George Gledstanes - Biography - Andrew Melville & Gledstanes

Andrew Melville & Gledstanes

Gladstanes had a great aversion to Andrew Melville. Martine states that the king brought Gladstanes to St. Andrews, where Melville was principal of the university, for the very purpose of balancing and putting a check on Melville, and of preventing the students from imbibing Melville's principles. ‘And,’ he adds, ‘many a hote bickering there was between them thereupon’. In a letter to the king on 19 June 1606 Gladstanes says: ‘Mr. Andrew Melvil hath begun to raise new storms with his eolick blasts. Sir, you are my Jupiter, and I under your Highness, Neptune, I must say, Non illi imperium pelagi … sed mihi sorte datur. Your Majesty will relegat him to some Æolia, ut illic vacua se jactet in aula.’ James commanded Melville with certain others to appear before him in London, and he was never permitted to return to St. Andrews. The ostensible occasion of the summons was the king's desire for the conference at Hampton Court, which Gladstanes also attended as one of the representatives of the bishops (22 September 1606). Before going he promised the presbytery of St. Andrews that he would do nothing ‘to prejudice the established discipline of the church.’ The presbytery, however, supplied to Andrew Melville documents to show that Gladstanes had signed the covenant, and forwarded the explanations which he had given to the presbytery after his former visit to London in 1604, to be made use of at court as occasion should require.