John Spottiswoode (Spottiswood, Spotiswood, Spotiswoode or Spotswood) (1565 – 26 November 1639) was an
Archbishop of St Andrews
The Bishop of St. Andrews ( gd, Easbaig Chill Rìmhinn, sco, Beeshop o Saunt Andras) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews ( gd, Àrd-easbaig ...
,
Primate of All Scotland,
Lord Chancellor
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
, and historian of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
Life
He was born in 1565 at Greenbank in
Mid Calder
Mid Calder ( sco, Mid Calder; gd, Caladar Mheadhain) is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. It is located on a steep hill overlooking the River Almond and Calder Wood, around west of Edinburgh. The settlement has been on a major crossroads s ...
,
West Lothian
West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, the eldest son of
John Spottiswood
John Spottiswoode (Spottiswood, Spotiswood, Spotiswoode or Spotswood) (1565 – 26 November 1639) was an Archbishop of St Andrews, Primate of All Scotland, Lord Chancellor, and historian of Scotland.
Life
He was born in 1565 at Greenbank in ...
, minister of Calder and
superintendent
Superintendent may refer to:
*Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank
*Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator
*Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
of
Lothian
Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...
. He was educated at the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
(MA 1581), and succeeded his father in the parish of Calder in 1583. In 1601 he attended
Ludowick, Duke of Lennox, as his chaplain, in an embassy to the court of France, returning in 1603. He followed
James VI and I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
to England on his accession at the
Union of the Crowns
The Union of the Crowns ( gd, Aonadh nan Crùintean; sco, Union o the Crouns) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas dip ...
. He was sent back to Scotland to attend
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...
as her
almoner
An almoner (} ' (alms), via the popular Latin '.
History
Christians have historically been encouraged to donate one-tenth of their income as a tithe to their church and additional offerings as needed for the poor. The first deacons, mentioned ...
or "elemosynar". In the same year he was nominated to the
see of Glasgow
The Archdiocese of Glasgow was one of the thirteen (after 1633 fourteen) dioceses of the Scottish church. It was the second largest diocese in the Kingdom of Scotland, including Clydesdale, Teviotdale, parts of Tweeddale, Liddesdale, Annanda ...
, his consecration in London, however, not taking place until October 1610.
Spottiswoode had originally become prominent as an ardent supporter of the strict
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
party, but gradually came to see the inconveniences of "parity of ministers", attributed little importance to the existing matters of dispute, and thought that the interests of both church and state were best secured by keeping on good terms with the king. He was therefore ready to co-operate with
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
in curtailing the powers of the Kirk which encroached on the royal authority, and in assimilating the
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
to that of England. On 30 May 1605 he became a member of the
Scottish Privy Council
The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. In the range of its functions the council was often more important than the Estates in the running the country. Its registers include a wide range of ...
. In 1608 he worked closely with
George Home, Earl of Dunbar
George Home, 1st Earl of Dunbar, KG, PC (ca. 155620 January 1611) was, in the last decade of his life, the most prominent and most influential Scotsman in England. His work lay in the King's Household and in the control of the State Affairs of ...
in appointing suitable ministers to vacant parishes in the
Borders
A border is a geographical boundary.
Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film
* ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...
as part of James' programme for bringing peace to the region. In 1610 he presided as
moderator over the
assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
in which the supremacy of presbytery was abolished. That same year he was consecrated bishop on 21 October by the bishops of London, Ely, Rochester, and Worcester. In 1614, he was instrumental in the arrest and subsequent trial and condemnation to death of
John Ogilvie. In 1615 he was made
Archbishop of St Andrews
The Bishop of St. Andrews ( gd, Easbaig Chill Rìmhinn, sco, Beeshop o Saunt Andras) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews ( gd, Àrd-easbaig ...
and primate of Scotland, and in 1618 procured the sanction of the privy council to the
Five Articles of Perth
The Five Articles of Perth was an attempt by King James VI of Scotland to impose practices on the Church of Scotland in an attempt to integrate it with those of the Church of England. This move was unpopular with those Scots who held Reformed vi ...
with their ratification by parliament in 1621.
In 1633 he crowned
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
at
Holyrood. In 1635 he was appointed
Lord Chancellor of Scotland
The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally the Lord High Chancellor, was a Great Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland.
Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower st ...
, an office which he retained till 1638. John founded
Dairsie Old Church
Dairsie Old Church, formerly St Mary's Church, is the former parish church of Dairsie, in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is located around south of Dairsie village. The present church was built in 1621, and is an unusual example of post-Reformati ...
