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John Johnsone’s an Confortable Exhortation of Our Mooste Holy Christen Faith and her Frutes: An Early Example of Scots Lutheran Piety

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2016

James K. Cameron
James K. Cameron*
Affiliation:
University of St Andrews
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Extract

On account of the spread ‘in diverse countries’ of the heresies of Luther the Scottish parliament enacted in 1525 that ‘na manner of persouns, strangears that hapnis to arrive with their schippis within ony part of this realm bring with thaim ony bukes or workes of the said Lutheris, his disciples or servandes, desputt or reherss his heresies or opunzeounns bot geif it be to the confusion thereof and that be clerkis in the sculis alainerlie, under the pane of escheting of their schippis and gudes and putting of their persons in presounn. And that this act be publist and proclamit out throw this realme at all ports and burrowis of the same’. Twenty six months later this act was extended to include all the king’s lieges who were ‘assistars to sic opunzeouns’. The act of parliament of 1525 expressed the nation’s concern: it does not specifically state that Luther’s writings had already been finding their way into the Scottish east coast ports, but the extension of the act in the following year to include the king’s lieges, makes it clear that heresy was beginning to take hold. By the spring of another year Lutheranism had its first Scottish martyr, the young Patrick Hamilton, titular abbot of Fern, former student at Paris, Louvain, St Andrews, and Marburg. Support for the heretical views could not, despite oppression and persecution, be held in check. Within a decade of the passing of the act, parliament found it necessary not only to have it re-enacted but extended still farther. None was to ‘have, use, kepe or consele ony bukes of the said heretic, or contenand their doctrine and opinions bot that they deliver the samin to the ordinaries within xl days’.

Type
Research Article
Information
Studies in Church History Subsidia , Volume 2: Reform and Reformation: England and the Continent c1500-c1750 , 1979 , pp. 133 - 147
Copyright
Copyright © Ecclesiastical History Society 1979 

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References

1 A[cts of the] P[arliaments of] S[cotland], ed Thomson, T., 2 (1424–1567) (London 1814) p. 295Google Scholar.

2 Ibid pp 295-6.

3 The best recent account of Patrick Hamilton is in [Rainer] Haas, [Franz Lambert und Patrick Hamilton in ihrer Bedeutung für die Evangelische Bewegung auf den Britischen Inseln] (1974 privately printed).

4 APS 2, pp 341 et seq, compare p 370.

5 [Durkan, John, ‘The Cultural Background in Sixteenth Century Scotland’, Essays on the Scottish Reformation, ed ]McRoberts, D. (Glasgow 1962) p 277Google Scholar.

6 Steele, R., ‘Notes on English Books printed abroad 1525-48’, Translations of the Bibliographical Society 2 (London 1912) pp 189–230Google Scholar.

7 Ibid pp 214-17.

8 Nijhoff, [W.] and Kronenberg, [M. E.], [Nederlandsche Bibliographie van 1500 tot 1540] (S-Gravenhage 1923-42)Google Scholar.

9 STC, 2 edition, revised and enlarged. Only vol 2 (I-Z) has so far been published (London), The Bibliographical Society (1976).

10 Nijhoff and Kronenberg 2, nos 3140, 4239, 0587; Haas pp 86 et seq.

11 [ Gau, John, The] Richt Vay [to the Kingdom of Heuine], ed ited with introduction and notes by Mitchell, A. F., Scottish Text Society (Edinburgh 1888); STC 2, no 19525Google Scholar.

12 Ibid pp xxxii et seq.

13 Duff, E.G., A century of the English book trade (London 1905) p 74Google Scholar; Rouzet, [A.], [Dictionnaire des imprimeurs … de la Belgique] (Nieukoop 1975) pp 93Google Scholar et seq; Clair, C., A History of European Printing (London 1976) p 226Google Scholar.

14 Richt Vay p xxvii.

15 STC 2, no 14668: ‘Johnson, John, an humile professor, etc. An confortable exhortation: of oure mooste holy christen faith. 8° Parishe, (Peter Congeth) [Malmö? J. Hooch-straten] 1535 (20 ja); Nijhoff and Kronenberg, 2, no 3268 gives full bibliographical details. A brief account is given by Haas pp 130 et seq.

16 No 3268.

17 STC 2, no 14668.

18 Information kindly supplied by the British Library on 1 December 1978.

19 Information from the British Library.

20 26 p 290.

21 DNB, suppl 2, p 415.

22 Information kindly supplied by the librarian of Trinity College.

23 Figs 32, 210.

24 P xvii. Essays on the Scottish Refortnation 1513-1625 (Glasgow 1962).

25 P 206.

26 Nijhoff and Kronenberg 2, no 3268; STC 2, no 14667.

27 See further, Rouzet p 94.

28 A study of Johnsone’s use of English translations of the bible would form an essential part of an edition of the text, which the writer of this article is planning.

29 One other contemporary reference does not help in this matter. Towards the end of the long section ‘Of Pacience’, he refers in general to anyone who may have ‘agenst his herte. But overcome with the weaknes of the flesshe for feare of persecution, have denined, as did Peter, or have delyvered his boke to the tyrauntes or put it awaye secretlye. Let hym (yf he repente) come agayne and take better holde and not despare, or take it for a signe that God hath forsaken hym’.

30 McRoberts p xvii.

31 A3.

32 E1-E2.

33 Richt Vay p 104.

34 The fullest account of Alesius is McNeill, John T., ‘Alexander Alesius, Scottish Lutheran (1500-1565)’, ARG 55 (1964) pp 161–91Google Scholar.

35 Quoted in Lorimer, P., Patrick Hamilton: the first preacher and martyr of the Scottish Reformation (Edinburgh 1857) p 236Google Scholar.

36 Ibid p 238.

37 The Works of John Knox, ed Laing, D., 1, appendix 3, pp 500–12Google Scholar, compare p 1411.

38 Ibid 1, p 18n.

39 Anderson, J. M., Early Records of the University of St. Andrews, Scottish History Society (Edinburgh 1926) pp 219,120, 123, 221Google Scholar.

40 Richt Vay pp 4 et seq.

41 Provided by T. G. Law, Richt Vay pp 111-24.

42 A5.

43 Richt Vay pp 103 et seq. and p xxxv.

44 A8.

45 A8-B1.

46 B3.

47 B6.

48 C1.

49 C6.

50 C7.

51 D4.

52 D7.

53 D8.

54 E2.

55 F1.

56 F2.

57 F4.

58 F6.

59 F8.