John knox

John Knox (Haddington, Kingdom of Scotland 1514-Edinburgh, Kingdom of Scotland November 24, 1572) was a Scottish Protestant preacher, leader of the Scottish Reformation and considered the founder of The Presbyterian Church. from Scotland. Influenced by early reformers such as George Wishart, he joined the reform movement in the Scottish Church. He was involved in the ecclesiastical and political events related to the death of David Beaton in 1546 and the intervention of the Regent of Scotland, Mary of Guise. He was taken prisoner by French forces the following year, and upon his release in 1549 he went into exile in England. He is recognized as the Father of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland.

Born in Giffordgate, Knox is believed to have been educated at the University of St Andrews and worked as a notary-priest. Influenced by early Scottish reformers, such as George Wishart, he joined the movement to reform the Scottish church. He became involved in the ecclesiastical and political events that resulted in the assassination of Cardinal David Beaton in 1546 and the intervention of the Regent of Scotland, Marie de Guise, a French noblewoman. The following year he was taken prisoner by French forces and exiled to England at his liberation in 1549.

While in exile, Knox was licensed to work in the Church of England, where he rose through the ranks to serve King Edward VI of England as royal chaplain. He exerted a reforming influence on the text of the Book of Common Prayer. In England, he met and married his first wife, Margery Bowes. When Mary Tudor ascended the throne of England and reestablished Roman Catholicism, Knox was forced to resign his position and leave the country. Knox moved to Geneva and then to Frankfurt. In Geneva, he met John Calvin, from whom he gained experience and knowledge of Reformed theology and Presbyterian politics. He created a new order of service, which was eventually adopted by the Church of Scotland. He left Geneva to lead the English refugee church in Frankfurt, but was forced to drop differences over liturgy, which ended his association with the Church of England.

On his return to Scotland, Knox led the Protestant Reformation of Scotland, in association with the Scottish Protestant gentry. The movement can be seen as a revolution, as it led to the overthrow of Mary of Guise, who ruled the country in the name of her little daughter of hers Mary of hers, Queen of Scots. Knox helped write the new confession of faith and ecclesiastical order for the newly created reformed church, "the Kirk". He continued to serve as the religious leader of the Protestants throughout Mary's reign. In several interviews with the Queen, Knox chided her for supporting Catholic practices. When she was imprisoned for her alleged role in the murder of her husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and King James VI was enthroned in her place, Knox openly called for her execution. He continued to preach until his last days.

Biography

Early years 1505–1546

He was born sometime between 1505 and 1515 in or near Haddington, the county town of East Lothian. His father, William Knox, was a merchant. All that is known of her mother is that her maiden name was Sinclair and that she died when John Knox was a child. His eldest son, William, ran his father's business, which assisted in Knox's international communications. Knox was probably educated at Haddington Grammar School. At this time, the priesthood was the only path for those whose inclinations were academic rather than mercantile or agricultural. He continued his studies at the University of St Andrews or possibly at the University of Glasgow. He studied under John Major, one of the greatest scholars of the day. Knox was ordained a Catholic priest in Edinburgh on Easter Eve 1536 by William Chisholm, Bishop of Dunblane. Knox first appears in public records as a priest and notary in 1540. He was still fulfilling these functions in 1543 when he described himself as a "minister of the holy altar in the Diocese of St Andrews, notary by apostolic authority & #34;In a notarial deed dated March 27. Instead of assuming parochial duties in a parish, he became guardian to two sons of Hugh Douglas of Longniddry. He also taught the son of John Cockburn of Ormiston. Both of these lairds had embraced the new religious ideas of the Reformation.

