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'Y^LE«¥]MII¥EIESnirY»

JOHN KNOX AND HIS HOUSE

I. John Knox in Sir David Wilkie's unfinished sketch of ¦ Knox dispensing the Sacrament at
Calder House, 1556.' > "«• mi

JOHN KNOX

AND

JOHN KNOX'S HOUSE
BY
CHARLES JOHN GUTHRIE, Q.C.
F.S.A,ScOT,

EDINBURGH AND LONDON
OLIPHANT, ANDERSON, AND FERRIER
1898

' It is impossible to traverse the rtdned apartments
of this ancient 7nansion without feelings of deep and
unwonted interest. To the admirers of the intrepid
Reformer, it awakens thoughts not only of himself
but of the work which he so effectually promoted ; to
all, it is interesting as intimately associated with
memorable events in Scottish history. There have
assembled the Earls of Murray, Morton, and Glen-
cairn; Lords Boyd, Lindsay, Ruthveii, and Ochil
tree, and many others, agents of the Court as well as
its most resolute opponents. Within the faded and
crumbling hall, councils have been held that exercised
a lasting influence on the national destinies' — Prof.
Sir Daniel Wilson, LL.D., in * Memorials of
Edinburgh,' vol. ii. page 258.
¦ Knox alone, of all the animated groups who
withstood or who followed him, has left us not only a
number of books which disclose his mind with all its
powers and imperfections, but the very dwelling in
which he passed at least the latter part of his life,
intact and authentic, a memorial -more striking and
attractive than any '' storied urti or animated bust."'
— Mrs. OLIPHANT in * Royal Edinburgh,' page 239.

PREFATORY NOTE
I HAVE written this handbook at the request of the General
Trustees of the Free Church of Scotland, to whom John
Knox's House belongs. In carrying out the wish of my
co-trustees, I have, as my title indicates, dealt with the
illustrious occupant of the house as well as with the house
itself. The book contains facts about the life of John
Knox, and passages from his Avritings, and testimonies
from his contemporaries, which may perhaps give to some
readers a juster view of Knox's character as a man and of
his work as a Reformer.
Those who are familiar with the story of Knox's life as told
by Dr. M'Crie in i8i i, and by Dr. Hume Brown in 1895, ^"d
with Dr, Laing's edition of Knox's works, in six volumes, will
find nothing new in this book, except, possibly, some of
the illustrations. But, for others, it may help to explain
how Mr, Froude, the historian, himself neither a Scotsman
a 2

vi Prefatory Note
nor a Presbyterian, came to say: 'John Knox was the
person who, above all others, baflfied the French conspiracy,
and saved Queen Elizabeth and the Reformation. . . .
Good reason has Scotland to be proud of K.nox ! He
only in the wild crisis saved the Kirk which he had
founded, and saved with it Scottish and English freedom.'
CHARLES J. GUTHRIE.
13 Royal Circus,
Edinburgh, 1898,

CONTENTS
CHAP, PAGE
I. CHIEF EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF THE OCCUPANT OF THIS
HOUSE, ,,,,.. I
II. SITUATION AND STRUCTURE OF THE HOUSE, . . 22
III. ERECTION AND EARLY HISTORY, . . , -38
IV. THE CONNECTION OF THIS HOUSE WITH KNOX, . , 42
V. INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH KNOx'S HOME LIFE IN
EDINBURGH, FROM HIS RETURN FROM EXILE IN 1 559
TO HIS DEATH IN 1 572, , , . -53
VI. LATER HISTORY OF THE HOUSE, . . . .92
VII. CONTENTS OF THE ROOMS SHOWN TO THE PUBLIC, . 97
VIII. TESTIMONIES OF WRITERS, MOSTLY ENGLISH AND
CONTEMPORARY, TO KNOX'S CHARACTER AND WORK, 1 23
IX. KNOX'S EXTANT WRITINGS, . . , . I28
X. BOOKS REFERRING TO KNOX AND TO KNOX's HOUSE, . I33

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
I. John Knox in Sir David Wilkie's 'Knox dispensing the
Sacrament at Calder House, 1556,' . , Frontispiece
2. Vignette of John Knox's House about the end of last
century,  on Title-page
3, Knox's Signature, 'John Sinclair,'  i
4. Haddington Church and Giffordgate, . . . 2
5. Deed executed by Knox as a Papal Notary, 1 543, . . 3
6, Knox's Notarial Attestation, 1543,  4
7. George Wishart, , . . ... 4
8, Castle of St, Andrews, . . 5
9. ' Knox dispensing the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in
the Castle of St, Andrews, 1547,' by W, Bonnar, R,S,A,, 6
ID. A French Galley, , , . . ... 7
II. Berwick Parish Church, . . 8
12. Archbishop Cranmer, , , 8
13. St. Nicholas Church, Newcastle, , . . .9
14, King Edward VI, , by Holbein,  10
1 5, Royal Chaplains' Signatures,  II
16. Duke of Northumberland, by Holbein, . .12
17. Rochester Cathedral, . , , . . . . 12
18, Queen Mary Tudor ('The Bloody Mary'), by bir A, Moro, 13
19, Amersham Parish Church,  14
20, Temple de Notre Dame La Neuve, Geneva, , 15
21. Seal of St. Giles Church, Edinburgh, , , . , 17

X

List of Illustrations

22, Queen Elizabeth, by Zucchero, , . , .
23. Nether Bow Port, Edinburgh, 
24. Plan of Edinburgh, 1647, ... . .
25, Arch in sunk storey of John Knox's House,
26, Depression in floor of sunk storey of John Knox's House,
27. From a Water-colour of John Knox's House, by J. Ewbank,
R,S,A., 1823, 
28, From AUom's Drawing of John Knox's House, 1838,
29. From a Photograph of John Knox's House in 1897, ,
30, Sculptured stones at the south-west angle of John Knox'i
House, 
31, Ground-Plan of Laigh Floor, . . . .
32. Do, of Ground Floor, .....
33. Do, of First Floor,
34, Do, of Second Floor,
35, Do. of Third Floor, .
36. Do. of Garret, ...
37. Panelled Room in next house, ....
38, Tablet with the Mosman arms and the initials of James
Mosman and Mariot Arres,
39, George Buchanan,
40. St, Giles Crown,
41. Streatlam Castle, , . . .
42. Marjorie Bowes' Letter and Postscript,
43. Signature of Nathanael Knox, John Knox's eldest son,
44. Signature of Eleazer Knox, John Knox's second son, .
45. Queen Mary, by Clouet, 
46. John Knox's Study, '. . ....
47. John Knox's Dining-Room, 
48, Duke of Chatelherault (Regent Arran), by Ketel, in the
possession of the Duke of Hamilton, , , . ,

64

List of Illustrations xi
PAGE
49. The Palace of Holyrood House before the Fire of 1650, . 65
50. Lochleven Castle,  66
51, Watch said to have been presented by Queen Mary to Knox, 67
52. William Maitland of Lethington, , , . . . 69
53. ' The Home-Coming of Knox after his Second Marriage,'
by James Drummond, R.S.A., . . . . 71
54. The Regent Moray  -72
55, ' Knox preaching at St, Andrews before the Lords of the
Congregation, on nth June 1559,' by Sir David Wilkie,
R.A  . . . 75
56. Sir William Cecil (Lord Burghley), by Marc Gheeraedts, , 77
57. ' Knox's Return from St. Giles,' by Sir W. Fettes Douglas,
7'.R,S,A.,  78
58. A Double Page of Knox's Liturgy, showing the ' Psalms
in Reports,' used by persons standing or sitting opposite
each other, , . ... 81
59". John Knox's Bedroom, . . .83
60. The Regent Morton, ... 86
61. Medallion of Knox struck at Geneva, . . . 90
62. Knox's House in 1843, • • • ¦ • • 94
63. Rev. Thomas M'Crie, D,D., Knox's Biographer, . . 99
64. Thomas Carlyle, Knox's Champion, . , . . 100
65, David Laing, LL,D,, Editor of Knox's Works, . loi
66. First Known Portrait of Knox, 1580, . . . 103
67. Second Known Portrait of Knox, 1 58 1, , 104
68. Third Known Portrait of Knox, 1602, . 105
69. The ' Torphichen Portrait ' of Knox, . . 106
70. The ' Somerville Portrait ' of Knox, . . 107
71. The ' Holyrood Portrait' of Knox, .... 108
72. Cardinal Beaton, . . . . .109
73, Bishop Leslie, . . . , , , , . ,110

xii List of Illustrations PAGE
74, John Foxe,  .112
75. John Calvin, ... ..... 113
76, St, John's Church, Perth,  114
77, 'Knox dispensing the Sacrament at Calder Ifouse, 1556,'
by Sir David Wilkie, R. A,,  115
78, Castle Campbell, near Dollar, . . 116
79, Myles Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter, . , , ' . .117
80, Letter to Queen Elizabeth from John Knox in 1561, , , T19
81. Ancient Panel Picture in John Knox's Dining-Room, , 120
82. Knox's Pulpit, . , . .... 123
83. Bishop Ridley,  .124
84. Title-page of Knox's ' First Blast,' . - , , . 128
85. Mary of Guise, Queen Regent of Scotland, . . . 129
86, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, by Clouet, , , .130
87. Mary Tudor, Qiieen of England, by Holbein, , . ,--131
88, Catharine de' Medici, Queen of France, by Clouet, , , 132
89, Stone marking Knox's Grave,  13c

I
CHIEF EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF THE
OCCUPANT OF THIS HOUSE
1505. Born in or near Haddington, in East Lothian, seven
teen miles from Edinburgh. His father, William
Knox, was a vassal of the Earls of Bothwell.
His mother was a Sinclair; and he, in times
of peril, assumed her name. Thus : —

Yours to power, Johne Sinclear.' ^
' John Knox descended but of lineage small.
As commonly God uses for to call
The simple sort His summons to express ;
So, calling him. He gave him gifts withal
Most excellent, besides his uprightness.'
John Davidson, Regent in St, Leonard's College,
St, Andrews, 1573, (See page 74.)
1 Even Mr. Froude was misled by this signature, and attributed to the
' Master of Sinclair ' one of Knox's letters to Sir James Crofts, the English
Ambassador, signed John Sinclair ! A

Chief Events in Knox's Life

1522. Began his studies for the priesthood under the
great schoolman and liberal teacher John Major,
in the University of Glasgow, where he probably
took the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

4. Haddington Church (the 'Lamp of Lothian') and Giffordgate, 1693. {See pages -i, 114.)
1530. Took Priest's Orders about this time,
1530 1 Employed partly in the work of a Priest, and partly
to j- as Tutor in the families of Douglas of Longniddry,
1546,] and Cockburn of Ormiston, proprietors holding
Reformed opinions. In a document (printed in
reduced facsimile on the opposite page) dated
27 March 1543, he described himself as 'Joannes
Knox, Sacri Altaris minister, Sanctiandreae dio-
ceseos,auctoritateApostolica notarius' — (f.e. 'John
Knox, minister of the Sacred Altar, of the Diocese

3. Deed executed by John Knox as a Papal Notary in zs43, acting under the authority of Cardinal Beaton.
Knox was then thirty.eight years of age, {See j>agc 2.)

Chief Events in the Life of

of St. Andrews, notary by Papal authority.') The
following is a facsimile of the notarial attestation
appended by him to this deed : —

6, 'Joannes Knox, testis per Christum fidelis, Cui gloria, Amen ' ('John Knox n
faithful witness through Christ, to whom he glory, Amen '), *
1545-6. Attached himself, at the age of 40, as an avowed
adherent of the Reformed Faith, to George

7. George Wishart. Burned 1546,
'Comely of personage, courteous, lowly, glad to teach, desirous to learn, fearing
God, hating covetousness. —Emery Tylney, one of Wishart s scholars ai Cambridge.

the Occupant of this House 5
Wishart, his spiritual father. Wishart suffered
martyrdom at St. Andrews on ist March 1546,
Knox always refers to Wishart in terms of
affection and reverence.
1546 May. Murder of Cardinal Beaton.
1547 April, Took refuge with his pupils in Castle of St.
Andrews from persecution by Archbishop Hamil
ton, Cardinal Beaton's successor.

,

,
-f -rf
¦i
-V-
I
f
8. Castleof St. Andrews.
1547 May. Reluctantly obeyed public call, addressed to him
in the Parish Church of St. Andrews by Friar
John Rough, to preach the Reformed doctrines.
„ July. Captured by the French on surrender of Castle of
St. Andrews, and sent as prisoner to French galleys.
g. ' Knox dispensing the Sacrament ofthe Lord's Supper in the Castle of
St, Andrews, 1547,' hy W. Bonnar, R.S,A, ISel/ages!)

Chief Events in Knox's Life

'A slave for nineteen months in the Noire
Dame galley, chained to the oar, with
other Scotch Protestants, at Rouen, Fe
camp, Nantes, La Rochelle, and elsewhere,
'John Knox had to row in French galleys ;
wandered forlorn in exile ; was shot at
through his windows ; had a right sore
fighting life. If this world were his place
of recompense, Knox had made but a
bad venture of it ! ' — Thoimas Carlyle
in Heroes and Hero- Worshif, Lecture 4.

1547 July
to
i549February.

10. A French Galley,

1549. Liberated on the intercession of Edward vi. Appointed
preacher at Berwick in April by English Privy
Council, with the sanction of Archbishop Cranmer

II. Berwick Parish Church. {Seepage 9.)

12. Archbishop Cranmer. {See page 7.)
Burned 1556.

Chief Events in Knox's Life

and the Protector Somerset. Preached in the Parish
Church of Berwick for two years, {^Seepage 8,)
1550. Discoursed at Durham before the Council of the
North, including Dr. Tonstall, the Roman Catho
lic Bishop of Durham (the friend of Sir Thomas
More and Erasmus), on A Vindication of the
Doctrine that the Sacrifice ofthe Mass is Idolatry.
1 5 5 1 , Appointed by Privy Council to Newcastle. Preached
in the Parish Church for two years.

13. St. Nicholas Church, Newcastle.
1552, Appointed by Privy Council one of six chaplains to
Edward vi. at ^^40 a year. Preached before the
king at Windsor, Hampton Court, St. James'
Palace, and Westminster. Assisted in the revision
of the Second Prayer-Book of Edward vi,, in which
he obtained the insertion of the ' Declaration con
cerning Kneeling ' at the end of the Communion
Service, which states that ' thereby no adoration is
intended, or ought to be done.' Assisted also in

14- Edward vi., by Holbein. {Seepage 7.)
In his writings Knox frequently refers with admiration to Edward's character and
talents. In his History ofthe Reformation (Book I.) he mentions that the Quecn-
Dowager of Scotland (a Catholic) reported that ' she found more wisdom and solid
judgment in young King Edward than ia any three Princes then in Europe. '

Chief Events in Knox's Life 1 1
the preparation of the Articles of the Church of
England, the thirty-eighth of which, on The
Doctrine of the Eucharist, was modified partly on
his representation. The signatures of the Royal
Chaplains are appended to a draft of the Articles
in Latin, still extant : —

Mnrfcy

15. Signatures of Edward's Chaplains.
Of these, Grindall became Archbishop of Canter
bury, Home, Bishop of Winchester, Harley,
Bishop of Hereford, Bill, Dean of Westminster,
and Feme, Dean of Ely. High office was also
tendered to John Knox. In 1552 he declined
the Bishopric of Rochester, offered to him at
the instigation of the Duke of Northumberland,
with the approval of Sir William Cecil, Secretary
of State (afterwards Lord Burghley).

T „;^U? I^r Northumberland (by Holbein), father of the Earl of
Leicester, Ehzabeth'? favourite, father-in-law of Lady Jane Grev and
grandfather of Sir Philip Sidney, Beheaded ,553, {SeeTag^^{)

'7- Rochester Cathedral, (See page 11.)

Chief Events in Knox's Life

13

1553. Declined the vicarage of All Hallows in London.
After the death of Edward vi. preached at

j8. Queen Mary Tudor (' The Bloody Mary"), {See page 14.)
By Sir Antonio Moro.

14

Chief Events in the Life bf

Amersham, and elsewhere in the southern coun
ties of England. Fled to France in the end of 1553
or the beginning of 1554 from the Popish per
secution under Queen Mary Tudor. {Seepage 13.)

19. Amersham Parish Church.
1554. Published A Faithful Admonition to the Professors
of God's Truth in England.
1554-5. At Dieppe; then at Geneva and Zurich ; and from
November 1554 to March 1555 at Frankfort, as
one of the ministers of the English congregation,
his colleague being Thomas Lever, M.A., Master
of St. John's College, Cambridge. From Frank
fort he returned to Geneva as one of the ministers
of the English Congregation there, which, among
its two hundred and twelve members, embraced

the Occupant of this House

IS

some of the greatest English scholars of the time.
His colleague in Geneva was Christopher Good
man, B.D. of the University of Oxford. (See

20. Temple de Notre Dame La Neuve, Geneva. {See page 16.)
page 45.) On intimate terms with John Calvin
and Theodore Beza.
1555 August. Landed in Scotland.
1556. Married to Marjorie Bowes, fifth daughter of Richard
Bowes of Aske, in the county of Durham, Captain

1 6 Chief Events in the Life of
of the Hold of Norham, by whom he had two sons,
Nathanael and Eleazer Knox. (Seepages 53 to^";.)
1556 July. Returned from Scotland to Geneva to resume
duty as one of the English ministers in the Temple
de Notre Dame La Neuve. (Seepage 15.)
1557. Tried in absence before the Provincial Council at
Edinburgh, Degraded from the priesthood, con
demned to the flames as a heretic, and burnt in
eflfigy.
„ May. Birth of his son Nathanael at Geneva ; William
Whittingham, John Calvin's brother-in-law, after
wards Dean of Durham, acted as godfather.
1558. Published The First Blast of the Trumpet against
the Monstrous Regiment (Government) of Women,
and An Appellation from the Sentence pronounced
by the Bishops and Clergy, addressed to the-
Nohility and Estates of Scotland.
„ 2 ist June. Received the Freedom of the City of
Geneva,
„ 29th November. Birth of his son Eleazer at Geneva;
Myles Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter, acted as god
father. (Seepage 117.)
1559. Left Geneva in January for Scotland. Spent some
time on the way at Dieppe, where, under his
preaching in French, many of the leading in
habitants became Protestants. (Seepage 127,)
„ 2nd May. Arrived in Scotland.
„ June. Endeavoured unsuccessfully to save the Abbey

the Occupant of this House

i7

and Palace of Scone from destruction by the
' rascal multitude.'
1559 July. Elected minister of Edinburgh at the age
of fifty-five. Preached in the Collegiate Church
of St. Giles twice on Sundays, and three times
during the week. (Seepage 50.)

