medieval-atlas/the-church/392

Transcription

Covenanter dominance Open defiance of Charles I's religious policies flfst appeared in the disturbances in Edinburgh churches against the new Prayer Book on 23 1uly 1637. The opposition movement then turned to organising itself through supplications or petitions against the Book. The first group of these supplications, the four presented to the privy council on 23 August, were inspired by David Dickson, ministeroflrvine. In the month that followed preparing supplications became widespread in Ayrshire and Fife, and on 20 September, 69 were delivered to the council, one being a general supplication signed by nobles and others who had gathered in Edinburgh. Of the 68 local petitions, 47 survive (originals or copies), and these are plotted on this map along with the August supplications, and Edinburgh's, which were presented on 26 September. The majority are unsigned, and the definitions of those submitting them varies greatly. The42 issued in the names ofparishes and/or burghs mention various combinations of elders, sessions, ~h'n"", ~hl"~"'m;";"~ (in 14 cases) and, in the case of royal burghs, magistrates, councils and communities as being the parties involved in supplicating. It is, however, possible that many ofthe petitions exaggerate the extent of local support behind them. Some may have been presented before being approved -that of the burgh of Stirling was not approved by the burgh council until 25 September -but as many of the survixing petitions are undated, it may be that some were not presented until some days after 20 September. The supplications were presented at a very early stage in the development of what was soon to become the covenanting movement, but already Fife and Ayrshire have clearly emerged as the heartlands of support that they were to remain during the years that the covenanters ruled Scotland. Strong support was also to emerge in other areas of southern and central Scotland, and in some parts of the north; but the map clearly indicates that it was ministers and laymen in these two shires who set the example of organised local opposition for other areas to follow. ( ~ 115 6,20... 4~ 42 3\ ~5 ;15 ~.4,QI'10 ... ~ ~l-9,50 1 ., 3,30 -t~~.3~?7 . ) ,12'" ~ .19 ) 19. Cumnock 44 20. Cupar 21. Dailly ~:8· ..~~) 22. Dairy 23. Dumbarton 24. Dundonald .17 ./\ ·13 25. Dunlop ... Presbytery 7. Haddington 26. Edinburgh (26 Sept.) Parish and! or burgh 8. Perth 27. Galston Presbytery, and 9. Stirling 28. Girvan parish and lor burgh 29. Glasgow Parishes and I or Burghs, Sept. 1637 30. Lrvine Presbyteries, Aug. 1637 10. Abercrombie 31. Kennoway I. Ayr (minority) II . Ardrossan 32. Kilbimie Glasgow 12. Ayr 33. Kilmaurs Lrvine 13. Ballantrae 34. Kilmamock SI. Andrews (minority) 14. Beith 35. Kilwinning 15. Cambee kms Presbyteries, Sept. 1637 16. Camwath o 25 50 Auchterarder 17. Colmonell I Cupar 18. Culross 0 10 20 30 miles Supplications against the Prayer Book 1637 392 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42 . 43 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. Kinglassie Kirkmichael Kirkoswald Lanark Largo Largs Leslie Leuchars Maybole Newbum Rosneath Scoonie Stevenston Stewarton Stirling Straiton West Kilbride 75, , 100