AbstractsHistory

It was the fortune of Andrew Melville, no less than of John Knox, to have received sufficient training outside his native land to make a European out of one who might otherwise have been a parochial Scotsman. The intellectual stimuli to which he was exposed in Europe undoubtedly contributed greatly to his later effectiveness as chief exponent of Presbyterian doctrines among his own race. Since such of the importance of Andrew Melville lies in the distinctive role he played as mediator in the struggle between the interests of church and state in Scotland, one can obtain little understanding of his policies without some knowledge of his ecclesiastical and political background. It was Melville’s attachment to specific principles advocated by his forerunners which ultimately found expression in the character of the Scottish Church.