![William Guild](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/William_Guild.jpg)
William Guild (1586–1657) was a Scottish minister, academic and theological writer.
Life
He was the second son of Marjorie (born Donaldson) and Matthew Guild, a wealthy armourer and hammerman of
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, and Deacon of the Guild of Hammermen and his wife, Marion Robertson. William had three sisters including the philanthropist
Jean Guild
Jean Guild became Jean Anderson (1573 – 1667) was a Scottish philanthropist in Aberdeenshire. She created an Aberdeen charitable trust that cared for orphans.
Life
Guild was born in 1573. She had two sisters and her brother was William Guild ...
who was baptised in 1573.
He was born in Aberdeen, and was educated at
Marischal College
Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...
graduating MA around 1602. He received licence to preach as a
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 ...
minister by the Presbytery of Aberdeen in May 1605, and in 1608 was ordained minister of the parish of
King Edward in Aberdeenshire. Two years later his wealth was increased by his marriage with Katherine Rolland or Rowen of
Disblair,
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...
. In 1617, during the visit of James I to Scotland, Guild was in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, and was a member of the assembly which met in the music school of that city, and protested for the liberties of the kirk; the temper of the king was thought to make it dangerous to sign the protestation, but Guild was one of the fifty-five who subscribed. While in Edinburgh he made the acquaintance of Bishop
Lancelot Andrewes
Lancelot Andrewes (155525 September 1626) was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chic ...
, then with the king, and to him (in 1620) he dedicated his best-known work, ''Moses Unvailed''.
Guild was made a chaplain to Charles I, by the support of
Peter Young Peter or Pete Young may refer to:
Sports
* Peter Dalton Young (1927–2002), English rugby union player
* Peter Young (cricketer, born 1961), Australian cricketer
* Pete Young (born 1968), American baseball player
* Peter Young (rugby league) (fl. ...
. Soon afterwards he received the degree of D.D., then almost unknown in Scotland. He was translated to the second charge at Aberdeen in 1631, where he joined the clergy in supporting episcopacy.
In 1632 he was created the first Patron of the
Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen
Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen is an ancient society of craftsmen in Aberdeen, Scotland. Their home is Trinity Hall on the city's Holburn Street.
Composition
The society comprises seven trades:
* Hammermen (1519)
* Bakers (1398)
* Wrig ...
and held this role until 1657 when he was succeeded by Rev John Menzies.
In 1635 he was one of the preachers at the funeral of Bishop
Patrick Forbes, his diocesan. 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 ...
was viewed at Aberdeen with disfavour, and the commissioners sent to press its acceptance on the city were met by the
Aberdeen Doctors
The Aberdeen doctors or Doctors of Aberdeen were six divines working at Marischal College and King's College in Aberdeen, Scotland in the seventeenth century. Until 1635, they enjoyed the leadership of Patrick Forbes, Bishop of Aberdeen. They ar ...
for the university, and the town ministers, with a series of questions disputing its lawfulness. Guild signed these questions, but soon subscribed the Covenant, though with three limitations: he would not condemn the
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 ...
, though agreeing for the peace of the church to forbear the practice of them; he would not condemn episcopal government absolutely; and he reserved his duty to the king.
Guild went as commissioner to the Glasgow assembly of 1638, which deposed the Scottish bishops. In March 1640 an army approached Aberdeen to enforce unconditional subscription of the Covenant. Guild for a time took refuge in
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
, but soon returned, and administered the communion according to the Presbyterian form on 3 November. In August 1640 the covenanters expelled Dr.
William Leslie, and appointed Guild principal of
King's College, Aberdeen
King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...
, in preference to
Robert Baillie
Robert Baillie (30 April 16021662) was a Church of Scotland minister who became famous as an author and a propagandist for the Covenanters. .
Guild retired from his position as minister, preaching for the last time on 27 June 1641. He supported the dismantling of the bishop's palace at
Old Aberdeen
Old Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891. It ret ...
and the purging of the cathedral and the college chapel of ornaments, but
Andrew Cant (then all-powerful at Aberdeen), thought Guild was "luke-warm", and at the visitation to King's College by
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
's military commissioners in 1651 Guild was deprived of office.
Guild was a benevolent man; he purchased the convent of the Trinity Friars at Aberdeen and endowed it as a hospital, for which he received a royal charter in 1633. His widow left an endowment to maintain poor students, and for other charitable purposes. He died at Aberdeen on 25 July August, and was remembered there for his benefactions to its public institutions; there is a William Guild Building in Aberdeen University.
