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SPOTSWOOD, JOHN,
superintendent of Lothian, was descended of the ancient Merse family of
Spotswood of that ilk, and was born in the year 1510. His father, William
Spotswood, was killed at the battle of Flodden, leaving him an orphan at
little more than three years of age. The place at which he was educated, and
the person who taught him in his early years, are equally unknown to us. We
have, indeed, discovered no further notice of him, till 1534, (June 27,)
when, at the very late age of four and twenty, he was entered a student in
the university of Glasgow. There was perhaps, however, some peculiarity in
his case, for he became bachelor in the very next year (February 8, 1535); a
circumstance which we can only account for, on the supposition that he had
either made very remarkable proficiency in his studies, or attended some of
the other universities previously. Spotswood, it is believed, intended to
prosecute the study of divinity; but he became disgusted with the cruelty of
the catholic clergy, manifested most probably in the condemnation of Russell
and Kennedy, who were burned for heresy at Glasgow, about 1538. In that
year, he left his native country, apparently horrified at the spectacle he
had witnessed, and at other instances of barbarity which he must have heard
of, and retired into England. At London, he became acquainted with
archbishop Cranmer, to whose kindness and encouragement many or our
countrymen were indebted; and from whose eagerness in the dissemination of
truth, the benefit derived by Scotland cannot be easily estimated. Mr
Spotswood remained in the south for nearly five years, that is, from 1538
till 1543, when Henry VIII. restored the prisoners taken at the disgraceful
rout of Solway Moss. He then returned to Scotland, in company with the earl
of Glencairn, a nobleman well known for his attachment to protestant
principles, and resided with him for several years. Through that nobleman,
he became acquainted with the earl of Lennox, and was by him employed in a
private negotiation with the English court, in 1544. After residing there
for some months, he returned to Scotland; but little is known respecting him
for some years following. In 1548, he was presented to the parsonage of
Calder, by Sir James Sandelands; and, as a constant residence at his cure
was not required, he lived for about ten years with that gentleman, and with
lord James Stewart, then prior of St Andrews, and afterwards better known as
The Regent Murray. When commissioners were appointed by parliament, in 1558,
to be present at the marriage of the young queen of Scotland to the dauphin
of France, lord James was included in the number, and Spotswood accompanied
him. Luckily, both returned in safety from this expedition, so fatal to many
of their companions.
On the establishment of the
Reformation, the first care of the protestant party, was to distribute the
very few ministers who held their sentiments, into different parts of the
country. The scarcity of qualified persons, gave rise to some temporary
arrangements, which were, however, afterwards abandoned, when the
circumstances which produced them ceased to exist. One of these was, the
establishment of superintendents over different districts,—an office which
has been brought forward, with but little justice, we think, by some
writers, to prove that the constitution of the Scottish church was
originally episcopalian. Mr Spotswood had the honour of being first elected,
having been appointed to the oversight of the district of Lothian, in March,
1560-1. The proceedings on this occasion were conducted by John Knox; and
the pledges required by that zealous reformer must have impressed both the
superintendent and the people, with a deep sense of the importance of his
office, while it could not fail to be favourably contrasted with the system
which had recently been abolished.
The proceedings of the church
courts, after the stimulus created by the events immediately connected with
the Reformation had somewhat subsided, could not be supposed to excite much
interest in the mind of a general reader, unless we should enter into much
more minute particulars than our limits permit. If we cannot, therefore,
excite very deeply our reader’s sympathies, we shall not tax his patience
more than is necessary, to give a very brief outline of the more important
transactions with which Mr Spotswood’s name is connected.
Mr Spotswood appears to have
retained the charge of his flock at Calder after he became superintendent of
Lothian; but it cannot be supposed that the variety and extent of his duties
permitted anything more than a very loose and occasional attention to their
interests. Of this the parishioners complained more than once to the General
Assembly, but without success; the means of supporting a superintendent
being quite inadequate without the benefice of a parish. The mere visitation
of a district seems to have been but a part of the labours of a
superintendent: there were many occasions on which these officials were
called upon to expend their time in behalf of the general interests of the
church. Spotswood appears to have been frequently deputed by the General
Assembly to confer with Queen Mary, with whom he was a favourite, upon the
important subject of an improvement in the provision for their maintenance.