21. Seal of the Collegiate Church of St. Giles in Edinburgh.
,, August. Knox in the Castle of Berwick, in secret
communication with Sir William Cecil, Queen
Elizabeth's Chief Secretary. (Seepages 18 and^j.)
„ September. Knox's wife and two sons arrived in
Edinburgh from Geneva.
1560 31st March. Mass said for the last time in St. Giles,
Edinburgh.
„ April. Settled finally in Edinburgh, after preaching
in different parts of Scotland,
B

22.. Queen Elizabeth as Wisdom, by Zucchero, in the collection ofthe
Marquis of Salisbury at Hatfield House.
_ The serpents on the Queen's sleeves typify Wisdom ; while the sun in her
right hand is emblematic of beneficence and splendour, and the eyes and ears
on her gown of watchfulness and acuteness.

Chief Events in Knox's Life 19
1560 August. Abolition by the Scottish Parliament of the
Jurisdiction of the Pope in Scotland, and Ratifi
cation of the Confession of Faith, prepared by
Knox and his associates,
„' December. Death of Marjorie Bowes — ' my late
dearest spouse of blessed memory,' as Knox calls
- her in his Will.
1561 2oth August. Mary, Queen of Scots, 18 years of age,
landed at Leith. (See page 58.)
,, 26th August. Knox's first interview with Queen
Mary (at Holyrood). (Seepages 57 and 6^.)
1562 15th December, His second interview with Queen
Mary (at Holyrood). (Seepage 62,)
1563. John Craig (a Dominican Friar who had been cout
demned to the stake for heresy by the Inquisition
at Rome in 1559) appointed Knox's colleague.
Craig had so entirely forgotten his native tongue,
that on his first appointment he preached in the
Magdalene Chapel in Latin ! (Seepage 45.)
,, r3th and r4th April. His third interview with Queen
Mary (at Lochleven). (Seepages 65 and 66,)
„ June. His fourth interview with Queen Mary (at
Holyrood), (Seepage 66.)
„ 2ist December. Tried for High Treason at Holy-
rood before the Privy Council, presided over by
Queen Mary (then 21 years old). Unanimously
acquitted, against the Queen's angry protest.
(Seepage 68.)

20 Chief Events in the Life of
1564. Palm Sunday, Married, at 59, Margaret Stewart,
daughter of Andrew, Lord Ochiltree, aged 17,
by whom he had three daughters — Martha,
Margaret, and Elizabeth Knox. (Seepage 70,)
1565 29th July. Marriage of Queen Mary, 22 years old,
to her cousin Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.
1566. Mary, Queen of Scots, joined the Catholic League
for the extirpation of Protestants throughout
Europe.
„ Composed a large part of his History of the Reforma
tion of Religion in Scotland.
1566-7, Visited his two sons in the North of England.
1567 I oth February. Lord Darnley murdered.
,, 15 th May. Mary, Queen of Scots, 3 months and 5
days after the murder of Lord Darnley, her hus
band, married Lord Bothwell, one ofthe ringleaders
in the murder, and created him Duke of Orkney.
„ 24th July, Abdication of Queen Mary, 24 years old,
in Lochleven Castle, after her surrender at
Carberry Hill.
,, 29th July. Preached at Stirling at Coronation of
James vi. The Earl of Moray appointed Regent.
„ 15th December. Preached at opening of Parliament
by which the Statutes of 1560 were ratified, and
the Reformed Church was declared the only
Church within the Realm.
1568. Flight of Queen Mary to England, after her escape
from Lochleven and defeat at Lansjside.

the Occupant of this House

1570 14th February. Preached in St. Giles a Funeral
Sermon on Queen Mary's brother, the Earl of
Moray, ' The Good Regent ' of Scotland, Knox's
most powerful supporter, assassinated at Linlith
gow on 23rd January, Calderwood says : —
' Master Knox moved three thousand persons
to shed tears for the loss of such a good and
godly governor.' (See page 72,)
1570 Autumn, Struck by apoplexy, at the age of sixty-five.
1572 October. Complaint to the Privy Council by Du
Croc, the French Ambassador, on account of
Knox's denunciation of the French king for His
Majesty's share in the Massacre of St. Bartholo
mew. Reply by the Privy Council that they can
not even stop John Knox denouncing themselves,
when occasion requires !
,, 9th November. Preached in St. Giles for the last
time, at the induction of his successor, James
Lawson, Vice - Principal of the University of
Aberdeen. (Seepage 79,)
,, 2^th November. Death of John Knox in this house,
at the age of sixty-seven.
„ 26th November. Funeral. His 61oge was pronounced
by the Earl of Morton, the Regent of Scotland,
at the open grave, beside St. Giles Church: —
'There lies one who neither feared nor flattered
any flesh,' (Seepage 86,)

II
SITUATION AND STRUCTURE OF
THE HOUSE
Near the place where the High Street ends and the
Canongate (which continues that street to the palace of
Mary Stuart) begins, stands John Knox's House, probably
the most ancient dwelling-house in Edinburgh. It projects
into the roadway which there narrows as it approaches the
point where, until 1764, stood the Nether Bow Port, the
eastern entrance gate to the city. In Knox's time, as
now, the Church of St. Giles, of which he was minister,
was in sight of his western windows ; but in Knox's
days any one standing at the south side of the house
and looking down the street, would have his view
stopped by the Nether Bow Port, with its row of traitors'
heads grinning from the spikes surmounting the massive
gateway. The woodcut on the opposite page shows the Nether
Bow Port as it stood about fifty years after Knox's death.
On a Plan of Edinburgh, dated in 1647, John Knox's
House is clearly shown in its relation to the Nether Bow
Port. A portion of this Plan is printed on page 24.
The house is four storeys in height, with a garret in the

S3. West side of Nether Bow Port, Edinburgh, in the 17th century. {Seepage as.)

Tron Church.

r<rN. B. P.
To Holyrood-^

TK -., "*' ¦'"''" "i"' ^'^" "fEdinburgh, 1647, by F. de Wit. Amsterdam
and the Nether Bow Port on the east ('i-^/^.^^ 22') "^ '" J"""" ^"°'''= ^ouse

Situation and Structure ofthe House

25

roof, and a 'laigh' or low floor beneath the street level.
The sunk storey, which appears from its large fireplace to
have been the original kitchen of the house, is said to have
contained an ancient well, but no trace of it can now be

25. Arch in sunk storey of John Knox's House.
found. In the place where the well was supposed to be,
under a vaulted recess, measuring eight feet by six feet, a
curious space hollowed out in the native rock has been
recently discovered. This space 13 about five feet long, thirty

26 Situation and Structure of the House
inches wide, and two feet six inches deep. It may have
formed a base for a large tun of wine or ale. From the
account of Knox's last illness by his Secretary, we know
there were both wine and ale in Knox's house. (See
pages 80 and 85,)

26, Depression in floor of sunk storey of John Knox's House.
The ground floor is now occupied by two shops, one
on the north-west side, and the other in the south-west
angle. From the latter there is a stone stair leading to

Situation and Structure of the House 27
the under storey. Originally, the chief, if not the only en
trance to the house, was at the north-west angle by a door
now built up. The inside stone wheel-stair leading from that
entrance to the first and second floors still exists ; but only
the portion leading from the first to the second floor is at
.present in use. The disused portion connecting the first
floor with the street can be seen through a railing on the
first floor. This is not the only internal stair in the house.
Access to the second and third floors is obtained by
another wheel-stair which begins on the first floor. This
stair is in the south-east corner of the house, and is the
only means of access to the third floor, occupied by the
keeper of the house. Communication is now obtained
from the street to the first floor by an outside stair, at the
top of which are two doors, one leading into the first-floor
rooms, and the other (only used by the keeper) opening
on the foot of the stair inside the southern wall just men
tioned. The outside stair is a comparatively modern
structure, added probably last century. When the whole
house was occupied by one household, access to the upper
storeys from the street was got through the rooms in the first
floor ; but when the upper storeys were tenanted by a separate
family, it became necessary to provide direct access to them
from the street. This forestair, to use the old expression,
although not belonging to the original structure, is now
one of the few survivals of those outside stairs which were
,a characteristic feature of old Edinburgh houses. The

28 Situation and Structure of the House
roof was originally covered with flag-stones, and later with
tiles. It is proposed to replace the present modern slates
with red tiles.
On the first floor is the room known as 'The Audience
Chamber,' with a small room to the front, and a large room
to the back. These rooms, which will be afterwards par
ticularly described, are used as a museum for books,
pictures, etc., relating to Knox and his times. ¦ Early in
the present century the Audience Chamber contained a
stuccoed ceiling, probably of the time of Charles ii.
Above, on the second floor, are the three rooms specially
associated by tradition with Knox's residence. The room
to the back was his Bedroom ; the large panelled room to
the south, his Sitting or Dining room ; and the little room in
the wooden casing of the house, his Study. The dining-
room is entered either direct from the bedroom, or by a
passage in the wooden casing of the west side of the
house. Originally, the former was the only access ; and it
appears as if, when the house was first cased in wood, the
outside passage had been left open with only a balustrade.
The window in this outside passage is modern. Adjoining
the door of the Study, will be noticed a landing on the
stair which leads from the first floor to the keeper's house
in the upper storey. The upper storey and the garret are
not shown to the public.
With the exception of the general outline contained in
the plan of S647 given above, the earliest known represen-

27- From a Water-colour of John Knox's House, 1823, by J. Ewbank, R.S.A,

JTilP ""^ Tf^i^rTlj

Situation and Structure of the House 3 1
tation of the house is to be found in the drawing which
forms the frontispiece to this volume. The next picture in
order of date is a water-colour by J. Ewbank, R.S.A., taken
in 1823, engraved on page 29.
The drawing by Allom in 1838, on the opposite page, is
valuable as showing the adjoining house to the east of
Knox's House, which no longer exists. (See page 36.)
The next stage of the house, after it had been partially
wrecked by the fall of the house just mentioned, is shown
on page 94. The picture on page 32 shows the appearance
of the house in 1897.
See also Sir George Reid's drawing of the house in Mrs.
Oliphant's Royal Edinburgh, page 284.
The house is built of polished freestone. The original
wood throughout the house was oak. A few years ago,
when it became necessary to remove some of the joists,
the workmen found that, although the ends of the joists
in the walls were rotten, the rest of the wood was as sound
as when the oaks were felled 400 years ago.
The internal divisions of the house are similar to those
which existed in the Reformer's time. When the property
was acquired for the public in 1846, the house contained
partitions and other additions which have since been
removed. Externally, the most interesting features in the
stone-work were at that time concealed by projecting
wooden erections of comparatively modern date, and by
the signboards of the shops on the lower and first floors.

29. John Knox's House in 1897, {From a Photograph.)

Situation and Structure of the House

.33

Thus, the Renaissance window on the west side, as well as
the tablet below, were almost entirely covered by a curved
wooden bow-window divided by
astragals into numerous small
panes. At the south-west angle
of the house, the figure of Moses
pointing to the sun in glory, with
clouds rolhng round it, and in
scribed with the thrice-repeated
name of God in Greek, Latin, and
English, as also the sun-dials be
neath, were lost behind a ridi
culous wooden pulpit surmounted
by a canopy supported on pillars,
and framing the figure of Moses,
who was thus made to do duty for the Reformer !
the devout motto —

No. 30.

Even

' LVFE'GOD'ABOVE-AL'AND'YI'NICHTBOVR'AS'YI-SELF '
— running along the frieze over the street floor, was partly
overlaid by a shop sign.
All these casings have been removed, with the result
that the moulded window, the tablet, the inscription, the
figure of Moses, and the sun-dials are now visible.
The external feature which first attracts the attention of
the passer-by is the extent to which, by projecting beyond
the houses to the west, the quaint gables of John Knox's
C

34

Situation and Structure of the House

House narrow the street. The house is also distinguished
from its neighbours by its outside stair, the antique style
of the windows, the external wooden casing, the projecting

Laigh Floor,

32, Ground Floor,

upper windows, the decorative work above and under the
bow-window on the west front and at the south-west ande.

Situation and Structure of the House

35

and the tablet and quaint inscription above referred to. The
significance of the initials and coat of arms on the tablet
will be afterwards explained, (Seepages 38-9,)
The internal arrangements of the house appear suffi-

33. First Floor.

34. Second Floor.

ciently from the ground-plans of the several storeys,
printed on pages 34 to 36.
To the east of John Knox's House, stands a modern
church called John Knox's Free Church. It was built in

36 Situation and Structure of the House
1850, and occupies the site of a timber-fronted house
belonging last century to the Balmerino family, the last
member of which was Lord Balmerino, beheaded in Lon
don for his participation in the Rebellion of 1745. The
Balmerino House fell in 1840.

35. Third Floor. 36. Garret.
To the west of John Knox's House is an ancient house,
a famous tavern about the middle of the eighteenth cen
tury, the ground floor of which is now occupied as a
shop, and the upper storeys as a hotel. It contains on

Situation and Structure of the House

37

the second floor a large room with panelled walls and
a decorated ceiling. The following sketch of the room
is taken from the fourth volume of The Castellated and
Domestic Architecture of Scotland, by Messrs. Macgibbon
and Ross : —

37. Panelled Room in Next House,

Ill
ERECTION AND EARLY HISTORY
The precise date of the original erection of John Knox's
House cannot now be ascertained. It appears to have been
constructed at two different periods. On the first occasion,
what may be called the stone shell was built, and at a later
period external decoration was added, part of the house
was cased in wood, and the upper windows were projected
outwards. In the opinion of some, the wooden casing
originated in open galleries, afterwards closed up. There
are two entries in extant records which throw light on both
periods of the house's history. In Knox's later years, the
house was owned by James Mosman, who married in 1566
Mariot or Mariota Arres, daughter of John Arres. The
tablet on the west front bears the Mosman arms, and
initials of the pair; J, M, standing for the husband, and
M, A. for the wife. This James Mosman, who owned
other house property in Edinburgh, was a goldsmith. His
father, John Mosman, who was also a goldsmith, remade
the Scottish Crown in 1540 for James v., and made the
Crown for James's Consort, Mary of Lorraine, commonly
called Mary of Guise, the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots ;
88

Erection and Early History

39

and his descendants still carry on the business of goldsmiths
in Edinburgh, Going further back in the old records, we
find from the Protocol Book of Vincent Strachan, under
date December 1525, that the house belonged at that time
to John Arres, The date of ils original erection has been
stated as 1490. In any case it was anterior to 1525.

38, Tablet on West Wall,
But in 1544 Occurred an event in the history of Edin
burgh which must have involved extensive reconstruction
of any house existing, like this one, before that date. In
that year, the Earl of Hertford, at the head of an ex
pedition sent by Henry vm., burned down Edinburgh.
It is probable that not only the tablet but also the decora
tive work at the south-west angle, the wooden casing, and
the upper projecting windows, were added in or about
1566, when James Mosman married Mariot Arres, the
daughter and heiress of John Arres. Whether or how long
the house was occupied by James and Mariot Mosman does
not appear. In Knox's last years, James Mosman, who
adhered to Roman Catholicism, was a refugee in the Castle

40 Erection and Early History
of Edinburgh, whither he fled with other supporters of
Queen Mary. He was hanged in 1573, and his estates for
feited, a year after Knox's death. Mosman was executed
at the same time as Sir William Kirkaldy of Grange,
Knox's companion in the slavery of the French galleys,
and afterwards his reluctant but formidable antagonist,
who commanded the Castle in Queen Mary's interest.
It may be added that, amid all the controversy which John
Knox's House has occasioned, its great antiquity has only
once been questioned. In 1887 it was stated by a corre
spondent of the London Standard that John Knox's House
as it now stands was a new construction. He asserted that
he remembered the fall of the former house between 1840
and 1850, and that, as to the present house, he 'minded
the biggin' o't ! ' He made no reply, however, when I
pointed out that he was confounding John Knox's House
with Lord Balmerino's, farther down the High Street,
which, as already mentioned, fell in 1840. On the same
subject, when dealing with the question whether this
house, as maintained by some, was inhabited by the
Abbot of Dunfermline prior to John Knox taking posses
sion of it, the eminent Scottish antiquary, the late Professor
Sir Daniel Wilson, wrote : —
' With its antique gabled architecture, its ingenious em
blematic sculptures, its heraldic decorations and inscriptions,
John Knox's House is replete with interest, as a relic of olden
centuries, and of an obsolete style of building altogether apart

Erection and Early History 41
from traditional associations, either with Mitred Abbot or
with the Reformer. Wholly apart from any such associations,
the preservation of this old building with its unique decorations
is a matter of congratulation to every one capable of appre
ciating this highly characteristic memorial of one of the most
memorable periods of our national history.'

