South Woods Baptist Church

John Knox: His Life and Contributions

Introduction

When one thinks of the Protestant Reformation, the first names that come to mind are Martin Luther and John Calvin.  To the country and Church of Scotland, however, John Knox is as much, if not more, an important figure in the Reformation as Luther or Calvin.  Though Calvin influenced Knox heavily, without the vision and conviction of Knox, the Reformation in Scotland would never have been accomplished.  This great preacher from Scotland laid the basis for a revolution not only of religion, but also of rule in that country.   His life can be split up into eight sections: his early life, his relationship to George Wishart, his imprisonment in the galleys, his time in England, his time on the continent of Europe, his relationship to Mary of Guise, his relationship to Mary Stuart, and his last days.  Studying the life of one who so dynamically stood up for that which he believed is both advantageous and wise, especially in the context of postmodern age in which we live.

 

Early Life

Not much is known about Knox's earliest days, which leads to much speculation and controversy over what happened in his early life.  The most disputed aspects of Knox's early life are his birth date, birthplace, and the place of his education.  For many decades the date of his birth was considered to be sometime in 1505.  This date was due, though, to an error in an early biography by David Buchanan in the 1644 edition of Knox's own History of the Reformation in Scotland.[1]  Hay Fleming was the first to point out this historical error in 1904.  Fleming gave strong reasons for Knox being born possibly ten years later than the originally thought date of birth.  This confusion was caused by a misprint of Archbishop Spottiswood's History of the Church of Scotland.  Spottiswood's History was written sometime before his death in 1639, but it was not published until 1655.  Fleming discovered that Spottiswood had actually written that Knox died at the age of 57.  Fleming also found evidence that Buchanan had used Spottiswood as a source and that he had misread Spottiswood's '5' as a '6', thus making it seem as though Knox was 67 when he died on the 24^th of November, 1572; but if the age of 57 is held, then his birth date would be calculated to be in either 1514 or 1515.

Another controversy was the place of his birth.  Very little is known about Knox's lineage.  In Buchanan's edition of Knox's History, it is said that Knox was born "of honest parentage...His father was a brother's son of the House of Ranfurly, which is an ancient family of gentlemen in the west."[2]  The fact that Knox was only said to be related to a house of "gentlemen" more than likely means that Knox and his family were not considered to be of high stature in the local Scottish community.[3] 

When Knox applied for citizenship in Geneva in 1558, he listed his home city as Haddington, Scotland.  Theodore Beza wrote in his Icones in 1580, along with many other seventeenth century writers, that Knox was born in Gifford, Scotland.[4]  Gifford is a town about four miles away from Haddington, but the town at the time was known as Bothans, and did not come to be known as Gifford until 1668.  So, many scholars take the position that Knox was born in Giffordgate.  The problem is that these scholars cannot agree on the exact location of Giffordgate.  Dr. Hume Brown argues that Giffordgate was a place in Morham, about four miles from Haddington.[5]  Morham was in the "constabulary" of Haddington, so Knox might have considered himself to be from Haddington.  In the 1300's, the land of Morham was brought into the Gifford family by marriage, and Dr. Brown states that the land came to be known as Gifford.  The problem with this view, though, is that there are charters from the fifteenth century that show the land being referred to as Morham, and it is unlikely that Knox would refer to his hometown as Gifford if the name Morham was being used a century earlier.[6]

The more likely placing of Giffordgate is as district of Haddington, just east of the Tyne.  In 1785, there was a house in Giffordgate, across from the Tyne, that was considered as the birthplace of Knox.  Later research of the deeds of the land around the house found that someone by the name of Knox had owned some of the land in the sixteenth century.  Though the house in 1785 is quite unlikely the house of Knox's birth, the local tradition of Knox being born in that vicinity is supported by the evidence of the deeds.[7]