Embracing the Protestant Reformation 1546–1547

Knox did not record when or how he converted to the Protestant faith, but perhaps the key formative influences on Knox were Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart. Wishart was a reformer who had fled Scotland in 1538 to escape punishment for heresy. He first moved to England, where in Bristol he preached against the veneration of the Virgin Mary. He was forced to make a public recantation and was burned in effigy in St. Nicholas Church as a sign of his abjuration. He then took refuge in Germany and Switzerland. While on the mainland, he translated the First Helvetic Confession into English. He returned to Scotland in 1544, but the timing of his return was unfortunate. In December 1543, James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, the regent-designate for the Infant Mary, Queen of Scots, had decided with the Queen Mother, Mary of Guise, and Cardinal David Beaton to persecute the Protestant sect that had taken root in Scotland.. Wishart traveled throughout Scotland preaching for Reformation and when he came to East Lothian Knox became one of his closest associates. Knox acted as his bodyguard, wielding a two-handed sword to defend him. In December 1545, Wishart was captured on Beaton's orders by the Earl of Bothwell and taken to St Andrews Castle. Knox was present the night of Wishart's arrest and prepared to follow him into captivity, but Wishart talked him out of taking this course by saying, 'No, go back to your children and God bless you. One is enough for a sacrifice". Wishart was subsequently prosecuted by Beaton's public prosecutor of heretics, Archdeacon John Lauder. On March 1, 1546, he was burned at the stake in the presence of Beaton.

Knox had avoided arrest by Lord Bothwell through Wishart's advice to return to tutoring. He took refuge with Douglas at Longniddry. Several months later, he was still in charge of the pupils, the sons of Douglas and Cockburn, who grew tired of moving from place to place while being persecuted. He toyed with the idea of fleeing to Germany and taking his students with him. While Knox remained a fugitive, Beaton was murdered on 29 May 1546, at his residence, St Andrews Castle, by a gang of five in revenge for Wishart's execution. The assassins took over the castle and eventually their families and friends took refuge with them, around one hundred and fifty men in all. Among his friends was Henry Balnaves, a former secretary of state in the government, who negotiated with England for the financial support of the rebels. Douglas and Cockburn suggested to Knox that he take his sons to the relative safety of the castle to continue their instruction in Reformed doctrine. Knox arrived at the castle on April 10, 1547. Knox's powers as a preacher drew the attention of the garrison chaplain, John Rough. While Rough was preaching in the parish church on the Protestant principle of popular election of a pastor, he proposed Knox to the congregation for that position. Knox didn't like the idea. By his own account, he burst into tears and fled into his room. However, within a week, he was giving his first sermon to a congregation that included his former teacher, John Major. He expounded the seventh chapter of the Book of Daniel, comparing the Pope to the Antichrist. His sermon was marked by his consideration of the Bible as his only authority and the doctrine of justification by faith alone, two elements that would remain in his thoughts for the rest of his life. A few days later, he organized a debate that allowed him to issue additional theses, including the rejection of the mass, purgatory and prayers for the dead.

Confinement in the French galleys 1547-1549

Knox's chaplaincy of the castle garrison would not last long. While Hamilton was willing to negotiate with England to stop supporting the rebels and return the castle to his control, Marie de Guise decided that it could only be taken by force and asked the King of France, Henry II, to to intervene On June 29, 1547, 21 French galleys approached St Andrews under the command of Leone Strozzi, formerly Capua. The French besieged the castle and forced the surrender of the garrison on July 31. Protestant and other nobles, including Knox, were taken prisoner and forced to row the French galleys. The galley slaves were chained to benches and rowed all day without changing stance, while an officer watched over them with a whip in hand. They sailed to France and sailed up the Seine to Rouen. The nobles, some of whom would have an impact later on in Knox's life, such as William Kirkcaldy and Henry Balnaves, were sent to various castle prisons in France. Knox and the other galley slaves continued to Nantes and stayed on the Loire through the winter. They were threatened with torture if they did not give the proper signs of reverence when mass was performed in the nave. Knox related an incident in which a Scotsman, possibly himself, since he used to narrate personal anecdotes in the third person, had to show his devotion to an image of the Virgin Mary. The prisoner was told to give him a kiss of veneration. He refused and when the image came close to her face, the prisoner took the image and threw it into the sea, saying: "Let the Virgin save herself: she is light enough: let her learn to swim & # 34;. After that, according to Knox, Scottish prisoners were no longer forced to perform such devotions. In the summer of 1548, the galleys returned to Scotland to search for English ships. Knox's health was now at an all time low due to the severity of his confinement. He was sick with a fever and others on the ship feared for his life. Even in this state, Knox recalled, his mind remained sharp and he comforted his fellow prisoners in the hope of their release. As the ships lay in the high seas between St Andrews and Dundee, the spiers of the parish church where he preached came into view. James Balfour, a fellow prisoner, asked Knox if he recognized the landmark. He replied that he knew it well, recognized the steeple of the place where he first preached, and declared that he would not die until he had preached there again. In February 1549, after spending a total of 19 months in the galley prison, Knox was released. It is uncertain how he obtained his freedom. Later in the year, Henry II arranged with Edward VI of England for the release of all remaining Castilian prisoners.

