Durham E-Theses The Long Reformation of the Dead in Scotland RAEBURN, GORDON,DAVID How to cite: RAEBURN, GORDON,DAVID (2012) The Long Reformation of the Dead in Scotland, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/6926/ 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 THE LONG REFORMATION OF THE DEAD IN SCOTLAND Submitted by Gordon David Raeburn Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2012 1 Gordon David Raeburn The Long Reformation of the Dead in Scotland Abstract This thesis argues that, although attempts were initially made at the Reformation of 1560 to reform Scottish burial practices, and thereafter further attempts were made fairly consistently throughout the following decades and centuries, it was actually not until the Disruption of 1843 and subsequent events that there was any true measure of success in the reform of Scottish burial practices. Prior to the Reformation Scotland was a Catholic nation, although in terms of burial practices it was somewhat different to other Catholic countries. This individuality of burial practice was to continue throughout the three centuries covered by this thesis. Following the Reformation attempts were made by the various Kirk authorities throughout Scotland to reform burial practice along Protestant lines. These attempts were largely uniform throughout Scotland, although certain regional variations existed, for instance attempts made to ban practices such as the coronach in the Highlands and Islands. Some of these attempts were successful, others were less so. Additionally, reforms aimed at the lower social orders were more successful, on the whole, than those aimed at the upper classes, as the upper classes could afford to pay nominal fines after a breach of the rules concerning burial. However, over the period the goals of the early reformers to ensure that in death all were seen to be equal, regardless of class or social status, and the removal of practices deemed to be superstitious or intercessory, were more or less ignored. By the time of the Disruption burial practice in Scotland was barely related to the ideals of Knox and the other early Scottish reformers. However, with the expulsion of the Free Church of Scotland from the Kirk owned burial grounds, new locations had to be sought. These were ultimately found in the newly opened public cemeteries. These were locations set aside for burial alone, and were not consecrated, two of the core ideals of the early Scottish reformers. Additionally, there were no graveside sermons and no attempts at intercession on behalf of the dead. Finally, after three centuries, at least one group of Scottish Presbyterians had almost fully embraced the reformation of the dead. 2 Contents List of Illustrations 5 Statement of Copyright 6 Acknowledgments 7 Chapter One: Introduction 8 Aims 8 Methodology 10 Historiography 13 Chapter Summaries 18 Chapter Two: Pre-Reformation Scotland 22 The Funeral of James V 22 Masses for the Dead and other Intercessory Acts 24 Burial in Pre-Reformation Scotland 30 The Order of the Burial Service in Catholic Europe 32 Burial and Rites of Passage 33 The Cost of Death 35 The Ars Moriendi and Good and Bad Deaths in Scotland 39 The Scottish Protestant Martyrs 41 Conclusion 43 Chapter Three: Reformation Scotland 45 Writing Death in the Scottish Reformation 46 The forme of prayers and ministration of the Sacraments 47 The Doctrine and Discipline of the Kirke of Scotland 49 Burial, the Resurrection, and Reforming Rites of Passage 52 Ninian Winzet and the Reformation of Burial 54 Continuing Adherence to Intra-Mural Burial 58 The Development of Burial Aisles 71 Conclusion 78 Chapter Four: Continuity and Change in Reformation Scotland 81 To Remain Catholic or Adopt the New Practices? 81 The Transportation of Corpses 87 The Burial of the Executed 99 Conclusion 97 Chapter Five: Memory and Grief in Post-Reformation Scotland 99 The Presence of Emotions at Funerals 99 The Scottish Lowlands 100 Highland Scotland 103 Ritual vs. Spontaneous Grief 109 John 11:35 and the Reformation 112 Monuments and Tombs 119 3 The Protestant Work Ethic and the Memorialisation of the Dead 124 Conclusion 128 Chapter Six: Re-Writing Death in Post-Reformation Scotland 131 Zachary Boyd and The Last Battell of the Soule in Death 131 A Directory for the Publique Worship of God 137 Scottish Funeral Sermons in the Seventeenth Century 144 Conclusion 160 Chapter Seven: The Scottish Enlightenment 162 Burial in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland 163 „Watching‟ the Corpse 163 Death and Highland