IV
THE CONNECTION OF THE HOUSE
WITH JOHN KNOX
As in the case of Shakespeare's birthplace at Stratford, the
connection of this house with John Knox rests on tradition ;
the tradition, however, being accordant with every proba
bility, and unshaken by any contrary tradition, or by any
surrounding circumstances tending to disprove or to throw
discredit on it. Knox not having been the owner, but only
the occupant ofthe house, the title-deeds are, of course, silent
as to his connection with it. No writing by Knox or by his
contemporaries contains any description of his Edinburgh
residence or residences sufficient for identification. The
house is now unique ; but there was no peculiarity about
it in Knox's time to lead to its description by such visitors
as the English Ambassadors, whose correspondence, with
numerous references to Knox, still exists among the English
State Papers. Moreover, in Knox's days, dwelling-houses
in towns were neither numbered nor named ; and Knox was
too well known to make it necessary for his correspondents,
in addressing him, to add anything to his name in order
that their letters might reach him.
As to histories of Edinburgh, these began last century,
42

Connection of the House v/ith John Knox 43
with the works of such men as Maitland and Hugo Arnot.
Even so late, there was an absence of that interest in personal
details about great men which characterises modern history.
But even although this interest had then existed, it is not

39. George Buchanan. {See page 4^.)
likely that anything would have been said about Knox's
house. These authors, following the ordinary literary view
of the time, had no adequate appreciation of Knox as a
historical character,^ Indeed, his true position can only
1 ' Knox is of the select of the earth to me. What he has suffered
from tho ungrateful generations that have foUowed him should really make
us humble ourselves to the dust, to think that the most exceUent man
our country has produced, to whom we owe everything that distin
guishes us among the nations, should have been so sneered at, misknown,
and abused.'— Thomas Carlyle's Rectorial Address at Edinburgh, 2nd
April 1866.

44 Connection of the House with John Knox
be gathered from contemporary documents, many of which,
especially the correspondence between Elizabeth's ambassa
dors and her ministers in London, were unknown to these
writers. It is a curious tribute to Knox's modesty that
— so little did he thrust himself forward — even George
Buchanan, his contemporary and friend, assigns no sufficient
place to him in his History of Scotland.
When we come to what may be called guide-books, the
first of these is Stark's Picture of Edinburgh, published in
1806. It thus refers to John Knox's house : —
' The edifice itself is one of the oldest stone houses in Edin
burgh, As in the course of the improvements of this city this
building will in a few years perhaps be removed, it is to be
wished that the sculptured stones could be preserved in memory
of a man who, whatever were his faults, by his bold eloquence
and undaunted conduct, pulled down the fabric of a superstition
which had shackled the mind for ages,'
Happily, the fear here expressed has not been realised.
The sculptured stones still remain in their original position,
where Knox saw them daily as we see them now.
The Minutes of the Town Council of Edinburgh, con
tain the following among other references to John Knox's
residence in Edinburgh : — ith May 1560.
The Provost, Bailies, and Council ordain Alexander Park,
their Treasurer, to deliver to John Cairns £,i\,o for furnishing
of their minister John Knox in his household.

Connection of the House with John Knox 45
15//^ May 1560.
The Provost, Bailies, and Council ordain the Treasurer to
pay twenty shillings for making the keys of the Cowgate Port,
and for a lock to John Knox's Lodging. i,th September 1560.
The Bailies and Council — having consideration that, for the
ease of John Knox, minister, John Durie, tailor, removed himself
forth of the Lodging occupied by the Abbot of Dunfermline,
that the said minister might enter thereto — ordain Alexander
Park, Treasurer, to pay to John Durie the sum of eight merks.
The said Bailies and Council also faithfully promise that how
soon they may provide the said minister another Lodging, to
enter the said John Durie to the possession thereof.
ytth October 1 560.
The Provost, Bailies, and Council ordain James Barroun to
content and pay to John Knox the sum of six score pounds of
the readiest money of the Town being in his hands, and such
like the sum of ;^2o for iron and fire work furnished to his house.
^th November 1561,
The Provost, Bailies, and Council ordain the Dean of Guild
with all diligence to make a warm study of deals to the minis
ter John Knox, within his Lodging, above the hall of the same,
with lights and windows thereunto, and all other necessaries,
lith August 1564,
The Provost, Bailies, and Council understand that, by the
command of the Kirk, John Knox and John Craig, minis
ters, are instantly to depart, the one to the north, and the
other to the south parts, for preaching the Evangel in these
parts, and that it is appointed that Christopher Goodman,

46, Connection ofthe House with John Knox
minister of St. Andrews, shall abide in these parts till their
returning, and in their places to minister and preach. Where
fore they ordain Master John Spens [Queen's Advocate]
to pass to the said Master Goodman, to offer him in their
names all honourable entertainment, and cause the Steward
of John Knox's House to keep table to him upon the Town's
expense ; and they ordain Alexander Park, their Treasurer,
to pay the same weekly. 2yd August 1565.
The Bailies, Council, and Deacons of Crafts ordain John Sym,
David Forester, and Allan Dickson, Bailies, Master Robert Glen,
Treasurer, James NichoU and William Fowler of the Council,
this afternoon to pass to the King's and Queen's Majesties
[Queen Mary and Lord Darnley], desiring to be heard of
them touching the discharging of John Knox, minister, of
further preaching, and the deposing of Archibald Douglas,
Provost, and to report their answer in the morn.
The same day, afternoon, the Bailies, Council, and Deacons
foresaid, being convened in the Council House, after long
reasoning upon the discharging of John Knox, minister, of
preaching during the King's and Queen's Majesties being in this
town, all in one voice conclude that they will no manner of way
consent that his mouth be closed in preaching the True Word,
and therefore willed him at his pleasure, as God should move
his heart, to proceed forward in True Doctrine as he has been
of before, which Doctrine they would approve and
ABIDE at to their LIFE'S END, 19/,^ November 1568.
The Provost, Bailies, and Council ordain the Treasurer to
cause repair the necessaries of John Knox's dwelling-house
upon (at) the expense of John Adamson and Bessie Otterburne
his spouse, conjunct fiar (proprietor') thereof, and deduct the
same from their house maill (rent), because they have been oft--
times required to do the same and refused.

Connection of the House with John Knox 47
/i,th March 1569,
The Bailies and Council ordain Andrew Stevenson, Treasurer,
to pay to John Adamson the sum of forty merks for the maill (rent)
ofhis house occupied by John Knox the year past, deducting
therefrom the sum of eight pounds disbursed by the Treasurer
in re-apparelling of the said house in default of John Adamson,
who had been required to do the same, and also twelve merks,
twelve shillings, disbursed by the Treasurer in repairing the
house, in addition to the eight pounds above mentioned.
Note. — The Minutes for tlie period between fune 1 571 and 24//*
November 1 572, when Knox died, are lost.
The Protocol Book of Alexander Guthrie, Town-clerk of
Edinburgh, under date Sth April 1563, contains an entry
of a sasine or infeftment in certain properties in the High
Street of Edinburgh in favour of a certain Robert Mowbray
and his wife Janet Cant, Among other properties, infeft
ment is given in ' totam et integram magnam suam
mansionem et edificium, una cum horto et cauda ejusdem,
nunc inhabitatam per Joannem Knoxium ministrum, cum suis
pertinentiis, jacens infra dictum tenementum inter Borealem
Lacum [the 'Nor' Loch'] dicti burgi ex boreali et anteriorem
terram dicti tenementi ex australi.'
From the minutes above quoted and the extract from the
Town-clerk's Protocol Book, Knox seems to have resided in
different houses in Edinburgh. Whether, prior to the last
of these dates, namely, 4th March 1569, he resided in
this house, it is impossible to ascertain with certainty,
although there are several circumstances which point to his

48 Connection of the House with John Knox
having done so. The details as to the ' warm study of
deals' contained in the minute of 5th November 1561 (see
page 45) correspond in several particulars with the existing
Study. But, however this may be, Knox's residence in the
house during a portion of the last three years of his life,
from 1569 to 1572, is sufficiently established. As Mrs.
Oliphant puts it at page 284 of her Royal Edinburgh : —
' Whether Knox was at once placed in the picturesque house,
with its parallel rooms and old-fashioned comfort and graceful
ness, which still bears his name, standing out in a far-seeing
angle, from which he could contemplate the abounding life of
the High Street, the great parish in which half his life was
spent, is not certain ; but it was a most fit and natural lodging
for the minister of St. Giles. And for the rest of his life, with
very few intervals, all the stream of public life in Scotland
flowed about this dwelUng.' '
But if the answer to the old question, ' Tell me, I pray
thee, where the Seer's house is?' (i Samuel ix. 18), de
pends mainly on tradition, it is proper to consider the
probability of the tradition being correct.
The so-called Holy Places in Jerusalem are purely con
jectural, because not only were the events rendering them
memorable comprised within a few hours, but, for genera-
1 John Gait introduces the house into his Annals of the Parish (1S21).
Mr. Balwhidder is speaking of his visit to Edinburgh in 1779 : — ' In short,
everybody in Edinburgh were in a manner wearisome kind ! We could
scarcely find time to see the Castle, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and
that more sanctified place, where that Maccabeus of the Kirk of Scotland,
John Knox, was wont to live.'

Connection of the House with John Knox 49
tions, neither Jew nor Christian — among whom alone would
the tradition survive — was permitted within the walls of
Jerusalem. In Edinburgh, the house in which Knox spent
his last days must have been closely observed. He was
not only Scotland's foremost churchman, but the greatest
statesman his country has produced. All sorts and condi
tions of men and women frequented his residence— now a
Scottish noble in coat of mail; now the English or French
ambassador in gay attire ; now a royal messenger from Holy-
rood ; now a priest in disguise ; now a minister in Geneva
cloak ; now a peasant to get this clerical tribune's influence
against some noble's exactions ; now men and women of all
ranks seeking spiritual advice and comfort from the strangest
mixture of practical wisdom and soaring spirituality, of a
tender heart and an iron will, of wide sympathies and narrow
views, of original conceptions and traditional prejudices, of
habitual gravity and rare but genuinely real fun, that has
ever been united in one man's organisation — truly a 'Son
of Consolation ' as well as a ' Son of Thunder ! '
Notable, too, on the 26th of November 1572, must have
been the house whence was carried i\\a.t fragile et imbecilluin
corpus (to use Thomas Smeton's startling phrase) which
had been compelled by its indomitable tenant into labours
and hardships far beyond its capacity. Except in the line
of the procession, there would not be many citizens left in
the Edinburgh 'lands,' when Knox's funeral issued from
his house, ainid the open grief of the people, who were no

50 Connection ofthe House with John Knox
more to hear in the neighbouring St. Giles that voice which
the English Ambassador assured Elizabeth's Secretary of
State was ' able in one hour to put more life in us than

.|o. St. Giles Crown.
five hundred trumpets continually blustering in our ears.'
There was more than grief that day — there was dismay j
for men knew how much the fate in England as well as in
Scotland, not of Presbyterianism but of Protestantism, and

Connection of the House with John Knox 5 1
not of Protestantism alone but of freedom, civil and
religious, and of equal laws for rich and poor, for gentle and
simple, for lay and clerical, and of universal and thorough
education both at school and at college, had depended
on the man once a priest, later a pastor in Edinburgh,
who — sometimes alone, and always with very indifferent
support — had fought the battles of these great causes. It
was no common conflict, and God called out from the
ranks no common champion. The man who died in
this house — ' not so much oppressed witli years, as worn
out and exhausted by his extraordinary labour of body
and anxiety of mind '¦ — sustained the brunt of the battle
against a triple alliance : against the ancient Church, richer
in Scotland in proportion to the resources of the nation
than in any other country in Europe ; against the sovereign,
who was Queen of Scotland, and also ex-Queen of France
and Queen - presumptive of England; and against the
nobility, including not only those who adhered to Roman
Catholicism, but also many Protestant peers, who showed
their true colours, or at least their mixed motives, by
appropriating the possessions of the Church, which Knox
wished to see used for religion, and for education, and for
the relief of the poor.
Further, while the supposed sites of the Holy Places in
Jerusalem are not only conjectural but improbable — some,
indeed, impossible — everything about this house is such as
to have made it a probable residence for Knox's last days.

52 Connection ofthe House with John Knox
Its size, its commanding position, its proximity to St.
Giles, the flight of its owner, James Mosman, to the
Castle, leaving the house unoccupied, all made it natural
for the Town Council to assign it to the aged minister
of St. Giles. Lastly, ever since Knox's time there has
been in Edinburgh, even through Episcopal and Jacobite
times, a sufficient body of local sympathy with Knox's
opinions and of reverence for his memory to keep alive the
identification of his abode.
We may add that the genuineness of the house has been
accepted by the most eminent authorities, antiquarian,
historical, and ecclesiastical, including Knox's biographers.
Dr. M'Crie, writing in 1811, and Dr. Hume Brown, writing
in 1895, Dr, David Laing, the editor of John Knox's works,
and Professor Sir Daniel Wilson, LL.D. The authenticity
of the house has been learnedly vindicated by Dr. Hume
Brown in his Life of John Knox, vol. ii. p. 315. Those
who have questioned the right of the house to its time-
honoured name have confined their attention to the ten
years from 1559, when Knox returned from Geneva, down
to the earlier part of 1569. Assume that Knox resided
elsewhere during a part, or even during the whole, of that
period, it is sufficient to entitle the house to the pathetic
veneration of all lovers of spiritual and intellectual liberty
that the Reformer occupied it during his last days, and that
it was under this roof that his dauntless spirit passed away.

INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH KNOX'S
HOME LIFE IN EDINBURGH, FROM
HIS RETURN FROM EXILE IN 1559 TO
HIS DEATH IN 1572
I. Knox's Settlement in Edinburgh in 1559.
Knox was married in 1556 to Marjorie Bowes, one of
the fifteen children of an English Roman Catholic squire,

41, Streatlam Castle, in theCounty of Durham, in 1898,
Richard Bowes of Aske, Captain of the Hold of Norham,
who was a younger son of Sir Ralph Bowes of Streatlam

53

54 Incidents Connected with Knox's Home
Castle, and a brother of Sir Ralph Bowes, knighted at
Flodden, and of Sir Robert Bowes, Warden of the Marches.
A letter written in her hand as her husband's amanuensis to
John Foxe, the martyrologist, commences and closes thus : —
The mighty comfort ofthe Holy Ghost for salutation.
Dearly beloved Brother,— Albeit at the departure of
this our brother, from whom I received your loving and friendly
letter, myself could write nothing by reason of the evil disposi
tion of my body, yet because I could not suffer him to depart
without some remembrance of my duty to you, I used the help
of my left hand, that is of my wife, in scribbling these few lines
unto you 
Salute your wife and daughter heartily in my name. The
grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ rest with you now and ever.
From Geneva, the iSth of May 1558, — Your Brother to power,
John Knox,
To this letter, given in reduced facsimile on the next page,
which is preserved among the Harleian mss, in the British
Museum, Marjorie Bowes has added the following post
script on her own account : —
I, your sister, the writer hereof, salute you and your wife
most heartily, thanking her of her loving tokens which my
mother and I received from Mrs. Kent,
When Knox settled in . Edinburgh, his household con
sisted of his wife, his two sons, and his mother-in-law,
Mrs, Bowes, towards whose peculiarities he behaved with
singular gentleness and forbearance. In reference to his
treatment of Mrs. Bowes, Carlyle wrote : —

Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572 55
' Knox was no despiser of women : far the reverse, in fact.
His behaviour to good and pious women is full of respect ; and
his tenderness, his patient helpfulness in their sufferings and
infirmities (see the letters to his mother-in-law and others) are
beautifully conspicuous.' — Essay on the Portraits of fohn
Kno.x. C
^^*./5> fte.^ 6'-^ -otl^ ^ ^ %^./:~* y (p ^ ^.fp, a
r. ^.. o cyw ^ ^/ "2 ^ /»^ q^ "^ /-iSr
... f^jL^ q^jy ^.^.'- ^-v <v.^ 2r-  -y/Q^X^
^v/.-^ '>'<'~'jf^ i'-^f^-^ -^ -^ ««», ^^,.>'»-*^ yf .Hv-
42. Marjorie Bowes* Letter and Postscript.
2. Death of Knox's First Wife,
Marjorie Bowes, Knox's faithful companion during four
years of wandering and danger, did not long survive his

56 Incidents Connected with Knox's Home
return to Scotland, She died in Edinburgh in December
1560, when probably not more than twenty-seven years of
age, Knox has a touching reference to her in his Will, After
arranging for the upbringing of her two sons, he adds : —
' To my two sons, Nathanael and Eleazer Knox, I unfeign-
edly leave that same benediction that their dearest mother,
Marjorie Bowes left unto them, to wit, that God, for His Son
Christ Jesus' sake, would of His mercy make them His true
fearers and as upright worshippers of Him as any that ever
sprang out of Abraham's loins. Whereto now, as then, I from
my troubled heart say. Amen ! Further, I have delivered by
Master Randolph [the English Ambassador], to Master Robert
Bowes, Sheriff of the Bishopric [of Durham], and brother to
the said Marjorie, my late dearest spouse, the sum of Five
Hundred Pounds of Scots money, to the utility and profit of
my said two sons ; the which money is that part of substance
that fell to them by the decease of Marjorie Bowes, their mother,
of blessed memory, and augmented by me as I might spare, to
make out the said sum,'
John Calvin, in a letter of condolence to John Knox,
wrote, ' Uxorem nactus eras cui non reperiuntur passim
similes ' (' You found a wife the like of whom is not found
everywhere'). Calvin also speaks of her as 'suavissima
uxor' ('sweetest spouse'), I hoped this book would con-.
tain a hitherto unpublished portrait of Marjorie Bowes. In
Mr. Augustus Hare's Story of my Life (1896) he refers to
a portrait of Marjorie Bowes which he saw at Streatlam
Castle in 186 1. Notwithstanding all efforts to trace it,
this portrait cannot now be discovered.

Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572 57
Within eight days after John Knox's death, his two sons,
who had been resident for a time with their mother's
relatives in England, were entered as students at Cam
bridge, They both took orders in the Church of England,
became Fellows of St. John's College, Cambridge, and died
without issue, Nathanael in 1580, at the age of twenty-
three, and Eleazer in 1591, at the age of thirty-three. At
the time of his death, Eleazer was vicar of Clacton Magna
iri the Archdeaconry of Colchester. The Registers of St.
John's College, Cambridge, contain their signatures : —
' Ego, Nathanael Knox, Richmondiensis admissus sum Socius
pro Domina fundatrice.
'1577.'
""Nathanael kno)c
No. 43.
'Ego, Eleazer Knox, Richmondiensis admissus sum in
Socium pro Doctore Keytone.
22 Mar. A.O, 1579,

%¦ Uci-T^er [{y

No. 44.
3, Knox's First Meeting with Queen Mary.
On 26th August 1561, six days after Queen Mary's
arrival from her twelve years' continuous residence in
France, Knox was summoned to Holyrood, Mary angrily

Voire Irts Lmilc (^ira cieifinkjdle
mnc

45. Queen Mary (by Frangois Clouet), in the Hermitage Gallery at St, Petersbuie.
Beheaded 1587, at 44 years of age, after 18 years' captivity.

Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572 59
accused Knox of being a disloyal subject. Her com
plaints of Knox now and later were rather political and
personal than religious. His spirited defence, in which he
enforced doctrines which were startling then to royal
ears, and never before openly avowed on Scottish soil,
although now the commonplaces of all political parties,
and her equally spirited attack, will be found reported
at length by Knox in the fourth book of his History
of the Reformation in Scotland.^ His account ends with the
impression of Mary's character, which the interview had
produced : — ' If there be not in her a proud mind, a crafty
wit, and an indurate heart against God and His Truth, my
judgment faileth me.' Mary's cunning, so characteristic of
her mother's family of Guise, seems much to have impressed
Knox, In writing to Sir William Cecil on 7th October
1561, he said, ' In communication with the Queen I espyed
such craft as I have not found in such age ' — 1 8 years. The
fact, which Mary's own letters to the Pope, as well as those
of Cardinal de St, Croix, render certain, that, all the time
she was offering toleration to the Scotch Protestants, she
was also assuring the Courts of France and Spain, as well
as the Pope, that she would effect no compromise with
Protestantism, seems completely to justify Knox's view of
Mary's character and conduct, and the policy which that
view inspired.^
1 Published for modern readers by A, & C. Black (London, i8g8).
2 Kncv was as ignorant of the principles of toleration as his contem
poraries, both Catholic and Protestant. But it is a fact worthy of notice
that although he had been himself exiled, and imprisoned, and condemned

6o Incidents Connected with Knox's Home
In some quarters it is assumed that Knox forced his
views on the Queen. This is a mistake. He never wrote
her a letter, and she refused to hear him preach. She had
four interviews with him — one at Lochleven, and three at
Holyrood ; and she presided at his trial for treason before
the Privy Council ; but, on each occasion, Knox attended
in obedience to the Queen's commands, and departed at
her pleasure. He only spoke in reply to the Queen's ques
tions, and his attitude was defensive. While he did not
disguise his views, his manner was calm ; that of the Queen,
when they disagreed, was either hysterical or insolent. When
Thomas Randolph, the English Ambassador, reported the
first interview to Sir William Cecil, he caustically said in
reference to the Queen's tears, ' Well you know, there be
of that sex that will weep as well for anger as for grief ! '
Carlyle sums up the situation thus : —
' It was unfortunately not possible to be polite with the Queen
of Scots, unless one proved untrue to the Nation and Cause of
Scotland. A man who did not wish to see the land ofhis birth
made a hunting-field for intriguing, ambitious Guises, and the
Cause of God trampled under foot of Falsehoods, Formulas, and
the Devil's Cause, had no method of making himself agreeable.
The hapless Queen ! But the still more hapless country,
IF she were made happy ! ' — Heroes and Hero- Worship.
to the stake for his opinions, although attempts had been more than once
made to assassinate him, he was never accessory to the death of a single
individual for his religious opinions. It was chiefly due to his influence
that a revolution of such magnitude and importance as the Reformation in
Scotland was accomplished with so little bloodshed, and sullied by so
little personal suffering.

Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572

6r

4. Knox's Interview with the Earl of Bothwell
(afterwards Queen Mary's Third Husband).
'In March 1562 the Earl Bothwell desired to speak with
John Knox secretly. This the said John gladly granted.

46. John Knox's Study.
and spake him upon a night in his own Study. The said
Earl's chief dolour was that he had misbehaved hiraself

62 Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572
against the Earl of Arran, whose favour he was most willing
to redeem, and desired tlie said John to give hira his best
counsel.' In connection with the same matter, the Earl of
Arran (previously Colonel of the French King's Scottish
Guards) came to John Knox's house on 26th March with
an extraordinary - story. The whole incident, graphically
told by John Knox in the fourth book of his History of
ihe Reforma^n in Scotland, from which the above quota
tion is taken, is well worth reading.
5. Knox's Sunday Supper Party.
On 30th November 1562, Thomas Randolph wrote from
Edinburgh to Sir William Cecil : —
' The Duke of Chatelherault [Governor of Scotland during
part of Queen Mary's minority] (see page 64) came unto this
town on Thursday last. Upon Sunday at night the Duke supped
with Master Knox, where the Duke desired that I should be.
' Three special points he hath promised to perform to Master
Knox before me. The one is never to go, for any respect,
from that he hath promised to be — a professor of Christ's Word
and setter forth of the same to his power. The next, always
to show himself an obedient subject to his Sovereign, as far as
in duty and conscience he is bound. The third, never to alter
from that promise he hath made for the maintenance of peace
and amity between both the Realms [of Scotland and England].
I will believe them all as I see them take effect, but trust it
shall never lie in his words alone ! '
6. Knox's Second Meeting with Queen Mary.
The Queen and the Reformer met for the second time at
Holyrood on 15th December 1562. Following on the news

64 Incidents Connected with Knox's Home
ofthe persecutions of the French Huguenots by Queen Mary's
uncles, there were unusual festivities at Holyrood ; and the
Scotch Protestants, justly or unjustly, connected the two

48. DiikeofChatelherault(Regent Arran), by Ketel, {Seepage&2.)
events together. Thomas Randolph, writing to Sir William
Cecil on i6th December 1562, tells the rest of the story: —
' Upon Sunday last John Knox inveighed sore against the
Queen's dancing, and the little exercise of herself in virtue or
godliness. The report hereof being brought into her ears
yesterday, she sent for him. She talked a long time with him.
Litde liking there was between them. Yet did they so depart as
no offence or slander did rise thereupon.'

Life in Edinburgh from IS 59 to 1572 65
Knox thus concludes his account of the meeting : —
' The said John departed with a reasonably merry counten
ance. Thereat some Papists, offended, said, " He is not
affrayed !" Which heard of him, he answered, "Why should
the pleasing face of a gentlewoman affray me? I have
looked in the faces of many .\NGRY men, and yet have not
been affrayed above measure ! " ' — History of the Reformation
in Scotland, Book iv.

49. The Palace of Holyrood House before the Fire of 1650 (after Gordon of Rothiemay).

7. Knox's Third Meeting with Queen Mary,
Mary and Knox met at Lochleven on 13th and 14th April
1563, Mary exerted all her splendid powers of fascination,
and although Knox yielded nothing, they parted on friendly
terms. At this meeting the Queen is said to have presented
E

66 Incidents Connected with Knox's Home
Knox with the watch of which a drawing is given on
the opposite page,^ Their conversation at all these meet
ings was probably carried on in French.

S^'^Sfcs^;.-

50, Iiochleven Castle,

8, Knox's Fourth Meeting with Queen Mary,
This meeting took place at Holyrood in June 1563, In
earlier years Knox had strongly advocated a union of the
two crowns by a marriage between Edward vi, and the
1 The tradition is picturesque, and may be true. But no mention is
made of this royal gift in the list of valuables bequeathed by Knox to his
Sons. See page 89.

Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572

67

Queen of Scotland. Now Mary was ' in a vehement fume '
on account ofhis objections to her proposed marriage to Don
Carlos, the epileptic son of Philip 11, of Spain, Touched
at this tender point (although by her conduct she afterwards
admitted the justice of Knox's views), she burst into
hysterical tears before he had said a word, and exclaimed :
' I cannot be quit of you, I avow to God I shall be
revenged. What have you to do with my marriage ?

51, Watch said to have been presented by Queen Mary to Knox.
{See page 66.)
Or what are you within this commonwealth ? ' Knox
replied, with dignified respect, 'A subject born within
the same, Madam. ... If it please your Majesty patiently
to hear me, I shall show the truth in plain words.' This
he proceeded to do in words more plain than pleasant.
He was equally candid with the ladies of the Court, to
whom in the antechamber he said in words that recall

68 Incidents Connected with Knox's Home
the speech of Hamlet : ' O fair ladies, how pleasing were
this hfe of yours if it should ever abide; and then in
the end that we might pass to Heaven with all this gay
gear ! But fie upon that knave Death, that will come,
wnether we will or not 1 And, when he has laid on his arrest,
the foul worms will be busy with this flesh, be it never so
fair and so tender ; and the silly [weak] Soul, I fear, shall
be so feeble that .it can neither carry with it gold, garnish
ing, targetting [bordering with tassels], pearl, nor precious
stones ! ' — History of the Reformation in Scotland, Book iv.
Knox's vivid description of this interview has been
Sflid to exhibit his highest literary powers in the dramatic
presentment of the materials of his History.
9. Knox arraigned for Treason before the Privy
Council, presided over by Queen Mary.
In the end of 1563 the struggle between Protestantism
apd Popery reached a crisis. Two Protestants had been
apprehended, and it was believed they would not receive
a fair trial. Knox addressed a circular letter to the
Protestants throughout the country, urging them, for the
safety of their religion, to appear in Edinburgh at the date
of the approaching trial. The Queen thought that she had
at last caught her great adversary in a net. Knox was
summoned to appear before the Privy Council on a charge
of High Treason,
But the Queen met a bitter disappointment. In the

Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572

69

Council were many of Mary's strongest supporters, includ
ing the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ross, and her Secretary
of State, William Maitland of Lethington, the ablest man
in Scotland next to Knox himself Before the vote.

52. William Maitland of Lethington (from a picture in the collection of the
Earl of Lauderdale at Thirlestane Castle). Poisoned (?) 1573.
' Lethington hath a crafty head, and a fell tongue.' — Randolph to Cecil.
the Queen retired, confident of the result. The Council
voted unanimously in Knox's favour! Mary at once re
turned and commanded the vote to be taken over again.
This only made matters worse. 'The whole Nobility,' in
the words of the account given by Knox in his History,

70 Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572
' were highly offended, and began to speak in open audience.
" What ! shall the presence of a woman cause us to offend
God and to condemn an innocent against our conscience
for pleasure of any creature ? " ' The vote was again unani
mously Not Guilty; and, as Knox puts it, 'The Queen
raged, and the flatterers of the Court stormed ! '
10, Knox's Second Marriage,
We have already seen the Queen s ' vehement fume '
against John Knox, because of the Reformer's objections
to her proposed marriage. With that in view, it is comical
to find the English Ambassador, one of many witnesses to
Mary's abusive tongue,^ writing, on i8th March 1564, to
Queen Elizabeth's Chief Secretary of State : — ¦
' Master Knox hath been twice proclaimed in the church to
be married on Palm Sunday to Margaret Stewart, daughter to
the Lord Ochiltree, whereat the Oueen stormeth won
derfully : for Margaret Stewart is of the blood
.and name ' [of the Royal House of Stewart],
At this time Knox had two children, six and five years
old, and he had been a widower for more than three years.
He was fifty-nine, and Lord Ochiltree's daughter seventeen.
-A. contemporary account, but from a hostile cjuarter, says
1 The historian David Hume, Mary's uncompromising defender as
against John Knox, wrote to Principal Robertson : ' I am afraid that you,
as well as myself, have drawn Mar)''s character with too great softenings.
She was, undoubtedly, a violent woman at all times, '

72 Incidents Connected witli Knox's Home
that when Knox brought his bride home, he came ' riding
with a great court on a trim gelding, not like a Prophet
or an old decrepit Priest, as he was, but like as he had
been one of the Blood-Royal with his bands of taffetie

54. The Regent Moray, from the picture in Holyrood Palace, {Seepage 73.)
Assassinated J570.
' The man whom all the godly did most reverence.' — John Knox.
fastened with golden rings and precious stones.' (See
page 71.) The veracity of this account may be tested by
the statement with which it concludes : — ' As is plainly
reported in the country, he did so allure that poor gentle
woman by sorcery and witchcraft that she could not live

Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572 73
without him ' ! ! The marriage was a very happy one.
Margaret Stewart had three daughters — Martha Knox,
married to Alexander Fairlie, a Scotch landed proprietor ;
Margaret Knox, married to the Rev. Zachary Pont, minister
of St. Cuthbert's, Edinburgh, and Archdeacon of Caith
ness ; and the intrepid Elizabeth Knox, married to the
Rev. John Welsh of Ayr. From these are descended the
families which claim to be of Knox's blood,
II. Knox's most Powerful Supporter Assassinated.
Queen Mary's natural brother, the Earl of Mora)', Regent
of Scotland, was assassinated at Linlithgow on 23rd January
1570, and on 14th February Knox preached at St. Giles his
funeral sermon. Of all the Scottish nobility, Knox placed
the greatest confidence in the genuineness and depth of
Moray's attachment to religion. He had well earned the
name of ' The Good Regent.'
12. Knox struck with Apoplexy at Sixty-five,
This occurred in the autumn of 1570. His secretary,
Richard Bannatyne, says in his Memorials, page 62 : —
' In this meantime John Knox was stricken with a kind of
apoplexia, called by the physicians resolution, whereby the
perfect use of his tongue was stopped. Hereof did the wicked
not a little rejoice. The bruit [report] passed, not only through
Scotland, but also to England, that he was become the most
deformed creature that ever was seen, and that he would
never preach nor yet speak I Therein God within a few days

74 Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572
declared them liars, for he convalesced and so returned to his
exercise of preaching at least on the Sunday,'
This account corresponds with the quaint description of
Knox at St, Andrews in 157 1 given by James Melville : —
' Of all the benefits I had that year was the coming of that most
notable Prophet and Apostle of our nation. Master John Knox,
to St. Andrews. I heard him teach the Prophecy of Daniel. I
had my pen and my little book, and took away such things as
I could comprehend. In the opening up of his text he was
moderate, the space of an half-hour. But when he entered to
application, he made me so to grew [thrill] and tremble that I
could not hold a pen to write.
' In July, Master John Davidson, one of our Regents, made
a Play at the marriage of Master John Colvin, which I saw
played in Master Knox's presence, wherein the Castle of
Edinburgh was besieged and taken,
' Master Knox would sometimes come in and repose him
self in our College yard. He would call us scholars unto
him and bless us, and exhort us to know God and His
work in our country, and to stand by the good cause. I
saw him every day of his doctrine [teaching] go hulie and
fear [slowly and warily], with a furring of martricks [martens]
about his neck, a staff in the one hand, and good godly
Richard Bannatyne, his servant, holding up the other oxter
[armpit] from the Abbey to the Parish Church. Then by
the said Richard and another servant he was lifted up to the
pulpit, where he behoved to lean at his first entry. But, ere
he had done with his sermon, he was so active and vigorous,
that he was like to ding that pulpit in blads [break that pulpit
in pieces] and flee out of it ! " (Seepage 75.)
1 Translated thus by a modern French writer in the Journal des Ddbats:
' he broke his pulpit, and jumped into the midst of his auditors (sautait
au milieu des audiieurs) ' I I

55- ' Knox preaching at St. Andrews to the Lordsof the Congregation on nth June 1559,' by Sir David Wilkie, R.A ,in the National
Gallery, London. The Countess of Argyll sits in front. Moray lias both hands on his sword. Beside him are Morion, wiib
one hand on his sword. Glencairn, and Argyll. The Catholic Lords are Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow, Hamilton, Archbishop
of St. Andrew.";, and Kennedy, Abbot of Crossraguel. George Buchanan is in the gallery, with book in hand.

j6 Incidents Connected with Knox's Home
13. Attempt to Shoot Knox in his House.
' It was John Knox's custom to sit at table, in his own house,
at the head of it, with his back to the window. Yet, upon a
certain night, he sat at a side of the table, when a bullet was shot
in at the window, of purpose to kill him. But the conspirators
missed, and the bullet lighted upon the chandler (candle
stick), and made a hole in the foot of it, which is yet to be
seen.' ' — Calderwood's History ofthe Kirk of Scotland, iii. 242.
'On the night of 19th April 1 57 1, some brethren, fearing
for John Knox, their minister, came and watched all night in
the house,' — Bannatyne's Memorials, page 1 1 1.
14. Knox's Last Interview with the English
Ambassador.
On 6th October 1572, Sir Henry Kylligrew, Queen Eliza
beth's Ambassador, wrote to Lord Burghley (Sir William
Cecil), Knox's ancient ally, who, when a minister of
Edward vi., had promoted Knox's nomination to the
Bishopric of Rochester : —
'John Knox is now so feeble as scarce can he stand alone,
or speak to be heard of any audience. Yet doth he every
Sunday cause himself to be carried to a place where a certain
number do hear him, and preacheth with the same vehemence
and zeal that ever he did. He doth reverence your Lordship
much, and willed me once again to send you word, that he
thanked God he had obtained at His hands, that the Gospel of
Jesus Christ is truly and simply preached throughout Scotland,
which doth so comfort him as he now desireth to be out of this
miserable life. He said further, that it was not [ajlong of your
Lordship that he was not a great Bishop in England ; but
' This candlestick is now in the Perth museum. It was among the exhibits
in the ' Bishop's Cast!e ' at the Glasgow International Exhibition of i8S8,

Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572 "jj
that effect grown in Scotland — he being an instrument — doth
much more satisfy him,* He desired me to make his last

56, Sir William Cecil (Lord Burghley), by M.-irc Gheeraedts the Elder, in
the collection of the Marquis of Salisbury at Hatfield House,
commendations most humbly to your Lordship, and withal,
that he prayed God to increase His strong Spirit in you.'
1 ' Knox was often fierce, unrelenting, and unscrupulous. But he was
also disinterested, upright, and sincere, Tlie pomp of the mitre or tlie

78

Incidents Connected with Knox's Home

15. Knox's Return from Preaching his Last Sermon
IN St. Giles on 9TH November 1572.
This sermon is described in Latin by Thomas Smeton,
Principal of the University of Glasgow, who adds : —
' After he had pronounced the blessing upon the people with

57. ' Knox's Return from St. Giles," by Sir W. Fettes Douglas, P.R.S A.
(From St. Giles, Edinhirgh, by Very Rev. J, Cameron Lees, D,D., LL.D.)
a mind more cheerful than usual, but with a weak body and
revenues ofthe wealthiest diocese had no attractions in his eyes." — Tytler's
History of Scotland, vol .vii. page 331.
' The primary characteristic of a hero, that he is sincere, applies emphati
cally to Knox. It is not denied anywhere that this, whatever might be

Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572 79
leaning upon his staff, John Knox departed, accompanied by
almost the whole assembly, to his house, from which he did not
again come forth in life,' — Eximii viri foannis Knoxii Scoti-
cancE Ecclesice instauratoris, fidelissimi, Vera extrevia vitce et
obitus Historia, 1579. 16, Knox's Death-bed.
The incidents in Knox's last illness are described by
his secretary, Richard Bannatyne, with minute fidelity and
in words of simple pathos : —
'1572, Sunday, Sth November, — Master James Lawson [Vice-
Principal of the University of Aberdeen, an eminent scholar]
was inaugurated by John Knox in the pulpit of Edinburgh,
John Knox declared to the whole assembly — as his weak voice
would serve, which was heard but of a few — the duty of a
minister, and also their duty to him likewise. He praised
God, that had given them one in the place of himself, that was
now unable to teach, and desired God to augment him a
thousandfold above that he had, if it were His pleasure ; and
so, with the Common Blessing, ended,
'Friday, 14th November,^ — John Knox could scarce sit in a stool.
Being demanded what he would do up ? Said, he would go to
the church and preach ; for he thought it had been Sunday.
He said he had been all night meditating upon the Resurrec
tion of Christ, which he should have preached upon after the
Death of Christ, which he had finished in his last sermon the
Sunday before, Ofttimes he desired of God that he might end
his days in the teaching and meditation of that doctrine,
his other qualities or faults, is araong the truest of men. An old Hebrew
prophet in the guise of an Edinburgh minister of the sixteenth century!
— Thomas Carlyle, in Heroes and Hero- Worshif.

