Preface

Summary

As the introduction makes clear, to talk of the ‘political works’ of John Knox is to give a misleading impression of the style and substance of the writings of a man who saw himself, first and foremost, as a preacher and a prophet. Nevertheless, Knox did write extensively on the theme of resistance to political authority and the purpose of this edition is to bring together in a single volume those of his works in which the problem of rebellion is discussed at length. Part I, therefore, contains the four tracts of 1558 – The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, The Letter to the Regent of Scotland, The Appellation to the Scottish Nobility and Estates and The Letter to the Commonalty of Scotland – in which he addressed the issue most directly. Part II contains a body of related material, mostly drawn from Knox's History of the Reformation in Scotland, which sheds light both on the development of Knox's ideas before 1558 and on how they were applied in the context of the Scottish ‘Reformation-Rebellion’ of 1559 and its aftermath.

It is a great pleasure to be able to acknowledge here the numerous debts I have accumulated in compiling this edition. It would not have been possible without the help of the staff of the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh University Library and St Andrews University Library.