Exploring the impact of the Scottish Reformation

The University of St Andrews is marking the 450th anniversary of the Reformation in Scotland with an exhibition exploring the local and national impact of this formative event in Scottish history. The exhibition will run until 10 December 2010.

A series of talks and a guided tour of Reformation St Andrews will be run in association with the exhibition, with a talk tomorrow (Wednesday 22 September 2010) about the shrines, altars and images of 16th century St Andrews.

The Reformation of 1560 transformed Scotland from a Catholic country owing allegiance to the Pope in Rome to a Protestant one with a church and theology derived from the Geneva of John Calvin.

As Scotland’s ecclesiastical capital, St Andrews was the spiritual heart of the Catholic Scottish kingdom as well as a key battleground in the struggle to establish the new Protestant religion.

This exhibition, drawing together material from the University Library’s Special Collections and Museum Collections, together with rarely seen artefacts from Holy Trinity Church in St Andrews, provides insights into both the world of pre-Reformation Catholicism and the new Protestant church. At the same time it reveals how the Reformation has shaped Scottish society and culture over the past 450 years.

Accompanying events include the following lunchtime talks:

• ‘Monuments of Idolatry’: Shrines, Altars and Images in 16th Century St Andrews

  Wednesday 22 September 2010
  St Andrews’ churches were once filled with shrines, altars and statues. Almost all were destroyed during the Reformation. Bess Rhodes will discuss what we know about these lost works of art, and the part they played in burgh life.

• The Reformation in St Andrews and the villages of Fife

  Wednesday 10 November 2010
  John McCallum’s talk will look at the experience of the Reformation in the local area.
  All lunchtime talks will take place in the Gateway Galleries between 12.30pm and 1.30pm and will include the opportunity for questions from the audience.  Light refreshments will be provided.

There will also be a walking tour:

• A walk through history: the Reformation in St Andrews

  Saturday 2 October, 10.00am – 12.30pm
  Join medieval historian, Simon Taylor, for a walking tour of St Andrews and encounter with him some of the stories from the Reformation, as experienced in St Andrews.  Refreshments will be served at the Gateway after the walk.

All events are free, but booking is required.  To book a place at an event, please contact Rhona Ramsay, Learning and Access Curator on 01334 462396 or email [email protected]

Issued by the University of St Andrews

Contact: Emma Shea, Communications Manager, on 01334 462 109 or email [email protected]