8o Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572
'Saturday, 15th November, — John Durie and Archibald Stewart
came in about twelve hours, not knowing how sick he was.
For their cause he came to the table, which was the last time
ever he sat at any hereafter. He caused pierce an hogshead
of wine which was in the cellar, and willed the said Archibald
send for the same so long as it lasted ; for he would never tarry
until it was drunken,'
'Monday, 17th November, — The elders and deacons came,
according to his desire, that he might bid them his last good
night, unto whom he protested that, howsoever he had been
against any man, it was never for hatred ofthe person, but only
to beat down in them that which rebelled against God, and for
discharge of his conscience before God. He said he made not
merchandise of the Word of God, whose message he bore, to
whom he must make account for the same. In respect
whereof — albeit he was weak and a fearful man — he feared not
the faces of men ; and therefore exhorted them to stand con
stant in that doctrine which they had heard of his mouth, how
unworthy that ever he was.^ So, with exhortation unto them
all, he commendeth them to God ; and after the Prayer read
for the Sick (as it is in the Psalm Book),^ they departed with
tears,* 1 ' Knox had his pipe of Bordeaux in that old Edinburgh house of his ;
a cheery, social man with faces that loved him ! ' — Thomas Carlyle, in
Heroes and Hero- Worship.
2 Spottiswood (History, page 265) adds that Knox at this interview
exhorted his colleague : ' You, Master Lawson, fight a good fight ! Do
the work of the Lord with courage and with a willing mind, and God
from above bless you, and the church whereof you have charge 1 Against
it, so long as it continueth in the doctrine of truth, the gates of hell shall
not prevail.'
3 See page 81.
4 ' These November days in the house in the Nether Bow are like the
last scene of the Pilgrim's Progress, where a great concourse of pilgrims
accompany Mr. Valiant-for-Truth to the river-side,' — Mrs, MacCunn's
John Knox, page g2£.

ym:^^^smm^mm0m^!^mmmms

82 Incidents Connected with Knox's Home
' Before his sickness he gave command to his wife and his
servant, Richard Bannatyne, that when God should send him
sickness, so that he was not able to read, one of them should
read to him each day the 17th chapter of St. John's Gospel,
a chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, and the 53rd of
Isaiah. This was done ; so that few hours or none of the day
did pass over, wherein somewhat was not read, according as
he would appoint, and ofttimes some sermons of Calvin in
French, and the Psalms.
' The Lord Boyd came in unto him and said, " I know, sir,
that I have offended you in many things, and am now come to
crave your pardon.'' But what further was betwixt them I
know not, for they were alone.
' Wednesday, 19th November, — My Lord of Morton, the Lord
Boyd, and the Laird of Drumlanrig came. What purpose was
among them, none but themselves knew.
' Thursday, 20th November, — The Lord Lindsay, the Bishop of
Caithness, and sundry other gentlemen came in, whom he
exhorted to continue in the Truth that they had heard ; for other
Word of Salvation there is none. My Lords Ruthven, Glencairn,
and divers others, at sundry times, did visit him.
' A gentlewoman, one that feareth God, desired him to praise
God for what he had been. He answered, "Tongue, tongue,
Lady ! Flesh of itself is over proud, and needs no means to
esteem itself ! " He then also protested that he did '' only clame
to (grasp) the free mercy of God, showed unto mankind in the
blood of His dear Son, Jesus Christ." And so, with exhortation
in the fear of God, and in that doctrine which they had heard
of him, he bade them Farewell !
'At this time also, these being departed, he says to the Laird
of Braid : " Each one bids me Good-night, but when will you do
it ? I have been greatly beholden and indebted to you, which
I am never able to recompense. I commit you to One who
is able to do it, to the Eternal God ! "

Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572

83

'Friday, 21st November, — He commanded Richard Bannatyne
to cause make his coffin, wherein he was borne to his burial.
' Sunday, 23rd November, — The first Sunday of the Fast, at after
noon, all were at the church, except them that waited upon him.
After he had lain a good space very quiet, he thought to have

59. John Knox's Bedroom.

departed, as we judged. Then he burst forth in these words : —
" I have been in meditation these two last nights of the troubled
Church of God, the Spouse of Jesus Christ, despised of the
world, but precious in His sight ! I have been fighting against
Satan, yea, I have fought against spiritual wickedness in
heavenly things, and have prevailed ! I have heen in Heaven

^4 Incidents Connected with Knox's Home
and have possession, and I have tasted of those heavenly joys,
where presently I am ! " Thereafter he said the Lord's Prayer,
and The Belief ; and, in saying " Our Father which art in
heaven," he says, " Who can pronounce so holy words ! "
'When he would be lying, as we supposed, in a sleep, then
was he at his meditation, as his manifold sentences may well
declare ; as this, " Live in Christ ! " and, " Lord grant us the
right and perfect hatred of sin, as well by the document of
Thy mercies as of Thy judgments ! " " Lord grant true pastors
to Thy Church, that purity of doctrine may be retained ; and
restore peace again to this Commonwealth, with godly rulers
and magistrates ! "
'Monday, 24th November. — Monday, which was the 24th of
November, he departed this life to his eternal rest ! He rose
about nine hours, and would not lie, and yet he was not able
to stand alone. He put on his hose and doublet, and sat in a
chair the space of half an hour ; and thereafter to bed. Being
asked by Robert Campbell, the goodman of Kinyeancleuch, if
he had any pain, he said, " It is no painful pain, but such a pain
as, I trust, shall put end to this battle ! " Also to the said
Robert, " I leave the care of my wife and children unto you, to
whom ye must be a husband in my room."
'A little after noon, he caused his wife read the 15th chapter
of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, ofthe Resurrection ; to
whom he said, " Is not that a comfortable chapter? " A litde
after, " Now, for the last, I commend my soul, spirit, and body
(pointing upon his three fingers) into Thy hands, O Lord ! "
Thereafter, about five hours, to his wife, " Go, read where I
cast my first anchor!" And so she read the 17th of John's
Evangel. 'A night before. Doctor Preston demanded how he did?
Replied : " I have been tempted by Satan. When he saw that
he could not prevail, he tempted me to have trusted in myself,
or to have rejoiced or boasted of myself. But I repulsed him

Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572 85
with this sentence. Quid habes quod non accepts ti ? ''' (What
hast thou which thou hast not received ?)
' About seven hours at even, we left reading, thinking he had
been asleep. He lay still till after ten hours, except that some
times he would bid wet his mouth with a little weak ale. Half
an hour after ten, we went to our ordinary prayers (which was
the longer before we went to them, because we thought he had
been sleeping). These being ended, Doctor Preston says to
him, "Sir, heard you the prayers ? " Answered, " I would to God
that you and all men heard them as I have heard them. I
praise God of that heavenly sound !" Suddenly thereafter he
says, " Now, it is come " ; for he had given one long sigh and
sob. Then Richard Bannatyne, sitting down before him, said,
'•Now, sir, the time that you have long called to God for, to
wit, an end of your battle, is come ! And, seeing all natural
power now faileth, remember upon these comfortable promises,
which oftentimes you have shown to us of Our Saviour Jesus
Christ ! And, that we may understand and know that you
hear us, make us some sign." So he lifted up his one hand,
and, incontinent [immediately] thereafter, rendered the spirit,
and slept away without any pain, about eleven hours at even ;
which day my Lord Morton was elected Regent,*
' In this manner departed this man of God, the light of Scot
land, the comfort of the Church within the same, the mirror of
godliness, and patron and example to all true ministers in
purity of life, soundness of doctrine, and boldness in reproving
wickedness ; and one that cared not for the favour of men, how
great soever they were,
'Wednesday, 26th November, — Upon the Wednesday after, he
1 ' Have you hope ? they asked Knox in his last moment when he could
no longer speak. He lifted his finger, pointed upwards \vith his finger, and
so died. Honour to him I His works have not died. The letter of his
work ciies, as of all men's; but the spirit of it never.' — Thomas Carlyle,
in Heroes and Hero- Worship,

86 Incidents Connected with Knox's Home
was buried, being convoyed with the Regent, the Earl of Mor
ton, and the Lords that were in the town for the time, with
many a fearful heart ! '

17, Knox's Funeral,
It was from this house that the funeral procession started
on 26th November 1572 for St. Giles Churchyard. Stand-

^1^

>
t ^TOj
- - ^H
<
¦f "- 3 1, ¦ 1 1
^m
1
60. The Regent Morton. Beheaded 1581.
(From a picture in the collection of the Earl of Morton at Dalmahoy.)
ing beside the open grave, the Regent Morton delivered
the famous funeral oration which has come down to us in
two forms ;—
Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572 87
' When Master Knox was laid in the grave, the Earl of Morton
uttered these words : — "Here lieth a man who in his life never
feared the face of man ; who hath been often threatened with
dagge [pistol] and dagger, but yet hath ended his days in peace
and honour."'' — Calderwood's History of the Kirk of Scotland,
vol. iii. page 242,
' The Regent, Earl of Morton, loved Master Knox while he
was alive. At his death and burial he gave him an honourable
testimony, " that he neither fearit norflatterit aniefieche '' ; and,
after his death, was friendly to his wife and children.'^Diary
of fames Melville, 1556-1601, p. 47 (edition of 1829),

18. Knox's Last Will and Testament, dated
13TH May 1572,
' Lord Jesus, I commend my troubled spirit to Thy protection
and defence, and Thy troubled Kirk to Thy mercy !
'Because I have had to do with divers personages of the
ministry, whereinto God of His mercy erected me within this
Realm, my duty craveth that I shall leave them now a testimony
of my mind.
' First, unto the Papists and to the unthankful world I am
compelled to say that (although my life hath been unto them
odious, and oftentimes they have sought my destruction and
the destruction ofthe Church which God of His mercy planted
within this Realm, and hath always preserved and kept from
their cruel enterprise), yet, unless they speedily repent, my
departing of this life shall be the greatest calamity that ever
yet has apprehended them. A dead man have I been almost,
these two years bypast ; and yet I would that they should ripely
consider in what better estate they and their matters stand than
before. But because they will not admit me for an admonisher,
I give them over to the judgment of Him who knoweth the hearts

88 Incidents Connected viith Knox's Home
of all, and will disclose the secrets thereof in due time. Thus
far for the Papists.
' To the Faithful — before God, before His Son, Jesus Christ,
and before His holy angels — I protest that God, by my mouth,
be I never so abject, has shown you His truth in all simpUcity.
None have I corrupted. None have I defrauded. Merchandise
have I not made — to God's glory I write — of the glorious
Evangel of Jesus Christ ; but, according to the measure of the
grace granted unto me, I have divided the Sermon ( Word) of
Truth in just parts, beating down the rebellion of the proud
against God, and raising up the consciences troubled with the
knowledge of their sins, by declaring Jesus Christ, the strength
of His Death, and the mighty operation of His Resurrection, in
the hearts of the Faithful. Of this, I say, I have a testimony this
day in my conscience, before God, however the world rage,.
' Be constant, therefore, in the doctrine which once publicly
ye have professed. Let not these slanderous days draw you
away from Jesus Christ ; neither let the prosperity of the
Wicked move you to follow it or them. I look not to the
momentary prosperity of the Wicked, yea, not although they
should remain conquerors to the coming of our Lord Jesus !
But I look to this sentence : — Whosoever sheddeth innocent
blood defileth the land, and provoketh God's wrath against
himself and the land, until his blood be shed by order of law,
to satisfy God's anger. This is not the first time that ye have
heard this sentence. Although many at all times stirred at such
severity, I yet affirm the same, being ready to give account
before His Majesty of the stewardship He committed unto me.
'Be ye not troubled above measure. Beloved in the Lord
Jesus ! Remain constant in the truth, and He who of His
mercy sent me, conducted me, and prospered the work in my
hand against Satan, will provide for you abundantly, when
either my blood shall water the doctrine taught by me, or He
of His mercy otherwise provides to put an end to this my battle.

Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572 89
' My executors I make, constitute, and ordain , Margaret
Stewart, my Spouse ; Martha, Margaret, and Elizabeth Knox,
my daughters ; and the Faithful to be oversmen.
' To my two sons, Nathanael and Eleazer Knox, I unfeignedly
leave that same benediction which their dearest mother, Mar
jorie Bowes, left unto them, to wit, that God, for His Son Christ
Jesus' sake, would, of His mercy, make them His true fearers
and as upright worshippers of Him as any that ever sprang
out of Abraham's loins. Whereto now, as then, I from my
troubled heart say. Amen !
' Farther, I have delivered, by Master Randolph [the English
Ambassador], to Master Robert Bowes, Sheriff of the Bishopric
[of Durham], and brother to Marjorie, my late dearest spouse,
the sum of .£500 of Scots money, to the utility and profit of my
sons, which money is that part of substance that fell to them by
the decease of Marjorie Bowes, their mother, of blessed memory,
and augmented by me as I might spare ; for I received of theirs
but a hundred merks [equal to about ;^66, 1 3s. 4d. sterling], which
I of my poverty extended to .£500 Scots [equal to about ;£ioo
sterling], and that in satisfaction of their bairns' part of gear
(legal claims on iheir father^ estate), which, may fall to them
by my decease.
' Item, I leave to my two sons two silver drinking-cups, the
one marked J. K. M, on the one side, and on the other side
E, B, N., and in like manner the other with the same mark and
letters, the said two cups containing twenty-two ounces weight
or thereby ; two saltfats (salt-cellars) of silver, and eighteen
silver spoons, weighing thirty-four and one quarter ounces,, the
price of the ounce overhead being 26s. 8d, The which cups,
saltfats, and spoons, I leave in keeping to Margaret, my Spouse,
until my sons be ofthe age of twenty-one years ; at which time
I ordain her to deliver the same to my sons ; or to any one
of them, if by decease the other fails.
'Item, I leave also to my sons part of my books, ofthe value

90 Incidents Connected with Knox's Home
of £3'°- And failing my sons and their heirs, I ordain the
foresaid ;£5oo, with the silver cups, spoons, saltfats, and books,
to return again, the one equal half to Margaret, my Spouse, and
my three daughters, and the other half to my brother, William
Knox, and his heirs.
' Item, I leave to my Spouse, Margaret Stewart, the eight
hundred merks which are laid upon the lands of Pennymuir,
wherein she is infeft by Andrew Lord Stewart of Ochiltree, my
father-in-law. Failing the said Margaret, I leave the same to
my three daughters. Failing them, I leave the same to Andrew

6i. Medallion of Knox struck at Geneva.
Lord Stewart of Ochiltree, and his heirs ; charging and re
quiring my father-in-law and his heirs, as they will answer
before that incorruptible Judge, the Lord Jesus, that they suffer
not my Spouse and children to be defrauded, or evil paid, of the
maiUs (rents) and annual rent of the said lands, during the non-
redemption of the same. Item, I leave to Paul Knox, my
brother's son [Knox's elder brother, William Knox, was minister
of Cockpen. William's son, Paul Knox, here mentioned, be
came minister of Kelso], .£100 which lies in wadset upon Robert
Campbell's lands in Kinyeancleuch, and that to be a help to
hold him at the school.
' As concerning the rest of my whole goods whatsoever, I leave
them to be divided between my Spouse and my three daughters.
' And because my Spouse must take care of my daughters,

Life in Edinburgh from 1559 to 1572 91
and faithfully travail for their gooil nourishment and upbring
ing, therefore I leave my Spouse the use of their gear, until
they be married, or come to perfect age ; at which time I
ordain that every heir, as the time approaches, shall have their
own that to them appertains. John Knox.'
John Adamson, Witness.
Robert Watson, Witness.
John Johnston, Witness.

