(published in the February 2008 edition of “The Ulster-Scot” newspaper by the Ulster-Scots Agency)
Article by Mark Thompson, Chairman, Ulster-Scots Agency. With thanks to Dr Lawrence Holden, Dr William Roulston, Rev Robert McCollum and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland for their ongoing assistance.
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The Covenanters. A name that many thousands of Ulster people know well, but maybe know only a little about. It’s a name which speaks of deeply-held faith, of heroism and patriotism, of resistance to the state, of persecution and martyrdom, of opposition to slavery, of emigration - and of a tradition which continues to this day.
Some of the most famous Covenanter stories have been passed down through the generations in families across the nine counties of Ulster. Many people have heard of the two Margarets who were tied to stakes and drowned in the rising tide of Solway Firth near Wigtown in May 1685. Many people have heard of “The Killing Times”. And maybe some of you have heard of the Covenanter heroes like Richard Cameron “The Lion of the Covenant”, James Renwick and Alexander Peden “Prophet of the Covenanters”, who came to County Antrim.
But the Ulster connection is far greater than most people realise. Like so many of our histories, the Covenanter story connects Scotland, Ulster and America. Some would even say that the Covenanters’ experience is right at the heart of who the Ulster-Scots people are, what makes us tick, and helps to explain some of our attitudes and even our worldwide influence.
A generation ago, many homes across Ulster owned popular novels about the Covenanters, and so many of us grew up with their stories. But did you know that:
• at least 18,000 Presbyterian Covenanters were killed by the King’s troops or banished into slavery?• after some of the major Covenanter battles in Scotland, there were reports of empty boats being found along the Ulster coastline because many of the survivors had fled here?
• Scotland has hundreds of Covenanter memorials, from Galloway to Orkney, to commemorate their heroism and sacrifice?
• it was the Covenanters of East Tennessee who were the first to oppose black slavery in America – perhaps because many Scottish Covenanters had also been captured, imprisoned and sent to America as slaves to work on plantations during the 1600s - and because they remembered how much their own ancestors had suffered under tyrannical government?
As far as the history goes, the story runs from the Scottish Reformation in 1560 through to the signing of the Covenant at Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh in 1638, to “The Killing Times” of 1680 - 1688, and then the Glorious Revolution, which brought an end to the persecution of the Covenanters and established Presbyterianism as the national Church of Scotland.
But it doesn’t end in 1688 – the story continues to the present day, and it takes some surprising twists and turns in between. For example, the Covenanters were opposed to The Ulster Covenant of 1912, which was signed by over 450,000 people - but not because they were in favour of Home Rule!
The Ulster-Scots Agency is delighted that today’s Covenanters, the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland, have agreed to help us in telling their story to our readers. Some of you might also have seen an acclaimed documentary by BBC Northern Ireland a few years ago which was about the unaccompanied Psalm singing tradition today.
We’ll update you throughout the year about events and exhibitions that we hope to organise, to enable you to find out more and perhaps even experience 21st century Covenanter traditions for yourself. So for the rest of the year we’ll be publishing a series of articles in this newspaper, leaflets, heritage trails and a website explaining “The Covenanters in Ulster” story. We’ll be letting you know about books you can read, films and DVDs to watch, and places you can visit both here in Ulster and in Scotland too (like museums, visitor centres, battlefields and memorials) to better understand the epic story of the Covenanters’ struggle for religious freedom.
And if you have anything you’d like to suggest to us that you think we should include in “The Covenanters in Ulster” please get in touch.
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What was The Covenant?
For many years, King James I, and later his son King Charles I, had attempted to impose their authority upon the church in Scotland. However the people were deeply resistant to this interference.
On Sunday 23rd July 1637, the famous Jenny Geddes hurled a stool at the Dean of St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh when he attempted to read from the King’s new Book of Common Prayer. The spot where she threw it from is marked by a plaque in the floor, and the stool itself is in the National Museum of Scotland. The opposition to the King gathered momentum. Two Presbyterians, Archibald Johnston and Rev Alexander Henderson, drafted a document, Scotland’s National Covenant, denouncing the King’s interference.
