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HAMILTON, JOHN, a secular
priest, made himself remarkable in the 16th century by his
furious zeal in behalf of the church of Rome; leaving all the Scottish
ecclesiastics of that period far behind by the boldness and energy with
which he defended the tenets of the Romish church, and assailed those of
the reformed religion. There is nothing known of the earlier part of his
life, but there is some ground for believing that his violence and
activity rendered him obnoxious to the Scottish government, and that he
was in consequence compelled to leave the kingdom. Whatever may have
been the cause of his departure from Scotland, he established himself at
Paris in the year 1573. Here he applied to the study of theology, and
with such success, that he was soon afterwards appointed professor of
philosophy in the royal college of Navarre.
In 1576, he became tutor
to the cardinal de Bourbon, and in 1578, to Francis de Jayeuse,
afterwards promoted to a similar dignity. Besides these there were many
other young persons of quality entrusted to him in consequence of the
high opinion entertained of his talents and learning. In 1581, still
burning with zeal, he published a work entitled "Ane Catholick and
Facile Traictaise drawin out of the halie Scriptures, treulie exponit be
the ancient doctrines to confirm the reall and corporell praesence of
Christis pretious bodie and blude in the Sacrament of the altar." This
work he dedicated to "His soverane Marie, the Quenis Majestie of
Scotland." To this book were appended twenty-four Orthodox and Catholic
Conclusions, dedicated to James VI., whom, by the aid of some reasoning
of his own, he termed king of Scotland. These "Conclusions" he prefaced
with equal prolixity as the work itself, but more characteristically -
"testimonies for antiquitie of religion and succession of pastors in the
catholick kirk, and certane questionis to the quhilkis we desire the
ministers mak resolute answer at their next generall assemblie, and send
the same imprentit to us with diligence, utherwise we protest that their
pretendit religion is altogidder antichristian and repugnant to God and
his balie kirk." What fortune attended this bold challenge does not
appear, but his own in the meantime, was steadily advancing. In 1584, he
was chosen rector of the university of Paris, and in 1585, while yet a
licentiate in theology, he was elected to the cure of St Cosmus and
Damian by that part of the students of the university of Paris called
the German nation. His election on this occasion was disputed, but
finally confirmed by a decree of parliament.
Still amongst the
foremost and most violent in all religious discords, Hamilton became a
furious zealot for the Catholic League of 1566, which it is well known
had for its object the extermination of protestants, without regard to
the means, and figured during that celebrated era under the title of
Curé de S. Cosine. In the same spirit he again distinguished himself
when Henry IV. of France besieged Paris in the year 1590.
On that occasion he
mustered the Parisian ecclesiastics, drew them up in battle array, and
led them on against the forces of the heretics under Henry, making them
halt occasionally to sing hymns as they advanced. As the king of France
was compelled to abandon the blockade of Paris before he finally carried
the city, by the duke of Parma, who, despatched by Philip, king of
Spain, now arrived with an army to assist the leaguers who defended it,
Hamilton not only escaped the fate which would certainly have awaited
him, had Henry succeeded in the siege, but became more active and
turbulent than ever, and soon after was one of the celebrated "council
de Seize quartier," who took upon them, with an effrontery which has no
parallel in history, to dispose of the crown of France; and actually
went the length of offering it to Philip II. of Spain, to be bestowed on
whomsoever he thought fit. Of all the bigoted and merciless fanatics who
composed the fraternity of the "Seize," Hamilton was the most bigoted
and relentless; and when those wretches had resolved on the murder of
Brisson, president of the parliament of Paris, together with L’Archer,
and Tardif, two obnoxious councillors, it was Hamilton who arrested the
latter, and dragged him from a sick bed to the scaffold; and although
the duke of Mayenne came immediately to Paris on hearing of these
attrocities, and hanged four of the ring-leaders of the infamous
fraternity by which they had been perpetrated, yet Hamilton by some
means or other contrived to escape sharing in their punishment. In 1594,
his unextinguishable zeal again placed him in an extraordinary and
conspicuous position. On the day on which Henry IV. entered Paris, after
embracing the catholic religion, and while Te Deum was celebrating for
the restoration of peace and good government, Hamilton, with some of his
frantic associates, flew to arms, with the desperate design of still
expelling the king, in whose conversion they had no faith. The attempt,
however, as might have been expected, was a total failure, and Hamilton
was taken into custody, but was afterwards allowed to leave France
without farther punishment. The parliament, however, some time after his
departure, sentenced him to be broken on the wheel for the murder of
Tardif, and as he was not then forthcoming in person, ordered that their
decree should be carried into execution on his effigy. Hamilton in the
meantime had retired to the Low Countries, and was now residing at
Brussels, under the Spanish government.
In 1600, he published
another work on religious matters, entitled "A Catalogue of one hundred
and sixty-seven heresies, lies, and calumnies, teachit and practisit be
the ministers of Calvin’s sect, and corruptions of twenty-three passages
of the Scripture be the ministeris adulterate translations thereof."
This work he dedicated to the Scottish king. In 1601, Hamilton returned
to his native country, after an absence of above thirty years. He was
there joined by one Edmond Hay, an eminent Jesuit, equally turbulent and
factious with himself. The arrival of these two dangerous men, whose
characters were well known, especially that of Hamilton, having reached
the ears of the king, he immediately issued a proclamation, enjoining
their instant departure from the kingdom under pain of treason, and
declared all guilty of the like crime who harboured them.
Notwithstanding this
edict, Hamilton contrived to find shelter in the north, and to elude for
some time the vigilance of the government. Amongst others who
contravened the king’s proclamation on this occasion was the lord
Ogilvie, who afforded him a temporary residence at his house of Airly.
At length the Scottish privy council, determined to have possession of
so dangerous a person, despatched a party of life-guards to apprehend
him. When found and desired to surrender, this indomitable and factious
spirit, who had bearded the king of France in his might, and treated the
orders of a Scottish privy council with contempt, endeavoured to resist
them, but in vain. His life, however, was afterwards spared by the king,
who, by a very slight stretch of certain laws then existing, might have
deprived him of it. This clemency is said to have arisen from James’s
regard for Hamilton’s nephew, then Sir Thomas Hamilton, afterwards earl
of Haddington. The former, after his capture, spent the remainder of his
days in the Tower, where he was sent at once for his own safety and that
of the kingdom.
Amongst other
peculiarities of Hamilton, it is recorded that he entertained a strong
aversion to the introduction of English words into the Scottish
language, a practice which was then becoming fashionable; and in the
abuse which he was constantly heaping on the protestant preachers, he
frequently charges them with "Knapping Suddrone," (aiming at English,)
and still greater enormity with having it "imprentit at London in
contempt of our native language;" and in proof at once of his abhorrence
of all innovation in this particular, and of his partiality for the
native unadulterated language of his own country, he always wrote in a
style somewhat more uncouth than was warranted by the period in which he
lived. |
