The Covenanters (2 Volume Set)

The progress and persecution of evangelical Christianity in Scotland from 1560 to 1689 is the subject of these rare volumes. In that history, Ôcovenants' were oaths of allegiance which bound Christians, their bodies and possessions, to the furtherance of Ôall things required of God in his Scripture, that may be to his glory.' Handwritten and circulated from 1557, when martyrdom was still a prospect for the few who pledged themselves, the covenants became a crucial part of an immense struggle to uphold the Bible in the Church and nation. After Ôthe National Covenant' of 1638, ÔCovenanters' became the accepted name, honoured by the sufferings of perhaps 18,000, before the Stuart monarchy fell in Ôthe glorious revolution' of 1689.
After that date, controversy over these men and women was to continue. Some authors pitied them as fanatics, others as heroes whose lives were outstanding examples of devotion. This great work of James King Hewison has three distinctive characteristics. First, he aimed by exact research at Ôan absolutely impartial account,' not accepting traditional representations from either side which lacked firm evidence. Second, he took care to show how the covenanting movement was bound up with many political events, leading to the making of a new nation. And third, he believed the covenanting story is one of intrinsic interest, vigour and power. In the view of Alexander Smellie, the result is Ôa great book, one for which all true Scotsmen will thank him.'