On Wednesday 28th February 1638, the Covenant was publicly read aloud and signed in Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh - the same kirkyard which 50 years later would become a deadly Covenanter prison.
Many copies of the Covenant were made, were sent to locations across Scotland and Ulster, and were signed by the people, who were then known as “Covenanters”. Some of these copies survive in Museums and churches to this day - for example at both St Giles’ Cathedral and Greyfriars Kirk.
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Covenanter Memorials
All across Scotland there are scores, maybe even hundreds, of graves and memorials to the Covenanters. Some are large and impressive monuments, for example at battle sites like Bothwell Bridge near Hamilton. There are also monuments to famous individuals like James Renwick, Richard Cameron and John Brown - and there are monuments to mark the place where many lesser-known Covenanters died.
You’ll be amazed at how many Covenanter memorials there are in Scotland. For example, the main sign at the village of Barrhill in South Ayrshire (on the A714 road between Girvan and Newton Stewart), says “The Land of the Covenanters”. In the middle of the village near a narrow stone bridge there’s a tourist signpost which says “Martyrs Tomb Walk”. From here a narrow path leads about 100 yards from the main road, to a monument set among tall trees, close to the river bank. It marks the place where two Covenanters - John Murchie and Daniel Meiklewrick - were killed by the King’s dragoons in 1687.
Many of the monuments are maintained by the Scottish Covenanters Memorial Association. Visit their website at www.covenanter.org.uk to find out about their work, Covenanter history and how you can join the Association.
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READ:
Against the Tide: The Valour of Margaret Wilson
by Hope Irvin Marston (price £8.99)
This book, published in 2007, carries on the proud tradition of Covenanter novels which have been a feature of so many Ulster-Scots homes over the generations. It tells the story of the famous 18 year old Covenanter “Solway Martyr” who drowned in the rising tide with her friend Margaret MacLachlan in 1685, tied to a stake by the King’s troops. Aimed at younger and teenage readers, “Against the Tide” is an ideal way to introduce the story of the Covenanters to young people.
Available from the Covenanter Bookshop.
Tel: 028 9081 4110
Email: bookshop@rpc.org
Website: www.covenanterbooks.com
WATCH:
DVD: For Christ’s Crown and Covenant
by Spinnaker Productions (Price £11.95)
Produced in conjuntion with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, this DVD is an excellent summary of Covenanter history. Beginning with John Knox and the Scottish Reformation in 1560, the DVD is a journey through the main Covenanter sites in Scotland, from Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh where the Covenant was signed in 1638, to many famous Covenanter memorials across the Lowlands. It also includes interviews and an overview of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland today.
Available from the Covenanter Bookshop.
Tel: 028 9081 4110
Email: bookshop@rpc.org
Website: www.covenanterbooks.com
LISTEN:
CD - Tales of the Covenanters
by The Grassmarket Butchers (price £10 plus £1 p&p)
A cd of 13 modern folk songs, written and performed by 9 different members of the “New Makars Trust” in Lanarkshire, telling the stories of the Covenanters. A range of different musical styles, capturing the emotion and drama of many of the most famous events in Covenanter history. For example, the track “John Craig the Covenanter” tells the tale of a minister who tricked the King’s troops at an ambush they had set.
Order enquiries to Billy Stewart
email: billy@garriongill.freeserve.co.uk
web: www.newmakarstrust.org.uk or www.haggerdash.co.uk
VISIT:
Memorial to Alexander Peden, “Prophet of the Covenant” - Glenwherry, County Antrim
On the Douglas Road at Glenwherry is a small farmstead called “Misty Burn”. Between 1682 and 1685 this was the refuge of Rev Alexander Peden, one of the most famous Covenanter ministers. The setting is spectacular, not far away from Slemish. On the other side of the Glenwherry Valley is “Wee Collin”, the mountain where another famous Ulster Covenanter, Willie Gilliland, hid from the King’s troops.
Glenwherry is halfway along the A36 “Ballymena/Larne Line”
Click here for a Google Maps link
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