19. Knox's Personal Appearance.
' In stature he was slightly under the middle height, of well-
knit and graceful figure, with shoulders somewhat broad,
longish fingers, head of moderate size, hair black, complexion
somewhat dark, and general appearance not unpleasing.
' In his stern and severe countenance there was a natural
dignity and majesty not without a certain grace, and in anger
there was an air of command on his brow. Under a some
what narrow forehead his brows stood out in a slight ridge
over his ruddy and slightly swelling cheeks, so that his eyes
seemed to retreat into his head. The colour of his eyes was
bluish grey, their glance keen and animated. His face was
rather long ; his nose of more than ordinary length ; the mouth
large ; the lips full, the upper a little thicker than the lower ;
his beard black mingled with grey, a span and a half long, and
moderately thick.' — Sir Peter Young (tutor to James VI.)
writing in Latin to Theodore Beza from Edinburgh on i^th
November 1579.'- This letter was recently discovered by Dr.
Hume Brown.
' With this letter was sent a portrait of Knox, which is probably the
picture printed on page 103.

VI
LATER HISTORY OF THE HOUSE
Subsequent to John Knox's time, the house passed through
many vicissitudes. In the course of last century, it seems
to have been subdivided among a number of tenants, and
little care was taken to keep it in proper repair. Shortly
after the Disruption of the Church of Scotland in 1843, a
movement was set on foot by a large number of people
belonging to the Free Church of Scotland to erect a
memorial in IxJinburgh to John Knox. This was to
include the purchase of John Knox's House, and the
erection of a Memorial Church on the adjoining ground,
in front of which was to be placed a statue of the
Reformer. In 1846 the trustees of the fund which had been raised,
with the Marquis of Breadalbane as their Chairman, pur
chased John Knox's House and some adjoining ground.
Ultimately, the project to erect a church and statue as
part of the memorial to John Knox fell through, and the
ground adjoining the house was sold. In 1853 the Monu
ment Trustees conveyed the house to the Rev. John
Jaffray, Foreign Mission Secretary of the Free Church,
9.2

Later History of the House 93
and to his wife, and the longest liver. Mr. Jaffray had
acted as secretary to the Monument Trustees, and to his
enthusiastic labour the movement which resulted in the
purchase of the house was mainly due. As a condition
of the conveyance, Mr. and Mrs. Jaffray undertook respon
sibility for the debt on the building, and agreed that the
house should be preserved as a public monument. They
had no children ; and Mrs. Jaffray, who survived her hus
band, bequeathed the House to the General Trustees of
the Free Church, who became vested in it by a conveyance
from her testamentary trustees in 1868.
At one time it appeared as if Mr. Jaffray's efforts to pre
serve the house were to be in vain. In 1840 it had already
received serious damage from the fall of Lord Balmerino's
house, the next house farther down the High Street. The
woodcut on the following page shows the house at that time.
Knox's House became so ruinous that, in 1 849, the Dean
of Guild Court issued an order for its demolition ; the Dean
of Guild having also in view the widening of the High
Street at that point. The order was never executed. The
newspapers opened their columns to indignant correspond
ents of all denominations. Mr. Adam Black, M.P., pre
sided at a public meeting of citizens, and Mr. Jaffray
organised a committee of the most eminent of these
citizens. The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland was
roused to battle by Sir Daniel Wilson, their secretary.
That learned but cautious body, having obtained reports

94 Later History of the House
as to the age and construction of the house from eminent

62. Knox's House in 1843. (See pages 31 and ^3.)
architects, stated that they were ' unanimous in their desire

Later History of the House 95
to leave no means unemployed for rescuing the ancient
mansion from destruction.' The Citizens' Committee
issued a circular saying : ' We confidently appeal to every
true-hearted Scotsman to show — in an age when Germany
has preserved the lodgings of Goethe and Schiller, when
Italy still venerates Dante's house, when England has just
rescued from destruction the dwelling of Shakespeare, and
when France holds sacred the houses of Corneille and
Voltaire — that Scotland regards as no less sacred the
memorials of genius, and the debt of gratitude she owes
to her great Reformer.'
In the end, the Dean of Guild's order was recalled by
the Court of Session in 1850; and in 1853 certain costly,
although (as it afterwards turned out) incomplete, repairs
were made.
In 1887 a considerable sum was spent on the house
by the Free Church for its preservation and to augment
its interest and usefulness. An examination by Mr. Hip-
polyte Blanc, architect, had revealed a dangerous condition
of one of the outer walls, as well as of many of the oaken
joists. Wall and floors were put in a secure condition
by Mr. Blanc, who also effected other important improve
ments, with the object of restoring the appearance of the
house to its original state.
Until recently the house contained, on the first floor,
a collection of curiosities, interesting in themselves, but
none of them with any actual, and most of them with no

96 Later History of the House
possible, connection with John Knox. These were sent
to the New College Museum ; and, at the same time, the
rooms on the second floor, always identified with Knox's
actual residence, were cleared of everything which they
could not have contained in Knox's time. The engravings
and photographs on their wainscoted walls were removed,
and those relating to Knox were hung in the rooms below.
This suggested the last improvement — namely, to form on
the first floor a collection of portraits, views, and books,
and of manuscripts, original, and in facsimile, relating to
Knox, to his friends and foes, and to places connected
with his birth, life, and death.

VII
CONTENTS OF THE ROOMS SHOWN TO
THE PUBLIC
I. First Floor.
I. The Audience Chamber. — Visitors, on entering the
house, are admitted first to this room. The window looking
west has been long known as the 'Preaching Window.'
It is not probable, however, that Knox ever actually
preached from this window. Even after he was struck by
apoplexy in 1570, he continued occasionally to preach in
St. Giles ; and his last sermon was delivered there on 9th
November 1572, a fortnight before his death. But Knox
may have addressed the people on some occasion from this
window, so as to give rise to the tradition. Immediately
below the window is the tablet containing the Mosman
coat of arms and the initials J.M, and M.A., described on
page 39.
From the account given by Calderwood (quoted on page
76) of the attempt to shoot John Knox in 1570, he
appears to have been sitting in this room at the west
window, or at the corresponding window in the room above,
when the shot was fired, G

98 Contents of the Rooms Shown to the Public
The Audience Chamber contains a library of John
Knox's works in their several editions, biographies of Knox,
and books written by his contemporaries, specially those
with whom, as friends or foes, he was brought into contact.
On the walls are hung pictures of the places associated with
leading events in his life, and portraits of Knox himself,
and of his associates and antagonists. There are also a
number of facsimiles, including several of letters and
other documents in Knox's handwriting.
Round the cornice have been painted some of Knox's
famous sayings such as : —
'I am in THE PLACE WHERE I AM DEMANDED OF MY
conscience to speak the truth. therefore the
truth i speak, impugn it whoso list.'
' Cursed be they that seek effusion of blood, war,
OR dissension ! Let us possess christ jesus, and the
benefit of his evangel; and none within SCOTLAND
SHALL be more OBEDIENT SUBJECTS THAN WE.'
The chief events in his life, with certain quotations
from his works and the writings of his contemporaries,
are detailed on a series of tablet's hung on the walls.
The pictures, portraits, facsimiles, and tablets are titled,
so that detailed description is unnecessary.
Notice, in the passage leading from this room along
the western wall to the back room, a case containing fac
similes of the coins in use in Scotland in John Knox's
time, especially the ' Bawbee,' popularly, but erroneously.

Contents of the Rooms Shown to the Public 99
said to have been so called from the tender years of the
sovereign, James vi., whose bust and name it bears.
2. Back Room. — This room has only recently been
opened to visitors. Its floor was in so dangerous a condi
tion that the room was shut for forty years.

63, Rev, Thomas M'Crie, D,D., Knox's Biographer.
This room also contains pictures, portraits, and fac
similes. In addition, Thomas Carlyle's remarks on Knox
in his Heroes and Hero- Worship have been framed, and also
his Essay on the Portraits of Knox, with the able reply thereto
by James Drummond, R.S.A. On the right-hand side of
the door of entrance is a frame containing facsimiles of the
title-pages of Knox's most important works. Among these

lOO Contents of the Rooms Shown to the Public
will be found the famous First Blast of the Trumpet against
the Monstrous Regiment [Government] of Women. (See
page 128.)
3. Front Room. — This room is formed in the wooden
casing of the house, which was probably added after the

64. Thomas Carlyle, Knox's Champion, by Sir E. Boehm, R. A,
completion of the original structure. On its walls will be
noticed portraits of Dr. David Laing, the editor of the

Contents ofthe Rooms Shown to the Public loi
standard edition of Knox's works in six volumes ; of
Thomas Carlyle, Knox's most illustrious champion, as
well as in many respects his nineteenth century, as Oliver
Cromwell was his seventeenth century, representative ; and
of Knox's biographers, including Dr. Thomas M'Crie,
Dr, Hume Brown, Dr, W. M, Taylor of New York, Mrs,
MacCunn, and Mr, Taylor Innes, Among the facsimiles

6s. David Laing, LL.D., Editor of Knox's Work,
by Sir George Reid, /".R.S.A.
is the instrument already mentioned (page 3) executed by
John Knox as a notary in 1543, which proves (what Knox
nowhere states) that he was in priest's orders in the Roman
Church. The case on the wall contains a number of books
connected with Knox's history. The books are available

I02 Contents of the Rooms Shown to the Public
for reference on application to Miss Stocks, the Keeper of
the House.
The collection contained in these three rooms is far from
complete, and the Trustees hope to be enabled to add to it.
They invite donations and loans, and they will be glad to
purchase suitable objects. With this view, I shall indicate
the articles which the Trustees think necessary for a com
plete Knox Museum : —
A. Books.
(u) Specimens of the different editions of John Knox's
writings, beginning with those published during his life
time. (b) Biographies of John Knox, and of those among his
contemporaries — Scotch, English, French, German, Swiss,
and others — with whom he came in contact, or who are
referred to in his writings.
(c) Works bearing on the history of John Knox's time.
(d) Books published and mss. written before or during
John Knox's lifetime. B. Portraits.
(a) Portraits of John Knox, such as the Beza (Latin and
French editions), Verheiden, Torphichen, Somerville, and
Holyrood pictures, copies of which appear in the following
pages : —

Contents ofthe Rooms Shown to the Public 103

66, First Known Portrait of Knox (1580). Engraved in Icottes, id est
Vera Imagines, Virorum Doctrina simul et Pietate lUustnum, by
Theodore Beza, published at Geneva, 1580.I
1 The details contained in Sir Peter Young's letter printed on page 91
confirm this portrait and that on page 105, and refute the Somerville
portrait (page 107) advocated by Carlyle.

I04 Contents ofthe Rooms Shown to the Public

67. Second Known Portrait of Knox (1581). Engraved in the French
edition of Beza's * Icones,' entitled, Les vrais portraits des honimes illus-
tres en piiti et doctrine. Published at Geneva, 1581. Dr. Laing, however,
thought that this was a portrait of William Tyndale, substituted by mistake
for that of Knox.

Contents ofthe Rooms Shown to the Public 105

:J.-i^^r.

68 Third Known Portrait of Knox (1602). Engraved on copper by
Hondius in 'Pr^stantium aliquot Theologonim Effigies, quibus addita
Elcia,' by Jacobus Verheiden, published at the Hague, 1602. This was
the portrait used by Sir David Wilkie for his pictures of/ Knox dispensing
the Sacrament at Calder House' {see Page 115 and frontispiece) and Knox
preaching at St. Andrews to the Lords ofthe Congregation {seepage 75).

lo6 Contents ofthe Rooms Shown to the Public

69. Portrait of Knox, known a.^ tl e * Torphichen Portrmt,' the property
of Lord Torphichen, at Calder House. It is believed to be an ancient
copy ofthe portrait of Knox contained in Beza's ' Icones,' {^Seepage 103.)

#^>^

Contents of the Rooms Shown to the Public 107

' *v

70. Alleged Portrait of Knox, known as the ' Somerville Portrait,* having
belonged to Lord Somerville. In his Essay on ihe Portraits of John Knoxy
Thomas Carlyle maintained that this is the only genuine portrait of Knox.
But the collar and other details rather indicate that the picture belongs to
the Cromwellian period.

io8 Contents of the Rooms Shown to the Pubh'c

71. Alleged Portrait of Knox, known as the * Holyrood Portr^t.' It
haiigs in Holyrood Palace. The compafses held in the right hand point
to the portrait being that of an architect or raathematician.

- V

Contents ofthe Rooms Shown to the Public 109

72. Cardinal Beaton. Assassinated at St. Andrews, 1546. ' The Wolsey of Scotland.'
(See Knox's History ofthe Reformation in Scotland, Book i.)
(b) Portraits of contemporaries with whom John Knox
came in contact, or who are referred to in his writings, e.g. :
(t) In Scotland

James iv.
James V.
Mary of Guise.
Mary, Queen of Scots.
James vi.

Darnley,Bothwell, the Regents
Arran (Duke of Chatelher
ault), Moray, Lennox, Mar,
and Morton.

I IO Contents of the Rooms Shown to the Public

Earls of Angus, Argyll, Arran,
Atholl, Caithness, Cassillis,
Crawford, Eglinton, Errol,

Fleming, Glamis, Gray,
Herries, Home, Lindsay,
Methven, Ochiltree, Ogilvy,

73. Bishop Leslie.
* My most pious, able, and devoted servant.' — Mary, Queen of Scots.
(See Knox's History ofthe ReforTnation in Scotland, Books i. and in.)

Glencairn, Huntly, Mari-
schall, Menteith, Montrose,
Rothes, and Sutherland.
Lords Borthwick, Boyd, Cath-
cart, Drummond, Erskine,

Oliphant, Ruthven, Sempill,
Seton, Somerville.
George Wishart
George Buchanan.
John Carswell, Superinten-

Contents of the Rooms Shown to the Public 1 1 1

dent for Argyll and the
Isles.
John Erskine of Dun, Superin
tendent for Angus and
Mearns.
John Spottiswood, Superin
tendent for Lothian.
John Willock, Superintendent
for Glasgow.
John Wynram, Superintendent
for Fife.
John Craig, John Douglas,
Paul Methven, Robert Pont,
John Rough, John Row.
Sir James Balfour of Pitten-
dreich (Clerk Register).
Sir John Bellenden (Justice-
Clerk).
Sir William Kirkaldy of
Grange.
Sir David Lyndesay of the
Mount.i
Sir James Sandilands of Cal
der, Preceptor in Scotland of
the Knights of St. John of
Jerusalem.

Sir John Wishart of Pittar-
row.
Henry Balnaves of Halhill.
Patrick Home of Polwarth.
William Maitland of Lething
ton.
John Spens of Condie.
Cardinal Beaton.
The Archbishops of St. An
drews and Glasgow.
The Bishops of Aberdeen,
Brechin, Caithness, Dun
blane, Dunkeld, Galloway,
Moray, Orkney, and Ross.
The Abbots or Priors of Cam-
buskenneth, Coldingham,
Crossraguel, Culross, Dun
fermline, Holyrood House,
Kilwinning, Kinloss, Lin-
dores, Paisley.
David Rizzio.
Sir James Crofts.
Sir Henry Kylligrew, and
Thomas Randolph, Am
bassadors from the Court
of England.

Henry VIII.
Edward VI.
Queen Mary Tudor.
Queen Elizabeth.

(2) In England The Protector Somerset.
Dukes of Norfolk and North
umberland.
Earls of Bedford, Leicester,

i Sir David was both a poet and a musician. The first words which
James v. (Mary's father) lisped in infancy were the royal command, ' Pay,
Day Lyn' (' Play, Davy Lyndesay ! ')

112 Contents ofthe Rooms Shown to the Public

Northampton, Shrewsbury,
and Warwick.
Archbishop Cranmer.
Bishops Bonner, Gardiner, and
Tonstall (Roman Catholic).
Bishops Aylmer, Bale, Cover-

Dean Whittingham of Durham.
John Foxe.
Christopher Goodman, B.D.,
Oxford.
Thomas Lever, M.A., Cam
bridge.

74. John Foxe, the English Martyrologist, a correspondent of John Knox.

dale, Goodrick, Grindall,
Hooper, Jewel, Latimer, and
Ridley (Protestant).
Dean Sampson of Chichester.

Sir William Cecil (Lord
Burghley).
Sir Ralph Sadler, and Sir
Nicholas Throckmorton,

Contents of the Rooms Shown to the Public 113

Francis 11.
Duke of Guise.
Cardinal of Lorraine.

(3) In France Duke d'Aumale.
Marquis d'Elbosuf.
Admiral Coligny.

75. John Calvin.
(From a contemporary print, lent by Rev. W. J. Jones, Quimper, France.)

(4) In Switzerland
John Calvin. 1 Theodore Beza.
Philip Melanchthon. I BuUinger.
II

1 14 Contents of the Rooms Shown to the Public

C. Views of Places connected with John Knox
(a) In Scotland. — Haddington, where Knox was born —
either at the Giffordgate of the town, or in the neighbouring
village of Gifford, or in the district of Gifford ; Glasgow,
where he attended college ; St. Andrews, where he is said
to have taught philosophy; Aberdeen, Anstruther, Ayr,
Brechin, Crail, Dumfries, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Jedburgh, Kelso, Montrose, Perth, St. Andrews, Stirling, etc..

76. St. John's Church, Perth.
where he preached ; the mansion-houses of Bar, Calder-
house, Carnell, Castle Campbell, Dun, Finlaystone, Gadgirth,
Kinyeancleuch, Ochiltree, Ormiston, etc., in which he
preached ; and Lochleven Castle, where he had an interview
on two successive days with Queen Mary.
(b) In England. — Berwick, and Newcastle, where Knox

77. ' Knox dispensing the Sacrament at Calder House, 1556.' (From the unfinished sketch by Sir David Wilkie, R.A.,
in the National Gallery of Scotland.)

1x6 Contents ofthe Rooms Shown to the Public
preached under the sanction of Archbishop Cranmer and
the Protector Somerset ; Londoti, where he was one of the
chaplains to Edward vi., and was offered and declined the
living of All Hallows, and assisted in the revision both
of the Articles and of the Prayer-Book of the Church of

78. Castb Campbell, near Dollar, where John Knox preached in 1556.
England j Rochester, of which he was offered the Bishopric,
at the suggestion of the Duke of Northumberland ; Buck
inghamshire, Kent, etc., in which Knox preached before his
flight to the Continent from the Marian persecution.
(c) In France. — Rouen, Fecamp, Nantes, and La Rochelle,
where during nineteen months Knox was a prisoner in the

Contents of the Rooms Shown to the Public 1 17
French galleys, half naked and chained to the oar ; Dieppe,
where, during exile, Knox preached in French, with as great
power as in English.
(d) In Germany. — Frankfort-on-Main, where, during
exile, Knox acted as one of the ministers of the English

79. Myles Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter, the Translator ofthe Bible.
godfather to John Knox's second son, born at Geneva.
congregation, the other minister being Thomas Lever,
M.A., Master of St. John's College, Cambridge.

