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LEFT SCOTLAND 297 SCOTLAND for the education of the people, till the great increase of population, especially in towns, rendered it unequal to the task laid on it, and this notwithstanding the erection of many schools by various re- ligious denominations. By the passing of the Education Act of 1872 board schools have superseded the old parish schools, there being also numerous gram- mar or high schools and academies in every town of any size, though no sys- tematic scheme of secondary education. Other institutions are the normal or training schools and colleges of the dif- ferent religious bodies, and the four uni- versities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aber- deen, and St. Andrews. The first uni- versity was that of St. Andrews, dating from 1451; next came that of Glasgow (1450), then King's College and Univer- sity Aberdeen (1494), then Edinburgh University (1582), lastly Marischal Col- lege and University Aberdeen (1593). The two Aberdeen universities were united in 1860. History. — Scotland was first visited by the Roman troops under Agricola, who penetrated to the foot of the Grampian mountains. It was afterward exposed to the ravages of the Norwegians and Danes, with whom many bloody battles were fought. Various contests were also maintained with the Kings of England. Robert Bruce, however, secured the inde- pendence of the country and his title to the throne by the decisive battle of Ban- nockburn in 1314. He was succeeded by his nephew, Robert Stewart, and he by his eldest son, Robert. He being a weak prince, the reins of government were seized by the Duke of Albany, who stoned to death the eldest son of the king. James, his second son, to escape a simi- lar fate, fled to France; in the year 1424 he returned to Scotland, and having ex- cited the jealousy of the nobility, he was assassinated in a monastery near Perth. James II., his son, an infant prince, suc- ceeded him in 1437. He was killed by the bursting of a cannon at the siege of the castle of Roxburgh. James III. as- cended the throne at the age of seven years. His reign was weak and inglori- ous, and he was murdered in the house of a miller, whither he had fled for pro- tection. James IV., a generous and brave prince, began his reign in 1488. He was slain at the battle of Flodden. James V., an infant of less than two years of age, succeeded to the crown. He died in 1542, and was succeeded by his daughter, the celebrated Queen Mary, whose history and tragical end are well known. She was succeeded by her son James, who, in 1603, ascended the throne of England, vacant by the death of Queen Elizabeth, when the two kingdoms were united into one great monarchy which was legisla- tively united in 1707. In 1715 and 1745, unsuccessful attempts were made for the restoration of the exiled Stuarts. SCOTLAND, CHURCH OF, the origi- nal Scotch Church seems to have been that of the Culdees, then in mediaeval times the Roman Catholic Church was, to a certain extent, the national church in Scotland, not merely as having within its pale at least by profession all the peo- ple, but as maintaining its independence of its powerful S. neighbor. The church resisted the claims of supremacy over it put forth at one time by the Archbishop of York, at another by the Archbishop of Canterbury; and in 1176 in self-defense cast itself into the arms of the Roman pontiff. When the Reformation struggle began, the crown remained adherent to the old faith, while the nobility tended to adopt the new. From the war of inde- pendence Scotland had considered it good policy to guard against any aggression on the part of England by a close alli- ance with France, and when the Refor- mation began there were actually French troops in Scotland. On these the crown rested to resist the religious movement which had been begun, but the Protestant "Lords of the Congregation," who had taken up arms to defend their cause, ap- plied for aid to Queen Elizabeth, who sent troops to aid them in expelling the French. By a treaty signed on July 7, 1560, it was stipulated that both the French and the English troops should withdraw from Scotland. On Aug. 24 of the same year the Scotch Parliament abolished the papal jurisdiction, prohib- ited the celebration of the mass, and re- scinded all the laws made in favor of Roman Catholicism. The reformers adopt- ed what is now called Presbyterian Church (q. v.) government, though cer- tain superintendents were appointed, with the sanction of John Knox, the great Scotch reformer, whose offices after a time were swept away. The first General Assembly was held on Dec. 20, 1560. When the victory over the Church of Rome was complete, the alliance between the nobility and the Protestant preachers which had effected the triumph showed symptoms of dissolving, and a large sec- tion of the former viewed with distrust, and even active hostility, what they re- garded as the too democratic measures which Knox aimed at carrying out. But one inestimable boon was gained before they parted, the universal establishment of parish schools. The semi-republican constitution of the Church, which became more marked after the office of superintendent had been swept away, and the second book of dis*