Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/626

KNOX. 566 KNOX. ■nhich were used by Washington in fortifying Dorchester Heights. For tliis lie was made a brigadier-general of artillery by Congress. At Trenton and Princeton he served with great dis- tinction, and was prominent in the battles of Brandywine, Gerniantown, and Monmouth and at Yorktown. He became major-general in 1781, was one of the commissioners appointed in 178i to negotiate the exchange of prisoners, and in 1783 was delegated by Washington to receive the surrender of Xcw York. From 1785 to 17!t5 he was Secretary of War, having charge for a time of the Navy Department as well, and then re- moved first to Saint C^orges, and later to Thomaston, Maine, where he died. Kno. was one of the most intimate of Washington's friends, and one of the most trusted of his advisers. As an olliccr he was conspicuous for his bravery, his skill in handling artillery, and his tireless energy. Consult: Drake, Life and Correspond- ence of Henry Knox (Boston, 1873) ; and Brooks, Henry Knox, a Soldier of the lierolulion (New Y'ork, 1900). KNOX, .John ( 1505-72 l . The great Scottish reformer. He was born in 1505 at GifTordgate, Haddington, about 25 miles east of Edinburgh. He received liis early education at the grammar school of Haddington, and in 1522 went to the University of Glasgow, where for a short time he is thought to have been a pupil of .John Major (q.v. ), and from him probably imbibed some of the freedom of political opinion and independence of thought, that afterwards characterized him. On leaving the university ho returned to his na- tive district. Uc is mentioned as apostolical notary in the Diocese of Saint Andrews in March, 1543, and seems also to have been admitted to minor orders. In 1544 he was living as a tutor in Longniddry House, three miles west of Had- dington. Thereafter he emerges from obscurity. He must already have embraced Protestantism, for he now appears as the companion of George Wishart (q.v.). While the latter prosecuted his career as a preacher in East Lothian, Knox waited tipon him, tearing before him, he tells us, a 'twa-handcd sword.' He was ready to defend his friend at the peril of his own life, but the latter dismissed him. After Wishart's seizure and death (March, 1540), he returned to the charge of iiis pupils. On May 2n, 1546, Cardinal Beaton (q.v.) was murdered in his castle of Saint Andrews in revenge for Wishart's execution. Tlie castle was taken passession of by the band which had accomplished the audacious design, and be- came the temporary stronghold of the reforming interest. Knox took refuge there with his two pupils. Here his gifts as a preacher were first recognized and the parish church of Saint An- drews resounded with his voice in denunciation of 'popery.' His career at this time, however, was cut short by the surrender of the fortress (July .SI, 1547) and his capture. For nineteen months he was a gallev slave, and during the winter of 1547-48 was kept at' Nantes. At the request of F.dward VI. he and others w-ere relea-^ed in Feb- ruary. 1549, and allowed to depart for England, where he resided til! early in 1554. He was ap- pointed one of Edward VI. 's chaplains and lived on terms of intimate intercourse with Cranmer and other English reformers. He is supposed to have had considcTable influence on the course of the English Reformation, especially in regard to the liberal changes introduced into the .service and prayer book of the Church of England at the close of Edward's reign. He preached in a num- ber of places; at Berwick, on the Scottish border (1549-51), Newcastle (1551-53), and in London and the south. Probably in 1553 he married .Margery Bowes. The accession of Mary drove him, and others to the Continent. He settled tem- j>orarily at Dieppe (January, 1554), whence he wrote A Godly Letter Sent to the Faithful in London, ycircastle, and Uenriek, and a pamphlet, .1 Faithful Admoniliun to the I'rofessors of Hod's Faith in Emjland. He went to (ioneva and then to Frankfort-on-thc-Main, where he participated in the 'Frankfort troubles,' certain disputes as to the use of King Edward's service book in the congregation of English Protestants there. In 1555 he visited Scotland, and remained there for some months. Then he accepted a call from the English Church at (Jeneva, and was settled as pastor for nearly three years — among the quietest and probably the hajipiest years of his life. Thence he issued his famous First lilast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous lieiiinient of Women (i.e. Queen Mary of England, Mary of Guise, and her daughter, Mary Stuart). Queen Elizabeth, taking offense at this work, refused to allow him to pass through England when re- called to Scotland. Knox returned to Scotland in May, 1559, and entered upon his triumphant course as a re- former. Political necessities had driven the (^ueen Regent (Mary of (Juise) to temp(jvize with the 'lords of the congregation' or the reforming nobles. Having somewhat reestablished her poAer, she sought to withdraw her concessions (May, 1559); but the reforming impulse had gathered a strength that could no longer be re- sisted. The heads of the party, assembling at Dundee, under Erskine of Dun, proceeded to Perth. There the pent-up enthusiasm which had been long collecting was roused into furious ac- tion by a sermon of Knox on the idolatry of the mass and of image-worship (July. 1559). A riot ensued. Tlie 'rascal multitude,' as Knox himself called them, broke all bounds and de- stroyed the cliurches and monasteries. .Similar disturbances followed at Stirling, Lindores. Saint Andrews, and elsewhere. The flame of religious revolution was kindled throughout the country, aggravating the civil war already raging. At length the assistance of Elizabeth and the death of the Queen Regent (.June, 1560) brought matters to a crisis; a truce was proclaimed, and a free Parliament summoned to settle difTerences. The result of the Parliament, which met in August. 1560. was the overthrow of the old religion, and the establishment of the Reformed Kirk in Scot- land. In all this Knox was not only an active agent, but the agent above all others. The orig- inal Confession of Faith of the Reformed Kirk and the First Book of Discipline bear the impress of his mind. The arrival of the youthful Queen I^Iarv. in the course of 1561, brought many forebodings to the reformer; he apprehended dangers to the re- formed cause from her character and her well- k-nown devotion to the Catholic Church. The re- former's apprehensions scarcely permitted him to be a fair, certainly not a tolerant, judge of ilary's conduct. Misunderstandings very soon sprang up between them, and Knox relates, with a somewhat harsh bitterness, his several interviews with her. At length he came to an open rupture with the