Civic Reformation and Religious Change in Sixteenth-Century Scottish Towns

Civic Reformation and Religious Change in Sixteenth-Century Scottish Towns highlights the role of townspeople in the Protestant Reformation, showing that Scottish Protestants were more successful due to urban populations' acquiescence. Councillors and inhabitants supported reforms due to crises, avoiding popular religious violence and division seen elsewhere in Europe.

Format: Hardback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2024
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Civic Reformation and Religious Change in Sixteenth-Century Scottish Towns highlights the pivotal role of Scotland's townspeople in the transformative Protestant Reformation of 1560. It underscores that Scottish Protestants achieved greater success in religious change compared to their counterparts in France and the Netherlands due to the support of urban populations. By controlling essential aspects of civic religion, town councils played a crucial role in ensuring the successful implementation of national-level reforms brought about by the Protestant military and political victory. This book focuses on the towns of Dundee, Stirling, and Haddington, revealing that the councillors and inhabitants provided their support because successive crises, including plague, war, and economic collapse, eroded their faith in the existing Catholic order and instilled fear of further conflict. Consequently, the Protestants faced minimal popular opposition, and Scotland avoided the widespread religious violence and division witnessed in other parts of Europe.

Weight: 592g
Dimension: 162 x 241 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399510226