Kirk sessions: how Scotland's churches disciplined fornication
In short
After the Reformation of 1560, each Scottish parish's kirk session, made up of the minister and elders, policed morals. Unmarried couples suspected of fornication, often revealed by a pregnancy, were summoned, questioned and made to do public penance in church, sometimes on a 'stool of repentance'. Robert Burns and Jean Armour were summoned at Mauchline in 1786.
What the full article will cover
- What was a kirk session?
- How did the kirk session investigate fornication?
- What was the stool of repentance?
- What happened to Robert Burns and Jean Armour in 1786?
- When did kirk discipline decline?
- How can researchers use kirk session records?
Frequently asked questions
- Did men and women receive the same penance?
- Could a kirk session impose fines?
- Are kirk session records online?
- When did the last public penance take place in Scotland?
Sources
- nrscotland.gov.uk — https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/church-records
- en.wikipedia.org — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutty_stool
- en.wikipedia.org — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Armour
- robertburns.org — http://www.robertburns.org/encyclopedia/FisherWilliam17371511809.359.shtml
- dsl.ac.uk — https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/fornicatioun
General information, not legal or religious advice.