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Andrew Melville (1545-1622) was a Scottish religious reformer and scholar, who was ardent in his support of civil and ecclesiastical liberty, following in the tradition of John Knox. Melville was Principal of the University of Glasgow, 1574-1580, and the University of St Andrews in Edinburgh. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London from 1607-1611, then exiled to France, where he spent his last years.
One of the first acts of Charles I when he acceded to the throne was the Act of Revocation of 1625, which annulled all gifts made since 1540 of properties which the crown could claim, including the vast ecclesiastical revenues which had fallen into lay hands during the Reformation. In a further attempt to revive the fortunes of the episcopy, Charles insisted on the acceptance of the new Prayer Book in 1637. Many Scots actively opposed the Prayer Book, and a riot at St Giles on 23 July 1637 soon led to widespread and organised agitation. The various grievances against Charles coalesced into the National Covenant of 1638. This Covenant professed loyalty to the crown but asked for a return to ecclesiastical and constitutional practice as it was before Charles' reforms. A General Assembly met in November 1638 in Glasgow and it was decided to abolish Episcopal government. This led to a military confrontation but the kings forces were no match for experienced Scottish veterans and the government army refused to fight. A temporary peace was arranged at Berwick in June 1639.