The National Library of Scotland has announced that key items relating to the Reformation in Scotland go on display for 2 months beginning Wednesday, September 1.

The small display of original printed books, manuscripts and letters marks the Reformation’s 450th anniversary.

The Library recognizes in their press release that the Reformation is one of the most important events in Scotland’s history. It established Calvinism as one of the dominant influences of Scottish life

They have selected a few items (that they refer to as ‘iconic’) from one of the most important periods in Scotland’s history.

One of them is the famous and controversial work by preacher John Knox – his ‘First blast of the trumpet against the monstrous regiment of women’. The BBC describes this pamphlet this way:

First Blast of the Trumpet, published in 1558, was originally published anonymously by Knox. It is directed against the “monstrous regiment” of Catholic women rulers in Europe – Mary Tudor, Mary of Guise, Catherine de Medici and the youthful Mary Stuart, and claims that women should not bear rule over men.

Among other items being shown are:
· A copy of the ‘Scots Confession of Faith’, prepared by Knox and others. This document spelled out what the Reformed Faith in Scotland would be, and was ratified by the Scottish Parliament in 1560. This document confirmed the abolition of the Pope’s authority in Scotland.
· A papal bull (edict) threatening German monk and theologian Martin Luther with excommunication from the church in 1520, and Luther’s reply to the papal bull in 1521
· Archbishop Hamilton’s Catechism, a 1552 text outlining the Catholic Church’s beliefs, written in Scots prose.
· The Bassandyne Bible of 1576 – the first complete vernacular Bible printed in Scotland, the first complete Bible printed in Scotland. The church worked with the Edinburgh printer Thomas Bassandyne and merchant Alexander Arbuthnot to produce this edition of the Geneva Bible which had been translated by English and Scots Calvinists.

Dr Anette Hagan, senior curator of rare book collections at the National Library of Scotland, said:
“Our latest display is a fantastic showcase of key artefacts relating to the Scottish reformation, which is one of the most important events in our country’s history and had repercussions reaching far beyond the dramas of John Knox’s quarrels with Mary Queen of Scots.
“These texts show a turning point in religion, as they were written either in English or Scots tongue – the first time ever not in Latin – which meant people could read about the faiths they were being taught.
“Many of these pieces were not published in Scotland, and I think it draws attention to the fact that Europe was actually heavily involved in the move towards reformation.
“It marked a switch in international alliances away from Catholic France and towards Protestant England, enabling the Union of the Crowns in 1603, and established Calvinism as one of the dominant influences of Scottish life, leading to centuries of hellfire sermons – but also to a society with a strong sense of social responsibility and the highest rate of literacy in Europe.”

Treasures in the National Library’s collections have been gathered for more than 300 years. They come from all corners of the world and in all shapes and sizes. They hold the only surviving copies of many important literary texts, early Scottish maps, original manuscripts by famous authors – and much more. There is a special treasures display in the George IV Bridge Building which offers a small sample of the millions of items in their collections. This display is changed several times a year, and for the next two months features the Reformation documents.

The display is free and open daily in September and October. Perhaps one or more of our readers in Scotland could make a trip and report on the impact of the display.

Information from this story was drawn from:
· http://www.nls.uk/news/
· http://deadlinescotland.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/knoxs-work-to-be-displayed-at-the-national-library-of-scotland/
· http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-11150337