John Knox

1533–1603

John Knox was born in Scotland, attended the University of Glasgow, and became a priest. He worked largely as a private tutor, but was also known as an inspiring preacher. He lived during the great upheavals of the Reformation in England, but did not become personally involved until he was nearly forty. The incident which plunged him into the public eye was the murder of Cardinal Beaton at the Cathedral of St. Andrews. He was killed by reformers in retribution, because Beaton had ordered the death of Wishart, a protestant preacher who was a friend of Knox's. As a result, Knox joined the reformers who had taken over the Cathedral, and became of their leaders. The reformers were ultimately captured and set to work as galley slaves.

JOHN KNOX

Eventually Knox was released and invited back to preach in Scotland by the Protestant Archbishop Cranmer. His return to Scotland was short lived, however. When Mary Tudor came to the throne in England he went into exile in Europe and ended up in Geneva, where he was strongly influenced by the austere theology of Calvin. In Geneva, the reformers had taken hold of every aspect of daily life, and the city was run as a theocracy. Knox found this appealing, and when he returned to Scotland, he promoted a Scottish version of Calvinism that came to be known as Presbyterianism. When Knox returned to Scotland, the throne was essentially empty, and the Protestants and Catholics were fighting each other everywhere. Into this power vacuum Knox arrived with his forceful personality, and his strong Calvinistic convictions. Within a few years he was able to bend much of Scotland to his will, and essentially controlled Parliament. By the time Mary arrived from France, they saying of mass had been outlawed and she found herself the Catholic Queen of a protestant country.

The country however, was not as united as it first appeared. Many people were dissatisfied with the austere regime of the Calvinist parliament, and Mary was able to insist on some compromises, and held fast to her faith, but she dared not do to much. At this critical time, however, she made a series of very poor personal choices regarding marriage and romance that destroyed her credibility, and resulted in her forced abdication. With Mary in exile, and her infant son under the control of a Protestant parliament, the Catholic cause in Scotland was all but lost. Knox died a few years after Mary's exile, confident that he had steered Scotland permanently into Protestant waters.

Key events during the life of John Knox:

Year	Event
1505	John Knox Born
1517	Protestant Reformation begins in Germany.
1522	Attends the University of Glasgow.
1536	Henry VIII dissolves the monasteries in England
1546	Murder of Cardinal Beaton. Knox arrested with reformers.
	Served as a galley slave.
1549	Appointed to preach at Newcastle by Protestant Archbishop Cranmer.
1553	Catholic Mary I ascends to the throne. Knox goes to exile.
1558	Elizabeth I ascends to the throne. Knox returns from exile.
1560	Mary, Queen of Scots, returns to Scotland.
1565	Marriage of Mary and Darnley.
1566	Darnley is murdered, and Mary is abducted by Bothwell.
1567	Mary forced to abdicate in favor of her infant son.
1572	Death of Knox

Other Resources

Story Links	Book Links
Return to Scotland  in	Mary Queen of Scots  by  Jacob Abbott
Knox, 1505-1572  in	Saints and Heroes Since the Middle Ages  by  George Hodges
Reformation: England and Scandinavia  in	The Story of Europe  by  Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall

Image Links
John Knox  in Saints and Heroes Since the Middle Ages	John Knox John Knox  in Back Matter	Queen Mary and Knox had many talks together  in Scotland's Story
The Queen's advocate reading the charge of treason brought against Knox The Queen's advocate reading the charge of treason brought against Knox  in The Tudors and the Stuarts

Contemporary	Short Biography
Mary Stuart	Queen of Scotland. Deposed and exiled. Held captive and executed by Queen Elizabeth.
Wishart	Protestant friend of Knox who tried as a heretic and burned at the stake.
Cardinal Beaton	Scottish Cardinal who was killed by Protestant reformers.
James I	First Stuart king of England. Intelligent and competent, but unable to work effectively with Parliament.