(published in the April 2008 edition of “The Ulster-Scot” newspaper by the Ulster-Scots Agency)
By Dr William Roulston (Ulster Historical Foundation and Board member of the Ulster-Scots Agency) and Mark Thompson (Chairman, Ulster-Scots Agency).
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In the previous issue, Rev Robert McCollum looked at the background to the Reformation in Scotland, while Dr Lawrence Holden explored the experiences of the early Presbyterian ministers in Ulster. This instalment looks at the Covenants of 1638 and 1643 and the impact of the ‘Black Oath’ on the Scots in Ulster. These events took place during a period that has been termed the Second Scottish Reformation (1638-49), the repercussions of which are still with us today.
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The famous Scottish minister Samuel Rutherford was a close friend of the early Ulster-Scots ministers, and wrote to them many times. His published Letters and Sermons are regarded as some of the finest Christian literature ever written. In 1636, on the eve of the attempted emigration of “Eagle Wing” from Groomsport to America, Rutherford had been imprisoned in Aberdeen, yet he wrote to Holywood minister Robert Cunningham, passing on his best wishes as they prepared to set sail. He even wrote to console them when they returned –to Robert Blair of Bangor from his prison cell, and to John Stuart (one of the ship’s passengers) saying “if I saw a call for New England, I too would follow it”.
After what looked like the failure of “Eagle Wing”(led by Blair, James Hamilton of Ballywalter, John McClelland of Newtownards and John Livingstone of Killinchy), most of the Ulster Presbyterian ministers were driven back to Scotland - Blair and Livingstone were soon preaching across the Lowlands. During this time as many as 500 members of Livingstone’s former congregation at Killinchy would sail to Stranraer on a Sunday, worship with him there, and sail home again that evening.
Yet these ministers snatched victory from the jaws of defeat - they went on to play a vital role in the struggle between the Church and the King, and were the vanguard of perhaps three consecutive generations of Ulster-Scots ministers who played an important part in the opposition to the Crown, right
up to the Glorious Revolution – a period known in Covenanter history as “The 50 Years Struggle”.
The Ulster dimension is not merely a footnote in the Covenanters story – Ulster is right at its very heart.
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BACKGROUND TO THE COVENANTS
As opposition in Scotland to King Charles I’s interference in the church gathered momentum, the people and the Kirk renewed an old tradition, but this time more powerfully than ever before. Scotland’s National Covenant was born.
The Covenants of 1638 and 1643 were not something entirely new. Drawing on Biblical precedents, the Scottish reformers had frequently entered into religious covenants designed to unite the people of Scotland in the defence of the principles of the Reformation. The National Covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant were following in this tradition, but framed to meet the needs of the time.
By the mid-1630s, the chief aim of King Charles I and William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, was to bring all the churches in England, Ireland and Scotland into closer conformity. A new set of laws for the Scottish church was introduced in 1635, outlawing sessions and presbyteries, increasing the power of the bishops and exalting the position of the king as head of the church. Those who opposed this were to face severe penalties.
Charles I and Laud, by ignoring both the Scottish church and the Scottish parliament, aroused the anger of the people. They felt that their civil and religious liberties were being infringed, and that the Reformation itself was under threat. Sunday, 23 July 1637 was a day never to be forgotten in Scotland. In the Church of St Giles in Edinburgh, the new rules for church services were introduced for the first time. According to tradition, as the dean began to read the order of service, the voice of Jenny Geddes rang out in anger, “Villain, dost thou say mass at my lug?” Taking hold of the stool upon which she had been sitting she flung it at the dean’s head. Instantly the service was thrown into confusion and had to be abandoned. Today, a plaque in the floor of St Giles marks the spot where she stood.
1638 - SCOTLAND’S NATIONAL COVENANT
Over the next 6 months, the depth of feeling across Scotland was so strong that by February 1638, 60,000 people had gathered in Edinburgh. On 28 February 1638 – “that glorious marriage day of the Kingdom with God”, according to Archibald Johnston of Warriston (who co-authored the Covenant along with Alexander Henderson) – the nobility and gentry signed Scotland’s National Covenant at Greyfriars’ Church in Edinburgh. The next day it was signed by the ministers and on 2 and 3 March by the general populace. John Livingstone of Killinchy was sent, disguised and on horseback, to London to take copies of the Covenant to Presbyterians there.
