Scottish Presbyterianism Re-Established: The Case of Stirling and Dunblane, 1687-1710

In 1690, the Church of Scotland rejected episcopal authority and settled as Presbyterian. The adjacent Presbyteries of Stirling and Dunblane covered an area that included both lowland and highland communities, speaking both English and Gaelic and supporting both the new government and the old thus forming a representative picture of the nation as a whole.

This book examines the ways in which the two Presbyteries operated administratively, theologically and geographically under the new regime. By surveying and analysing surviving church records from 1687 to 1710 at Presbytery and parish level, Andrew T. N. Muirhead shows how the two Presbyteries related to civil authorities, how they dealt with problematic discipline cases referred by the Kirk Sessions, their involvement in the Union negotiations and their overall functioning as human, as well as religious, institution in seventeenth-century Scotland. The resulting study advances our understanding of the profound impact that Presbyteries had on those involved with them in any capacity.

Reviews of Scottish Presbyterianism Re-Established: The Case of Stirling and Dunblane, 1687-1710

"The overthrow of James VII heralded turmoil in the Church of Scotland. The enduring structures of Presbyterianism were built up, but there was stout Episcopalian resistance. Here Andrew Muirhead reveals how the interplay of local leadership and popular preferences in the presbyteries of Dunblane and Stirling illuminates national developments." -David Bebbington, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Stirling