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Who were the
Covenanters? It has been
suggested that Gilmerton Cove could have been used as a hideout by
Covenanters in the 17th century, but who were the Covenanters? Simply stated,
the Covenanters were those people in Scotland who signed the National
Covenant in 1638. They signed this Covenant to confirm their opposition to
the interference by the Stuart kings in the affairs of the Presbyterian
Church of Scotland. The Stuart
kings harboured the belief of the Divine Right of the Monarch. Not only
did they believe that God wished them to be the infallible rulers of their
kingdom - they also believed that they were the spiritual heads of the
Church of Scotland. This latter belief could not be accepted by the Scots.
No man, not even a king, could be spiritual head of their church. Only
Jesus Christ could be spiritual head of a Christian church.
This was the nub of the entire Covenanting struggle. The
Scots were, and would have been, loyal to the Stuart dynasty but for that
one sticking point, and from 1638, when the Covenant was signed, until the
Glorious Revolution - when Prince William of Orange made a bloodless
invasion of Great Britain in 1688 - a great deal of suffering, torture,
imprisonment, transportation and executions would ensue.
King Charles I had introduced the Book of Common Prayer to
Scotland in 1637 to the fury and resentment of the populace. He declared
that opposition to the new liturgy would be treason, and thus came about
the Covenant. There followed a
period of very severe repression. Ministers with Covenanting sympathies
were "outed" from their churches by the authorities, and had to leave
their parishes. Many continued to preach at "conventicles" in the open air
or in barns and houses. This became an offence punishable by death.
Citizens who did not attend their local churches (which were now in the
charge of Episcopalian "curates") could be heavily fined, and such
offenders were regarded as rebels, who could be questioned, even under
torture. They could be asked to take various oaths, which not only
declared loyalty to the king, but also to accept his as head of the
church. Failure to take such an oath could result in summary execution by
the muskets of the dragoons, who were scouring the districts looking for
rebels.
 The persecutions became
more frequent and cruel on the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. As time
went on more and more ordinary folk became involved, and skirmishes and
battles took place against Government troops. In 1678 the Government
raised an army of 6,000 Highlanders, who had no love for the Presbyterian
lowlanders. This army swept through the west and south of Scotland,
looting and plundering. They remained for many years, quartering
themselves on the already impoverished Covenanters.
from
www.covenanter.org.uk
For a detailed history of the Covenanters, visit
www.sorbie.net/covenanters.htm |
