Who were The Covenanters? 

My video on how Scots started the English Civil War at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xFOYbdEi6Oc.html

I still maintain this man needs his own TV show.

I'm a a 7th generation grandson of the Covenanter Rev. John "Hugh" McMillan who fled first to Ireland, then to America. He died in 1780 and is buried in South Carolina.

The thing about Americans of Scottish descent is that a lot depends on WHEN in history your own Scottish ancestors arrived here. I happen to have a family tree that looks a good bit like a Glasgow phone book, mostly from Argyle and the Lower Hebrides (Jura in particular). Some of them came directly to America from Scotland, some came by way of Ireland. My own family tree has incorporated new arrivals from Scotland since the originals landed here in the early 1600's. At this point I don't really know what brought them each here; I just know that the name James is quite prevalent, and your videos are helping to provide context. So, you see, the attitude of one American of Scottish descent might be very unlike the understanding of another one, depending on when and why their own ancestors arrived. Add in certain unfortunate anomalies of our educational system (including a real neglect of the study of history), and you can see why you might get such a diverse set of opinions from us. Keep on teaching; you're telling me stuff that I wasn't taught in school at all. Thank you.

The Presbyterian church where I live have a service one Sunday a year to celebrate the Covenanters they go up the hills to where they used to meet for this , many things here,streets or businesses are called covenantor

I recently found your channel. Love it! I’m a huge fan of Church History, and the Reformation. I just recently found out that I’m directly related to Rev. John Welsh and John Knox. I was already a huge fan of John Knox. I’m now earnestly trying to find out everything possible about my family.

One side of my moms family were covenanters and the other side were Jacobites. My dads family was fiercely loyal to the king. Deported by the Parliamentarians in another earlier war, and sold as a slave in the new world at 12 years old. His father died in battle. His mother didn't make it to the colonies. I was born in a village that has the only lord in the America's and who till his death maintained that title with England. We lived a very different kind of life. My great grandfather was a tenant farmer for the lord and his family. It was a very different way of life there. We have all mostly been chased out though. Uncle Bennet and uncle King I think are the only ones still there but they are in their 90s now. They were too old to leave. The rest of us had no choice as our jobs were outlawed and our houses bulldozed to put up ocean side resorts. I feel like a fossil and im only 40! I've watched an entire history and culture that had continued much the way it had been from 1642 completely disapear and be forgotten in just 20 years! The few who do remember us,because they worked tirelessly to get rid of us, only bring the name of our community up as a form of mockery. Like when you want to say someone is stupid or backwards. We were farmers and fisherman. We loved our Island. We cared for the land and the sea. And now its all gone. I can't ever go home. And I miss it more that I can say. Don't ever lose your history or identity. Don't ever forget your origins and the people who gave everything so you can be here today. Its a terrible thing when a whole way of life is forgotten and a people burried. These videos are so important to keep these stories and people alive.

Great to see this story being told. History is a complex multicoloured tapestry and your tales bring it to life.

Good timing. I was feeling very down and melancholy about today. Twenty years ago thousands of my fellow Americans died and this lead to hundreds of thousands to die in the Middle East and countries were destroyed based on lies. Really appreciate your hard work and talent. I needed a pleasant break from such a sad day. Thank you.

My 9th great grandfather John McQueen was a covenanter that was held at Donnotar Castle and then shipped to America in 1685! They say he carved his name into the wall of the dungeon, i would love to visit one day and see!

Stool thrown, shit hit the fan. Threw her stool, couldn't hold it in any longer, two crappy jokes in a row... love it. The parts detailing how people were heavily persecuted was sobering. Great video, thank you.

Greetings from Greece. This channel is absolutely brilliant, educational and fun.

Burce once more you expose us to history that while not lost was misplaced along the way. Keep up the good work.

