King Campbell : the public career of the Marquis of Argyll (1607?-1661)

Abstract

T h is dissertation is a study of the political career of Archibald Campbell, eighth Earl and first Marquis of Argyll (c. 1607- 1661) who was arguably the most important Scottish nobleman to figure prominently in the events of the English Civil War and Interregnum. Chapter One describes the territorial possessions, historic role and national influence of the Campbells and places Argyll within his familial heritage. Chapter Two describes his dispute with his half-brother over possession of Kintyre and his pursuance and arrest, on behalf of the central government in the tradition of the Campbells, of Highland rebels and outlaws, notably Gilderoy. The chapter introduces the religious crisis in Scotland which erupted as a result of Charles l's liturgical "innovations", and examines Argyll's efforts on behalf of two controversial opponents of those "innovations" and of Episcopacy, the Laird of Earlstoun and Samuel Rutherford. Chapter Three describes his movements during the prelude to the National Covenant (1638) and examines his avowed sympathy for the Covenanters at the Glasgow Assembly. Chapter Four considers his emerging role as leader of the Covenanting movement and his constitutional aims in the wake of the Glasgow Assembly (1638) and the Edinburgh Assembly (1639). Chapter Five describes the fomentation of unrest in the Highlands against Argyll's increasing predominance in the state. in Chapter Six it is argued that with the Scottish constitutional settlement of 1641 Argyll had achieved his aims, and there is a comparison between his political outlook and that of the English "middle group". Chapter Seven examines Argyll's role in the prologue to the Solemn League and Covenant (1643) and ends with the Campbells' defeat at the Battle of Inverlochy (1645). Chapter Eight describes Argyll's increasing isolation from the nobility, his political reliance on the barons and burgesses, his attitude to the disposal of Charles t in 1646 and his opposition to the Treaty of Carisbrooke (1647). in Chapter Nine Argyll's policy in the wake of the Battle of Preston (1648) is considered, as are his efforts on behalf of Charles H , and the worsening rift between him and his radical allies. Chapter Ten examines his relations with the Cromwellian regime and addresses the question why, at the Restoration, he was tried and executed. Finally, the Epilogue briefly evaluates his career and his importance as a political leader. This dissertation also includes (in an Appendix) the six letters which Monck supplied to the court which tried Argyll to "prove" his complicity with the Cromwellian authorities, as well as two maps and two genealogical tables. Show more