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Durham E-Theses The church and religion in the Anglo Scottish border counties, 1534 to 1572 Keeling, S. M. How to cite: Keeling, S. M. (1975) The church and religion in the Anglo Scottish border counties, 1534 to 1572, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/8008/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk ABSTRACT The 16th century Borders have been viewed traditionally as violent, feudal and catholic, but their feudalism is now questioned. The verdict on their religion seems often to be based either on general impressions or on lack of evidence. Recently the value of studying the social and political life of the English and Scottish Borders together has been recognised, and this approach is also viable for their religious life. The scattered evidence shows that in terms of material wealth and personnel the Border church was badly served, and that the changes of the Reformation often made the situation worse, Moreover it suffered from too close an association with the violent aspects of Border society. Popular religion in the area seems to have been more con• cerned with the magical aspect of the church's ceremonies than with orthodox Catholicism or Protestantism. At the same time there was a resdisation of the problems, and there were educative and civilising influences at work. By the end of this period they were beginning to have some little effect, while at the same time the weakened traditional Catholicism was declining through lack of organised support. The 1569 revolt, which at first sight might suggest that the situation had changed little since 1536, in fact by its failure demon- ^ strates the chang.^ which had occurred. However the problems of the Border church went too deep to be solved easily, and the Borderers' independence in matters social, political, and religious would have to be overcome to achieve any great measure of success. Throughout this period both English and Scottish governments were by turn txnable or unwilling to effect the necessary changes, and the inadequate church organisations were left to struggle on alone. The Church and Religion in the Anglo-Scottish Border Counties, 1534 to 1572 S.M. Keeling The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without Ph.D. Durham his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. PREFACE My thanks are due to the many people who have assisted me in the preparation of this thesis, especiEilly to my supervisor, Dr. David Loades, for his initicd encouragement, and continual advice and enthusiasm. I must also thank the staff of the libraries and record offices listed in the bibliography for their interest and assistance; and the owners of the Berwick Mss. , the Alnwick Castle Mss. , and the College of Arms Mss. for permission to consult these collections. (i) CONTENTS Preface Page i Contents ii Abb r e vi ations iii Introduction 1 I The Borders 7 II Parochial Organisation 49 III Parish Clergy 101 IV Religious Houses 157 V Cathedrals and Diocesan Organisation 205 VI Schools and Learning 265 VII Religion and the Border Laity 288 VIII Fugitives - English and Scottish 326 IX Rebellions 360 Concl'iision 402 Appendix I Parish Clergy 412 Appendix II Religious Houses 588 Appendix III Cathedral Chapters 590 Appendix IV Maps 595 Bibliography 603 (ii) ABBREVIATIONS A. A. Archaeologia Aeliana A.L.C. P. A. Acts of the Lords of the Council in Public Affairs A. P. C. Acts of the Privy Council A. P.S. Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland Ayrshire and Ayrshire and Galloway Archaeological Association Gall. Arch. Ass. B. L. British Library Borthwick CP. Borthwick Institute of Historical Research, Cause Papers Borthwick Borthwick Institute of Historical Research, High Commission H. C. A. B. Act Books Brev. Lat. Lateran Briefs, Vatican Archives, Glasgow University B. U.K. Book of the Universal Kirk i. e. Acts and froceedings of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Camden Misc. Miscellany of the Camden Society Cath. Rec. Soc. Catholic Record Society C. B. P. Calendar of Border Papers C.M.H. Cambridge Modern History C.R.O. Carlisle Record Office C. S. P. Dom. Calendar of State Papers Domestic (Addenda) (Add) C.S.P. For. Calendar of State Papers Foreign C.S.P. Scot. Calendar of State Papers Relating to Scotland C.S.P. Spanish Calendar of State Papers Spanish C. W. A. A.S. Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiqu• Trans. arian and Archaeological Society D. N.B. Dictionary of National Biography D. U. J. Durham University Journal (iii) Dumf. Trans. Trans actions of the Dumfries and G allow kyiSTatuiral History and Archaeological Society Durhaxn Cath. Dean and Chapter Library, Durham Lib. Durham P. K. Priors Kitchen, Durham Durham Sth. Rd. Department of Paleography, South Road, Durham E.E. T.S. Early English Text Society E. H.R. English Historical Review Essays Essays on the Scottish Reformation, ed. D. McRoberts F. E.S, Fasti Ecclesie Scoticanae F.E.S. Med. Fasti Ecclesie Scoticanae Medii Aevi Aevi F.O.R. Faculty Office Registers Galloway Clergy The Galloway Clergy at the Reformation, G. Donaldson G. R.H. General Register House, Edinburgh H. M.C. Historical Manuscripts Commission L. and P. Letters and Papers Foreign and Domestic of the Reign of Henry VIII Melrose Reg. Selections from the Records of the Regality of Melrose Recs. and from the Mss. of the Earl of Haddington N.C.H. Northumberland County History N. L.S. National Library of Scotland O.P.S. Origines Parochiales Scotiae p. C. T. Pitcairns Criminal Trials Pat. Rolls Calendar of the Patent Rolls Peebles Chrs. Charters and Documents Relating to the Burgh of Peebles P. R. O. Public Record Office Recs. Scot. Ch. Records of the Scottish Church History Society Hist. Soc. (iv) Reg. Min. Register of Ministers, Exhorters and Readers and of their Stipends after the Period of the Reformation Reg. Pres. Register of Presentations to Benefices, S. R. O. Reg. Supp. Register of Supplications, Vatican Archives, Glasgow Unive rsity Reg. T. k P. Registers of Cuthbert Tunstall Bishop of Durham 1530-59 cund of James Pilkington Bishop of Durham 1561-76 Reg. Vat. Vatican Registers, Vatican Archives, Glasgow University Reid Mss Manuscripts of R. C. Raid, Dumfries Library R. M. S. Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum R. P. C. Scot. Register of the Privy Council of Scotland R. S. S. Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scotorum Scot. Eccles. Transactions of the Scottish Ecclesiological Society Soc. Trans. S. H. R. Scottish Historical Review S. H. S. Scottish Historical Society S. R. O. Scottish Record Office S. R. S. Scottish Record Society S. S. Surtees Society S. T. S. Scottish Text Society T. B. Accounts of the Collectors of the Thirds of Benefices T. R. H. S. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society V. C. H. Victoria County History V. E. Valor Ecclesiasticus Wigt. Chrs. Wigtownshire Charters Wod. Misc. The Miscellany of the Wodrow Society W. R. O. Westmorland Record Office (v) INTRODUCTION In a review of G. M. Eraser's book The Steel Bonnets, Professor Trevor-Roper commented, "Mr. Fraser tells us all about the secular life of the sixteenth century Border. What of its spiritual life? Alas this seems to have been somewhat defective. .. Neither the Reformation nor Counter Reformation seem to have made much headway in those delightful valleys. This sort of conclusion is the one generally reached in works dealing with the sixteenth century Borders. In 1887 F.H. Groome wrote "But iconoclasm for religion's sake, suffering for conscience's sake, and retaliation on the persecutor find no place in our Border annals, where at 2 this time religion, true or false, is chiefly conspicuous by its absence." Somewhat later D.W. Tough concluded that the desolation of the church was the most noticeable factor in the English Marches, and that, "In the history of the Scots Reformation the Borders were a backwater and a refuge, and played no prominent part. Sir Walter Scott, whose name cannot be dissociated from the Scottish Borders, had been equally damning. "Upon the religion of the Borders there can very little be said. We have already noticed that they remained attached to the Roman Catholic faith rather longer than the rest of Scotland. This probably arose from a total 4 indifference upon the subject. " Those most fruitful sources of Border lore, the ballads, tell us practically nothing about the people's faith. ". in nine 1 Review, The age of the Borderers . , in The Sunday Times, October, 31st, 1971. 2 F.H. Groome, A Short Border History, Kelso 1887, pp. 95-6. 3 D.W. Tough, The Last Years of a Frontier, Oxford, 1928, pp.61, 73. 4 Scott, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, p. 50, quoted in James Reed, The Border Ballads, London, 1973, p.41. -1- Border Ballads out of ten, there is no religious motif; .