Synopses & Reviews
Jane Dawson has written the definitive life of John Knox, a leader of the Protestant Reformation in sixteenth-century Scotland. Based in large part on previously unavailable sources, including the recently discovered papers of Knoxandrsquo;s close friend and colleague Christopher Goodman, Dawsonandrsquo;s biography challenges the traditionally held stereotype of this founder of the Presbyterian denomination as a strident and misogynist religious reformer whose influence rarely extended beyond Scotland. She maintains instead that John Knox relied heavily on the support of his andldquo;godly sistersandrdquo; and conferred as well as argued with Mary, Queen of Scots. He was a proud member of the European community of Reformed Churches and deeply involved in the religious Reformations within England, Ireland, France, Switzerland, and the Holy Roman Empire. Casting a surprising new light on the public and private personas of a highly complex, difficult, and hugely compelling individual, Dawsonandrsquo;s fascinating study offers a vivid, fully rounded portrait of this renowned Scottish preacher and prophet who had a seismic impact on religion and society.
Review
"...a valuable and accessible study which sheds useful further light on the dimensions of the British problem in early modern Scotland, England, and Ireland." Renaissance and Reformation"Dawson's thorough research and clear writing style makes reading this biography easy, as well as a joy. Her book is a worthwhile addition to Cambridge University Press's long-running series on early modern British history, and is essential reading on early modern Scotland." Anglican and Episcopal History"A welcome addition to Scottish Reformation studies, this work sheds new light on the murky politics in Scotland at the time of the Queen of Scots. Upper-division undergraduates and above." Choice"A key aim of Jane E.A. Dawson's book is to explore the 'new British history'--the history of the mutual influences of the three kingdoms--via the career of a man who linked all three. It succeeds triumphantly. This is a work of mature scholarship, rooted in a wide range of manuscript and printed sources and in deep reflection on the early modern 'British problem'.... This book deserves to be widely influential in sixteenth-century studies.... succinct and masterful." American Historical Review"This book is a valuable contribution to the study of a crucial period in the formation of what became known as the British Isles. Too often this period is discussed in separate studies of England and Scotland, and England and Ireland. Dawson's work should ensure that the interconnectedness of all three areas, long before 1603, cannot be ignored in the future." Sixteenth Century Journal"Dawson's recent work is a noteworthy addition to early modern Scotland and British studies." Canadian Journal of History"This is a valuable book in its own right, and a fine example of how "British history" can be written." Journal of Modern History
Review
andlsquo;This trailblazing, thoughtful and attractively written biography reveals with exceptional clarity how the fates of the peoples of this island have long been inextricably linked.andrsquo;andmdash;Peter Marshall,
Literary Review.
Synopsis
This book explains how the political crises of the mid-sixteenth century moulded the future political shape of the British Isles. Its central figure is the fifth earl of Argyll, the brother-in-law of Mary, Queen of Scots. As chief of Clan Campbell he was the major force throughout the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands, and he was also important in the politics of Tudor Ireland and Elizabethan England - and in the subsequent history of the British Isles - by helping to ensure that the British mainland became Protestant, while Ireland did not.
Synopsis
An original study in Scottish and British sixteenth-century political history.
Synopsis
During his brief political career, Archibald Campbell, 5th earl of Argyll (1530-73) played a crucial role in the mid-century upheavals in Scottish and British politics. This definitive study on Argyll is a major contribution to Scottish political history, and a significant new contribution to the history of the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. The study of his career changes significantly the axis of mid-Tudor studies as well as the study of the dynamics of Scottish history. Important European contexts and resonances are also explored.
About the Author
Jane Dawson is John Laing Professor of Reformation History, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh. She lives near Cupar in Fife.
Table of Contents
Prologue: 1560: British policies and the British context; 1. Argyllâs life and character; 2. Semi-sovereign prince; 3. The creation of a British policy, 1558 60; 4. The collapse of amity, 1561 65; 5. The reconfiguration of British politics, 1566 68; 6. The withdrawal from British politics, 1568 73; Conclusion: the earl of Argyll and British politics in the age of the three kingdoms; Chronology, 1558 73.