On the interesting occasion of the birth of her son, in June, 1566, the
General Assembly sent him "to testify their gladness for the prince’s birth,
and to desire he might be baptized according to the form used in the
Reformed church." He did not succeed in obtaining a favourable, or indeed
any, reply to the part of his commission, but the manner in which he
conducted himself obtained for him a most gracious reception. Deeply
sensible how intimately the nation’s welfare was connected with the
education of the child, he took him in his arms, and falling on his knees,
implored for him the Divine blessing and protection. This exhibition of
unaffected piety was well calculated to touch the finest feelings of the
soul. It was listened to with reverential attention by the queen, and
procured for him the respect and reverence of the prince in his maturer
years.
But Mr Spotswood’s feelings
towards the queen were soon to undergo a most painful change. He was too
conscientious to sacrifice his principles for the favour of a queen, and too
sensible of the tendencies of her conduct, and that of her party, to neglect
to warn the people over whom he had the spiritual oversight. No sooner had
Mary escaped from Lochleven castle, and prepared for hostilities, than,
under the liveliest convictions of the responsibility of the watchman "that
seeth the sword coming and doth not blow the trumpet," he addressed a solemn
admonition to the people within his diocese, warned the unsettled,—and
exhorted those who had "communicated with her odiouse impietys" to consider
their fearful defection from God, and by public confession of their guilt
and folly, to testify their unfeigned repentance.
After this period there is
hardly a single fact recorded respecting Mr Spotswood of general interest.
His disposition, as well as his feeble state of health, disposed him to
retirement, and he seems to have preferred attending to his duties as a
clergyman, and thus giving an example of the peaceful doctrines which the
Christian religion inculcates, to taking part with either of the factions in
the struggle which succeeded. Yet, in the performance of these duties he did
not come up to the expectations of some of the more zealous ministers within
his district. We find him accused of "slacknes in visitation of Kirks" at
the General Assemblies on several occasions. On some of these, the
accusation, if it is merely intended to assert that he had not visited the
whole churches, does not seem to have been made without ground; nor will his
apparent negligence be considered wonderful when we mention that the
district of Lothian comprehended the metropolis, Stirling, Berwick,
Linlithgow, and other considerable towns; and that, of course, it contained
a greater number of churches than any other. Spotswood’s health had also
become impaired, and we must add to this list of extenuating circumstances,
that for at least nine years previous to 1580, he had received no emolument
in consideration of his labours. In that year, however, he obtained
(December 16th,) a pension for himself and his second son for three years of
£45, 9s. 6d., besides an allowance of grain for "the thankfull seruice done
to his hienes and his predecessouris," and this grant was renewed, November
26, 1583, for five years; but he did not live to enjoy its full benefit. He
died, December 5, 1585, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, leaving by his
wife, Beatrix Crichton, two sons, John and James, both of whom attained a
high rank in the Episcopal church, and one daughter. "He was a man," says
his son, "well esteemed for his piety and wisdom, loving and beloved of all
persons, charitable to the poor, and careful above all things to give no man
offence."
The same writer has
represented him as having in his last years changed his sentiments
respecting church government, and as having become an Episcopalian; but this
assertion carries along with it the suspicion that the archbishop was more
anxious to obtain for his own conduct a parial sanction in his father’s
opinions than to represent them as they really stood.
We are not aware that Mr
Spotswood is the author of any distinct or individual work. Such papers as
he may have written, arising out of the business of the church courts,
certainly do not deserve that name. [Abridged from a memoir of Mr John
Spotswood, in Wodrow’s Biographical Collection, printed by the Maitland
Club.] |