The last controversy in relation to John Knox is the place of his education.  There were three large Universities in Scotland during the life of John Knox: St. Andrews, Glasgow, and Aberdeen.  St. Andrews was the oldest and closest to Knox's home, but scholars are not sure whether he went there or to Glasgow.  It is widely accepted that he studied with John Major, a well-known professor in Scotland who taught at both the Universities of Glasgow and St. Andrews.  In the past, the question was "where was Major teaching while Knox would have been in school?," but now it is fairly clear that Major began to teach at St. Andrews in 1531, two years after Knox began his degree.[8]  Beza confirms this fact when he places Major as Knox's teacher at the University in St. Andrews.[9]

 

Knox and George Wishart

The first certainties that we have about John Knox are that he was a priest in Haddington in 1540 and that he was a notary for a few years.  By this time he called himself "Sir" John Knox, which designated him as one of the Pope's Knights, or a priest in the Roman Church.[10]  He was living in Longniddry House, not far from his supposed birthplace, and was tutoring the children of Hugh Douglas and of the Laird of Ormiston when there was a major turning point in his life.  A man by the name of George Wishart came to stay at the Douglas house while passing through the area.  Wishart was a reformed preacher and teacher and was formerly a tutor at the Universities of Montrose and Cambridge.  A few years earlier Wishart fled Scotland fearing his life because he was then teaching the doctrines of the Reformation that he now came boldly to proclaim.  This homecoming, though, would prove to be his last. 

Cardinal Beaton was the Catholic official over Scotland and an extremely powerful man.  He devoted his life to stamping out any trace of the Reformation in his country, and soon had his eyes fixed on Wishart.  Wishart had been preaching in Haddington for five weeks and had gained a large following when Beaton caught up with him.  After a few weeks Wishart's followers had begun fleeing because of his own prophecies that he would soon be captured.[11]  Douglas of Longniddry, for reasons unknown, was one of the last to leave Wishart.  At Longniddry's leaving, Wishart urged Knox to leave as well.  Knox recounted Wishart's words to him in his History, "Nay, return to your bairns (pupils), and God bless you.  One is sufficient for one sacrifice."[12]  Knox wanted to stay with him and protect him with his two-handed sword, but Wishart took the sword and sent Knox away.[13]  Wishart and the rest of his party went to spend the night at the Laird of Ormiston's house, but around midnight Earl Bothwell surrounded the Ormiston house and arrested Wishart along with those in the house.  Wishart was arraigned in St. Andrews for heresy and was hanged and burned in front of the castle before the eyes of Cardinal Beaton.[14]

Beaton thought that the death of Wishart would bring an end to the Reformation that was beginning to take place in Scotland, but the people of Scotland were strong headed and resilient.  They would not stand for someone telling them they had to believe a certain way over another.[15]  Within three months after the death of Wishart, Cardinal Beaton was assassinated on the 29^th of May 1546 in the castle of St. Andrews; there had been many former plots to kill Beaton, but the death of Wishart brought about a newly reinvigorated conspiracy.[16] 

 

Knox in the Galleys

After the death of Wishart and Beaton, Knox attempted to return to his former life as a tutor, but the Catholic officials in St. Andrews heard of Knox's involvement with Wishart, and soon began to try to arrest him.  Knox moved from house to house, as was common in those days for those alluding arrest.[17]  Soon, the parents of those that Knox was tutoring began urging that Knox leave and take their children to the castle at St. Andrews.  The men that had assassinated Beaton were staying there, along with many other Protestants, and it seemed to be a place where Knox and his pupils would be safe. 

After entering the castle, Henry Balnavis (an important Scottish Protestant politician) and John Rough (a preacher) began to recognize Knox as he was teaching his students the Gospel of John, just as he had been doing at the Longniddry house.[18]  At Easter in 1547 Balnavis and Rough extended a call to Knox to be the pastor of the parish church, but Knox refused, saying "'That he would not run where God had not called him'; meaning, that he would do nothing without a lawful vocation."[19]  He did agree, though, to write out arguments for Rough in his debates with John Annand, a Catholic professor at St. Leonard's College.[20]  Soon though, the people in the castle saw the hand of God on Knox and urged Rough to call on Knox to full time vocational ministry.[21]  Ridley writes, "Knox's reluctance to preach is easy to understand...If Knox became one of the Protestant preachers, he would be taking on the mantle of Gwilliam, Rough, and Wishart."[22]  Later in his life, Knox would be accused of being a false prophet - that his calling was not a true one.  He would point out the fact, though, that he did not want to be a preacher, but the people in the church of St. Andrews forced him to accept the office.[23] 

As Pastor, Knox was a fiery preacher that caught the attention of all that listened.  At the end of his first sermon, in which he called the Church of Rome the Antichrist, he challenged anyone present, of which were John Major and other University leaders, to come and prove him otherwise.[24]  It was said of him that "Others sned (lop off) the branches of the papistry, but he striketh at the root also, to destroy the whole."[25]  The sermons of Knox and Rough led to the conversion of many in the castle. 