Thank you for posting this video. Years ago in a walking trip, via West Linton in the Pentlands Hills, with my dad and uncle, we encountered a grave to a covenanter. A blog post* by someone else, which I found online a few minutes ago, describes the story behind the grave: - "In 1666, a small Covenanter army had risen in south-west Scotland and then advanced towards Edinburgh in an attempt to win support. On 28 November 1666 at the eastern end of the Pentland Hills, they clashed with a superior Government army in the Battle of Rullion Green. The Covenanters were defeated and those caught, were hanged. One Covenanter, his name unknown, escaped despite being mortally wounded. He headed westwards to try to make his way home to Ayrshire. He was suffering badly from his wounds when he knocked on the door of a shepherd called Adam Sanderson who lived near Black Law. At risk to his own life, the shepherd let him rest in his barn. Knowing he was seriously ill, the Covenanter asked that if the shepherd should find him dead in the morning, would he bury him in sight of the Ayrshire hills, the land of his childhood. Sure enough, the next morning, Adam Sanderson found him dead. The shepherd carried his body up Black Law and buried him on its western slope. Almost 400 years later, we stood by the grave that summer’s evening and looked west. We could indeed make out the Ayrshire hills in the distance...The inscription on the stone reads: "To the memory of a Covenanter who fought and was wounded at Rullion Green, 28 November 1666, and who died at Oaken Bush the day after the battle and was buried here by Adam Sanderson of Blackhill". The gravestone in place today on Black Law was erected in 1841. The original stone that marked the grave is now held in Dolphinton Parish Church, a few miles to the south." *theoutdoordiaries.blogspot.com/2020/08/western-pentlands-covenanters-grave.html This other source gives more detailed information on the covenanter's grave: - ancestorville.com/products/covenanters-grave-pentland-hills-scotland

Good one, Bruce. Although my SCE Grade History in Secondary school started with the Restoration (1660), and so I was aware of the religious persecution that occurred during the reign of Charles II, I never fully grasped how the world turned upside down for the Covenanters until your concise explanation today.

Good Morning, Bruce. I’m grabbing my morning coffee, sitting down and listening to, “Let me tell you a story!” Edinburgh is my favorite city. We stayed at Three Sisters while there. The people were so friendly.

Always felt so disconnected from my own history, this channel is ace!

I just found your channel because I have been learning about my covenanter ancestors (James Warren, George Grey, Daniel Dill and others--I'm starting to lose track as there are so many) who were all marched to Durham and shipped off to New England (I live in Maine). I absolutely loved this video and am about to watch many more. Thank you for this material!

The American “Hillbillies “were Covenanting Protestants who ended up in the colonies. Good banjo players,though.

My family is Scots Irish Presbyterian traced back to the beginning. I am 69 years old and still discovering the so much history.

Another excellent video, Bruce! Your comment about “yon Oliver” made me chuckle; as I have alluded to before, your delivery knocks spots off his offerings. I also like your walking style- it’s a laid- back vibe, but has a “Ah’ll toe your ba*s!” quality. I was brought up a schemie, so I speak with some authority on the matter……😉🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Such interesting stories. It helps to learn more about Scotland.

Another great story, well told. Reminds me of the mass rocks in Ireland where illegal Catholic masses were held. In one tale the British army is spotted approaching. An old man says he is at the end of his life and swaps clothes with the young priest. The old man is duly shot in the priestly garb.

Something that was a mystery to me has now been eruditely demystified Cheers.

I learned quite a bit in this one. I also drew some parallels. Here in Texas our governor just made a law that contravened a national law and in doing so offered a bounty to report violators to authorities. Sounds very 17th century to me.

Excellent piece. I'm an American descended from jacobites and covenanters and other losers in battle before that. Keep up the good work

Bruce, sir, you need to see about doing a show on the history channel as well, you are so engaging, informative and i love your accent too! plz keep up the great work you do. The community is WELDED to your show!

Thanks again Bruce. I’m just back in Yorkshire after a fortnight in that lovely land, again!. I recommend a wonderful old novel about Covenanters in Dumfries and Galloway (including a reverse Outlanders romance) R. W. MacKenna. Flower Of The Heather.

