Abjured: Royalism and Episcopacy in Scotland during the British Civil Wars, ca. 1638–51

On 8 December 1638, in opposition to the crown, the Scottish General Assembly abjured episcopacy, declaring its adherence illegal and immoral within the kirk and society at large. Scottish resistance to the 1637 Laudian Book of Common Prayer and the Covenanting regime’s suppression of the episcopate has, naturally, led many to assume that the political counter-position to Covenanting – Scottish Royalism – was deeply Episcopalian.

Drawing upon new research, this paper examines the relationship between support for the Scottish episcopate and Scottish Royalism during the British Civil Wars (c.1638-1651). Utilising a range of primary material, from the accounts of Royalist clergymen to the acts of the Covenanting parliament, it will be argued that Episcopalian loyalties were not actively adopted as tenets of Royalist allegiance. In doing so, this paper hopes to contribute to historiographical debates on both the civil wars, as well as broader considerations of Episcopalianism throughout the British Isles.