Those who were in the castle became overconfident in their protection of the castle.  The Earl of Arran had failed to take the castle for over a year, and the Protestants took for granted that the English would help them if anyone came close to invading the castle.  The French fleets, however, under the command of Leon Strozzi, sailed for the castle in 1547, sent by the French King Henry II.  Their first battle with the castle did little damage.  Those in the Castle fought back and killed several of the French.  The French retreated, only later to return along with Arran's army to take the castle.[26]

This capture begins the next chapter of Knox's life.  He was captured along with the rest of those in the castle, and he was given a promise by the French Admiral that he could be free in either France or any other country, except Scotland.  The Admiral nevertheless broke his promise and he sent Knox to the galleys, where he would spend almost the next two years of his life laboring below the decks.[27]

While on the ship, Knox never lost courage or hope.  In fact, there are a number of amusing anecdotes that came out of his time spent on the ship.  One such story was when Knox was presented with an image of the Virgin Mary to kiss.  Knox took it and flung it into the sea, saying "Let our lady now save herself.  She is light enough; let her learn to swim!"[28]  There was another instance in which the galley that Knox was on came close to the coast of St. Andrews.  Knox was very sick, but when he caught a glimpse of the land he said that no matter how weak he was, he would "not depart this life till [his] tongue [would] glorify His Holy Name in the same place."[29]  Finally, the English government obtained Knox's freedom and he was free to go to England in April of 1549.[30]

 

Knox in England

After being liberated, he found sanctuary in Berwick and later in New Castle and was licensed as a preacher in both places.[31]  He ministered in Berwick from the spring of 1549 to the spring of 1551, and was instrumental in the first developments of English Puritanism in that city.[32]  Knox was still new to the church when the Book of Common Prayer authorized by Edward VI was published.  Knox, as well as other Protestants, was furious about the fact that the act of kneeling while taking the Lord's Supper was still included in the book.  Knox felt that kneeling implied that the bread and wine was transubstantiated into the actual body and blood of Jesus.[33]  He was instrumental in the interlacing of the condemnation of kneeling, often called the "Black Rubric," in the Second Book of Common Prayer of 1552.[34]

During his time in Berwick, Knox formed a relationship with a young lady named Marjorie Bowes.  She was from a well-known English family; her father, Richard, was a straight line Catholic, and her mother, Elizabeth, was a supporter of the Reformation efforts.  Knox and Marjorie were engaged early on in the relationship, but due to her father's aversion, they were not married until 1555 or 1556.[35]

As well as things were going for Knox, everything changed in 1554 when King Edward VI died.  He was succeeded by his sister, Mary Tudor, who was a stanch Roman Catholic.  As soon as she took the throne, she set about undoing the work of her brother with regards to the Reformation.  Knox stayed in England for a short time after her coronation, hoping that she would not prove to be a persecutor.  His hope, however, was soon dashed as Knox watched many reformists being imprisoned.  Knox reacted to this new situation by traveling throughout the country, and eventually crossing over to the continent.[36]

 

Knox on the Continent of Europe

After arriving on the continent in the city of Dieppe, France, Knox paused only to write a letter to the congregations that he was leaving behind in England, and then he was off to Geneva where he would meet John Calvin.  At their first meeting, Knox asked Calvin four questions, the main impetus being, "Do Protestants have to follow the rule of a Catholic Queen?"  Calvin answered that yes, they should follow whoever was the ruler, even if the person was a Catholic and a woman.  Knox did not much like Calvin's answer, so he went to Zurich to Bullinger, whose response was more to Knox's liking.[37]

