Reformation in Scotland

There are two conflic ting stero types of the Scotsman: the fierce clansman, kilted and loyal to his chief perpetuated by the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Scottish Regiments; and the other stereotype, the dour hard working Scot thrifty and religious: proper, prudent, practical and Presbyterian. The stereotypes are difficult to reconcile. Like all stereotypes they have limited application in reality yet they are not without justification. I have known brothers who have fitted the two images and sometimes they conflict in the one person. The explanation of these two images lies partly in the great shift in the ideas, attitudes and behaviour of Scots that goes under the name of the Scottish Reformation and that did so much to mould the character of modem Scottish history: 'It transformed the lowland Scot from a fierce feudal vassal, ignorant of all save sword and plough, into the best educated peasant in Europe, often plunged into solitary meditation and as often roused to furious argument on points of logic and theology which few Englishmen had the mental gifts or training to understand. Times and the Church have changed, but the intellectual and moral vantage-ground won by the Scot in that hard school has not yet been lost'l.