Exile in England 1549–1554

On his release, Knox took refuge in England. The Reformation in England was a less radical movement than its continental counterparts, but there was a definite break with Rome. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, and King Edward VI's Regent, the Duke of Somerset, had a decidedly Protestant attitude. However, much work remained to bring Reformed ideas to the clergy and the people. On April 7, 1549, Knox was licensed to work in the Church of England. His first commission was in Berwick-upon-Tweed. He was forced to use the recently published Book of Common Prayer, which retained the structure of the Sarum Rite while adapting the content to the doctrine of the Reformed Church of England. Knox, however, modified its usage to accord with the doctrinal emphasis of the Continental Reformers. In the pulpit he preached Protestant doctrines to great effect as his congregation grew.

In England, Knox met his wife, Margery Bowes (died c. 1560). His father, Richard Bowes (died 1558), was scion of an old Durham family and his mother, Elizabeth Aske, was the heiress of a Yorkshire family, the Richmondshire Askes. Elizabeth Bowes presumably met Knox when he was employed at Berwick. Several letters reveal a close friendship between them. It is not recorded when Knox married Margery Bowes. Knox attempted to obtain the consent of the Bowes family, but his father and his brother Robert Bowes were opposed to the marriage. Towards the end of 1550 Knox was appointed preacher of the Church of St Nicholas in Newcastle upon Tyne. The following year he was named one of the six royal chaplains serving the King. On October 16, 1551, John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, overthrew the Duke of Somerset to become the young king's new regent. Knox condemned the coup in a sermon on All Saints' Day. When Dudley visited Newcastle and heard him preach in June 1552, he had mixed feelings about the fiery-branded preacher, but saw Knox as a potential asset. Knox was asked to come to London to preach before the Court. In his first sermon, he advocated a change to the second edition of the Book of Common Prayer. The liturgy required the faithful to kneel during communion. Knox and the other chaplains considered this idolatry. A debate ensued in which Archbishop Cranmer was called on to defend the practice. The end result was a compromise that included in the second edition the famous Black Rubric, which declared that worship while kneeling is not intended. Soon after, Dudley, who saw Knox as a useful political tool, offered him the Bishopric of Rochester. Knox refused, and returned to Newcastle. On 2 February 1553, Cranmer was ordered to appoint Knox as vicar of Allhallows Church in London, placing him under the authority of the Bishop of London, Nicholas Ridley. Knox returned to London to deliver a sermon before the King and Court during Lent and again refused to take his assigned position. Knox was then told to preach in Buckinghamshire and remained there until Edward's death on 6 July. Edward's successor, Mary Tudor, reestablished Roman Catholicism in England and restored the mass in all churches. With the country no longer safe for Protestant preachers, Knox set out for the Continent in January 1554 on the advice of his friends.

From Geneva to Frankfurt and Scotland 1554–1556

Knox disembarked in Dieppe, France, and continued on to Geneva, where Calvin had established his pastoral ministry. When Knox arrived, Calvino was in a difficult position. The Council of Geneva had recently executed the scholar Michael Servetus for heresy. Knox asked Calvin four difficult political questions: whether a minor could rule by divine right, whether a woman could rule and transfer sovereignty to her husband, whether the people should obey godless or idolatrous rulers, and which party should the nations follow? pious people if they resisted an idolatrous ruler. Calvino gave cautious responses and referred him to the Swiss reformer Heinrich Bullinger in Zurich. Bullinger's responses were equally cautious; But Knox had already made up his mind. On July 20, 1554, he published a pamphlet in which he attacked Mary Tudor and the bishops who had brought her to the throne [46]. He also attacked the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, calling him "no less an enemy of Christ than Nero."

But Knox was met with conflict upon arrival. The first group of refugees to arrive in Frankfurt subscribed to a reformed liturgy and used a modified version of the Book of Common Prayer. However, recently arrived refugees, including Edmund Grindal, the future Archbishop of Canterbury, favored a stricter application. from the book. When Knox and his colleague, William Whittingham, wrote to Calvino for advice, they were told to avoid discussion. Therefore, Knox agreed to a temporary service order based on a compromise between the two parties. This delicate balance was upset when a new group of refugees arrived, including Richard Cox, one of the main authors of the Book of Common Prayer. Cox brought Knox's pamphlet attacking the emperor to the attention of the Frankfurt authorities, who reported to Knox to leave. His departure from Frankfurt on March 26, 1555, marked his last break with the Church of England. After his return to Geneva, Knox was chosen to minister in a new place of worship requested by Calvin. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Bowes wrote to Knox, asking her to return Margery to Scotland, which she did at the end of August. Despite initial doubts about the status of the Reformation in Scotland, Knox found that the country had changed significantly since he was taken into the kitchen in 1547. As he toured various parts of Scotland preaching Reformed doctrines and liturgy, many of those present welcomed him. The peerage included two future Regents of Scotland, the Earl of Moray and the Earl of Mar. Although the Queen Regent, Mary of Guise, made no move against Knox, her activities caused concern among church authorities. The bishops of Scotland saw him as a threat to his authority and summoned him to appear in Edinburgh on May 15, 1556. He was accompanied to the trial by so many influential people that the bishops decided to cancel the hearing. Knox was now free to preach openly in Edinburgh. William Keith, the Earl Marshal, was impressed and urged Knox to write to the Queen Regent. Knox's unusually respectful letter urged her to support the Reformation and overthrow the church hierarchy. Queen Mary took the letter as a joke and ignored it.

Return to Geneva 1556–1559

Shortly after Knox sent the letter to the Queen Regent, he suddenly announced that he felt it his duty to return to Guinevere. The previous year, on November 1, 1555, the congregation in Geneva had elected Knox as their minister, and he decided to take the position. He wrote a final letter of advice to his supporters and left Scotland with his wife and his mother-in-law. He arrived in Geneva on September 13, 1556.

Knox led a busy life in Geneva. He preached three sermons a week, each of which lasted more than two hours. The services used a liturgy derived from Knox and other ministers from Calvin's Formes des Prières Ecclésiastiques. The church in which he preached, the Church of Notre Dame la Neuve, now known as Calvin's Auditorium, had been granted by the municipal authorities, at Calvin's request, for the use of the English and Italian congregations. Knox's two sons, Nathaniel and Eleazar, were born in Geneva, with Whittingham and Myles Coverdale as their respective godfathers. In the summer of 1558, Knox published his best-known pamphlet, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monster Regiment of Women. When calling "regime" or "monstrous" women rule, he meant that it was "unnatural." Knox claims that his purpose was to demonstrate "how abominable before God is the Empire or the Rule of an evil woman, yes, of a traiteresse and a bastard." The rulers Knox had in mind were Queen Mary I of England and Mary of Guise, the Dowager Queen of Scots and regent for her daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots. This biblical position was not unusual in Knox's day; yet even he knew that the pamphlet was dangerously seditious. He therefore published it anonymously and did not tell Calvin, who denied knowing him until a year after its publication, that he had written it. In England, the pamphlet was officially condemned by the royal proclamation. The impact of the document was compounded later that year, when Elizabeth Tudor became Queen of England. Although Knox hadn't targeted Elizabeth, he had deeply offended her, and she had never forgiven him. With a Protestant on the throne, the English refugees in Geneva prepared to return home. Knox himself decided to return to Scotland. Before his departure, he was bestowed with various honors, including the freedom of the city of Geneva. Knox left in January 1559, but did not arrive in Scotland until 2 May 1559, due to Elizabeth's refusal to issue him a passport through England.