Bullinger, along with other Protestant leaders in Zurich, answered Knox's questions much differently than did Calvin.  In the Answers of Zurich, Bullinger said that a woman should not be a ruler, but if she was, then pious men should submit to her rule.  If this ruler, though, was condemning "true" religion, then it was not necessary to obey that ruler.  These answers were adequate for the purposes that Knox had for Bullinger did not disallow the use of resistance against a ruler who was propagating acts that went against what the Protestants saw as true religion.  Upon his return to Geneva, he did not bring up the subject with Calvin again.[38]

Soon, Knox was called as minister to a congregation in the town of Frankfort-on-the-Main, a church of English Protestants that had fled England for fear of their lives.  Knox was reluctant to accept the position because he wanted to stay in Geneva and continue his study with Calvin, but Calvin urged Knox to accept the position.  And so he did and arrived in Frankfort in November of 1554.[39] 

Knox's decision to pastor this remnant, though, soon proved to be regrettable for him because of the tumultuous time that he spent there.  The church was a microcosm of the battle between Puritanism and Anglicanism.  Knox had written a service-book based on the liturgies of Calvin and Pullain, a French minister.  Part of the congregation, though, still wanted to use the English Book of Common Prayer.  Knox volunteered to leave the congregation so that there might be peace, but instead a call was given to Thomas Lever, a member of the Zurich community, to become co-pastor and he became the leader of the part of the congregation that favored the English prayer book.  The decision was left up to Calvin, who chose to compromise the two liturgies.  The litany, congregational responses, and commemoration of saints were to be taken out of the service.  Also, the surplice was not to be worn, and sitting was to be done during the Lord's Supper in the place of kneeling.[40]  In taking this stand, Knox became the precursor to what would later be known as Puritanism.[41] 

This compromise was still fairly new when the conflict was reinvigorated by a new arrival of Marian Exiles, led by the Chancellor of Oxford University, Richard Cox.  The new exiles were indignant that the English prayer book be wholly used as it was in England.  One Sunday one of them even entered the pulpit and read out loud the litany, to which Knox subdued himself.  Later that afternoon, Knox replied to the act and said that the "godly agreement was ungodly broken."[42]  Many in the congregation chose to follow Cox, thus making the rift even larger.  A powerful magistrate, Johann von Glauburg, entered the scene and warned that unless the condition on which the use of the church had been given was abided by, then the doors of the church would be closed.[43]

Cox and his party chose to retaliate.  Knox had referred to Charles V in his Faithful Admonition as "no less an enemy to Christ than ever was Nero."[44]  Two members of the congregation brought this reference to the attention of the Frankfort magistracy, who decided to ban Knox from preaching because the Emperor might get upset if he heard of how Knox spoke of him.  This wasn't enough, however, for Knox's enemies, and they pushed for the magistrates to take further action.  Not wanting to be put in the position of having to punish their friend and leader, they asked Knox to leave voluntarily.  This he did, taking with him some of his loyal followers.[45] 

Knox returned to Geneva and lived there for most of the remaining five years of his exile.  He would often return to Dieppe where he would check up on the happenings in England and Scotland.[46]  He made at least one secret trip back to Scotland in 1555-56 where he was encouraged as to the progress that was being made in the cause of Protestantism.  Upon returning to Geneva, he busied himself in serving the English exiles.  This experience with the exiles in Geneva was much different from the one in Frankfurt.  They grew to be like a family to him, sharing in joys and suffering for the cause to which they were devoted, that of the Reformation.[47] 

 

Knox and Mary of Guise

Finally the day came for which Knox and the other exiles had been waiting.  Late in 1558 Mary Tudor died, and she was succeeded by the Protestant Queen Elizabeth.  Also in Scotland, events took place that made it necessary for Knox to return to his homeland.  Just days before Queen Elizabeth came to power, the Scottish Parliament held session to declare its loyalty to Rome.   Mary of Guise, the regent of Scotland and dowager of the rightful heir, Mary Stuart, knew that if this action was not taken before the Protestant English government had a chance to help the Scottish reformers that there would be no chance to ever rid Scotland of the Protestant "heresy."[48]  In the spring of 1559, the Privy Council forbid any preaching of unauthorized persons. 