In this Covenant the people of Scotland solemnly bound themselves and succeeding generations to promote the reformed faith. Copies of the covenant were sent throughout Scotland and received almost everywhere with much enthusiasm. Inside three weeks, almost the entire Scottish population had signed the Covenant. Soon afterwards a presbyterian system of church government was restored in Scotland and the bishops were expelled. Scotland was effectively now under the control of the Covenanters.
King Charles I was outraged by this national defiance of his authority. With a military outcome becoming inevitable, Archibald Campbell, the Marquis of Argyll, and the most powerful man in Scotland, raised a Covenanter army. By May 1639, Argyll had 20,000 men under his command.
(above: The Signing of Scotland’s National Covenant, Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh, 28 February 1638)
1639 - THE BLACK OATH
The Scottish colony in Ulster was in a state of flux in the late 1630s. Immigration from Scotland was slowing down and a succession of poor harvests was leaving many people impoverished. Thomas Wentworth, the Earl of Strafford, was appointed as Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1633, and he brought major changes. Presbyterians in Ulster were coming under increasing pressure.
Wentworth watched the events that were unfolding in Scotland with some alarm and was concerned that what was happening there could very easily happen in Ireland, particularly in those parts of Ulster where Scottish settlement was strongest. The Scottish settlers in Ulster, once regarded as the backbone of English authority in Ireland, were now seen as its greatest threat. In July 1638, it was rumoured in London that the Covenanters were assembling an army in Ulster; “seditious pamphlets” from Scotland were being imported, and Scottish traders arriving in Ulster boasted of supporting the Covenant and defied the royal customs officials. And in early 1639, a Covenanter plot to take control of Carrickfergus was discovered.
Wentworth’s response was to introduce a compulsory oath of obedience to the king. Those who swore the ‘Black Oath’, as it was known, promised to have nothing to do with the National Covenant. Wentworth also quartered a large military force in Ulster. The text of the Black Oath was:
I, […], do faithfully swear, profess and promise that I will honour and obey my Sovereign Lord, King Charles, and will bear faith and true allegiance to him, and will defend and maintain his regal power and authority, and that I will not bear arms or do any rebellious or hostile act against him or protest against any of his royal commands, but submit myself in all due obedience thereunto. And I will not enter into any covenant, oath or bond of mutual defence or assistance against any persons whatsoever, by force, without his Majesty’s sovereign and regal authority. And I denounce and abjure all covenants, oaths and bonds whatsoever, contrary to that I have herein sworn, professed, and promised, so help me God in Christ Jesus...”
The aim of the Black Oath was to demoralise the Covenanters by limiting their support in Ulster, but it had the opposite effect – it infuriated the Covenanters in Scotland, it galvanised the Ulster-Scots, and it caused many Ulster-Scots to go back to Scotland as dedicated supporters of the Covenant to join the Covenanter army. It also meant that the King’s army in Ireland had to remain here to quell any possible uprising. The degree of resistance to the Black Oath proved beyond any doubt how much support there was for the Covenant among the Ulster-Scots.
1640: The first use of the term “Ulster Scots”
Wentworth’s adviser in Ireland was Sir George Radcliffe. He was deeply concerned that the Covenanter Army, under the command of the Earl of Argyle, might come to Ulster. On 8th October 1640 Radcliffe wrote (citing the famous assassination which had caused Robert the Bruce to flee to Rathlin Island over 300 years before):
“...many thousands in the North never took the oath... they will shortly return, to any that dares question them, such an answer as Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, made to Sir John Comyn, who, charging him with breach of oath, taken at Westminster to King Edward, replies, with cleaving his head in two. None is so dim-sighted, but sees the general inclination of the Ulster Scots to the covenant: and God forbid they should tarry there till the Earl of Argyll brings them arms to cut our throats...”
Radcliffe was the first to use the term “Ulster Scots”.
The response of many was to abandon their farms and homes and return to Scotland, rather than swear the Black Oath. There are many accounts of the farms and harvests in Ulster being left to waste because the people had fled. Wentworth returned to England, but he had many enemies among the Parliamentarians and was beheaded on 12 May 1641.