Your delivery is amazing. So entertaining .

Thanks!

Thank you for this. My mother was descended from a Covenanter, Nathaniel Wilson. Thanks to his common surname and living in upstate New York I don't know if I'll ever know more. Ancestor Sander Millison was transported to New England and another may have been to.

Sir Alexander Henderson was a great great uncle of mine!

Very well explained Bruce. The tangled web of the Covenant War is difficult to pull apart, and you've done a masterful job.

Excellent production from an American who's ancestors were Covenantors. Thanks James Craig Galloway

Another great program well done bruce

Great video, as always, and good to see the other side of the coin. Keep up the good work.

Great history lesson Bruce....! I never really knew the history of the Covenanters and how they were related or stacked up with the Jacobites. Keep up the good work. 👍

Thanks Bruce, great story. Whole Covenanter story is tough to get a handle on

Well done, you tell the history in a way that really keeps me captivated.

Always enjoy your stories.

Awey hem Bruce. You said what needed to be said.

I’m reading an old history book that talks briefly about the Covenanters and the formation of the union. Written from the English side. It’s fascinating, and I’m glad you’re here making videos for further context =D

good educational stuff there Bruce McFummey

One of your best yet. I was waiting for your sensible take on the Covenanters. You captured the ambiguity of real history. Thanks

Excellent history video, Could be my imagination but you seem to just get better all the time and they have been great to start with! I will be watching this one again to really grasp the facts. Thank you for these brilliant videos.

Thankyou so much, im glad to hear the stories that your bringing to us. I love listening them. You are a very knowledgable scottish gentleman, & quite the historian. You' ve got my attention, and i appreciate what your doing.

Wow, so so much of which I knew nothing. The grim parallels of history, in Elizabethan England, those who denounced Catholics for sheltering priests got a bounty too. One of the biggest advances in human history was the toleration of alternative religious expression, still to be universal. 12,000 dead - that's an awful percentage of Scotland's then population. Thanks Bruce, another excellent video!

Very good

Very interesting, learned something new today from this, thanks.

Thank you for another interesting and informative video! Stays safe. ATB. Nigel

A piece of Scottish history that I didn’t know. And the idea that the philosophy undergirding the American Revolution has Covenanter roots makes a great deal of sense. Thanks for another excellent video.

I've learned so much from these videos that I didn't get in college and I have a history degree

Just fantastic as always 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Keep on keeping on. I wanted to let U know how much I appreciate your suggestions of Ur other posts that are similar because I have found myself listening to them for a second time because of something you said. Not sure if it makes sense so just keep doing what you’re doing. 😂

Yet another important story! Thank you.

Hello Bruce. I have heard of carers needing to be quick on their feet to avoid stool throwing old women, but never was it quite as funny as how you told it. This was one bit of Scottish history I knew about from looking at background to my childhood favourite "Kidnapped" but you do fill in the details very well. Learning should be fun, but watch out, in these times the Puritans banned Christmas.

Thank you, Bruce. I often have to view the videos a few times to wrap my head around what REALLY happened: what with the crossing and double crossing. 🥴

Personal comment of Laura Botten: My husband's family were Presbyterians. Jock Maclean. I wish I'd known all of this before his daughter, Grandma Morag, passed away. My family came through Nova Scotia with the same values, but I only know of them being part of the United Church of Canada. That church has changed enough that my grandma, third generation in the church, left the local one because she couldn't communicate with the pastor about her concerns.

I wish we in England have someone of your skill and passion to tell the English story.

Might I recommend the book For king and conscience, I really does argue against ‘the bliudy clavers’ label. By using the mans own letters and correspondence. It’s certainly worth a read. On another note the American actor Johnathan Cryer, found one of his ancestor s arrived in America as a prisoner after the battle of Dunbar.