He is buried against the west boundary wall of the
Kirk of St Nicholas
The Kirk of St Nicholas is a historic church located in the city centre of Aberdeen, Scotland. Up until the dissolution of the congregation on 31 December 2020, it was known as the ''"Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting"''. It is also known as ''"The Mit ...
in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
. The huge monument bears the date 1659: the year of the death of his wife, Katharine Rolland. It was restored in the late 19th century when the original central marble inscription tablet was replaced with red granite.
Works
Guild wrote:
* ''The New Sacrifice of Christian Incense, or the True Entrie to the Tree of Life, and Gracious Gate of Glorious Paradise'', London, 1608.
* ''The Only Way to Salvation, or the Life and Soul of True Religion'', London, 1608.
* ''Moses Vnuailed … whereunto is added the Harmony of All the Prophets'' (the latter, with separate title-page dated 1619, dedicated to Peter Young), London, 1620, 1626, 1658, Glasgow 1701, and Edinburgh, 1755, 1839. This work made Guild an early Protestant adapter of the tradition of
figural hermeneutics. It was then followed by
Thomas Taylor (''Christ Revealed'', 1635), and
Samuel Mather
Samuel Livingston Mather (July 13, 1851 – October 18, 1931) was an American industrialist and philanthropist from Cleveland, Ohio. He co-founded Pickands Mather and Company, a shipping and iron mining company which dominated these two Great ...
's sermons of the 1660s.
* ''Issachar's Asse … or the Uniting of Churches'', Aberdeen, 1622.
* ''Three Rare Monuments of Antiquitie, or Bertram, a Frenchman, Ælfricus, an Englishman, and Maurus, a Scotsman: all stronglie convincing that grosse errour of transubstantiation. Translated and compacted by W. Guild'', Aberdeen, 1624. Translations from
Ratramnus
Ratramnus (died ) a Frankish monk of the monastery of Corbie, near Amiens in northern France, was a Carolingian theologian known best for his writings on the Eucharist and predestination. His Eucharistic treatise, ''De corpore et sanguine Domini'' ...
,
Ælfric of Eynsham
Ælfric of Eynsham ( ang, Ælfrīc; la, Alfricus, Elphricus; ) was an English abbot and a student of Æthelwold of Winchester, and a consummate, prolific writer in Old English of hagiography, homilies, biblical commentaries, and other genres. H ...
and
Hrabanus Maurus
Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of t ...
.
* ''Ignis Fatuus, or the Elf-fire of Purgatorie, with a latter Annex'', London, 1625.
* ''Popish Glorying in Antiquity turned to their Shame'', Aberdeen, 1626.
* ''A Compend of the Controversies of Religion'', Aberdeen, 1629.
* ''Limbo's Battery, or an Answer to a Popish Pamphlet concerning Christ's Descent into Hell'', Aberdeen, 1630.
* ''The Humble Addresse both of Church and Poore … for the Vniting of Churches and the Ruine of Hospitalls'', Aberdeen, 1633. The first part is a reprint of ''Issachar's Asse''.
* ''Sermon at the Funeral of Bishop Forbes'', 1635.
* ''Trueth Triumphant, or the conversion of … F. Cupif from Poperie. … Faithfully translated into English by W. Guild'', Aberdeen, 1637.
* ''An Antidote against Poperie''; one of three treatises printed together at Aberdeen, 1639; its ascription to Guild is doubtful.
* ''The Christian's Passover'', Aberdeen, 1639.
* ''The Old … in opposition to the New Roman Catholik'', Aberdeen, 1649.
* ''Antichrist … in his true Colours, or the Pope of Rome proven to bee that Man of Sinne'', Aberdeen, 1655.
* ''The Sealed Book opened, being an explication of the Revelations'', Aberdeen, 1656.
* ''Answer to "The Touchstone of the Reformed Gospel",'' Aberdeen, 1656.
* ''The Noveltie of Poperie discovered and chieflie proved by Romanists out of themselves'', Aberdeen, 1656.
* ''Love's Entercours between the Lamb and his Bride, or A Clear Explication … of the Song of Solomon'', London, 1658.
* ''The Throne of David, an Exposition of II Samuel'', published at Oxford, 1659, by
John Owen, to whom it was to have been dedicated, and to whom the manuscript was sent by Guild's widow.
Notes
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guild, William
1586 births
1657 deaths
Academics of the University of Aberdeen
Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
Principals of the University of Aberdeen
17th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland