THEOLOGIAN
AND PREACHER
The
dominant figure of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, Knox has been
roughly handled by posterity, leaving him with a reputation which, some
historians argue, is inaccurate and largely undeserved. Knox is associated in
the public mind with a narrow bigotry, the promotion of guilt and joylessness,
and a philosophy that effectively stunted artistic expression. A more balanced
judgment might be that Knox, a powerful preacher and influential leader, has
inevitably drawn the blame for the consequences of powerful forces which were
abroad in the land and with which Scots by temperament felt an emotional
sympathy.
Born near Haddington, East Lothian, Knox was ordained as a Roman
Catholic priest but in 1547 joined those Protestant Reformers who had captured
St Andrews Castle. When the castle was retaken by the French, Knox was
sentenced to the galleys. Released some two years later, he studied in Europe
before returning to Scotland, where he became the leading figure of the
Reformation. His tract "Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of
Women" gave permanent offence to Queen Elizabeth of England and he was a stern
opponent of Mary, Queen of Scots.