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| John Knox House Museum |
| July: Mon-Sat 10.00am- 5.00pm (last
admission 4.30pm) Sun 12.00- 4.00pm August: Mon-Sat 10.00am- 7.00pm (last admission 6.30pm) Sun 12.00- 4.00pm Sept-Jun: Mon-Sat 10.00am- 5.00pm (last admission 4.30pm) Sun - closed |
 John Knox and the Protestant Reformers were influenced by the European
movement known as Humanism. This movement coincided with the spread of printing and of
literacy causing an intellectual revolution across the continent. Not less revolutionary
was the translation of the Bible into modern European languages. Knox travelled widely in
Europe before returning to lead the Scottish Reformation. The Reformation in Scotland was officially established in 1560 when the Scottish Parliament approved the Scots Confession and passed an act abolishing the authority of the Pope over the National church. John Knox's preaching was a powerful factor in this revolution but it could not have been carried through without the support of the majority of the Scottish nobility. |
 When Mary, Queen of Scots returned from France to Scotland in 1561 she believed John Knox to be 'the most dangerous man in her Kingdom'. Had only religion divided Knox and Mary then perhaps they might have found some common ground, since both were deeply and genuinely religious. But Knox's view that, in certain circumstances subjects were entitled to depose their monarch, was a personal affront and a political threat to the authority of the young Queen. Bitter hostility divided the preacher and the Queen until their deaths. |
 By 1567, the atmosphere of instability and political intrigue reached the point that a group of Scottish nobles forced Mary to abdicate in favour of her son, James VI. Fearing for her safety, Mary fled to England the following year. In her absence, Mary's supporters, known as the 'Queen's men', campaigned for her restoration to the throne and occupied the mighty fortress of Edinburgh Castle in defiance of the Protestant Government. Three years later, the civil war raging between these opposing sides made Edinburgh a dangerous place to live and Knox left for St.Andrews. He did not return until pressure from England and France forced the two sides to call a truce in July 1572. |
 Tradition tells that Knox lived in the house in the Netherbow during the months between his return to Edinburgh in August and his death in November, 1572. Despite being aged almost sixty and very ill, Knox continued to preach at St Giles. Due to his ill health he needed to stay nearby the church, which can still be seen clearly from this house. His death on 24 November 1572 was mourned by many as a national tragedy. At his funeral the Protestant Regent, the Earl of Morton, paid testament to Knox's life "There lies he who never feared the face of man". |
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