1x8 Contents ofthe Rooms Shown to the Public
(e) In Switzerland. — Geneva, where, during exile, Knox
acted as one of the ministers of the English colony of two
hundred and twelve souls, numbering among them some of
the most eminent scholars in the Church of England, such
as Myles Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter, William Whitting
ham, Dean of Durham, and Thomas Sampson, Dean of
Chichester. D. Objects of Interest
(a) Letters, original, and in facsimile, written by or to
John Knox, such as the facsimile letter from Knox to
Queen Elizabeth, of part of which a reduced facsimile is
given on next page.^
' Xn modernised spelling, this letter runs as follows : —
' Grace from God the Father, through our X^rd Jesus Christ, with
perpetual increase of His Holy Spirit.
' May it please Your Majesty that it is here certainly spoken that the
Queen of Scotland [Queen Mary] travailleth earnestly to have a treatise
entitled " The First Blast of the Trumpet " confuted by the censure of the
learned in divers realms, and farther that she laboureth to inflame the
hearts of Princes against the writer. And because that it may appear that
Your Majesty hath interest, that she mindeth to travaill with Your Grace,
Your Grace's [Privy] Council, and learned men for judgment against such
a common enemy to women and to their regiment (rule). It were but
foolishness to me to prescribe unto Your Majesty what is to hs done in
anything, but especially in such things as men suppose do touch myself.
But of one thing X think myself assured ; and therefore I dare not conceal
it. To wit, that neither doth Our Sovereign so greatly fear her own estate
by reason of that book, neither yet doth she so unfeignedly favour the
tranquillity of Your Majesty's reign and realm, that she would take so great
and earnest pains, unless that her crafty counsel in so doing shot at a
farther mark Two years ago I ^vrote unto Your Majesty my full declara
tion touching that work. Experience since hath shown that I am not
desirous of innovations, so that Christ Jesus be not in His Members openly
trodden under the feet of the ungodly. With further purgation I will
not trouble Yoiu Majesty for the present,' etc.

^- .

-/^

-/i-i^--\A-f^ // -.^ ,M^:f..^^^ /s-./jv/2. irt;i^LiTr

j-Sf^ .^.-j i."."^
80. Portion of a tetter to Queen Elizabeth from John Knox in 156..

^„...  (^^ fir

/V*^

120 Contents ofthe Rooms Shown to the Public
(b) Articles belonging to John Knox.
(c) Original letters, journals, etc., illustrating the time in
which John Knox lived.
(d) Miscellaneous articles, such as furniture, tapestry,
weapons, armour, coins, etc., in use in or about the time of
John Knox.

8i. Cain and Abel.
(From the ancient panel picture in John Knox's Dining-Room.)
II. Second Floor.
I. John Knox's Bedroom. — Here Knox died on 24th
November 1572. We have already quoted on page 85 his

Contents ofthe Rooms Shown to the Public X2X
Secretary's account of the scene. The panelling of this
room is modern. Certain dates of interest in connection
with John Knox's family history have been inscribed above
the fireplace, and at the side of the window is a charac
teristic passage from one of his sermons. A piece of the
original ceiling of the dining-room, which was destroyed by
fire, hangs in the passage leading from this room along the
western wall to the duiing-room. Higher up the wall of the
same passage is the wooden pulpit and canopy, which for
many years surrounded the figure of Moses at the south
western angle of the house.
2. John Knoxs Dining-ioom. — The panel pictures and
portions of the panelling are ancient. The whole wood
work was at one time covered with paint and whitewash.
At one of the windows is a painting of a country scene,
with a sheet of water in the foreground in which swans
are swimming. Opposite the fireplace, there is a quaint
representation of the sacrifices of Cain and Abel, and
Abel's murder. At the top of the latter is the inscription,
' Cain et Abel oferentes.' (See page 120.)
Notice the original edition of one of Knox's books hang
ing in a frame, and the copy of Knox's figure taken by a
Swedish artist from Sir David Wilkie's unfinished picture
of ' Knox dispensing the Sacrament in Calder House,' now
in the Scottish National Gallery. (See the Frontispiece.)
3. John Knox's Study. — This room, like the ' Front
Room ' below, has been formed in the wooden casing of the

X22 Contents ofthe Rooms Shown to the Public
house. It contains a fireplace, lined with old Dutch tiles,
and a recess which might have been a cupboard or a
library, besides two small windows.
The Minute of Town Council referring to the construc
tion of a ' warm study of deals ' for John Knox has been
already quoted (page 45). The chair in this room belonged
to John Knox, and was presented to the house by the Rev.
Thomas M'Crie, D.D., son ofthe biographer of Knox.

VIII
TESTIMONIES OF WRITERS, MOSTLY
ENGLISH AND CONTEMPORARY, TO
KNOX'S CHARACTER AND WORK
' What I have been to my country, although this unthankful
age will not know, yet ages to come will be compelled to bear
witness to the truth.' — John Knox (Works, vi. 596).

82. Knox's Pulpit— in the Antiquarian Museum, Edinburgh.
' I assure you the voice of this one man, John Knox, is able
Randolph the ^'^ °^^ hour to put more life in us than five
English Am- hundred trumpets continually blustering in our
bassador, 1561 turs.'— Thomas Randolph, the English Ambas
sador, in a letter to Sir William Cecil (afterwards Lord
Burghley), Queen Elizabeth's Chief Secretary of State, 1561.
123

124 Testimonies of Contemporary Writers

'John Knox thundereth out of the pulpit. He ruleth the
_, „ roost, and of him all men stand in fear.' — The
The Same , _. ,,. , ~, , _ ,. ,
same to Sir Nicolas Throckmorton, English
Ambassador at Paris, 1561.

83. Bishop Ridley, burned at the stake, 1555. A friend of Knox, when
Knox was one of Edward Sixth's Chaplains.
'Alas that our brother Knox could not bear with our Book of
Ridley, Bishop Common Prayer ! Matters against which, al-
ofLondon.isss though, I grant, a man, as he is, of wit and
learning, may find to make apparent reasons, but I suppose

to Knox's Character and Work 125
he cannot be able soundly to disprove by God's Word. . . .
Surely Master Knox is, in my mind, a man of much good
learning and of an earnest zeal.' — Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of
'London, writing to Dr. Edmund Grindall {afterwards Arch
bishop of Canterbury), 1555.
' A runagate Scot [John Knox] did take away the adoration
Weston, or worshipping of Christ in the Sacrament ; by
University of whose procurement that heresy [the Declaration
Oxford, 1554 on Kneeling at the end of the Communion Service
in the Book of Common Prayer] was put into the last Com
munion Book. So much prevailed that one man's authority at
that time ! ' — Dr. Weston, Prolocutor, University of Oxford, in
dispute with Bishop Latimer at Oxford, 1554.
' Some disputes have arisen within these few days among
John Uten- the Bishops in consequence of a sermon by a
hovius, a pious preacher [John Knox], chaplain to the Duke
Gemleman °^ Northumberland, preached by him before the
resident in King and Council, in which he inveighed with
X.ondon, 1552 great freedom against kneeling at the Lord's
Supper, which is still retained here in England. This good
man, however, a Scotsman by nation, has so wrought upon
the minds of many, that we may hope some good to the Church
will at length arise from.it, which I earnestly implore the Lord
to grant.'— /i?/z« Utenhovius writing to Henry BuUinger, in
Latin, from London, l2.th October 1552.
' I have that opinion of John Knox's honesty and godliness
. , that he will not disdain to hear better reasons.
Bishop of nor be loth to be taught in anything he misseth.'
London, 1559 _Jq/i^ Aylmer, Bishop of London, in answer to
Knox's First Blast against the Monstrous Regiment [Govern
ment] of Wome7t.

126 Testimonies of Contemporary Writers
' You, my most affectionate brother Knox, both England and
gg^jg Germany, but especially our brotherly agreement
Bishop of in the doctrine of Christ Our Lord, have bound
Ossory, 1558 jq jj,g_ Yot there is no one who does not praise,
admire, and welcome your faith, constancy, and patience, proved
as they are by so many troubles, so great persecution, and long
and grievous exWe.'—fohn Bale, Bishop of Ossory, writing to
fohn Knox, 1558.
'John Knox wja's a learned, wise, grave, and godly man.' —
Whittingham, William Whittingham, Dean of Durham, god-
Durhara father to John Knox's eldest son, Nathanael.
'The notable and comfortable exposition of Master John
John Field, Knox upon the Fourth of Matthew is a seal ofhis
a leader godly and wonderful labours, carrying in the
Elizabfthan fo^^^head thereof what an heroical and bold spirit
Puritans, he was, how faithfully and constantly he stood for
'583 the glorious truth of Jesus Christ; and how
mightily, in the end, after many and tedious troubles, per
secutions, and calamities, God gave him yet a victory, so that
he prevailed against all those bulls of Bashan.'— /o/m Field,
1583- ' Knox was a man endowed with rare gifts, and a chief
Spottiswood instrument that God used for the work of these
Archbishop of times.' — fohn Spottiswood (1565-1639), Arch-
St. Andrews ^^^^^^ ^jr ^f Andrews and Lord Chancellor
of Scotland.
'Ilia astuta vulpecula Joannes Cnoxius Scotus!!' (That
Peter Victor crafty little fox, John Knox of Scotland!!)
j,_- ' — Peter Victor Cajetan Palma, a fesuit Priest.
' Knox, the Reformer of a kingdoin. . . . That great man.' —
I h M'lt fohn Milton in the ' Areopagitica, a Plea for the
Liberty of Unlicensed Printing.'

to Knox's Character and Work 127
'We have been afflicted beyond belief by the death of Master
Theodore Knox ; for the death of good men always appears
Beza, Geneva, premature.' (Quod bonorum virorum immaturus
1573 semper obitus videatur.) — Theodore Beza writing
to Andrew Melville, 1573.
'Nescio an unquam Deus magis pium aut majus ingenium
Thomas in fragili et imbecillo corpore coUocavit.' (I know
Smeton, 1579 ^gt if God ever lodged greater piety or a more
noble genius in a frail and feeble body.) — Thomas Smeton,
Principal of the University of Glasgow, in his ''foannis Knoxii
Vera extre7ncB vitce et obitus Historia^ I579.
' Knox was a galley slave. The master ofthe galley was glad
Dr. Fulke, to be rid of him ; because he never had good
1580 success so long as he kept that holy man in
slavery, whom also, when in danger of tempest, he, though an
arrant Papist, would desire to commend him and his galley to
God in his prayers.' — T. Stapleton and Martiall, two Popish
heretics, confuted by William Fulke, D.D., Master of Pembroke
Hall, Cambridge, 1580.
' During the pastor Delaporte's absence, the elders of the
David Asseline,-?^'''^-^^'^^ °^ Dieppe continued their prayers and
Roman Catho- public reading of the Scripture there, each in his
lie Priest q^jj quarter and in secret. But the minister,
John Knox, a Scotsman by nation, and a great enemy of the
Cathohc Church, from which he had apostatised, arrived in
this town on the 19th of February 1559, according to our
reckoning. This man, who was audacious and learned, and
(as Florimonde de Raimond, liv. 6, chap, xvi., says) factious,
and so eloquent that he managed men's souls as he wished,
having preached at Dieppe during six or seven weeks, made
such great progress and increased the number of the perverts
so greatly that they had the hardihood to go to sermon in full
(Jay ! ' — Les Antiguitez et Chroniques de la Ville de Dieppe,
par David Asseline, pretre, i. 283.

IX

KNOX'S EXTANT WRITINGS
I. History of the Reformation of Religion in Scotland, in
five books.
2. Admonitory Writings, including his public letters to
Scotland, e.g. (i) A Letter of Wholesome Counsel, addressed

I?  "¦ 
THE BLAST

6yf

o ¥jrH%

t V M 'f e T .A Cf .A t '2l_ S T
TUi. MONSTKVOtS
-regiment of , .

woffien»

l^

84. Title-page of Knox's ' First Blast. The extravagant views expressed in this
treatise were largely the result of the persecution of Protestants by the four
Queens of Scotland, England, and FrancCj whose pictures are given on the
following pages.
to his Brethren in Scotland, 1556, and (2) Letters to his
Brethren and the Lords professing the Truth in Scotland;
1557 ; also his public letters to England, e.g. (i) A Faith-
128

Knox's Extant Writings 129
ful Admonition to the Professors of God's Truth in Eng
land, 1554, (2) Two Comfortable Epistles to his Afflicted
Brethren in England, 1554, (3) A Godly Letter of Warning,
or Admonition to the Faithful in London, Newcastle, and
Berwick, 1554, (4) An Epistle to the Inhabitants of New
castle and Berwick, 1558, and (5) A Brief Exhortation to
England for the Speedy embracing of the Gospel, 1559;

85. Mary of Guise, Queen Regent of Scotland, mother of Mary, Queen
of Scots (from the picture in the National Portrait Gallery, London,
formerly thought to be a portrait of her daughter).
also his public letters to the Queen Regent of Scotland in
1556 and 1558; also his Appellation from the Sentence
pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy, addressed to the
Nobility and Estates of Scotland, 1558; his First Blast of
the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women,

X30 Knox's Extant Writings
1558; and his Reasoning with the Abbot of Crossraguel,
1562. 3. Devotional Writings, consisting of Expositions of
different parts of Scripture ; and Sermons. Also his Dis
course at Durham before the Council of the North, includ
ing Dr. Tonstall, Roman Catholic Bishop of Durham,

86. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, by Francois Clouet.
entitled, A Vindication of the Doctrine that the Sacrifice of
the Mass is Idolatry, 1550 j A Treatise on Fasting, 1566;
The Form of Excommunication, 1569 ; A' Treatise on Pre
destination in Answer to the Cavillations by an Anabaptist,
1566 ; and An Answer to a Letter written by James Tyrie,
Scottish Jesuit, 1572.

Knox's Extant Writings

131

4. Private Letters, including letters to Queen Elizabeth,
1559 and 1561, Sir William Cecil, Thomas Randolph, the
Earl of Leicester, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York,
Sir Henry Percy, Sir James Crofts, the Duke of Chatelherault,
the Earl of Argyll, the Earl of Moray, Sir William Douglas of
Lochleven, John Foxe, John Calvin, Mrs. Knox (Marjorie
Bowes), Mrs. Bowes, Mrs. Anna Lock, Mrs. Guthrie.
Knox's whole writings are contained in The Works of
John Knox, collected and edited in six volumes by David
Laing, LL.D.

87. Mary Tudor, Queen of England ('The Bloody Mary '), by Holbein.
See also: —
(i) Select Practical Writings of John Knox. Issued
by the Free Church of Scotland, 1845.

132 Knox's Extant Writings
(2) The English Scholars' Library, Reprint by Ed
ward Arber, F.S.A., of John Knox's 'First Blast
of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment
of Women,' 1878.
(3) John Knox's History ofthe Reformation in Scotland,
edited for popular use by Charles J. Guthrie,
Q.C. A. & C. Black, London, 1898.

Catharine de' Medici, Queen of France, Instigator of the Massacre of
St. Bartholomew, 1572, by Frangois Clouet.

X
BOOKS REFERRING TO KNOX AND TO
KNOX'S HOUSE
I. Biographies of John Knox, by
(r) Rev. Thomas M'Crie, D.D., 1811.
(2) P. Hume Brown, LL.D., 1895.
(3) Rev. W. M. Taylor, D.D., New York, 1884.
(4) Mrs. Florence A. MacCunn (' Leaders of Religion '
Series), 1895.
(5) A. Taylor Innes, Advocate (' Famous Scots ' Series),
1896.
(6) Brandes, Elberfeld, 1862,
2. Miscellaneous. (i) History of England, vols. v. and vi. ; and The
Tnfluence ofthe Reformation on the Scottish Char
acter, by J. A. Froude.
(2) History of Scotland, vols. iii. and iv., by John Hill
Burton.
(3) History of Scotland, vols. vi. and vii., by Patrick
Eraser Tytler.

134 Books Referring to Knox an<3 Knox's House
(4) Memorials of Transactions in Scotland, 1569-1573,
by Richard Bannatyne, Secretary to John
Knox.
(5) Heroes and Hero- Worship ; and Essay on the Por
traits of John Knox, by Thomas Carlyle.
(6) John Knox and his Relations to Women, in Familiar
Studies of Men and Books, by R. L. Stevenson.
("]) John Knox and the Church of England, by Rev.
Professor Lortmer, D.D., 1875.
(8) John Knox, by ^neas Mackay, LL.D., in Dictionary
of National Biography.
(9) The Last Days of John Knox, by Rev. Professor
Mitchell, D.D., in Catholic Presbyterian, vol.
vi. page 265.
(10) John Knox' s Manse, in Traditions of Edinburgh, by
Robert Chambers.
(11) John Knox and his Manse, by Peter Miller, F.S.A.
Scot. ; John Knox's House, Netherbow, Edin
burgh, by Sir Daniel Wilson, LL.D. ; and Is John
Knox's House entitled to the Name ? by Charles
J. Guthrie, Q.C, F.S.A. Scot, in Proceedings
of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,
1890-91, third series, volume i.
(12) The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scot
land, by Messrs. Macgibbon and Ross, vol. iv.
p. 424.
(13) Royal Edinburgh, by Mrs. Oliphant.

Books Referring to Knox and Knox's House X35
(14) Old and New Edinburgh, by James Grant. Vol. i.
(15) Memorials oj Edinburgh, by Sir Daniel Wilson,
LL.D.
(16) St. Giles, by the Very Rev. J. Cameron Lees,
D.D., LL.D.
(17) Bothwell, a Tragedy, by Algernon C. Swinburne.