Revolution and end of the regency 1559-1560

Two days after Knox arrived in Edinburgh, he headed for Dundee, where a large number of Protestant supporters had gathered. Knox was outlawed, and the Queen Regent summoned the Protestants to Stirling. Fearing the possibility of summary trial and execution, the Protestants proceeded instead to Perth, a walled city that could hold its own in the event of a siege. At St. John the Baptist Church, Knox preached a fiery sermon, and a small incident precipitated a riot. A crowd entered the church and it was soon destroyed. The mob then attacked two friars in the city, looting their gold and silver images and smashing them. Maria de Guise gathered those nobles loyal to her and a small French army. She sent the Earl of Argyll and Lord Moray to offer terms and avoid a war. She promised not to send French troops to Perth if the Protestants evacuated the city. The Protestants agreed, but when the Queen Regent entered Perth, she was left with Scottish soldiers on the French payroll. Lord Argyll and Lord Moray considered this treasonous. They both changed sides and joined Knox, who was now based at St Andrews. Knox's return to St Andrews fulfilled the prophecy he made on the galleys that one day he would again preach in his church. When he gave a sermon, the effect was the same as in Perth. People engaged in vandalism and looting.

With Protestant reinforcements pouring in from neighboring counties, the Queen Regent withdrew to Dunbar. By now, mob fury had spread across central Scotland. Her own troops were on the brink of mutiny. On June 30, the Protestant Lords of the Congregation occupied Edinburgh, although they were only able to hold it for a month. But even before his arrival, the mob had already fired the churches and the friars. On July 1, Knox preached from the pulpit of St Giles, the most influential in the capital. The Lords of the Congregation negotiated his removal from Edinburgh by the Articles of Leith signed on July 25, 1559, and Maria de Guise promised freedom of conscience. Knox knew that the Queen Regent would ask France for help. So he negotiated by letter under the assumed name John Sinclair with William Cecil, the chief adviser to Elizabeth I of England, to gain English support. Knox secretly sailed to Lindisfarne, on the north-east coast of England at the end of July, to meet James Croft and Sir Henry Percy at Berwick upon Tweed. Knox was indiscreet, and news of his mission soon reached Marie de Guise. He returned to Edinburgh and told Croft that he had to return to his herd, and suggested that Henry Balnaves should go with Cecil. When additional French troops arrived at Leith, Edinburgh's seaport, the Protestants responded by retaking Edinburgh. This time, on October 24, 1559, the Scottish nobility formally deposed Mary of Guise from the regency. Her secretary, William Maitland of Lethington, defected to the Protestant side, bringing his administrative skills. Thereafter, Maitland took over political duties, freeing Knox for the role of religious leader. For the final stage of the revolution, Maitland appealed to Scottish patriotism to fight against French domination. Following the Treaty of Berwick, support from England finally arrived, and at the end of March a significant English army joined the Scottish Protestant forces. The sudden death of Mary of Guise at Edinburgh Castle on June 10, 1560 paved the way for an end to hostilities, the signing of the Treaty of Edinburgh, and the withdrawal of French and English troops from Scotland. On July 19, Knox held a National Service of Thanksgiving at St Giles.

