Scotland, England, and the Reformation 1534-1561

This book challenges the accepted view of the Reformation as taking different courses in England and Scotland. Instead Clare Kellar illuminates the dynamic religious interplay between the neighbouring realms, and explores the impact of the Reformation not only on the churches of each country, but on their longer-term political relationship.
According to traditional interpretations, the Reformations in England and Scotland had little in common: their timing, implementation, and very charcter marked them out as separate events. This book challenges the accepted view by demonstrating that the processes of reform in the two countries were, in fact, thoroughly intertwined. From England's Declaration of Royal Supremacy in 1534 to Scotland's religious revolution of 1559-61, interactions between reformers and
lay people of all religious persuasions were continual. Religious upheavals in England had an immediate impact north of the border, inspiring fugitive activity, missionary preaching, and trade in literature. Among opponents of the new learning, cross-border activity was equally lively, and official
efforts to maintain two separate religious regimes seemed futile. The continuing religious debate inspired a fundamental reconsideration of connections between the courntries and the result would be a redefinition of the whole pattern of Anglo-Scottish relations.