Editing John Knox (section)

==Confinement in the French galleys, 1547–1549==
John Knox's chaplaincy of the castle garrison was not to last long. While Hamilton was willing to negotiate with England to stop their support of the rebels and bring the castle back under his control, Mary of Guise decided that it could be taken only by force and requested the king of France, [[Henry II of France|Henry II]] to intervene.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reid|1974|p=52}}</ref> On 29 June 1547, 21 French [[galley]]s approached St Andrews under the command of [[Leone Strozzi]], [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|prior]] of [[Capua]]. The French [[Siege of St Andrews Castle|besieged the castle]] and forced the surrender of the garrison on 31 July. The Protestant nobles and others, including Knox, were taken prisoner and forced to row in the French galleys.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reid|1974|pp=53–55}}; {{Harvnb|Ridley|1968|pp=60–69}}</ref> The [[galley slaves]] were chained to benches and rowed throughout the day without a change of posture while an officer watched over them with a whip in hand.<ref>{{Harvnb|MacGregor|1957|pp=45–47}}</ref> They sailed to France and navigated up the [[Seine]] to [[Rouen]]. The nobles, some of whom would have a bearing on Knox's later life such as [[William Kirkcaldy]] and Henry Balnaves, were sent to various castle-prisons in France.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reid|1974|p=55}}; {{Harvnb|Ridley|1968|pp=66–70}}</ref> Knox and the other galley slaves continued to [[Nantes]] and stayed on the [[Loire River|Loire]] throughout the winter. They were threatened with torture if they did not give proper signs of reverence when mass was performed on the ship. Knox recounted an incident in which one of the prisoners—possibly himself, as Knox tended to narrate personal anecdotes in the third person—was required to show devotion to a picture of the Virgin Mary. The prisoner was told to give it a kiss of [[veneration]]. He refused and when the picture was pushed up to his face, the prisoner seized the picture and threw it into the sea, saying, "Let our Lady now save herself: she is light enough: let her learn to swim."<ref>{{Harvnb|Reid|1974|p=57}}</ref> After that, according to Knox, the Scottish prisoners were no longer forced to perform such devotions.<ref>{{Harvnb|MacGregor|1957|pp=49–50}}</ref>

In mid-1548, the galleys returned to Scotland to scout for English ships. Knox's health was now at its lowest point due to the severity of his confinement. He was ill with a fever and others on the ship were afraid for his life. Even in this state, Knox recalled, his mind remained sharp and he comforted his fellow prisoners with hopes of release. While the ships were lying offshore between St Andrews and [[Dundee]], the spires of the parish church where he preached appeared in view. [[James Balfour (Pittendreich)|James Balfour]], a fellow prisoner, asked Knox whether he recognised the landmark. He replied that he knew it well, recognising the steeple of the place where he first preached and he declared that he would not die until he had preached there again.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ridley|1968|p=75}}</ref>

In February 1549, after spending a total of 19 months in the galley-prison, Knox was released. It is uncertain how he obtained his liberty.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reid|1974|p=68}}; {{Harvnb|Ridley|1968|p=81}}. Reid suggests that some of Knox's friends may have appealed to the King of France. Ridley surmises that Knox's health was so poor that he was of no use for the galleys. Other theories include {{Harvnb|Guy|2004|p=39}} who claimed Somerset arranged for his release and safe-conduct to London. Another theory by {{Harvnb|Marshall|2000|p=30}} proposes that Somerset conducted a prisoner exchange that included Knox to get back English military experts captured at St Andrews.</ref> Later in the year, Henry II arranged with [[Edward VI of England]] the release of all remaining Castilian prisoners.<ref>Jordan, W. K., ''The Chronicle and Political Papers of Edward VI'', London (1966), p. 38, Edward VI wrote the prisoners were previously released for his sake: ''CSP Scotland'', vol. 1 (1898), p. 175 no. 347, Instructions for Holcroft, Harington & Leke, 19 May 1549, proposed exchange of all remaining Castilian prisoners.</ref>