Reformation in Scotland 1560-1561

On August 1, the Scottish Parliament met to resolve religious issues. Knox and five other ministers were called to draft a new confession of faith. Within four days, the Scottish Confession was presented to Parliament, voted on, and approved. A week later Parliament passed three acts in one day: the first abolished the pope's jurisdiction in Scotland, the second condemned all doctrines and practices contrary to the Reformed faith, and the third prohibited the celebration of the Mass in Scotland. Before the dissolution of Parliament, Knox and the other ministers were given the task of organizing the newly reformed church or the Kirk. They would work for several months on the Book of Discipline, the document outlining the organization of the new church. During this period, in December 1560, Knox's wife, Margery, died, leaving Knox to care for her two children, aged three and a half and two. John Calvin, who had lost his own wife in 1549, wrote a letter of condolence. Parliament reconvened on January 15, 1561 to consider the Book of Discipline. The Kirk was to be run on democratic lines. Each congregation was free to choose or reject its own pastor, but once he was chosen he could not be fired. Each parish was to be self-sufficient, to the extent possible. The bishops were replaced by ten to twelve "superintendents." The plan included a national education system based on universality as a fundamental principle. Certain areas of the law were placed under ecclesiastical authority. However, Parliament did not approve the plan, mainly for funding reasons. The Kirk was to be financed from the estate of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Much of this was now in the hands of the nobles, who were reluctant to give up their possessions. The final decision on the plan was delayed due to the imminent return of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Knox and Queen Mary 1561–1564

On August 19, 1561, cannons were fired in Leith to announce the arrival of Queen Mary in Scotland. When she attended mass held in the chapel royal at Holyrood Palace five days later, this sparked a protest in which one of her servants was pushed. The next day, she issued a proclamation that there would be no alteration in the current state of the religion and that her servants should not be disturbed or disturbed. Many nobles agreed to this, but not Knox. The following Sunday he protested from the pulpit of St Giles'. As a result, just two weeks after her return, Mary summoned Knox. She accused him of inciting a rebellion against his mother and of writing a book against his own authority. Knox responded that as long as his subjects found his rule convenient, he was willing to accept his rule, noting that the Apostle Paul had been willing to live under Nero's rule. Mary noted, however, that he had written against the principle of female rule itself. He replied that he shouldn't worry as he had never hurt her. When asked by Mary if the subjects had the right to resist her ruler, he replied that if the monarchs exceeded their legal limits, they could resist them, even by force.

On December 13, 1562, Mary called Knox again after he delivered a sermon denouncing certain celebrations that Knox had interpreted as rejoicing at the expense of the Reformation. She accused Knox that he spoke irreverently of the Queen in order to make him appear contemptible to his subjects. After Knox gave an explanation of the sermon, Mary stated that she did not blame Knox for her differences of opinion and asked him to go directly to her in the future if she learned something she did not like. Despite her friendly gesture, Knox responded that he would continue to express her convictions in her sermons and not expect her. During Easter 1563, some Ayrshire priests celebrated mass, thus defying the law. Some Protestants tried to enforce the law themselves by arresting these priests. This prompted Mary to summon Knox a third time. She asked Knox to use his influence to promote religious tolerance. He defended her actions and noted that she was obligated to abide by the laws and if she didn't, others would. Mary shocked Knox by agreeing that the priests would be brought to justice.

Knox's last meeting with Mary was due to an incident at Holyrood. While Mary was away from Edinburgh on her summer trip in 1563, a crowd forced their way into her private chapel while mass was being celebrated. During the altercation, the priest's life was threatened. As a result, two of the ringleaders, the burghers of Edinburgh, were to stand trial on October 24, 1563. To defend these men, Knox sent letters calling on the nobles to assemble. Maria obtained one of these letters and asked her advisors if this was not an act of treason. Stewart and Maitland, wanting to maintain good relations with both Kirk and the Queen, asked Knox to admit that he was wrong and to settle the matter quietly. Knox refused and defended himself in front of Mary and the Privy Council. He argued that he had called a legal, not an illegal, assembly as part of his duties as the Kirk's minister. After he left, the councilors voted not to charge him with treason.