Society 169 The Funeral Feast 173 Catholicism in the Highlands and Islands 175 The Dead Bell and the Kirk Bells 178 The Resurrectionists 183 Conclusion 188 Chapter Eight: Post-Enlightenment Scotland 191 The Rise of the Cemeteries 192 The Kirk, the Free Church, and Death 196 Glasgow Necropolis 199 The Funerals of the Great and Good in Nineteenth Century Scotland 204 The Funeral of Thomas Chalmers 204 Thomas M‟Crie and the Death of Princess Charlotte 207 The Burial of Suicides 214 The Case of Hugh Miller 219 Conclusion 224 Chapter Nine: Conclusion 227 Bibliography 233 Manuscript Sources 233 Printed Primary Sources 234 Newspapers 246 Secondary Sources 247 4 List of Illustrations Memento Mori on tomb in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh Cover Page Brass plaque showing the burial location of John Knox, St Giles, Edinburgh 61 Monument to the Regent Moray, St Giles, Edinburgh 62 Monument to the Countess of Argyll, St Giles, Edinburgh 62 Map showing the approximate extent of the Highland/Lowland divide 104 Map of St Kilda 107 Monument to the Earls of Cromarty, Dingwall 126 Map of Orkney and Shetland 172 Mort-Safe, Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh 185 Glasgow Necropolis 200 The Grange, Edinburgh 200 5 Statement of Copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author's prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 6 Acknowledgments I would like to thank, in no particular order, all of the following people who have helped to make this possible. The Leverhulme Trust, David and Joanne Raeburn, Jenny Sutherland, Emily Ball, other friends too numerous to list, Hilary Grainger, Stephen White, Peter Jupp, and my supervisors; Douglas J. Davies and Alec Ryrie. Thank you all for your help and support. 7 Chapter One Introduction Aims This thesis argues that, although attempts were initially made at the Reformation of 1560 to reform Scottish burial practices, and thereafter further attempts were made fairly consistently throughout the following decades and centuries, it was actually not until the Disruption of 1843 and subsequent events that there was any true measure of success in the reform of Scottish burial practices. Although small gains were made and small successes enjoyed in the years after 1560 it was the adoption of the public cemeteries by the Free Church of Scotland following the Disruption that finally marked the success of the Scottish Reformation as applied to burial practices. The notion of the Long Reformation is becoming more widely accepted in Early Modern scholarship, with works such as England’s Long Reformation1 and The Long European Reformation2 taking the subject up to the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In a similar vein this thesis asserts that the reform of Scottish burial practices initiated at the Reformation of 1560 cannot be considered a success in any real measure until the latter half of the nineteenth century. This is an important study in several ways. A study of this nature shows that, even in an age when Scotland was perceived as being a relatively highly secularised nation, the burial practices of many groups and individuals were influenced by the religious history of the country, even if those individuals were themselves secular. It reinforces Scotland‟s unique place in European history, highlighting the fact that, despite the geographical proximity with England, Scotland was not actually influenced by its southern neighbour to any great extent, despite historical claims to the contrary. It also shows the importance of owning death. As will be seen below, for any group to show their dominance of society they must control the ways in which people are buried. All of these issues are addressed within this thesis. This thesis on the post-Reformation theology of death in Scotland forms part of a larger, Leverhulme Trust funded, co-authored interdisciplinary project focusing on the development of cremation in Scotland, from its inception to the modern day. As a part of this project this thesis provides the starting point for the larger work, investigating the 1 N. Tyacke, ed., England’s Long Reformation, 1500-1800. (London: UCL Press, 1998). 2 P. G. Wallace, The Long European Reformation; Religion, Political Conflict, and the Search for Conformity, 1355-1750. (Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2004). 8 development of Scottish burial practices, from the pre-Reformation period, through to the mid nineteenth century, just prior to the developing interest in the notion of cremation in Scotland.