John Spottiswood
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The Most Reverend John Spottiswoode |
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|---|---|
| Archbishop of St Andrews | |
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| Installed | 1615 |
| Term ended | 1639 |
| Predecessor | George Gledstanes |
| Successor | James Sharp |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1565 Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland |
| Died | 26 November 1639 (aged 74) London, England |
| Denomination | Church of Scotland |
| Parents | John Spottiswoode and unknown |
| Spouse | Rachel Lindsay |
| Children | John Spottiswoode, Robert Spottiswoode (1596-1646), Anne Spottiswoode |
John Spottiswoode (Spottiswood, Spotiswood, Spotiswoode or Spotswood) (1565 – 26 November 1639) was an Archbishop of St Andrews, Primate of All Scotland and historian of Scotland.
He was born in 1565 in Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland, the eldest son of John Spottiswood, minister of Calder and "superintendent" of Lothian. He was educated at the University of Glasgow (MA 1581), and succeeded his father in the parish of Calder in 1583. In 1601 he attended Ludowick, Duke of Lennox, as his chaplain, in an embassy to the court of France, returning in 1603. He followed James to England on his accession, but was the same year nominated to the see of Glasgow, his consecration in London, however, not taking place until October 1610.
Spottiswoode had originally become prominent as an ardent supporter of the strict Presbyterian party, but gradually came to see the inconveniences of "parity of ministers", attributed little importance to the existing matters of dispute, and thought that the interests of both church and state were best secured by keeping on good terms with the king. He was therefore ready to co-operate with James in curtailing the powers of the Kirk which encroached on the royal authority, and in assimilating the Church of Scotland to that of England. On 30 May 1605 he became a member of the Scottish Privy Council. In 1610 he presided as moderator over the assembly in which the supremacy of presbytery was abolished. In 1614, he was instrumental in the arrest and subsequent trial and condemnation to death of John Ogilvie. In 1615 he was made Archbishop of St Andrews and primate of Scotland, and in 1618 procured the sanction of the privy council to the Five Articles of Perth with their ratification by parliament in 1621.
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