, and re-built
Dairsie Castle
Dairsie Castle is a restored tower house located south of Dairsie in north-east Fife, Scotland. The castle overlooks the River Eden.
History
The first castle built here was the property of the bishops of St Andrews, and may have been constru ...
as a family home. The castle was rebuilt from a ruin in the 1990s, and his family crest is visible inside and outside the buildings.
He was opposed to the new liturgy as inexpedient, but when he could not prevent its introduction he took part in enforcing it. He was a spectator of the riot of
St Giles
Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...
, Edinburgh,
on 23 July 1637, endeavoured in vain to avoid disaster by concessions, and on the taking of the Covenant perceived that "now all that we have been doing these thirty years past is thrown down at once." He escaped to
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
, was deposed by the assembly on 4 December on a variety of ridiculous charges, and died in London on 26 November 1639, receiving burial in
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
on 2 December 1639.
Spottiswoode published in 1620 ''Refutatio libelli de regimine ecclesiae scoticanae'', an answer to a tract of
Calderwood, who replied in the ''Vindiciae'' subjoined to his ''Altare damascenum'' (1623). The only other writing published during his lifetime was the sermon he preached at the Perth assembly. His most considerable work was ''The History of the Church and State of Scotland'' (London, 1655, seq.). It displays considerable research and sagacity, and even when dealing with contemporary events gives a favorable impression, upon the whole, of the author's candour and truth. The opposite side can be studied in Calderwood's ''History''.
Criticism
The
Secession
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...
historian
Thomas M'Crie was very critical of Spottiswoode.
He said,
"Gladstanes was succeeded in the primacy by John Spotswoode, a shrewd and crafty politician, and the author of a History of the Church of Scotland, which, as has been well observed, might more properly be called "Calumnies against the Church of Scotland." This historian, as appears from his private correspondence, was engaged in all the Jesuitical plots of the government for overturning Presbytery, which he had sworn to support, and could hardly be expected to give a fair account of transactions in which his own credit was so deeply implicated, and for his share in which he was afterwards excommunicated by the Church which he had betrayed. His falsehoods and misrepresentations have been so completely exposed, that to appeal to him now as an authority
on any point of history affecting the cause of Presbytery, may be set down at once as a mark of blindfolded prejudice."
Family
Spottiswoode married Rachel, daughter of
David Lindsay,
Bishop of Ross, with issue a daughter and two sons:
*Anne Spottiswoode
*Sir John Spottiswoode of Dairsie in Fife. He was appointed one of the Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to
Charles I of England
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...
when a young man, and was knighted by the King as appears by a charter under the great seal, dated 5 June 1621. He died before the restoration of King Charles II. His only son was:
# John, a staunch loyalist, who joined
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet and soldier, Lord Lieutenant, lord lieutenant and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wa ...
and was taken prisoner with him and executed immediately after him, on 21 May 1650.
[''Seldens of Virginia and allied families, Volume 2,'' by Mary Seldon Kennedy (1911)]
*Sir
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
,
Lord President of the Court of Session
The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The L ...
(1596–1646), who was captured at the
battle of Philiphaugh
The Battle of Philiphaugh was fought on 13 September 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The Royalist army of the Marquis of Montrose was destroyed by the Covenanter army of Sir David Leslie, ...
in 1645 and executed on 20 January 1646.
Sources
*the accounts prefixed to the first edition of Spottiswoode's ''History of Scotland''
*the accounts published by the Spottiswoode Society in 1851
*David Calderwood's ''History of the Kirk of Scotland'' (1842–1849).
See also
*
Alexander Spotswood
Alexander Spotswood (12 December 1676 – 7 June 1740) was a British Army officer, explorer and lieutenant governor of Colonial Virginia; he is regarded as one of the most significant historical figures in British North American colonial h ...
- the noted Lieutenant-
Governor of Virginia
The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022.
Oath of office
On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...
, who was grandson of Robert Spottiswoode (1596–1646) and great-grandson of Archbishop John Spottiswoode.
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spottiswoode, John
1565 births
1639 deaths
Roman Catholic archbishops of Glasgow
Archbishops of St Andrews
Scottish Christian theologians
17th-century Scottish historians
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Burials at Westminster Abbey
Chancellors of the University of St Andrews
Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1612
Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1617
Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1617
Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1621
Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1621
Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1625
Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1628–1633
Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1630
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Octavians
Scottish bishops 1560–1638