Editing John Knox (section)

==Revolution and end of the regency, 1559–1560==
[[File:David Wilkie (1785-1841) - The Preaching of John Knox before the Lords of the Congregation, 10th June 1559 - NG 950 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|''Preaching of Knox before the Lords of the Congregation'' (in the [[St Andrews Cathedral|Parish Church of St. Andrew's]], 10 June 1559) by [[David Wilkie (artist)|David Wilkie]]<ref name=Wilkie>{{cite web|last1=Miles|first1=Hamish|title=gallery|url=http://www.artwarefineart.com/gallery/john-knox-preaching-lords-congregation-parish-church-st-andrews-10th-june-1559|website=Artware Fine Art|access-date=11 June 2016|quote=the large Preaching of Knox before the Lords of the Congregation (exh. RA, 1832; Tate collection); it went to Peel.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806104129/http://www.artwarefineart.com/gallery/john-knox-preaching-lords-congregation-parish-church-st-andrews-10th-june-1559|archive-date=6 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]

Two days after Knox arrived in Edinburgh, he proceeded to [[Dundee]] where a large number of Protestant sympathisers had gathered. Knox was declared an outlaw, and the [[Mary of Guise|Queen Regent]] summoned the Protestants to [[Stirling]]. Fearing the possibility of a summary trial and execution, the Protestants proceeded instead to [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]], a walled town that could be defended in case of a siege. At the church of [[St John's Kirk|St John the Baptist]], Knox preached a fiery sermon and a small incident precipitated into a riot. A mob poured into the church and it was soon gutted. The mob then attacked two friaries ([[Blackfriars, Perth|Blackfriars]] and [[Greyfriars, Perth|Greyfriars]]) in the town, looting their gold and silver and smashing images. Mary of Guise gathered those nobles loyal to her and a small French army. She dispatched the [[Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll|Earl of Argyll]] and [[James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray|Lord Moray]] to offer terms and avert a war. She promised not to send any French troops into Perth if the Protestants evacuated the town. The Protestants agreed, but when the Queen Regent entered Perth, she garrisoned it with Scottish soldiers on the French payroll. This was seen as treacherous by Lord Argyll and Lord Moray, who both switched sides and joined Knox, who now based himself in [[St Andrews]]. Knox's return to St Andrews fulfilled the prophecy he made in the galleys that he would one day preach again in its church. When he did give a sermon, the effect was the same as in Perth. The people engaged in vandalism and looting.<ref>{{Harvnb|MacGregor|1957|pp=116–125}}</ref> In June 1559, a Protestant mob incited by the preaching of John Knox ransacked the cathedral; the interior of the building was destroyed. The cathedral fell into decline following the attack and became a source of building material for the town. By 1561 it had been abandoned and left to fall into ruin.

[[File:(looking towards) St John's Kirk, Perth.jpg|thumb|left|[[Perth, Scotland|Perth]]'s [[St John's Kirk]] in modern times]]

With Protestant reinforcements arriving from neighbouring counties, the Queen Regent retreated to [[Dunbar]]. By now, the mob fury had spilled over central Scotland. Her own troops were on the verge of mutiny. On 30 June, the Protestant [[Lords of the Congregation]] occupied Edinburgh, though they were able to hold it for only a month. But even before their arrival, the mob had already sacked the churches and the friaries. On 1 July, Knox preached from the pulpit of [[St Giles' Cathedral|St Giles']], the most influential in the capital.<ref>{{Harvnb|MacGregor|1957|p=127}}</ref> The Lords of the Congregation negotiated their withdrawal from Edinburgh by the [[Articles of Leith]] signed 25 July 1559, and Mary of Guise promised freedom of conscience.<ref>''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 1 (1898), 231–232, no. 500: Knox, John, ''History of the Reformation'', bk.2; Laing, David, ed., The Works of John Knox, vol. 1, (1846), 374–381.</ref>

Knox knew that the Queen Regent would ask for help from France, so he negotiated by letter under the assumed name John Sinclair with [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley|William Cecil]], Elizabeth's chief adviser, for English support. Knox sailed secretly to [[Lindisfarne]], off the northeast coast of England at the end of July, to meet [[James Croft]] and Sir Henry Percy at [[Berwick upon Tweed]]. Knox was indiscreet and news of his mission soon reached Mary of Guise. He returned to Edinburgh telling Croft he had to return to his flock, and suggested that [[Henry Balnaves]] should go to Cecil.<ref>''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol.1 (1898), pp. 235–239.</ref>

When additional French troops arrived in [[Leith]], Edinburgh's seaport, the Protestants responded by retaking Edinburgh. This time, on 24 October 1559, the Scottish nobility formally deposed Mary of Guise from the regency. Her secretary, [[William Maitland of Lethington]], defected to the Protestant side, bringing his administrative skills. From then on, Maitland took over the political tasks, freeing Knox for the role of religious leader. For the final stage of the revolution, Maitland appealed to Scottish patriotism to fight French domination. Following the [[Treaty of Berwick (1560)|Treaty of Berwick]], support from England finally arrived and by the end of March, a significant English army joined the Scottish Protestant forces. The sudden death of Mary of Guise in [[Edinburgh Castle]] on 10 June 1560 paved the way for an end to hostilities, the signing of the [[Treaty of Edinburgh]], and the withdrawal of French and English troops from Scotland. On 19 July, Knox held a National Thanksgiving Service at St Giles'.<ref>{{Harvnb|MacGregor|1957|pp=131–146}}</ref>