Henry Guthrie (c. 1600 – 1676) was a 17th-century Scottish

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

who rose to be

Bishop of Dunkeld The Bishop of Dunkeld is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunkeld, one of the largest and more important of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Cormac. However, the first k ...

Life

The son of Elizabeth Small and the Perthshire minister Henry Guthrie, he was born around 1600 in

Coupar Angus Coupar Angus (; Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Cùbar Aonghais'') is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, south of Blairgowrie and Rattray, Blairgowrie. The name Coupar Angus serves to differentiate the town from Cupar, Fife. The town was traditi ...

, a town in central Scotland, in the modern region of

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...

. He graduated from the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in 1621, studying

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He later served as a tutor and chaplain to the family of the

Earl of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. The ...

. He became minister of Guthrie in 1624, and was promoted by the King Charles I to the

Church of the Holy Rude The Church of the Holy Rude (Scottish Gaelic: ''Eaglais na Crois Naoimh'') is the medieval parish church of Stirling, Scotland. It is named after the Holy Rood, a relic of the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified. The church was founded in 11 ...

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

in 1632. He took an ambiguous role in the Covenanter Wars and the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities united in a pers ...

. He was deposed from his Stirling charge in 1648; although in 1656, he was readmitted to the ministry, being given

Kilspindie Kilspindie is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is situated on the Kilspindie burn, approximately northwest of Errol, west of Dundee centre and east of Perth. The village has an area of of which are arable land and are woodlan ...

. Despite once opposing the re-establishment of

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, abandoned since the

National Covenant The National Covenant () was an agreement signed by many people of Scotland during 1638, opposing the proposed reforms of the Church of Scotland (also known as ''The Kirk'') by King Charles I. The king's efforts to impose changes on the church i ...

of 1638, he changed his position, and later after the episcopate of George Haliburton, became

, to which position he was consecrated on 24 August 1665. He held this position until his death in 1676. Guthrie is best remembered for the account of his time. He wrote and left to posterity, his ''Observations''. Although circulating in his own day, they were not formally

published Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

until 1702.

Bibliography

*Memoir by George Crawfurd prefixed to Memoirs; *Hew Scott's Fasti Eccles. Scot.; *Guthrie's Memoirs; *Gordon's Scots Affairs (Spalding Club); *Robert Baillie's Letters and Journals (Bannatyne Club); *Nimmo's Hist. of Stirlingshire; *Keith's Scottish Bishops.

References

* * * * *Stevenson, David, "Guthrie , Henry (1600?–1676)", in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
, retrieved 20 Feb 2007

Life

Bibliography

References

Further reading