John Erskine of Dun met with Mary to reassure her that the Protestant preachers meant her no harm.  She asked him to "'stay the multitude, and the Preachers also,' so that she might take some better order."[49]  He took her promise as saying that if the reformers would not advance, she would allow the Protestant preachers to preach.  This promise taken in good faith by Erskine was soon broken and she declared the preacher as outlaws, not just guilty of heresy, but also of rebellion, and for this crime they were to be crushed by force.[50]  There was a short truce arranged by James Stewart and the Earl of Argyle, but it was only temporary.  The conflict was taken up again in St. Andrews, where Knox was in charge.  The same men that arranged the treaty with the Regent left her to deal with the "rebellion" declaring that she did not hold up her end of the bargain.[51]  Because of a sermon that Knox preached against idolatry at Perth, a disturbance arose called the "rascal rebellion."  By the end of this uproar, the religious buildings of the town had all been destroyed.[52]

While at St. Andrews Knox preached at the church of St. Giles, fulfilling his promise that he made on the galley ten years prior.  Knox left soon after he began ministering there so that he might better serve the Protestant cause elsewhere.  In 1559, Knox takes the leading role on the side of the Reform not only in religion, but also in politics.  His main goal was to get the people of his beloved Scotland to realize the importance of the cause for which he was fighting.  Knox wanted the people to perceive that Mary's ultimate goal, now that Elizabeth was leading England towards a Protestant state, was to join Scotland with France in a Catholic alliance.  This was a terrible prospect for Knox and his cause because the French would send soldiers to help the already strong army under Mary's control.  Once the people realized this prospect, both the Protestant and Catholic Scots were alarmed; the two sides joined together to fight the French onslaught so that they might remain free.  This combined force of Protestants and Catholics, along with the fear of being driven from office, coerced Mary into allowing the Protestants to follow their own religious practices.[53]

There was a treaty made in Leith that agreed the French soldiers would leave Scotland, and that a Parliament would meet to resolve the affairs of Scotland.  This Parliament, the most famous of Scottish history, met in Edinburgh the first day of August in 1560.  It stated that from that day forward Scotland was no longer a Catholic, but instead a Protestant country.[54] 

After the treaty, Knox went back to the church at St. Giles and was appointed minister.  Knowing that the Protestant cause was not finished reforming, he began work on a confession of faith so that the Church might clearly articulate what they believe.    To show respect to the Parliament, he presented this confession of faith to them for their sanction, and it was approved.  Also, congregations needed to have an organized structure for choosing ministers and ordering their congregations, so soon followed what is now called the First Book of Discipline, which laid down how the Church was to be governed.  The Parliament, though, did not agree with the First Book of Discipline because the book proposed that Catholic property be given to Protestant congregations.  This defeat was a great disappointment to Knox and the other reformers, mainly because the congregations would have no means to pay their ministers or meet operating expenses.[55]  Knox knew that this was not the end of the Reformation in Scotland; there was still much work to do for the cause.

In late November or early December of 1560, Knox's wife Marjorie Bowes died.  Scholars are not sure why she died, but her death was at the very young age of 24.  Around the same time, Francis II of France fell ill and died.  Knox was overly jubilant of his death, and the only mention that Knox made of his wife's death was in connection with the death of Francis II.[56]

 

Knox and Mary Stuart

Mary of Guise died before the Treaty of Leith was signed, but now Mary Stuart was old enough to take over the reign of Scotland.  So on the 19^th of August 1561, Mary returned to Scotland from France, where she had been living for the last nineteen years.  Her return was cause for fear in those involved in the Reformation in Scotland because Mary was reared as a Catholic while she was in France, and therefore hated all of the doctrines that were proposed by the reformers.  Also, the reformers were not seen in a good light by the Queen because their teachings did not leave her as much power as she had with the Catholics.[57]

So because of the above-mentioned reasons, Mary was determined to reinstate Catholic rule in Scotland.  Many of the people were for the change back to Catholicism and stood behind the Queen because they had never believed in the Protestant doctrines and were still Catholic by belief.  Also, most of the nobles of Scotland were either still Catholic, or they were ready to side with the party that was the strongest.[58]  Knowing all of this, Knox had good reason to be watchful of Mary, but not as much reason as Mary had to be watchful of Knox.

It was not long before a disagreement broke out between the new Queen and Knox.  The reason for the disagreement was that on her return, Mary insisted on having Mass in her own private chapel.  The next Sunday, Knox preached a sermon in which he said that he did not fear an army of ten thousand men more than the observance of one mass. [59]  What Knox meant by this was that if Mary was allowed to have her own Mass, then soon the people of Scotland that still held to Catholic beliefs would want the right to observe the Mass themselves.  Knox knew that if the Mass was able to be observed by the people, then the Protestant cause in Scotland would soon be finished and he would have to go back into exile.  So, it was understandable that Knox wanted to completely run Catholicism, and its proponents, out of the country.[60]

Mary summoned Knox to meet with her because of the sermon he preached against her observance of the Mass.  This meeting was the first of four meetings that Knox would have with the Queen, each one upsetting or bringing Mary to tears.  At the first meeting, she accused him of turning the people of Scotland first against her mother, and then against her.  She said that Knox's First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, a book written in 1558 against Mary Tudor's reign, was also against her reign, and that he did it to cause the agitation of the people of Scotland.  In response, Knox spoke boldly against the Catholic Mass, showing that true religion's authority was only from God, not from human rulers, but that The First Blast was not against her reign, but that of Mary Tudor.[61]  She then asked him if citizens have the right to go against the will of their rulers.  Knox referred to Daniel and the three children who went against Nebuchadnezzar, and said that although they did not use force to resist him, it was only because they did not have the chance to use it.  She accused Knox of wanting to take rule over the people, but Knox denied it and said, "God forbid that ever I take upon me to command any to obey me, or yet to set subjects at liberty to do what pleaseth them!  My travail is that both princes and subjects obey God."[62]

Thus ended their first meeting.  It did not do much to change the situation in Scotland; the Queen still observed the Mass, and Knox still spoke against it in his sermons.  He wrote to his friend William Cecil Burghley about the interview, saying, "She will never embrace Protestantism, for the Roman Catholic doctrines are so deeply engraven in her heart."[63]  He was correct.  The other three meetings had to do with the French persecution of the Protestants, Mary persuading Knox to convince the people that Catholics should be able to worship as they please, and Knox's detestation of the Queen's marriage to Darnley. [64] 

Knox was remarried in March of 1564 to Margaret Stewart of Ochiltre, daughter of Lord Ochiltre; she was 17 and he was 50.  The difference in age between the two was not at all uncommon in their day, but Calvin still denounced the marriage, saying that it was undesirable.  This criticism from Calvin was not unusual because he had also criticized William Farel when he married a girl that was 15 when he was 69.  The most surprising part of the marriage, though, was that Knox, being of humble birth, married a noblewoman.[65] 

The Reformation in Scotland was not doing much in the way of helping move their cause forward.  One reason for the stand still was that many of the Protestant pastors were dying in the streets due to exposure to the weather and hunger brought about by lack of money.  Their lack was because of a tax that was imposed on all church property in the country for the pay of ministers, but hardly any of the money was making its way to the ministers, but instead was staying in the pockets of the Queen and her court.[66]

Another reason for the stand still of the Protestant cause was an arrangement set up between James Stewart, a Protestant noble, and the Queen where he would try to get Mary named as successor to the throne of England if she would allow the protestant cause to be the religion of the land.  Stewart failed in his attempt, and Mary refused to allow the Protestant cause to move forward.  She then drove Stewart, now the Earl of Moray, out of the country and married Lord Darnley, a staunch Catholic.  He took the title as Henry, King of Scotland, but his rule was a short one.  One of the Queen's servants, David Rizzio, had gotten too close to the Queen, and he was suddenly murdered.[67]  It was found out that Darnley and some of the protestant nobles had conspired to kill Rizzio, and when the people found out, they were outraged.  If the death of Rizzio was not enough of a spectacle, Darnley was assassinated in February of 1567.  The plot of his murder was traced to Lord Bothwell and the Queen, herself.  Bothwell was brought to trial, but the Queen had him cleared of the charges and gave him large areas of land.  Then Bothwell kidnapped Mary, most likely without her resistance, and then divorced his wife; he and the Queen were married that May.[68]

All of this drama ended up being the downfall of the Queen and the salvation of the Reformation.  The Scottish public was shocked and outraged by her involvement in the murder plot of Darnley, and her subsequent marriage to his murderer.  Mary was dethroned and forced to flee to England.[69]  James Stewart was then installed as the acting ruler until James VI, Mary's son, was old enough to rule.  He got the parliament to pass acts that favored the Protestant religion, such as, no prince could have authority in Scotland unless he took an oath to preserve the Protestant religion.  Also, it was passed that only Protestants should hold any office except for positions that were passed down through a family.  Also, there was a better financial system set up for the paying of ministers.[70]

There were several attempts on Stewarts's life, but in 1568 the archbishop of St. Andrews and his nephew hired assassins to kill Stewart, and they were successful.  There was a period of great turmoil in Scotland as Mary Stuart and the Catholics attempted to come back to power and Queen Elizabeth of England along with the Protestants made an effort to hold her back.  Mary Stuart was shut up into the Castle of Edinburgh.  Eventually, James VI was old enough to take control of the country and did so.  He staved those Catholics who would try to gain power, and eventually brought peace back to the nation.[71]

 

John Knox's Last Days

At the same time Mary was in the Castle, Knox had been preaching in Edinburgh.  His strength began to fail and he suddenly had a stroke.  Even though he was very ill, there were those who still wanted to murder him.  One night there was even a shot fired into his living room, only missing him because he had moved from his usual seat.[72]  After pleas from his friends, he went to St. Andrews, where he stayed for more than a year.  Even though he was comparatively old and frail, he still staggered to church and preached quite often.  He had to be lifted into the pulpit, but he still preached with the same "vehemence and zeal that ever he did."[73]

On the 31^st of July in 1572, there was a truce between James VI and Mary Stuart's forces.  Shortly afterwards, Knox returned to Edinburgh so that he might die with friends.  He still preached, but only to small gatherings of people at the church because he could no longer be heard in the large sanctuary.  His last public duty was to induct his successor, and as he left the church he was followed home by the entire congregation.[74] 

Two days later he came down with a violent cough, which made it difficult to breath, and this gradually wore away his strength.  Knowing he was close to death, he bid farewell to his friends.  His last day finally came on the 24^th of November in 1572.  He got up about nine or ten that morning and sat up for a while.  At twelve he had his wife read 1 Corinthians 15 to him, and at five in the afternoon he had his wife read to him John 17, the passage that he first "cast anchor."[75]  There were the usual house prayers about 10:30 that night, and at about eleven there came a "long sigh and sob," and with the exclamation, "now it is come," he began his last struggle. Asked to give a sign that he was at peace, he lifted his hand and apparently without pain passed away. [76]  The Wednesday after his death he was buried in the graveyard just south of the Church of St. Giles.[77]

 

Conclusion

The life of John Knox is a portrait of a man with vision and conviction.  The vision for a Protestant country remained foremost in his mind throughout the good and bad periods of his life.  His conviction gave him the strength to follow through with the daunting task set before him.  In the Castle of St. Andrews, in the galleys, throughout his long exile, and during his quarrels with Mary Tudor, Guise, and Stewart, he stood for the Protestant cause and was not afraid of those who could harm only his body, but not his soul.

Because of his effort, Scotland became not only a Protestant country, but really its own country.  The people of Scotland began to think for themselves, not merely accepting religious beliefs on the basis of a ruler's orders.  Knox said and did many things of which most people in the present day would not approve.  In all things, however, he was honest and did what he did for the furtherance of his country and his religion.  Knox is remembered as one of the most successful revolutionary figures in Church history.  There can be little doubt of his success; very few revolutionary regimes have the staying power to last for four hundred years, except that of Knox, the swordbearer and trumpet blaster of Scotland.