1639/40: The Bishops Wars
The National Covenant led directly to what were known as the ‘Bishops Wars’ in 1639-40 between the Scots and the King. The Covenanters were victorious, and again the Ulster ministers were to the fore: “...along with colours displaying the motto ‘Covenant for Religion Crowne and Country’ marched resolute military chaplains, namely Alexander Henderson, Robert Blair, John Livingstone… and other country pastors...” (from The Covenanters, Hewison, p 349). The King was forced to summon Parliament, but the relationship between the two was fraught and soon broke down completely. In England, armed conflict began between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. The Parliamentarians were short of cash and turned to the Scots for assistance. The outcome of these negotiations was the Solemn League and Covenant.
1643: Solemn League and Covenant
While the National Covenant affected only Scotland the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643 affected England and Ireland as well. In return for a promise to reform the Church in England and Ireland along presbyterian lines, the Scots agreed to invade England with an army of 20,000 men. The intervention of the Scots was critical to the eventual success of the English Parliamentarians. However, the English had little appetite for church reform in the manner that the Scots wanted and failed to honour their side of the bargain. The historian Laurence Kirkpatrick has written, “It is probably not an oversimplification to say that the Scots emphasised the religious aspects of the Covenant, while the English emphasised the political aspects of the same Covenant” (Presbyterians in Ireland, p. 28).
Despite the ultimate failure of introducing presbyterian church government and practice to England, much was achieved in the 1640s that was to underpin the doctrine of Presbyterians in Britain, Ireland and around the world. Between 1643 and 1649 the Westminster Assembly of Divines prepared a confession of faith, known as the Westminster Confession of Faith, and Larger and Shorter Catechisms – documents still used by most Presbyterian churches today.
THE 1640s in Ulster: Rebellion, Massacre and the First Presbytery at Carrickfergus
The 1640s brought rebellion and massacre to Ulster. The eyewitness accounts of these events are known as the “1641 Depositions” and are held in Trinity College Dublin. They are currently being digitised and it is expected that in 2010 they will be available to view on a dedicated website (click here for more information).
In 1642 the Covenanter army would arrive at Carrickfergus Castle, where the first Presbytery in Ireland would be established. During 1644, the Solemn League and Covenant was “administered” right across Ulster, from Ballywalter on the east coast of County Down, to Ballyshannon in south Donegal. Now the story of the Covenanters in Ulster really gets underway.
(with thanks to Jack Greenald, Dr Lawrence Holden, Rev Robert McCollum and Rev Harry Coulter for their assistance with this article)
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READ:
Robert Blair of Bangor
by John W Lockington (price £2.00)
This is an excellent booklet summarising the life of Rev Robert Blair, who is described in the booklet as “the leader of the Ulster Scots”, covering the major events of his time in Ulster, including the Eagle Wing and the Covenants.
Available from the Presbyterian Historical Society, Belfast
Telephone 028 9032 2284
Website: www.presbyterianhistoryireland.com
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COVENANTER TOURS:
You’ve read about them... Now, come see where they lived and died!
Men like Henderson, Rutherford, Cameron and Cargill were often famous for the way they died. But their greatest lesson for today involves – how they lived! Reformation Tours gives you the opportunity to explore Covenanter lives, around a schedule designed to meet your requirements.
Reformation Tours : www.reformationtours.org
Email: reftours@aol.com
Telephone: (01236)754133 or (01236) 620107
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READ:
A Land Afflicted - Scotland and the Covenanter Wars
by Raymond Campbell Paterson (price around £15.00)
Published in 1998, this is an excellent popular account of the Covenanter Wars in Scotland during the “50 Years Struggle” from 1638 - 1688. It clearly explains related events in England and Ireland, and the policies of the three Kings who reigned during this time: Charles I, Charles II and James II. Available by order from most bookshops, and most online booksellers.
236 pages. Published by John Donald Publishers. ISBN No: 0859764869
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SPECIAL EVENTS:
Carrickfergus Covenanter Weekend
Saturday 31st May at 8pm:
“Psalms Sung in Persecution Times, 1666 - 1688”
Psalm Singing Festival Evening, Carrickfergus Civic Centre
Sunday 1st June at 3pm:
Conventicle Open Air Field Meeting, Carrickfergus Castle
The traditional form of Covenanter worship
For further information, please contact Harry Coulter on 028 9336 6201 or visit www.rpc.org
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