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From Gileskirk to Greyfriars: Knox, Buchanan, and the Heroes of Scotland's Reformation (Tales of a Scottish Grandfather)

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GIleskirk and Greyfriars in the title are the names of two houses of worship in Scotland's capital. They refer to the Cathedral Church of Edinburgh and to a suburban pre-Reformation Franciscan church. Gileskirk's pulpit is associated with the 16th Century leader of the Reformation, John Knox. At Greyfriars in 1638 the National Covenant was signed, a landmark in asserting church independence of royal control.

This second volume begins with the birth, life and execution of Queen Mary Stuart. It moves through the reigns of her son James and grandson Charles and their increasingly autorcratic misrule of Scotland, England and Ireland. The volume ends in 1658 with all powerful Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell, about to die. His brief rule did much violence to both Scotland and Ireland and trampled on old traditions. It abolished monarchy itself, bishops, the House of Lords and brought back the Jews after several hundred years and gave England its first and only written constitution.

Scott's TALES OF A GRANDFATHER should be read in parallel with his many historical novels and narrative poems. They bring Scotland and England to life as do few other books. -OOO-