On This Day in Scottish Reformation History

On this day 1547, nine year old Edward VI became king of England upon the death of his father Henry VIII.

For Scottish Reformer John Knox, Edward was the one who would arrange his release from a French prison. Knox and several other Protestants had been held as galley slaves and prisoners by the French since being taken from the castle of St Andrews.

By repeated requests from Edward VI to the French king, and the release of French prisoners from England, Knox and his fellow prisoners were eventually released, despite the French stating the Scots “….who otherwise should have rotted in prison, so cruel was their offence, so cruel was their murder [of Cardinal Beaton].”

For Knox, this release probably saved his life, as his health was in a poor state due to his imprisonment and cruelty. But his faith remained steadfast.

Following his release, Knox remained in England for the remainder of Edward’s reign, even becoming a royal chaplain. The young king highly esteemed Knox and as Knox said, offered him “high promotions” which Knox often refused. The respect was mutual however. On the death of the king, Knox said in a letter, “We had a King of so Godly a disposition towards virtue and the truth of God, that none from the beginning surpassed him, and, to my knowledge none of his years did ever match him in that behalf.”

Sadly Edward died in 1553 at the age of just 15. The next few years for Protestants in England would see much persecution under the reign of his catholic sister Mary I (Bloody Mary).

Know would be forced to flee England and would eventually make his way to the safety of Geneva.

He would return to Scotland in May 1559 and lead the Reformation here.

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