PROPAGANDA AND PERSUASION IN THE EARLY SCOTTISH REFORMATION, C.1527-1557 Elizabeth Leona Tapscott A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2013 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/4115 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License Propaganda and Persuasion in the Early Scottish Reformation, c.1527-1557 Elizabeth Leona Tapscott Thesis submitted for the degree of Ph.D. at the University of St Andrews July 2013 ii DECLARATIONS 1. Candidate’s declarations: I, Elizabeth Leona Tapscott, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 80,000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September 2008 and as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in June 2009; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2008 and 2013. Date: Signature of candidate: 2. Supervisor’s declaration: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date: Signature of supervisor: 3. Permission for electronic publication: In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. I have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this thesis: Access to printed copy and electronic publication of thesis through the University of St Andrews. Date: Signature of candidate: Signature of supervisor: iii ABSTRACT The decades before the Scottish Reformation Parliament of 1560 witnessed the unprecedented use of a range of different media to disseminate the Protestant message and to shape beliefs and attitudes. By placing these works within their historical context, this thesis explores the ways in which various media – academic discourse, courtly entertainments, printed poetry, public performances, preaching and pedagogical tools – were employed by evangelical and Protestant reformers to persuade and/or educate different audiences within sixteenth-century Scottish society. The thematic approach examines not only how the reformist message was packaged, but how the movement itself and its persuasive agenda developed, revealing the ways in which it appealed to ever broader circles of Scottish society. In their efforts to bring about religious change, the reformers capitalised on a number of traditional media, while using different media to address different audiences. Hoping to initiate reform from within Church institutions, the reformers first addressed their appeals to the kingdom’s educated elite. When their attempts at reasoned academic discourse met with resistance, they turned their attention to the monarch, James V, and the royal court. Reformers within the court utilised courtly entertainments intended to amuse the royal circle and to influence the young king to oversee the reformation of religion within his realm. When, following James’s untimely death in 1542, the throne passed to his infant daughter, the reformers took advantage of the period of uncertainty that accompanied the minority. Through the relatively new technology of print, David Lindsay’s poetry and English propaganda presented the reformist message to audiences beyond the kingdom’s elite. Lindsay and other reformers also exploited the oral media of religious theatre in public spaces, while preaching was one of the most theologically significant, though under-researched, means of disseminating the reformist message. In addition to works intended to convert, the reformers also recognised the need for literature to edify the already converted. To this end, they produced pedagogical tools for use in individual and group devotions. Through the examination of these various media of persuasion, this study contributes to our understanding of the means by which reformed ideas were disseminated in Scotland, as well as the development of the reformist movement before 1560. iv CONTENTS Declarations ……………………………………………………………… ii Abstract …………………………………………………………………... iii Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………. v Abbreviations and Conventions ………………………………………….. vii Introduction……………………………………………….…….……….. 1 Chapter One: Academic Discourse……………………………………... 18 Chapter Two: Courtly Entertainments…………………………….…... 46 Chapter Three: Printed Poetry and Polemic…………………………… 80 Chapter Four: Public Performance…………………………………….. 115 Chapter Five: Preaching…………………………………...………….… 136 Chapter Six: Pedagogy………………………..…………………...…….. 181 Conclusion……………………………………………………………..….. 217 Bibliography…………………………………………………………..…… 222 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS On an adventure such as this, one accrues a number of debts – some professional, some personal, all significant. It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge them here. First of all, I wish to express my deepest thanks and gratitude to Professor Roger A. Mason for his guidance, sage advice, critical eye and seemingly endless patience. Further thanks are extended to my thesis examiners, Professor Alec Ryrie (Durham) and Professor Andrew Pettegree (St Andrews), for their invaluable insight and counsel. I have also profited from the support of the community of scholars within the St Andrews Reformation Studies Institute and the Institute for Scottish Historical Research, most notably Professor Andrew Pettegree, Professor Steve Murdoch, Dr. Malcolm Walsby and Dr. Emily Michelson. Special thanks are owed to fellow RSI/ISHR postgraduate Adam Marks for proof-reading, venison stew and five years of commiseration. I would also like to thank the staff at the University of St Andrews Library (especially Lynda Kinloch in St. Mary’s), the National Archives of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland, the British Library and the Folger Shakespeare Library (Washington, DC). The support staff in the St Andrews School of History have also been invaluable, especially Elsie Johnstone, Dorothy Christie and Audrey Wishart. A number of conversations at various conferences have provided interesting insight into various aspects of this thesis, and for that I gratefully acknowledge Professor A. A. MacDonald and Dr. Jamie Reid Baxter. All errors, however, remain my own. To my friends and family, who put up with me throughout this journey, are owed a further debt of thanks. Bess Rhodes and Sophie Mullins, in addition to making the office a pleasant and rewarding place to work, have become treasured friends. Ginger Steele and Birgit Poopuu endured my historical babbling with grace and good humour. Claire Hawes, Martyna Mirecka and Wayne Cuthbertson offered sanctuary in a moment of need. Additional thanks to Claire, for helping me take care of thesis logistics from over 3000 miles away. Special thanks go to the wonderful staff at Costa, St Andrews for coffee, writing utensils and encouraging smiles. My Scottish family, the Plenderleiths, provided me with a home-away-from-home, while Jerry and Linda-Anne Beaulier have cared for me and mine as their own. David Williams was willing to be a sounding board, and for that I say ‘diolch yn fawr’. Bill Anderson kept me well supplied with books and cheerful conversation. He was also far too kind to turn down a vi plea to proof-read. The Carslaw Family took me into their kitchen – Anna’s and Olivia’s laughter, creativity and sweetness sustained me through many a rainy Monday. The McLoughlin Family and Granny Bonnar have often provided refuge for a weary researcher, while Lucy Hampton, Agnes Burdette, Bill Bryan, Paul and Janet Childress, and Kay and Ernie Owens have encouraged me from afar. Andy Drinnon has been a dear friend and encouraging colleague since we met in our first week at St Andrews, while Hannah Mitchell has made Roman history almost as interesting as the sixteenth century. Heidi Sexton pushed me like a mom and wee Kara restored my faith in miracles. Katherine Cooper-Wyma supplied much-needed laughter and insight over countless pots of tea. Joanna and Jared Lamb provided a most congenial place to live, not to mention pleasant company, for weeks at a time while I was working in Washington, DC. Amber Wackford, my oldest friend, shared her valuable writing space, encouraging words and intelligent conversation. She also allowed herself to be roped into proofreading one last time.