I’m a descendant of Mures of Rowallan in Ayrshire who was a Covenanter

Thanks for that. Grammar note - men are hanged, pictures are hung. English is curious.

great work as usual mate

You have a cool way of looking at things.I really want to visit Eday in the Orkneys,one of the islands my ancestors came from,and the rest of the island group. My understanding of my family comes from the Masons.They told me my entire family history,they had been watching me for years. They came to me and now I am one of them.

The area that I live in was terrorised by a Covenanter unit of Frasers during the War of Three Kingdoms. The easiest comparison would be to watch the opening scenes of the Magnificent Seven. Just replace Mexican bandits with grey clad, blue bonnet wearing Scots, led by Eli McWallach.

Great video 👍

It's funny you mention this. I just found out today that I had relatives held in the Whig's Vault. I guess that would make them Covenanters? It was around 1685.

THIS GUY, TELLS IT WELL, GREAT WORK,, DES CREAN ,BELFAST,,IRELAND

This is great I’ve only ever heard about the Covenanters in relational the war of the three kingdoms/English Civil Wars

I enjoy all your podcasts, thank you for them. I especially like how you here present the Covenanters and Jacobites as two sides of the same coin: I get tired of seeing these two causes and groups romanticized and put on pedestals. The Covenanters weren't opposing the existence of government religion, they wanted it to be their religion (Presbyterian) and no other. As for the Killing Times - let's hear about Philiphaugh. On the other side we see the Highland clans dishing out plenty of their own killing of those with opposing religious or political ideologies.

Yair a wee bet awesome, Bruce (closest I could get to a Scots accent in characters)

And on the anniversary of the battle of Stirling Bridge too.

I knew of Covenanters when I was wee, their heads are buried in my town

There's an open air church in Plockton. There's photos of it still in use in the 1800's maybe early 1900's I believe.

Come to Hamilton Bruce, Battle of Heiton plaque, Covenanters graves, marked and unmarked and also the Battle of Bothwell Bridge monument. Bring Bruce Begbie too!

My Scottish ancestry can be traced back to Covenanters at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge. I believe they were from Saltcoats. Either way, they (husband John and wife Agnes) were deported to the plantations of Jersey in 1685 after reportedly being branded (Agnes) and having ears docked (John). I'm glad to have found your channel and videos.

3:29 - brilliant pun!

When looking into where my ancestor "John Mack" came from when he went to America in 1669 from Scotland, I first read about the Covenanters. We don't know exactly where he was born. Some think he was a MacGregor fleeing a bounty on his head, some say he was running due to religious persecutions. What we do know due to Y-DNA testing he was likely from the Glasgow area as he was a remote kin to Lennox. By that reasoning, I believe he was a Covenantor. John Mack is of interest as he was the Grandfather of Lucy Mack, who was the mother of Joseph Smith Jr. the Prophet of the Mormon Church. Personally, I believe he was of the Landed Gentry as he was not poor as he had a Great Sword, not a trifle thing to own. Someday I hope to visit Scotland and find out more, but, 350 years ago is a long time for information to get lost.

Brilliant 👏👏

Cool video

My Armstrong Great Grams wore her dour with pride. I'm fonder of manly calves, and the occasional flash of more northerly bits as well. Dour just isn't my thing. Personally I practice older beliefs, that neither the Jacobites, nor the Covenanters tolerated. Yay team Pict!

Useful

I recently found my so many greats grandfather's papers. He was "deported" for being a covenator. I didn't know what that was, so I came to this video. Wow.

thanks bruce

Another good one, Bruce. You are not scared to take sides, are you?

What’s with the NZ placemakers t shirt🤣🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Bluidy Clavers or Bonnie Dundee......take yer pick!!! Looking forward to the sequels. Thanks for posting!

My Edinburgh-born mother admired both the Jacobites and the Covenanters. I sing "Hey Johnny Cope", because it's a great song about a victory of the wild highland Jacobites., but as a mathematician I'm a huge fan of Colin McLaurin, a child prodigy who was Professor of Mathematics at Edinburgh University, and failed to raise a militia to prevent the Jacobites from capturing the Castle. Just as well the folk were too canny to agree with him. General Cope's professionals were defeated at Preestonpans.