8g. Stone marking Knox's Grave, to the south of St, Giles Church.

' Let the sound of those he wrought for,
Let the feet of those he fought for,
Echo round his bones for evermore ! '

INDEX

Aberdeen, 114.
Adamson, John, 91.
All Hallows, Church of, in London,
Vicarage offered to Knox, 13, 116.
Amersham, 14.
Anstruther, 114.
Antiquaries of Scotland, Society of,
93-
Argyll, Earl of, 131.
Arnot, Hugo, 43.
Arran, Earl of, 62.
Arres, John and Mariot, 39.
Asseline, David, 127.
Aylmer, Bishop of London, 125.
Ayr, 114.
Bale, John, Bishop of Ossory, 126.
Balmerino House next Knox's
house, 36.
Bannatyne, Richard, Knox's Secre
tary, 73, 74.. 76, 79. 82, 83, 8s, 134.
Beaton, Cardinal, 5, 109.
Berwick, 8, 9, 17, 114.
Beza, Theodore, 15, 127.
Bill, William, Dean of Westminster,
Royal Chaplain with Knox, 11.
• Blast of the Trumpet against the
Monstrous Regiment of Women,
The First,' 16, 118, 128, 132.
Bonnar, W., R.S.A., 6.
Bothwell, Earl of, i, 20, 61.
Bowes, Marjorie, Knox's first wife,
IS. 19. S3. S4. SS. 56,89, 131; Mrs.,
Knox's mother-in-law, 54, 131 ;

Sir Ralph, Knox's grandfather-in-
law, 53 ; Richard, Knox's father-
in-law, 15, 53; Sir Robert, Knox's
uncle-in-law, 54; Robert, Knox's
brother-in-law, 56, 89.
Boyd, Lord, 82.
Braid, Laird of, 82.
Brechin,, 114.
Bro\fn, Dr. Hume, Knox's bio
grapher, 52, 91, lot, 133.
Buchanan, George, 43, 44.
Buckinghamshire, 116.
BuUinger, Henry, I25.
Burghley, Lord, (see Sir William
Cecil).
Burton's History, 133.
Caithness, Bishop of, 82.
Calder House, 114, 115.
Caldetv/ood's History, 21, 76, 87, 97.
Calvin, John, 15, 16, 56, 82, 113,
131-
Cambridge, St. John's CoIlegl^
Knox's sons Fellows of, 57.
Campbell, Robert, of Kinyean
cleuch, 84, 90.
Canterbury, Archbishop of, 131.
Carlos, Don, 67.
Carlyle, Thomas, 7, 43, 55, 60, 78,
80, 85, 99, 100, IOI, 107, 134.
Castle Campbell, 114, 116.
Catharine de' Medici, 132.
Cecil, Sir William, 11, 17, 59, 60,
64, 69, 70, 76, 77, 123, 131.
137

138

Index

Chatelherault, Duke of, 62, 64, 131.
Church of England, Articles of, 11.
 Prayer-Book of, 9, 125.
Clacton Magna, Eleazer Knox's
vicarage, 57.
Clouet, Kranfois, 58, 132.
Cockburn (of Ormiston), 2.
Council, Privy, of England, 7, 9.
 of Scotland, 19, 21, 68.
Coverdale, Myles, Bishop of Exeter,
16, 117, 118.
Craig, John, Knox's colleague in
Edinburgh, 19, 45.
Crail( 114.
Cranmer, Archbishop, 7, 8, 116.
Croc, Du, French Ambassador, 21.
Crofts, Sir James, English Ambas
sador, I, 131.'
Crossraguel, Abb3t of, 130.
Darnley, Earl of, 20, 46.
Davidson, Master John, i.
-Dieppe, 14, 16, 117. •
Douglas (of Longniddry), 2.
Douglas, Sir W. Fettes, /".R.S.A.,
78.
Drumlanrig, Laird of, 82.
Drummond, James, R.S.A., 71, 99.
Dumfries, 114.
Dun, 114.
Dundee, 114.
Dunfermhne, Abbot of, 40.
Durham, 9..
Durie, John, 45, 80.
Edinburgh, 16, 17, 24, 114.
 Castle of, 40. ¦
 Town Council of, 44.
Edward vi., 7,. 10, 13, 65, 76, 116.
 His six chaplains. 9, 11.
Elizabeth, Queen, 17, 18, 44, 119, 131'.
Ewbank, J., R.S.A., 29.
Fairlie, Alexander, Knox's son-
in-law, 73.
Faith, Confession of, 19.
Fecamp, 7, 116.
Field, .John, 126. '

Foxe, John, 54, 112, 131.
France, 14, 57, 95.
Frankfort, 14, 117.
Froude's History, Prefatory Note,
I. 133-
Fulke, Dr. W. , of Cambridge, 127.
Galleys, Knox a prisoner in, 5, 7.
Gait, John, Annals of the Parish, 48.
Geneva, 14, 15, 16, 90, 118.
Germany, 117.
Gheeraedts, Marc, jj.
Gifford, 114.
Glasgow, 114,
 University of,' 2.
Glencairn, Lord, 82.
Goodman, Christopher, B. D. ,
Knox's colleague at Geneva, 15,
46.
Grindall, Edmund, Archbishop of
Canterbury, Royal Chaplain with
Knox, II, 125.
Guild, liean of, 45, 93.
Guise, Mary of {see Mary).
Guthrie, Alexander, Town-clerk of
Edinburgh, 47.
H.IDDINGTON, I, 2, 114.
Hamilton, Archbishop, 5.
Hampton Court, 9.
Hare, Augustus J. C.j 56.
Harley, John, Bishop of Hereford,
Royal Cha,plain with Knox, 1 1.
Henry vm. , 39.
Hertford, Earl of, 39.
History of the Reformation in Scot
land, Knox's, 20, 59, 62", 65, 68,
69, 128, 132.
Holbein, 10, 131.
Holyrood, Palace of, 19, 57, 62, 64,
65, 66.
Home, Robert, Bishop of Winches
ter, KoyalChaplalriwith Knox.'ii.
Hume, David, 70.
Innes, A. Taylor, Knox's bio-
grajjher, 101, 133.
iInc]U!sltion, the, 19.

Index

139

James v., 38.
 VI., Coins of, 98; coronation
of, 20.
Jedburgh, 114.
Johnston, John, 91.
Kelso, 90, 114.
Kent, 116.
Ketel, 64.
Kirkaldy, Sir William, 40.
K neeling. Declaration concerning, 9.
Knox, John, chief events in the life
of, 1-21 ; death-bed, 79-85 ; grave,
13s ; will, 87 ;. writings, 128 ;
pulpit, 123 ; portraits, 102-8.
Knox, John, his House : pictures of
the House, Frontispiece, 29, 30,
32, 94 ; situation and structure,
22 ; erection and early history,
38 ; its connection with John
Knox, 42 ; incidents connected
with Knox's Edinburgh life, 53^
later history of the XJouse, 92 ;
contents of rooms shown to
the public, 97 ; ground-plans,
33 ; lower storey, 25 ; audience
chamber, 28, 97 ; bedroom, 28,
83, 120; dining-room, 28, 63, 121 ;
study, 28, 61, 121 ; museum, 102.
Knox, Mrs. (see Marjorie Bowes).
 Mrs. (see Margaret Stewart).
 Eleazer (son), 16, 57, 89.
 Elizabeth (daughter), 20, 73,89.
 Margaret (daughter), 20, 73, 89.
 Martha (daughter), 20, 73, 89.
 • Nathanael (son), 16, 57, 89.
 ¦ Paul (nephew), 90.
 William (father), i ; (brother),
90.
Kylligrew, Sir Henry, English Am
bassador, 76.
La Rochelle, 7, 116.
Laing, Dr. David, Editor of Knox's
Works, 52, 100, IOI, 131, 133.
Latimer, Bishop, 125.
X^awson, James, Knox's successor
in St. Giles, 21, 79.

League, Catholic, for extirpation
of Protestants, signed by Mary,
Queen of Scots, 20.
Leicester, Earl of, 131.
Leslie, Bishop, no.
Lethington. ^^^ Maitland.
Lever, 'I'homas, M.A., Knox's col
league at Frankfort, 14, 117.
Lindsay, Lord, 82.
Linlithgow, 21, 73.
Liturgy, double page from Knox's,
81.
Lochleven, Castle of, 19, 65, 66, 114.
London, 13, 116.
M'Crie, Dr., Knox's biographer,
S2, 99, IOI, 133.
MacCunn, Mrs., Knox's biographer,
80, IOI, 133.
Maitland, 'William, of Lethington
(1525-73). 69-
Maitland s History (1753), 43.
Major, John, Knox's teacher, 2.
Mary, Queen of Scots, 19, 57, 58,
62, 65, 66, 68, 70, T^, 130.
Mary (of Guise), 38, 59, 129.
 CTudor), 13, 14, 131.
Melville, James, 74, 87.
Milton, John, 126.
Montrose, 114.
Moray, Earl of, 20, 72, 73, 131.
Moro, 'Sir Antonio, 13.
Morton, Earl of, 21, 82, 85, 86.
Mosman, John and James, 38, 39.
Nantes, 7, 116.
Newcastle, 9, 114.
Norham, Captain of the Hold of,
16, S3-
Northumberland, Duke of, 11, 12,
125.
Notarial Deed, Knox s, 3.
Ochiltree, I^ord, 20, 70, 90.
Oliphant. Mrs,, 31. 48, 134.
Palma, Peter Victor Cajetan,
126.

I40

Index

Park, Alexander, Treasurer of Edin
burgh, 44.
Parliament, Scots, 19, 20.
Percy, Sir Henry, 131.
Perne, Andrew, Dean of Ely, Royal
Chaplain with Knox, 11.
Perth, 114.
Philip II. of Spain, 67.
Pont, Rev. Zachary, Knox's son-in-
law, 73.
Pope, abolition of Scottish ¦ juris
diction of the, 19.
Portraits of Knox, Thomas Car
lyle's Essay on, 99.
, Preston, Dr. , 84. '
Randolph, Thomas, English Am
bassador, 56, 60, 89, 123, 131.
Ridley, Nicholas, Bishop of London,
124.
Robertson, Principal, 70.
Rochester, Bishopric of, offered to
John Knox, 11, 12, 76, 116.
Ross, Bishop of, 69.
Rouen, 7, 116.
Ruthven, Lord, 82.
St. Andrews, 5, 6, 74, 75, 114.
 Castle of, 5.
St. Bartholomew,' Massacre of, 21.
St. Croix, Cardinal de, 59.
St. Giles, Church of, 17, 21, 50, 78,
97- , ,
St. James Palace, 9.
Sampson, Thomas, Dean of Chi
chester, 118.
Scone, Abbey and Palace of, 17.
Sinclair, John, Knox's assumed
name, i.
Smeton, Principal Thomas, 49, 78,
127.
Somerset, the Protector, 9, 116.

Spens, John, Queen's Advocate, 46.
Spottiswood, Archbishop of St.
Andrews, 126.
Spottiswood's History, 80.
Stark's Guide-book, 44.
Stevenson, Andrew, 'Treasurer of
Edinburgh, 47.
Stevenson, Robert Louis, 134.
Stewart, Archibald, 80.
Stewart, Margaret, Knox's second
wife, 20, 70, 84, 89, go.
Stirling, 20, 114.
Streatlam, Castle of, 53, 56.
Taylor, Dr. W. M. , of New York,
Knox's biographer, loi, 133.
Tonstall, Dr. , Bishop of Durham, 9.
Tudor, Queen Mary (see Mary).
Tytler's History, 78, 133.
Utenhovius, John, 125.
Watch given by Mary to Knox,
66-7.
Watson, Robert, 91.
Welsh, Rev. John, Knox's son-in-
law, 73.
Westminster, 9.
Weston, Dr. , of Oxford, 125.
'Whittingham, William, Dean of
Durham, 16, 118, 126.
Wilkie, Sit David, R.A., Frontis
piece, 75, IIS, 121.
Wilson, Professor Sir Daniel, 40,
52, 93. I3S-
Windsor, 9.
Wishart, George, 5.
York, Archbishop of, 131.
Zucchero, 18.
Zurich, 14.

Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers to Her Majesty
at the Edinburgh University Press

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" It is written throughout with a gusto which is not
the most frequent quality in modem work, though it is
always discovered by the public. One feels that the
author has relish in living, relish in writing and repre
senting some bit of life upon a stage ; that he realises the
struggle of life, and seeks reward where reward must be
found, or not at all. There is a robust healthiness of
temper in the story of 'A Fair Norwegian,' and
Hamilton Mackenzie and Mbs Webster — clever, kind,
rather wonderful Miss Webster. " — Christian Leatier.
" WeU conceived and cleverly written." — Sheffield
Daily Telegraph.
"A charming story, pleasantly told and full of incident.
We are introduced into a cheerful circle of Scotch
journalists and young literary men in Miss Webster's cosy
drawing-room, where Minnie Olsen, the artless and
fascinating child of the North, is the centre of attraction,
delighting ever)one by her simplicity and grace." —
Literary World.
" A well-told story of to-day ; the characters are
natural and lifelike ; the course of events is interesting,
and occasionally exciting ; the sentiment is genuine and
wholesome ; and the story as a whole is one that may
be read with profit as well as with pleasure." — Dundee
Advertiser. "The book is cleverly and vigorously written, abounds
with graphic sketches, and is decidedly wholesome and
elevating in tone, whilst the interest is well maintained
throughout." — Daily Free Press.

EDINBURGH AND LONDON
OLIPHANT, ANDERSON & FERRIER,
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Large Crown Svo, Cloth Extra, Price 3s. 6d.
'' Sprays of Northern Pine!'
By Fergus Mackenzie,
Author of "Cruisie Sketches,"
" As aliterary artist— one whose pictures are traced with marvellous
fidelity, whose work is characterised by refreshing simplicity of
style and an entire absence of any straining after effect — Fergus
Mackenzie has no compeer in the whole range of modern delineators
of Scottish peasant life and character. . . , The opening sketch,
entitled * The Last Sheaf,' is one of the grandest idylls of the
' hairst field ' ever given to the world," — Kirriemuir Observer.
" For tender pathos, quiet humour, skill in portraiture, and true
to nature delineations of humble life, he has no living equal. The
pure, unadulterated nature, too, of his Doric adds piquancy to the
various sketches." — Brechin Advertiser.
"The sketches bring out the poetry underlying the sordid prose
of Scottish peasant life. They illustrate that life in all its serious
ness, its sombreness, its thrifty its unconscious pawky humour, its
innate piety, with photographic fidelity, yet with the artistic touch
of imagination and delicate tenderness." — Dundee Advertiser,
"Mr. Fergus Mackenzie provides an exceedingly readable series
of sketches of Scottish village life. Glenbruar, the scene of most of
the sketches, lies within sight ofthe Grampians. Of its inhabitants,
Mr. Mackenzie, with sympathetic pen, narrates tales, sometimes sad
and sometimes laughable,_but all in their way thoroughly interesting.
There is a refreshing individuality about the stories which charms
the reader." — Scotstnan.
" It is not because of scene that the stories are so richly enjoyable, —
indeed, there is no waste of landscape description in the book, — but
their intrinsic truthfulness to fact and pathos ; tiiere is wealth of
humour, human sympathy, clear insight into character, and a power
of story telling in this book."' — Kilmarnock Herald.
" In every tale or sketch there is freshness and variety ; there is
rare skill in portraiture ; there is a fine sympathy and insight into
human nature ; and every sentiment rings true. Furthermore— and
this is very unusual in books of the kind — all the sketches are of
high quality ; there is not one that would have been better omitted."
— Weekly Scotsman.
'"Sprays of Northern Pine' is one book in a crowd, but its
superlative merit cannot remain long hid. There is talent here above
tbe average. Fergus Mackenzie can penetrate into the inner mean
ing of men and things ; he can produce characteristic and striking
portraits, and with equal felicity paint tbe world in which they move.
Humour and pathos alternate like the shine and showers of an April
day; the fountains of laughter and tears are never far apart." —
Perthshire Courier.
" Fergus Mackenzie's style is distinctly his own, and there is a
truthfulness and a sobriety of tone in all these sketches that brings
an air of reality into them." — Bookseller^ Review.
" The stories are short, realistic, and faithful sketches of Scottish
rural life and character. The author's grip and sympathy indicate
that he has felt and realised the higher and more beautiful side of a
life that is apt to be commonplace and meagre. His pathos is really
touching, and his humour spontaneous and genuine. . . . These
fresh and wholesome stories glisten with many a gem of human
nature, and beat with the kindly pulse of charity and affection." —
Leeds Mercury. 
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Crown Svo, with Frontispiece, Pictorial
Boards, as. ; Cloth, 2S. 6d.

" Tibbys Tryst ;

or.

I will lift mine Eyes unto the Hills"
By ROBiNA F. Hardy.

" There is nothing striking in the pages — ^just a truth
ful, wholesome tale of the ups and downs of life. Where
humour steals in, there we have the best work. The chief
scene of the story is the old mansion of Roger Balbimo of
that Ilk, situated in ' that somewhat dreary flap of Mid-
Lothian descending from the ridge of the Moorfoot Hills,
and touching with its plainer skirts the romantic shires
watered by the Tweed and Teviot.' Some of the incidents
conduct the reader over the hills to regions hallowed by-
pious memories of the Martyrs of Covenanting times.
The Widow EUerslie's stem Scottish sense of the decorum
befitting a house of mourning, and the healthy, joyous
children's inability to speak in whispers or wear for any
length of time the face of grief, is a touch of genius as here
depicted. " ' Div I hear the lauchter of the fule and dafiSn' gaun
on afore ma verra een 1 Whaur 's yer daily breed to come
frae noo 7 Lauchin' I an' he 's in the mools this day that
has fed and deeded ye till ye cam' to man's estate !' half
storms and sobs the new-made widow to her abashed
striplings. The two Tibbys, cousins, are in their different
ways well drawn." — Christian Leader.

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