Final days in Edinburgh 1564–1572

On March 26, 1564, Knox stirred controversy again when he married Margaret Stewart, daughter of an old friend, Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Ochiltree, a member of the Stuart family and a distant relative of the Queen, Mary Stuart. The marriage was unusual in that he was a fifty-year-old widower, while his bride was only seventeen. Very few details of his domestic life are known. They had three daughters, Martha, Margaret, and Elizabeth. When the General Assembly met in June 1564, an argument broke out between Knox and Maitland over the authority of civil government. Maitland told Knox to refrain from provoking emotion over Mary's insistence on celebrating Mass, and quoted Martin Luther and John Calvin on obedience to earthly rulers. Knox countered that the Bible notes that Israel was punished for following an unfaithful king and that continental reformers were refuting the arguments made by Anabaptists who rejected all forms of government. The debate revealed her waning influence on political events, as the nobility continued to support Maria. On July 29, 1565, when Mary married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, some of the Protestant nobles, including James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, rose in rebellion. Knox revealed his own objection while preaching in the presence of the new King consort on August 19, 1565. He made passive allusions to the impious rulers who drove Darnley away. Knox was summoned and prohibited from preaching while the court was in Edinburgh.

On March 9, 1566, Mary's secretary, David Rizzio, was assassinated by conspirators loyal to Darnley. Mary escaped from Edinburgh to Dunbar and on March 18 she returned with a formidable force. Knox fled to Kyle in Ayrshire, where he completed most of his magnum opus, A History of the Reformation in Scotland. When he returned to Edinburgh, he found the Protestant nobles divided over what to do with Mary. Lord Darnley had been assassinated, and the queen almost immediately married the prime suspect, the Earl of Bothwell. The murder charge of her thus upon her, she had been forced to abdicate her and was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle. Lord Moray had become regent for King James VI. Other old friends of Knox's, Lord Argyll and William Kirkcaldy, were with Maria. On July 29, 1567, Knox preached the coronation sermon for James VI at Stirling Church. During this period Knox railed against her in preaching to her, even to the point of calling for her death. However, the queen was able to escape on May 2, 1568. The fighting in Scotland continued as a civil war. Lord Moray was assassinated on January 23, 1570. The regent who succeeded him, the Earl of Lennox, was also a victim of violence. On April 30, 1571, the controller of Edinburgh Castle, Kirkcaldy de Grange, ordered all the Queen's enemies to leave the city. But for Knox, his former friend and cooking partner, he made an exception. If Knox didn't leave, he could stay in Edinburgh, but only if he remained a captive in the castle. Knox chose to leave, and on May 5 he set out for St Andrews. He continued to preach, spoke to students, and worked on his History. At the end of July 1572, after a truce, he returned to Edinburgh. Although by this time he was extremely weak and his voice weak, he continued to preach at St Giles. After inducting her successor, Lawson of Aberdeen, as minister of St Giles on 9 November, Knox returned to her home for the last time. With his friends and some of the best Scottish nobles around him, he asked that the Bible be read aloud. On his last day, November 24, 1572, his young wife read Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. A testimony of Knox was delivered at his grave in St Giles churchyard by James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton and newly elected Regent of Scotland: "Here is one who never feared any flesh."

Main works

• An Epistle to the Congregation of the Castle of St Andrews; with a Brief Summary of Balnaves on Justification by Faith (1548)
• A Vindication of the Doctrine that the Sacrifice of the Mass is Idolatry (1550)
• A Godly Letter of Warning or Admonition to the Faithful in London, Newcastle, and Berwick (1554)
• Certain Questions Concerning Obedience to Lawful Magistrates with Answers by Henry Bullinger (1554)
• A Faithful Admonition to the Professors of God’s Truth in England (1554)
• A Narrative of Proceedings and Troubles of the English Congregation at Frankfurt on the Maine (1554-1558)
• A Letter to the Queen Dowager, Regent of Scotland (1556)
• A Letter of Wholesome Counsel Addressed to his Brethren in Scotland (1556)
• The Form of Prayers and Ministrotion of the Sacraments Used in the English Congregation at Geneva (1556)
• The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women (1558)
• A Letter to the Queen Dowager, Regent of Scotland: Augmented and Explained by the Author (1558)
• The Appellation from the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishops and Clergy: Addressed to the Nobility and Estates of Scotland (1558)
• A Letter Addressed to the Commonalty of Scotland (1558)
• On Predestination in Answer to the Cavillations by an Anabaptist (1560)
• The History of the Reformation in Scotland (1586-1587)