You need to go to dalgarnock one day.... theres a monument for 57 covenanters there. James Harkness who was a relative of mine is buried there and led a raid to save a bunch of fellow covenantors from being sold into slavery to America....... many of my family is buried there.... spooky place

How are you doing master Bruce iam new subscriber Arabic lady citizen we are as foreigners subscribers as overseas students enjoy to explore places unknown to us learn new information to increase our cultural level improve our English language as well i gathered main information about topic you talked about briefly briefly here it’s convenanter. Any of Scottish Presbyterians who at various crises during 17 th century bonds or convenants notably to national convenant in 1638 to solemn league and convenant in 1643 in which pheypledged to maintain their chosen of church government and worship the origins of movement lay in dispute with james and his son Charles over church structure and doctrine in 1638 thousands of scots signed national covenant imposed Charles on Kirk following victory in years 1639 1640 bishops war convenant took control of Scotland Scottish convenant believe leaders in religious affairs

I most likely had distant relatives in the battle of Prestonpans and a distant great uncle plus some a covenant-er

Couple of my Scottish ancestors were Covenanters. Sir James Hume and Sir James Hoge of Paisley and Musselburgh, respectively. Hume died onboard the ship, The Caledonia, as he fled with his family to the new world. Believe his wife died onboard the ship, too. Their children survived the journey and made it to what's now the US. As I recall learning, I believe it was their daughter who married one of the Hoge men who was also a passenger onboard The Caledonia. The ship was transporting many political / religious dissidents, most Covenanters, to the new world where they could expect freedom to worship as they liked. I wonder what made them choose the US and not the Netherlands. That's a head-scratcher.

The Scots on my Dad's side were mainly Catholics, those on my Mom's were Protestant.

hi bruce, i ken iv said it before - but you the man.... im just back from bamburgh and more terrifyingly chillingham castles.... if its not out you jurisdiction for scottish history - m8. . . not the ghosts that scared me - lots of them too , but what i learned there - but id love your take on it

I thoroughly enjoyed this video, as I do all of your others. The Crumpton's of my family (we later married into several different Highland families moving north.) came to the Lowlands at Dumfries in the 1600's, and were Covenanters. When we were brought to the America's we were still Covenanters. The Catholic part of the family were Highland Jacobites. I wear the Robertson Kilt. So I guess I'm on both sides and proud to be so.

The thumbnail is great haha

My mothers Scottish family were probably Conventers. They were deported from Scotland and they aren’t religious. Which to me sounds like they were bitter about religion. They were cattle thieves, but the locals didn’t take them too seriously, they’d give the cattle back, if asked. They are a Sept of Sutherlands. My fathers Scottish family were different. They immigrated to the US and Canada as a large family group in the early 19th. They are more upland sorts

Descendant here of Covenanters on both sides of my family. They all came by way of Ulster around 1700-1750 or so. Mostly settling in the carolinas and central PA initially, but migrated to IN, IA and eventually KS. They were all interred in Covenanter cemeteries here in the US up until the late 19th century, when the term started to die out and most affiliated with Associate or Reformed Presbyterian congregations. I found a sermon from one preacher who came from Scotland discouraging them from using the term "Covenanter" as that related only to a specific time and place, which had no meaning or connection with their new life in America. Don't know if that explains why you don't hear about them as much in the US or not.

One issue with North Americans identifying as having Scotch Covenanter ancestry is there are a lot of the Northern Irish diaspora that probably could rightly be called both. My own maternal family is Scottish but by way of hundreds of years in Northern Ireland.

The problem with us Americans is we don't want to look too deeply into our family trees. Of course it doesn't help that most Americans ancestors arrived here in the 19th century, and few of us can go that far back in history to see whether or not our ancestors (at least the Scots ones) were Covenanters or Jacobites. So we identify with the ones we like the most. And I find nothing wrong with that.