The Beggars Summons Analysis

The Beggars Summons
The Beggars Summons was first placed on the doors of friaries from 1st January 1559, warning that all friars are to be evacuated and to be taken over by the poor. This was on the next Whitsunday. The authors of the summons are unknown, however it has used words similar to that of John Knox. The summons as if written by the “Blynd, Cruked Bedrelles, Wedowis, Orphelingis and utter pure so visited by the hand of god”1. Warns that with the past wrongs reformation is coming. The summons then goes on to accuse the Friars of the realm that they have stolen, and allowed the poor to starve. They will no longer be allowed to stay within their hospitals and must vacate them by Whitsunday. The author wishes the reader to believe that
The document itself is in the form of a public notice, or poster, the language used in the summons is that of an accusation, or charges, as there is a hint of legal wording within the document, this is no surprise as John Knox was well versed in legal jargon, and he would know a number of lawyers. As education for the poor was limited at best during this time, it is clear that the summons was written by educated individuals. Certainly Individuals who would feel passionately about the way the Catholic Church had been behaving. They may also have a vested or personal interest in the church reforming, either way, the individuals who wrote the summons want change. Knox had been invited back to Scotland once and by the time he got to Dieppe, he received a letter telling him the time wasn’t right. Knox had left his wife and two sons in Geneva, this would have been a hard situation accept, and he would have been bitterly disappointed. So when he got the second invitation he took his time getting back. The authors of the summons may have been impatient for Knox to return, or even desperate to show their commitment to the cause, so when the summons was posted Knox was still in Geneva. Wording in the summons is very similar
Knox was born in Haddington, and had one brother William. At an early age their parents died. There would have been relatives who had reasonable resources to take care of them, as when William was of age he set up his own business as a merchant, and John was to go to St Andrews University to study to be a Priest10. An incident that may have influenced Knox while at university was the burning at the stake of Patrick Hamilton. Hamilton was a distant relative of James V. He encountered Lutheran doctrine while in France, and on his return to Scotland openly discussed it. He was arrested and charged with heresy and put to death on the 29th February 1528. This lead instead of removing the threat of Protestantism, but made Hamilton a martyr and anti-Catholic feeling spread throughout the university and Scotland11. Knox was critical of the churches abuses and was vocal of the individual’s right to dispose of rulers who did not do their job. Knox is reportedly to have said, “Monarchs were chosen by god, but ultimately their authority derived from the people they governed12”. George Wishart was also very influential I Knox’s life. Wishart was an impressive man who was able to hold the attention of an audience while preaching from the pulpit. Wishart would preach Protestantism and soon became the target of the authorities. Knox as part of his congregation would walk in front of Wishart holding a large two handed sword to ward off