Scotland Re-formed, 1488-1587

Book excerpt: From the death of James III to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, Jane Dawson tells story of Scotland from the perspective of its regions and of individual Scots, as well as incorporating the view from the royal court. Scotland Re-formed shows how the country was re-formed as the relationship between church and crown changed, with these two institutions converging, merging and diverging, thereby permanently altering the nature of Scottish governance. Society was also transformed, especially by the feuars, new landholders who became the backbone of rural Scotland. The Reformation Crisis of 1559-60 brought the establishment of a Protestant Kirk, an institution influencing the lives of Scots for many centuries, and a diplomatic revolution that discarded the 'auld alliance' and locked Scotland's future into the British Isles.Although the disappearance of the pre-Reformation church left a patronage deficit with disastrous effects for Scottish music and art, new forms of cultural expression arose that