville: first the article on his nephew, James Melville, himself a considerable scholar and presbyterian founder; and second the article on Robert Browne, the seperationist who is considered the father of Congregationalism.

Next time we'll take a look at the key weakness of the Scots clergy in the 150s: the political nature of their key grievances. I hope I won't spoil the tour by revealing that this weakness will gradually become at least a temporary strength. If you feel like reading ahead, begin at page 55.